Agenda item

(a)  That the progress to date in establishing an appropriate  programme of works for the remediation of Nova House and in ensuring the recovery of costs for the remediation works be noted;

(b)  That the Government’s latest announcements of support to local authorities in ensuring the removal of ACM cladding from privately- owned housing blocks be noted and the Chief Executive/Cabinet Member/Leader of the Council be authorised to write to the Secretary of State restating the case for support in relation to Nova House, should this prove necessary, and to write to Ministers and appropriate bodies to raise any of the wider issues and lessons learned that had arisen during this process.

(c)  That significant support to GRE5 will be required from a number of Council services as the remedial works are planned and implemented be noted.

The Director of Regeneration introduced a report that provided an update on progress on planning remedial works to Nova House and on the work to ensure the recovery of costs for the essential fire safety repairs.

The principle reason for the Council’s acquisition of GRE5, the freeholder of Nova House, was to protect the safety of residents.  A substantial amount of survey work had been undertaken to both inform the programme of remedial works and to provide support for the legal action to recover costs.  The survey work had revealed substantial concerns about the fire resistance of the steel structure in addition to the issues regarding the cladding and compartmentation.  It was noted that the work had been done in full liaison with the Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service (RBFRS) and other statutory regulators.  The proposed programme was to replace the cladding, install a sprinkler system and deal with the compartmentation and structural issues whilst the residents remained in situ.  There was an alternative option of stripping back the building and effectively rebuilding it but this would cause more disruption to residents and would be more costly.  The first option was therefore preferred, subject to RBFRS being in agreement that it would address the fire safety issues.  It was envisaged that this agreement could be reached soon.

The Cabinet discussed the process undertaken to recover the costs and it was noted that the insurance policy for the compartmentation issues had been triggered and accepted in principle, subject to caveats, and a view on the coverage of the cladding was expected in early 2019.  The option of action against third parties, including the developer, cladding sub-contractor and private sector Approved Inspector was being considered.  Leaseholders would be liable to pay for the costs through service charges if not recovered through other routes.  It was emphasised that the commencement of works would not be delayed by the action to recovery costs.  The priority was to implement the measures and ensure safety in the meantime, for example through the 24 hour waking watch which remained in place.  The estimated cost of works was being assessed and the Cabinet would consider a further report in Part II of the agenda regarding the financial implications of Council support.  There would be significant other support required from the Council and this would be subject to a Service Level Agreement with GRE5.

The Council had been in close contact with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) about Nova House since the issues arose in 2017.  It was proposed and agreed that the Council write to MHCLG setting out the case for financial support to Nova House, should that proved necessary.  Lead Members discussed a number of issues arising from SBCs experience with Nova House and some of the lessons learned.  It was agreed that the issues raised were significant and wide ranging and could help inform future policy.  These included the role of private sector building inspectors and the prior approval of office to residential conversions.  It was agreed that delegated authority be given to the Chief Executive and Director of Regeneration to write to Ministers and/or other bodies, possibly the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, to highlight the lessons learnt in Slough in the wider public interest.

The Cabinet agreed that the safety of residents was the top priority and sought assurance that all necessary steps were being taken in this regard.  Officers provided assurance both in terms of the short term measures such as the waking watch trained fire presence and the heat detector system put in place, and the work programme to address the fundamental safety issues with the building.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the recommendations were approved and it was also agreed to widen the scope of the delegation to write to Ministers and relevant other bodies on the lessons learnt from Nova House.

Resolved –

(a)  That the progress to date in establishing an appropriate  programme of works for the remediation of Nova House and in ensuring the recovery of costs for the remediation works be noted;

(b)  That the Government’s latest announcements of support to local authorities in ensuring the removal of ACM cladding from privately- owned housing blocks be noted and the Chief Executive/Cabinet Member/Leader of the Council be authorised to write to the Secretary of State restating the case for support in relation to Nova House, should this prove necessary, and to write to Ministers and appropriate bodies to raise any of the wider issues and lessons learned that had arisen during this process.

(c)  That significant support to GRE5 will be required from a number of Council services as the remedial works are planned and implemented be noted.