LevellerLive

In response to further questions asked by the Leveller, Sedgemoor District Council have today issued a “Position Statement” to reassure residents of Westfield Tower. Specifically, in the light of the widely reported cladding failures in testing of samples taken from tower blocks around the UK, we asked about the choice of cladding at Westfield.

SDC have told us that:

The cladding at Westfield House is very different to the cladding at Grenfell Towers.  With regard to the cladding of the external elevations, we have:-

 done investigatory work

spoken to the manufacturers of the panels,

spoken to the company who produced the design and

contacted Building Control.  They confirmed that cladding at Westfield House is very different to the cladding at Grenfell Towers.

The product used at Westfield House is manufactured by a company called Alsecco and was chosen for its:

 Increased fire resistance

High impact resistance

Weather resistance and durability

Consistent finish over large areas

The system was installed by an Alsecco-approved contractor, employed by Connaught. It is not frame-fixed and does not have the gap behind the cladding.  SDC Building Control were involved throughout the process and we have a completion certificate for that work.

 

We understand that the system used on Grenfell Towers and other blocks is a frame fixed system with aluminium composite panels, fixed to the frame and had a gap between the building and the cladding essentially formed a chimney effect.”

We also asked about the extra fire safety checks SDC undertook last week and understand no areas of concern arose from that work.