Contractor still sought for Cour du Parc cladding work

It was confirmed in 2022 that the 10-storey building had been installed with Kingspan cladding about 10 years ago when the building was refurbished.

When it was installed the insulation was a low-risk substance, but it has since been reclassified as a medium risk.

It had originally been hoped the work to replace it with safer rockwool panels would take place in early 2023.

Guernsey Housing Association chief executive Victoria Slade said the association had gone out to tender for the work, but they had faced some unforeseen problems, which had caused delays.

‘We are working to find the right contractor,’ she said.

She was concerned the project would now need to be pushed back until next year due to the height of the building and the upcoming winter – when days were shorter and weather would worsen.

‘We have to look at all the wind loading,’ she said.

It will also depend on how the chosen contractor chooses to do the work, with cherry pickers and platforms among the options.

‘We need to look at the most effective and safe way,’ Ms Slade said.

In the meantime, the building has a number of safety measures already in place, such as sprinklers, fire doors and a smoke extraction system.

The GHA has also been working with Guernsey fire service and Ms Slade said they had made it as safe as it can be.

She has been following the Grenfell investigation, which was examining the circumstances of how 72 people died in a tower block fire in 2017.

Ms Slade said she plans to read the full report, which was published last week.

She has also been following news of the recent Dagenham fire.

In that, 80 people had to be evacuated from their flats last week, after a fire spread up the building, which was undergoing renovation work.

‘We are looking at what we could learn from it,’ Ms Slade said.

Once the Cour du Parc project moves forward, the residents will be updated.