Tower Blocks UK fully support RBKC opposition leader Councillor Pat Mason in his demand for former government ministers to give evidence to the Inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster. Following the inquest into a fatal fire at Lakanal House in Southwark in 2009, the coroner, Judge Frances Kirkham CBE, called on the government to take urgent steps to mitigate the risk of serious fire in blocks of flats in order to prevent another such tragedy, including the retrofitting of sprinkler systems. Judge Kirkham's recommendations were mostly ignored. As such, Tower Blocks UK support the call for Government ministers of the time to formally account for why they took the decision not to implement th
TOWERS FOR THE WELFARE STATE An Architectural History of British Multi-Storey Housing 1945-1970 By Stefan Muthesius and Miles Glendinning, publ. Edinburgh 2017 Housing on a large scale and of a suitable quality cannot be provided by private enterprise - thus the widely held conviction of the Post WWII decades. To build houses and flats was a primary task of the new British Welfare State, next to health and education. Quality in housebuilding meant that flats in particular had to be of the most modern standards, as light and airy as possible, accessible by lift and serviced by central heating. The great spirits of innovation of those decades, among planners, architects and builders is hard
'We are in a housing crisis. We desperately need to build a new generation of council housing we can all be proud of' - George Clarke TV presenter George Clarke has launched a campaign for the building of new quality council homes, a suspension of Right To Buy and rebuilding of pride in council housing communities. The first part of his documentary on this issue aired on Channel 4 and is available to watch on demand here. George Clarke has also launched a petition, calling on the UK government to commit to building 100,000 new council homes every year for the next 3o years.
