Deconstruct UK will replace Wates Property Services as principal contractor for Grenfell Tower in July, when Wates’ contract expires.
Deconstruct UK Ltd (DUK), part of a wider group of companies called De-Group. It was selected from a procurement process that began last December and included input from a group of volunteers from the local community who gave their perspective on what was needed from the new contractor.
DUK has been appointed to continue the essential safety and maintenance works on the tower, which has been empty since catching fire in June 2017, causing 72 deaths.
It has not been appointed to deconstruct the building, the Ministry of Housing stressed. No decision has been made on that yet.
“If a decision were taken to deconstruct the tower, we would procure a specialist contractor to carry out any future works on the tower using our usual, thorough procurement process,” it said.
DUK has been working at the Grenfell Tower site since 2017 as a specialist subcontractor to Wates Property Services. “They have experience of, and understanding about, the structure of the tower and sensitive management of the site,” the ministry said.
DUK will be responsible for keeping the tower site safe and secure with 24/7 monitoring. It will carrying out planned safety works, including the removal of heavy and damaged items and asbestos. And it will install new aluminium and steel props to supplement those that have been installed since the fire.
As a condition of the contract, DUK has committed to giving jobs to 30 people who live within 500 metres of Grenfell Tower.
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