A major Grenfell survivors’ group has reacted with fury towards Kensington and Chelsea Council as another company associated with the Grenfell fire was removed from the council’s blacklist.
Artelia UK Ltd, a major consultant in the disastrous refurbishment of Grenfell before the 2017 fire, challenged their blacklist status, resulting in the council settling before trial last week.
This follows the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea blacklisting six more Grenfell-associated companies in December 2024, stopping them from building, supplying, or engaging with council projects in the borough, following the investigation into the disastrous 2017 tower fire where 72 people perished.
But a Grenfell survivors’ group blasted the decision to readmit Artelia.
Joe Delaney, of Justice4Grenfell, said: “Artelia are not welcome into our communities, our homes, nor into our lives at all.
“We demand a boycott of all suppliers linked to the Grenfell disaster be upheld, regardless of court action threatened or taken.
“Over eight years later and the Royal Borough continues to address what it sees as merely a PR disaster rather than address the situation as the humanitarian disaster it has always been since the outset.
“No justice, no punishment, and now absolutely no consequences at all.”
This is the second time in six months that Kensington and Chelsea have removed one of Grenfell’s suppliers from their original blacklist, with Siderise Insulation being readmitted in July.
Kensington and Chelsea Council settled out of court and paid both theirs and their opponent’s legal costs before a full judicial review could get underway.
Justice4Grenfell specifically criticised the council’s decision to settle, claiming that Kensington and Chelsea could have done far more to legally fight back.
Artelia’s judicial challenge to the borough came just a month ago, with the company maintaining that since they were not directly blamed in the original investigation, there was no reason for them to be blacklisted.
Meanwhile, despite not being directly held responsible, Siderise Insulation had been criticised for the way in they had marketed their supplied materials, following the conclusion of the investigation into the tower fire last year.
They were removed from the blacklist after a similar pre-trial settlement by the council.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea refused to comment on the legal case and could not disclose the total legal costs paid, but reiterated their commitment to keeping the remaining companies associated with Grenfell on their blacklist.
A spokeperson for Artelia Projects UK said: “Artelia Projects UK brought judicial review proceedings against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC). These proceedings have since been settled and RBKC’s decision against Artelia Projects UK has been withdrawn.”
Featured Image Credit: Luke Justin
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