Deconstruct UK is expected to begin the process of removing the burnt-out shell of Grenfell Tower this summer.
Deconstruct UK is currently responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and safety of the Grenfell Tower site. It has been working at the site since 2017, initially as a subcontractor to Wates before taking over as principal contractor in July 2021. Its contract was renewed in May 2024.
Last week its contract was modified to broaden the scope of its maintenance and security contract to include emergency deconstruction. The variation will provide for planned deconstruction of Grenfell Tower to ground level.
Housing secretary and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner announced in February that the decision had been taken to deconstruct Grenfell Tower. At that time it was unclear whether the demolition contract would go out to tender or simply be handed to Deconstruct UK as the company in situ.آ
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government decided that modifying its existing contract with Deconstruct UK was justified under regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, on the basis of there being technical reasons why a change of contractor cannot be made and due to the fact that any change in contractor would cause significant inconvenience and substantial duplication of costs. The value of the modification is آ£12.25m, which is less than 50% of the value of the original آ£25.52m contract.
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