Architects Registration Board receives complaint for failing to investigate Grenfell architects
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The Architects Registration Board (ARB) has received a formal complaint from the Good Law Project over its failure to investigate architects who worked at Studio E, the architecture firm at the centre of the Grenfell Tragedy.
ARB is a public corporation of the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government. It regulates the architects’ profession in the UK to ensure consistent standards of conduct and practice.
The Good Law Project has been pushing for the ARB to take enforcement action following the Grenfell fire in 2017 that killed 72 people.
The campaign group hopes that this complaint will not only be upheld, but also set a precedent so that other people in cladded buildings can file a complaint against their architects.
The Good Law Project's campaign is being supported by some of the families impacted by the fire and comes following the publication of the second part of the inquiry.
The families of Amna Mahmoud Idris, Amal Ahmedin, and three-year-old Amaya Ahmedin, all of whom died on the 19th Floor of Grenfell Tower, said: “These architects were responsible for the architectural safety of our and our families’ homes.
"Yet none of their partners or employees had the relevant knowledge, experience or skills needed to work on a high-rise cladding project.“They let us and our loved ones down. Even more sickeningly, they complained that they weren’t being paid enough. Those who profited from their own incompetence and negligence at the Grenfell fire may be held to account today.
“But we, the bereaved families, will have to live with their mistakes for the rest of our lives.”
An ARB spokesperson told ITV News, "We have been monitoring the Grenfell Tower Inquiry closely since it was established, but we were obliged to wait until the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase Two Report was published before undertaking any formal investigative activities.
"Following the publication of that report, formal investigations have commenced into whether any architects involved in the refurbishment of the Tower might be guilty of a disciplinary offence under the Architects Code.
"The Grenfell Tower fire was a national tragedy and is rightly considered one of the UK’s worst modern disasters, and we are sensitive to the strong public interest of taking appropriate action without delay."
"The investigations must be conducted properly if they are to be effective, and can be complex, particularly when they take place in the background of potential criminal proceedings which must not be prejudiced.
"It is ARB’s policy to not comment on the detail of investigations until or unless they reach a public hearing of our Professional Conduct Committee, so that the Committee can make an independent decision based on the evidence available. Information regarding forthcoming hearings is published to our website."
Studio E, who entered voluntary liquidation in 2020, are yet to respond to ITV News. The Grenfell inquiry report found that Studio E failed to meet the standards of a reasonable competent architect.
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