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Saurav Ghai |
Councillor’s calls for sackings are ‘inappropriate’
Tory breaks ranks over wall collapse
COUNCIL staff should be sacked over the manner in which a wall was checked for cracks before it collapsed and killed toddler Saurav Ghai in last month’s gales, the Town Hall was told yesterday (Wednesday).
Conservative councillor Keith Sedgwick launched an unbridled attack on the housing department, questioning the monitoring of council properties in Gospel Oak – including the Wendling estate where a section of boundary wall crumbled on top of little Saurav.
The two-year-old died in hospital after being crushed by the falling bricks. His childminder survived the crush.
Cllr Sedgwick said that patch managers inspected the wall every three months and potential problems should have been recorded.
There is, however, no evidence or official suggestion that any Town Hall staff acted in a negligent way.
In a bold press release issued to the New Journal Cllr Sedgwick went as far as calling on staff to be fired.
He said that one official, who has not been named, noted “minute” flaws with a neighbouring estate’s brickwork but clear cracks in the Wendling wall were not addressed.
Liberal Democrat council leader Keith Moffitt said last night (Wednesday) that the allegations were “deeply inappropriate”.
He said Cllr Sedgwick’s intervention would not help an ongoing investigation by health and safety experts and the police.
Saurav’s family, who live in gated Parkhill Mews, Belsize Park, have not commented on the nature of the tragedy and appealed for privacy as they come to terms with their grief.
Cllr Sedgwick, who has also raised concerns about the death of Ralph Kennedy, a scaffolder electrocuted while working on an estate in Somers Town last year, said: “Two people have died on housing land in less than six months under circumstances that call into question the quality of the housing department’s management.
“Had the housing department being doing its job properly, two people might still be alive today. How many more people need to die before someone is sacked? Surely the leader of the council has something to say on this affair.”
It emerged last week how Gospel Oak had been singled out for a special pilot scheme to test the condition of council properties but it remains unclear when the Wendling wall was looked at, if at all.
Further details of the council’s stock survey operations were provided by press officials after another round of enquiries by the New Journal (see questions below).
Information provided to reporters confirms that properties in Gospel Oak have been part of a special survey since October, although the Town Hall only does a complete condition check of its housing stock once every five years.
In his statement released to the New Journal, Cllr Sedgwick said that a council wall in Vicars Road, Gospel Oak, leaning at a precarious angle had been flagged up four years with no action taken.
He said: “It can only be assumed that the same manager carried out his inspection of Wendling estate to the same degree.”
The tone of Cllr Sedgwick’s statements has left the Town Hall stunned, coming at a time when other councillors have restricted their comments on the case until detectives and the Health and Safety Executive have finished their investigations.
Cllr Moffitt has written to the family on behalf of the council with a message of condolences.
He said: “We are working to ensure this is carried out as quickly as possible for the sake of his family.
“It is deeply inappropriate for anyone to make accusations without all the facts. This does nothing to help the investigation come to proper conclusions.”
Cllr Moffitt added: “A thorough investigation into the tragic death of Saurav Ghai is being carried out by the council, police and Health and Safety Executive. This will look at the reasons why the wall that killed him fell during the high winds last month. Clearly therefore no conclusions can be drawn at this stage.”
Five questions answered
AS questions surrounding the collapsed wall that killed Saurav Ghai and the standard of monitoring mounted yesterday (Wednesday), the New Journal asked the Town Hall why Gospel Oak was picked out for special treatment and the state of the Wendling wall. It is the first time the council has answered questions since the tragedy.
* Question: Who were the consultants working on a stock survey in Gospel Oak?
Answer: FPD Savills undertook the stock condition survey in Gospel Oak.
* How many surveyors were involved in this task?
The main fieldwork for the borough-wide survey started in October 2007 and concluded last week. This involved nine surveyors to begin with, increasing to 15 surveyors as fieldwork progressed.
In addition, the council employed an independent surveyor to undertake random quality checks on Savills work.
* How many times was the affected Wendling wall checked? Had it been checked before it collapsed?
The council complies with the requirements of government to undertake a full 100 per cent stock condition survey of housing properties every five years.
* What are the current procedures for Camden’s stock surveys and checking condition of properties/walls?
The current stock condition survey includes an external survey of 100 per cent of properties externally and 10 per cent internally. The external inspection includes the condition of walls.
* Why was Gospel Oak chosen for a pilot project on stock surveys?
It is standard practice for the stock condition survey form to be piloted by a small number of surveyors in a discrete area before the main survey starts. The area chosen for the pilot survey was Gospel Oak as it is geographically compact.
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