The Lakanal House fire and Marie Curie House; Sceaux Gardens Estate, London

1 Lakanal house events in brief
2 Marie Curie house
3 Lakanal house events
4 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] Lakanal house events in brief

The Lakanal House fire occurred in a tower block in Camberwell, south London on 3rd July 2009, following a refurbishment in 2006/07. Six people were killed and at least 20 injured when a fire broke out in one of the flats and quickly spread, the block was unoccupied for a number of years. An inquest in 2013 found the replacement cladding panels that were less fire resistance than the existing ones enabled the rapid fire spread and was "due to a serious failure on the part of Southwark Council’s building design services, its contractors and its subcontractors’. A freedom of information request confirmed that "the block was returned to the council following the completion of the independent public enquiry in March 2013. Consultation was undertaken with residents and Members on whether they wanted to see the block refurbished or not and the consensus was that they did. Design work commenced in July 2013 and the refurbishment scheme started on site in August 2015 and handed over in March 2017. Following handover the block was then re-let for 100% council homes." In 2017 Southwark Council pleaded guilty to four charges and fines amounted to 300,000 pounds.

[edit] Marie Curie house

Marie Curie house sits next to Lakanal House on the Sceaux Gardens Estate, Camberwell, (rear block in image) and was built at the same time and to the same design as Lakanal House. Similar fire safety defects to those found in Lakanal House were discovered in Marie Curie House in 2020. These included a lack of compartmentation that would allow smoke to spread between flats as it had done in the Lakanal house fire. Residents were evacuated in 2021, and all 98 households offered alternative accommodation while it planned to carry out an extensive refurbishment. In 2022 it was recommended to Cabinet to carry out Phase 2 works, however changes the required as a result of the Building Safety Act, in addition to significant changes to market conditions and a rise in inflation later meant the option was no longer affordable.

Following various assessments on 14 October 2025, in a council meeting the Housing Scrutiny Commission shared a report on the demolition recommendation revealed that whilst Southwark Council could carry out the necessary remedial works, it would “still be required to undertake ongoing monitoring and maintenance to ensure the block does not fall into an 'intolerable' condition”... “This status would necessitate ongoing monitoring and maintenance by the Council to manage residual risks and ensure continued compliance. Given the limitations of this approach and the long-term resource implications, the findings reinforce the need to explore alternative options, such as full demolition and redevelopment, to deliver a more robust, sustainable, and future-proof solution for resident safety,” the report said.

In explanation the report stated that "Post-Incident Investment and Remediation at Lakanal: Notes in 2015/16 as part of the council’s QHIP programme a contractor was appointed to carry internal, external and FRA works to Lakanal. These works were completed under the then 2022 Building Safety Act and complied with its requirements. Following the Grenfell fire in June 2017 and the recommendations arising from this, new building safety legislation was put in place which has very stringent requirements for matters relating to fire. Lakanal is safe and compliant with the then 2022 Building Safety Act and does not require the extent of works needed for Marie Curie."

"Regulatory Changes Since Lakanal Works: The introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022 has significantly raised the compliance threshold for high-rise buildings. The new legislation mandates stricter fire safety standards, ongoing monitoring, and a “Golden Thread” of documentation, which were not required at the time Lakanal was remediated. These changes have materially impacted the feasibility and cost of similar remediation at Marie Curie."

"Structural Integrity and Explosion Risk at Marie Curie: Unlike Lakanal, recent structural surveys at Marie Curie have identified critical risks including:

Structural degradation due to humidity
Insufficient reinforcement cover and carbonation
Presence of gas creating explosion hazards
The building nearing or exceeding its original design life"

[edit] Lakanal house events

The 14-storey tower block accommodates 98 flats and reaches a height of 41.9 m (137 ft). Built in 1959, it is made up of two-bedroom maisonettes arranged in an interlocking ‘scissor’ split-level design, common to tower blocks of the period.

After the fire, an investigation was launched by the Metropolitan Police which discovered the cause to have been an electrical fault in a television set. A separate investigation was opened by the London Fire Brigade which revealed that Lakanal House had been previously identified as at risk of fire spread should a fire occur. The building’s owners, Southwark Council, had scheduled the building for demolition in 1999 but had then decided against this and instead spent £3.5 million on refurbishment works.

An inspection of the building following the fire revealed breaches of fire resistant structures, a lack of compartmentation in the suspended ceilings, and failure to provide smoke seals on fire doors. Residents also strongly criticised the layout of the flats which did not allow easy escape, and pointed out that there was no central fire alarm system – something not required by the Approved Document B guidance.

An inquest held into the deaths found that opportunities to prevent the tragedy had been missed. The jury pointed to the failures of Southwark Council, highlighting steps that could have prevented or slowed the spread of the fire.

The inquest focused on the cladding panels that had been fitted as part of the refurbishment in 2006/07, which were found to offer less fire resistance than the panels they replaced, and enabled the fire to spread more rapidly than expected. According to the jury; ‘This was due to a serious failure on the part of Southwark Council’s building design services, its contractors and its subcontractors’.

The coroner made recommendations to Southwark Council, the Department of Communities and Local Government, and the London Fire Brigade. Chief among these was that guidance on the scope of fire risk assessments and on the building regulations should be made clearer.

In 2017, Southwark Council pleaded guilty to four charges concerning breaches to safety regulations. Fines amounted to £270,000 plus £300,000 costs.

Dan Daly, London Fire Brigade’s assistant commissioner for fire safety, said; “All landlords, including large housing providers, such as councils and housing associations, have a clear responsibility under the law to ensure that their premises meet all fire safety requirements and are effectively maintained to provide protection in the event of a fire and keep their residents safe.”