'Shoddy' cladding firm 'should be blacklisted'

The firm behind a Surrey hotel's cladding problems should "be blacklisted", senior councillors have said.

The issues at the Woking Hilton Hotel's Victoria Way site began in 2021 when panels fell from the town centre tower on to the streets below during stormy weather, forcing road closures and causing widespread disruption in the town.

The saga has repeated itself several times as wind continues to dislodge panels from the building, the Local Democracy Service has reported.

Sir Robert McAlpine, the developer, apologised for the inconvenience caused and said it fully understood the effect the situation was having on Woking and empathised with the frustration felt by the residents and local businesses.

The firm declined to attend a meeting of Woking Borough Council's environment and place scrutiny committee

Committee chair John Morley said: "I have invited them twice and they had declined to attend, fairly categorically it has to be said."

Vice chair, Chris Martin, added to calls for an independent assessment of the work "so that somebody who is competent at building" is able to assess what needs to be done.

He said: "Can companies be blacklisted by the council for shoddy work practices in the past, and can I request the consideration of adding Sir Robert McAlpine to that blacklist?"

In a written statement, a spokesperson for Sir Robert McAlpine said: "We have seen a relentless succession of powerful storms and high wind events this winter, which caused some damage to the cladding.

"Over the past six weeks, those adverse weather conditions frequently prevented the use of the building maintenance unit to access elevations safely, making it impossible to repair all of the panels that require an additional fixture within that timeframe.

"The safety of passers-by and drivers has always been our number one priority and it is imperative that we complete the remaining repairs," they said.

"Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience caused by the closure of Victoria Way."

In the company's absence, the committee agreed to ask for an independent safety assessment of the panels and the building with Sir Robert McAlpine to foot the bill as well as contractual assurances and guarantees over any future issues.

The road outside the Hilton hotel, Victoria Way, remains closed due to the issues with the cladding.

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