Successful judicial review claim results in reversal of Grenfell Tower ban by Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

24/10/25

On Monday 20 October 2025 the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (“RBKC”) announced that it had reversed its policy that Artelia Projects UK Limited (“Artelia”) was banned from being engaged in any of its building and refurbishment projects.

Artelia was appointed by the RBKC to fulfil certain roles in the refurbishment of the Grenfell Tower. The Tower tragically caught fire in June 2017, causing 72 deaths. The public inquiry into the causes of the fire, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, identified a number of parties that were responsible for causing or contributing to the fire. It did not include Artelia in that group of companies.

Nonetheless, on 11 December 2024 RBKC announced a new policy that all of its contractors were now banned from engaging with Artelia (as part of a wider list of other companies in the same position). Artelia challenged that decision by way of judicial review on the grounds that it was ultra vires the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023, irrational and taken pursuant to a procedurally unfair process.

The claim was listed to be heard in October 2025 but was settled shortly before trial. RBKC agreed to pay Artelia’s costs and on 20 October 2025 RBKC issued a public statement that:

“In response to the Grenfell Inquiry reports, we adopted a policy banning certain suppliers and other companies from being used in our building and refurbishment projects. This policy has been withdrawn in relation to Artelia Projects UK Limited. This means that the policy does not apply to Artelia Projects UK Limited and it is not a banned supplier.”