Grenfell: Uncovered – the built environment’s duty of care
Posted on: 26 June, 2025
Netflix’s newly released documentary, ‘Grenfell: Uncovered’, is an unflinching account of the 14 June 2017 fire that claimed 72 lives. Featuring first-hand testimony from survivors, bereaved families and investigative journalists, the film exposes the web of regulatory oversights and cost-cutting that allowed combustible cladding to be fixed to a London tower block — with catastrophic consequences.
Government data shows that, by mid-2024, remediation work had been started or completed on 2,299 high-risk buildings, leaving a further 2,331 where no work had begun. Industry estimates still put up to 1.5 million flats at some degree of fire-safety risk, and the National Audit Office believes the full clean-up could stretch to 2035 and cost £17 billion.
‘Grenfell: Uncovered’, released eight years on from the disaster, shows that the call to action – including mandating up-to-date training in fire-safety design, building control and surveying, as well as tightening and enforcing building-safety regulations to ensure combustible materials are outlawed – remains loud and clear. At the University of the Built Environment, we take that call personally. Our mission is to equip tomorrow’s professionals with the skills required to ensure such a tragedy can never happen again.
Below is a selection of courses that keep practitioners abreast of evolving legislation, product standards and ethical responsibilities.
University of the Built Environment courses
| Programme | Why it matters post-Grenfell | Stand-out features |
| Fire Safety Design Fundamentals (online CPD) | Gives practising professionals a concise refresher on fire science and regulatory design principles, closing knowledge gaps that allowed unsafe materials to be specified. | Four-hour, self-paced CPD; explores fire behaviour, passive and active protection, means of escape and current legislation; University certificate on completion. |
| BSc (Hons) Building Control | Provides the foundation that building inspectors need to sign-off designs, materials and workmanship before the public ever picks up a key. | Modules focused on Fire Safety, Public Safety in Buildings and legislation within the sector. |
| BSc / MSc Building Surveying | Skilled surveyors identify construction defects and prescribe remedies long before they become life-threatening. | Combines building pathology with legal and regulatory compliance. |
| MSc Innovation in Sustainable Built Environments | Proves that low-carbon design and uncompromising safety can – and must – coexist. | IEMA-accredited, with applied research on modern methods of construction. |
| CertHE Built Environment Studies | A gateway qualification for career changers who want to join the solution. | Introduces law, health & safety and the RIBA Plan of Work. |
| Level 6 Building Control Surveyor Apprenticeship | Fast tracks new talent into a profession now formally regulated by the Building Safety Regulator. | Levy funded blended learning underpinned by live industry mentoring. |
All our degrees are delivered flexibly online and accredited by bodies such as RICS, CABE and CIOB.
Our University podcast featuring Dame Judith Hackitt
From 2007 to 2016, Dame Judith was chair of the UK’s Health and Safety Executive, and in 2017 conducted an independent review for the UK government into building regulations and fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
She was recently interviewed as part of our BE Sustainable podcast series, discussing the challenge the sector faces in balancing the demands of clients, the requirements of regulation and the needs of end users.
Thought leadership you can trust
Our academic community continues to interrogate the policy, technical and ethical dimensions of building safety:
- ‘Diagnosing the Cladding Crisis’ – a January 2025 deep-dive into stalled remediation and the human stories behind it.
- ‘A Path to Disaster – Unpacking the Final Grenfell Inquiry Report’ – published September 2024, summarising Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s 1,700-page findings and their implications for professional competence.
- ‘Everything You Need to Know about the Building Safety Act’ – our practical guide to the 2024 commencement of the most sweeping regulatory reform in a generation.
Remembrance with reform
Grenfell will forever stand as a monument to what can go wrong when the guardians of the built environment abdicate their duty, and ‘Grenfell: Uncovered’ is a sober reminder of the obligations the built-environment sector carries every day.
Explore the full range of University of Built Environment courses to see how focused training in fire safety, building control and surveying can strengthen professional practice and protect lives.
