Government to fund and speed up vital cladding replacement on residential tower blocks
The Government is making around £200 million available to remove and replace unsafe cladding from more than 166 privately owned high rise buildings in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Secretary of State for Housing, James Brokenshire, announced that the Government will fully fund the replacement of unsafe aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding on high-rise private residential properties where building owners have failed to do so.
He described the owners who have failed to take moves to replace cladding at ‘reckless’ and said that the new funding, estimated at £200 million, will ensure the work takes place urgently.
He explained that the vital cladding replacement needs to be speeded up and defended the costs, saying that the move will eliminate excuses used by some building owners and protecting leaseholders from the costs.
‘It is of paramount importance that everybody is able to feel and be safe in their homes. That’s why we asked building owners in the private sector to take action and make sure appropriate safety measures were in place,’ said Prime Minister, Theresa May.
‘We’ve seen a number of private building owners doing the right thing and taking responsibility, but unfortunately too many are continuing to pass on the costs of removal and replacement to leaseholders,’ she added.
Brokenshire added that it is about making residents feel confident that they are living in secure and safe buildings. ‘Although temporary measures are in place to ensure people living in these buildings are safe, too many owners are treating this as a permanent fix. Others are trying to pass on the costs to residents by threatening them with bills running to thousands of pounds,’ he said.
‘While some building owners have been swift to act, and I thank them for doing the right thing, I am now calling time on the delay tactics of others. If these reckless building owners won’t act, the Government will,’ he pointed out.
‘The Government appreciates the work of Grenfell United and the UK Cladding Action Group who have campaigned prominently, outlining the challenges in getting private building owners to fund the replacement of cladding on their homes,’ he said.
‘The Government has already fully funded this work in social housing developments. However, private developers and freeholders have been too slow to act and leaseholders have been threatened with significant, often unaffordable, costs resulting in delays,’ he added.
The latest figures show that 166 private buildings are yet to start works on removing and replacing ACM cladding, compared to 23 in the social sector.
Building owners will have three months to access the new fund and Brokenshire said that his department will look carefully at those who fail to remediate and consider what further action can be taken.
Building owners and developers who have already fully funded the remediation of buildings are Pemberstone, Aberdeen Asset Management, Barratt Developments, Fraser Properties, Legal & General, Mace and Peabody.
Author: Propertywire.com
