Buy-to-let landlords facing cladding bills ‘makes no sense’, ministers warned
Landlords have warned the Government that getting buy-to-let landlords to pay for cladding removal “makes no sense”. Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), has urged ministers to rectify the “injustice” of these landlords potentially having to pay for remedial works on their buildings. It […]Click here to view original web…
Why The Cladding Crisis Might Not Be Over Just Yet
Protesters from Leaseholders Together gather at rally in Parliament Square, Westminster in September. Four and half years after the Grenfell fire, a solution to part of the cladding crisis created in the aftermath of the tragedy has finally been proposed. On Monday, housing secretary Michael Gove said the government […] Click here to view original…
Fire Minister praises innovative Intelliclad alarm solution in Croydon
LORD STEPHEN Greenhalgh, the Minister of State for Building Safety and Fire, has visited residents in a Croydon apartment building where an innovative alarm system has been installed, thereby allowing for the removal of costly ‘Waking Watch’ patrols. Lord Greenhalgh visited the 38-apartment building in West Croydon alongside representatives […] Click here to view original…
Builders not alone in cladding scandal
Britain’s housebuilders will never get a sympathy vote. For years, they’ve lucked out on soaraway house prices and get-rich-quick schemes like Help to Buy. Their operating margins are often closer to 30 per cent than 20 per cent, despite routinely failing to build enough homes — well short of […] Click here to view original…
Blog: Disruptors must be heard to level up housing
Government must listen to disruptors in order to level up housing, writes Jesper With-Fogstrup It was encouraging to see the government setting out its plans for dealing with the ongoing cladding issue afflicting high rise buildings. The potential risks of cladding were made horrifyingly clear in 2017 with the […] Click here to view original…
‘Lessons from past not learned’ by Grenfell insulation testing firm – inquiry
The Grenfell Tower in west London Lessons from the past have not been learned by the firm that fire tested insulation used on Grenfell Tower, an inquiry into the disaster has heard. Phase two of the probe is examining how the skyscraper in west London came to be coated […] Click here to view original…
Developers looking at ‘legality’ of government demand to commit to funding cladding remediations
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 16: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is interviewed as Leasehold reform campaign groups protest outside the Houses of Parliament, in Parliament Square on September 16, 2021 in London, England. Leasehold residents are calling for changes to the law regarding payments for the removal of unsafe […] Click here to view original…
Building with Grenfell cladding still listed on City Hall homes website
File photo dated 30/10/19 of the Grenfell Tower in west London A property covered in flammable cladding is still listed on a City Hall housing portal for low-income Londoners despite the issue having been raised with the Mayor of London. Last week, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Hina Bokhari […] Click here to view original…
‘Lessons from past not learned’ by Grenfell cladding testing firm, inquiry hears
The Grenfell Tower in west London Lessons from the past have not been learned by the firm that fire tested cladding used on Grenfell Tower, an inquiry into the disaster has heard. Phase two of the probe is examining how the skyscraper in west London came to be coated […] Click here to view original…
Row erupts over £4bn cladding fund as housebuilders take legal advice
HBF accuses government of issuing ‘disproportionate’ threats against industry over fire safety repairs The principle trade body representing housebuilders is taking legal advice following a public threat by Michael Gove to stop them from trading if they don’t pay into a £4bn fund to help leaseholders hit by the […] Click here to view original…
Cladding crisis: ‘The risk of life-changing bills is still there’
Image caption, There are 19 tower blocks in Ipswich requiring work to make them fire safe Housing Secretary Michael Gove has warned firms who “profited” from the cladding crisis that they would have to pay for their mistakes. What does his announcement mean to those affected? In the aftermath […] Click here to view original…
Backlash over plans for a 51-storey London residential tower more than DOUBLE the height of Grenfell with just ONE fire escape stairway for more than 400 flats – as London Fire Brigade says it fails to provide ‘means of escape’
Council planning chiefs are facing a furious backlash from fire safety campaigners after recommending the approval of a new 51-floor skyscraper with just one exit staircase. Developers want to build the new 570ft high block of flats on the outskirts of London ‘s Canary Wharf. If approved, the 421-flat […] Click here to view original…