Slough Council won’t borrow money to add to its £760m debt
Slough Borough Council A DEBT-RIDDEN council won’t be borrowing this year despite increased costs to replace Grenfell-like cladding at two apartment blocks. Finance chiefs from Slough Borough Council (SBC) have said there will be no external loans to fund its down-scaled five-year capital programme, which has a budget to […]Click here to view original web…
Dane House Sydenham owners having to pay £1k insurance for cladding
Dane House is on the Exeter Place development in Sydenham. CREDIT: Robert Firth South London families are having to fork out £1,000 per year on insurance for their homes because of fears cladding on their apartment block is dangerous. Residents of Dane House in Sydenham are paying £23,000 between […] Click here to view original…
Flat owner losing sleep over Smithfield developer’s cladding issue leaving 1,000 properties in limbo
The development in Southside is a stone’s throw away from the hugely ambitious Smithfield project site A Birmingham leaseholder says he is losing sleep over a developer’s refusal to repair hazardous cladding on his city centre apartments. Steve Gregory, 64, is one of many apartment owners left in limbo […] Click here to view original…
Government must step up to solve cladding crisis
What tends to get lost in the debates around cladding is the fact that this crisis originates from a failure to properly regulate. The building regulations that are in operation, the building control system, permitted development that was intrinsically unsafe… and there were enough warnings through enough fires for […] Click here to view original…
Major mortgage lenders reveal mixed approach on cladding as new guidance takes effect
Major banks have committed to lending on properties with potentially dangerous cladding so long as a remediation plan is in place, after new guidance came into force yesterday. Picture: Getty Sharelines Six of the UK’s biggest banks have now updated their policies following new guidance published last month by […] Click here to view original…
Calls for council to boycott Smithfield developer over cladding issues rejected again
Cllr Ian Ward was recently accused of ‘brushing off’ calls for a more robust stance on Lendlease Council leader Ian Ward has again rejected calls for a ban on developers refusing to fix flammable cladding on their older buildings. Cllr Ward said boycotting property giants such as Lendlease, the […] Click here to view original…
Big UK Fire-Safety Tax Just for Developers Unfair, says Bloomberg Intelligence
Large UK homebuilders (Persimmon, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, Bellway and Berkeley) are likely to be disproportionately hit by hefty taxes (80% of the industry levy) for fixing apartment-building safety issues, on top of costs to fix their own legacy projects. Dents to profit and capital returns are likely to ensue, […] Click here to view original…
Housebuilders to meet Hunt for talks as industry tax bill soars
The bosses of Britain’s biggest housebuilders will hold talks with the chancellor this week as they face a multibillion-pound bill in the form of several new levies. Sky News has learnt that the executives from companies including Barratt Developments, Fairview and Persimmon will meet Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday. The […] Click here to view original…
Grenfell fire: Housing developers must replace unsafe cladding or face ban
Technical details : The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported. * If you are using an older browser please try upgrading or installing Flash. The government has issued an ultimatum to the construction industry – you’ve […] Click here to view original…
Funding for remediation
There are currently two government funds open to housing associations to fund the remediation and replacement of unsafe cladding systems, summarised below. A third fund, the Medium-Rise Scheme, was opened in pilot form in November 2022 and is also summarised below. Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, housing associations […] Click here to view original…
Cladding: Residents demand action to make fire-risk homes safe
Round-the-clock fire wardens are patrolling the site at Glasgow’s Lancefield Quay following safety concerns. By Sharon Frew , Residents of a Glasgow apartment complex say the Scottish Government and developers need to make their homes safe after delays in replacing combustible cladding. Round-the-clock fire wardens are now patrolling the […] Click here to view original…
Housebuilders to meet Hunt for talks as industry tax bill soars
The bosses of Britain’s biggest housebuilders will hold talks with the chancellor this week as they face a multibillion-pound bill in the form of several new levies. Sky News has learnt that the executives from companies including Barratt Developments, Fairview and Persimmon will meet Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday. The […] Click here to view original…