The Irish Times view on the Grenfell Tower fire: Awaiting justice
Commemoration of the Grenfell fire been muted, but survivors’ group Grenfell United organised a series of events, and a silent march was held. Photograph: Anselm Ebulue/Getty Images Nadia Choucair’s appeal now sounds all too familiar. “We can’t breathe,” the 33-year-old-teacher desperately told fire brigade dispatchers as flames raced up […]Click here to view original web…
Four stories that show the mental trauma cladding scandal victims are facing
Jack Simpson talks to four leaseholders about the trauma of living in a home that they know is unsafe because of its dangerous cladding The leaseholder who turned to self-harm It was 2008 when Alice (not her real name) bought her shared ownership flat at L&Q’s Stratford Eye Estate. […] Click here to view original…
“Cladding remediation work slower than expected” reveals National Audit Office report
AN INVESTIGATION into the remediation on dangerous cladding on high-rise buildings conducted by the National Audit Office (NAO) shows that progress is being made by the Government when it comes removing such cladding from high-rise residential buildings in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. However, the pace of […] Click here to view original…
More than 300 tower blocks are still waiting to have Grenfell-style cladding stripped as Government warned it still has a ‘long way to go’
The fire engulfs the 24 story Grenfell Tower The Government has been warned it still ‘has a long way to go’ to strip all high-rise buildings of dangerous cladding like that which covered Grenfell Tower. Some 300 buildings are still undergoing work to remove aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding, […] Click here to view original…
Construction safety is ‘broken’ say fire chiefs
Some construction firms still can’t be trusted to make buildings that are safe from fire, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has warned. Its safety head Nick Coombe said some building firms had barely improved since the Grenfell disaster in 2017. The Federation of Master Builders, which represents small […] Click here to view original…
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper seeks amendments to Fire Safety Bill to protect leaseholders
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper has tabled amendments of the Fire Safety Bill to protect leaseholders. St Albans MP Daisy Cooper has tabled amendments to the Fire Safety Order to help protect leaseholders living in homes with dangerous cladding similar to that of Grenfell Tower. The MP joined the […] Click here to view original…
UN expresses ‘serious concern’ over cladding
The United Nations’ special rapporteur on adequate housing has expressed ‘serious concern’ that 600,000 people in England continue to live in blocks with dangerous cladding. Leilani Farha highlighted ‘allegations of multiple violations of the human right to adequate housing’ three years after the deadly Grenfell Tower fire, the spread […] Click here to view original…
Newham MPs urge housing secretary to address ongoing cladding problems in the borough
Newham MPs Lyn Brown and Stephen Timms have written to housing minister Robert Jenrick to express concerns over cladding issues in the borough. Picture: MP’s Offices Newham MPs Lyn Brown and Stephen Timms have written to housing secretary Robert Jenrick to express concerns regarding ongoing cladding issues in the […] Click here to view original…
Has Jenrick just handed £1bn each to Astor, Tchenguiz and Wallace Estates with two-storey planning gift?
We must “Build, build, build” says the government … but must that really mean “Shaft, shaft, shaft” the consumers. How on earth has this giveaway to rich and anonymous investors benefited society? Speculators in residential freeholds have today seen them leap in value as the government eases planning on […] Click here to view original…
UN suggests Britain could be breaking international law over combustible cladding delays
The United Nations (UN) has suggested Britain could be breaking international law over its failure to rid high-rise buildings of combustible cladding. It comes three years after the hazardous cladding was discovered following the fire at Grenfell Tower which killed 72 people. Last month the Government launched a £1bn […] Click here to view original…
Residents who escaped tower fire say cladding removal prevented another Grenfell
A fire broke out on the 12th floor of Ferrier Point in Newham, London, yesterday Residents of a high-rise block have told how relieved they are to escape a fire after the Grenfell Tower-style cladding was removed. All those in the block safely escaped a blaze, as campaigners say […] Click here to view original…
The St Albans couple trapped in a flat that may be similar to Grenfell Tower
Lisa and Chris Rogers live together in Opus House, St Albans When a newly-wed Herts couple returned from their honeymoon earlier this year, they never thought they would be worrying about whether their flat was safe. Lisa and Chris Rogers live in Opus House, a block of flats in […] Click here to view original…