One in five leaseholders trapped by dangerous cladding have thought of suicide or self-harm, survey reveals
More than 20% of leaseholders affected by the cladding scandal have had suicidal thoughts or felt compelled to self-harm, an exclusive survey for Inside Housing has revealed. At a protest in February, people called for action for the national cladding scandal to be ended (picture: Peter Apps) Sharelines The […] Click here to view original…
Calls to extend restriction on combustible materials
The RIBA recommends that the restriction introduced in December 2018 should: be extended to include hotels, hostels and boarding houses, and all buildings where a catastrophic event could cause multiple fatalities. apply to key materials in external walls only. If not, the list of materials exempt from the ban […] Click here to view original…
Kirkby high-rise leaseholders claim management company ‘ripping them off’ over £302,000 fire safety works
Willow Rise and Beech Rise in Roughwood Drive, Kirkby, where leaseholders say their management company is “ripping them off” Residents of two Kirkby tower blocks have accused the buildings’ management company of ripping them off after they were charged £300,000 for fire safety works. Leaseholders at Willow Rise and […] Click here to view original…
An open letter to Robert Jenrick: the costs of delayed leasehold reform
LKP chair of trustees Martin Boyd writes to Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick to raise concerns over leasehold reform Dear Robert, Just over ten years ago, an old leaseholder died of shame because she could not pay the huge major works bill from her social sector landlord. That single death […] Click here to view original…
Manchester tower block residents ineligible for £1bn recladding fund
Residents of a Manchester tower block facing bills of thousands of pounds to fix dangerous cladding have been dealt “a massive blow” after finding out they are ineligible to apply for the government’s new £1bn building safety fund. The fund, which was officially launched on Tuesday , excludes remediation […] Click here to view original…
Applications for government’s £1bn fund to remove unsafe cladding open next week
Applications for the government’s £1bn fund to remove dangerous cladding from high-rise buildings will open on Monday. More than half a million people in England and Wales could be living in homes with unsafe cladding, analysis by industry body the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) said in February. […] Click here to view original…
Residents of Manchester tower block who took out loans to remove cladding can’t get government funding
Skyline Central 1 ‘Heartbroken’ residents of a Manchester tower block forced to take out loans to fix dangerous cladding will be unable to apply for financial help from the government. A new £1 billion fund for the removal of flammable materials will not support projects that have already started, […] Click here to view original…
Residents should not be left to pay for remedies to unsafe tower block cladding
High-rise buildings (Babek Gadirly – Pexels) In 2015, after eight years of saving, my partner and I were finally able to buy our own home. Two happy years later, I found out that my home was wrapped in dangerous cladding, similar to that found on Grenfell Tower. Overnight, there […] Click here to view original…
40 firefighters rescue 11 people from fire at high-rise block of flats in Birmingham
Firefighters have rescued nearly a dozen people from a fire at a high-rise block of flats in Birmingham. A total of 11 people have been led to safety by crews after a blaze erupted overnight in the communal area of the 14th floor of flats. Firefighters at the scene […] Click here to view original…
Manchester Skyline residents refused access to cladding money
People living at Skyline tower block in Manchester said they were given no option but to take out “life-changing” loans The government has confirmed a new £1bn fund to replace dangerous cladding will not be available to people in buildings where work has already started. A condition has been […] Click here to view original…
Leaseholders ‘heartbroken’ over exclusion from government cladding fund
Leaseholders at a Manchester block who accepted huge loans to fund the removal of their dangerous cladding have said they are “heartbroken” over their exclusion from a government fund. The Skyline Central building in Manchester (picture: Google Street View) Sharelines Residents of Skyline Central 1, which has combustible high-pressure […] Click here to view original…
The dangers of living in lockdown in flats covered with flammable cladding
Ritu Saha, of Bromley in south London, is living in a building with flammable cladding during lockdown (Picture: Cladding Action Group) A woman living in a block of flats which could go up in flames at any moment has described how its residents feel ‘completely trapped’ during the coronavirus […] Click here to view original…