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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Government allocates £200m to replace Grenfell-style cladding from high rises

The government has set up a £200m fund to replace unsafe Grenfell Tower-style cladding on around 170 private high-rise residential buildings across the UK.

The decision to make the funds available follows the tragic 2017 fire at the west London tower block that killed more than 70 people, with cladding cited as the main cause for the rapid spread of the blaze.

The money will be made available to building owners to remove aluminium composite material cladding.

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This step has been taken after private building owners failed to take action and tried to offload costs onto leaseholders.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, said: “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.

“And 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.

“I can confirm we will now be fully funding the replacement of cladding on high-rise private residential buildings so residents can feel confident they are secure in their homes.”

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.

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. 

Housing Secretary James Brokenshire commented: “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.

“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.”

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Poll: Do you think £200m towards the cost of recladding around 170 private blocks with ACM is sufficient?

PLACE YOUR VOTE BELOW

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    So private landlords won't cough up and we taxpayers have to pay. What a ghastly weak lot we have running this country.

    By all means speed up the recladding but then embarass/ sue the landlords. Inspect their properties for other failings. And name those who approved the cladding in the first place.
    Another example of an incompetent Prime Minister who is a hapless failure on so many counts. Well described by Nick Ferrari on LBC today

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    Local council building control must have approved this cladding and signed it off once completed, maybe they should be paying ??

     
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    LBC would that the anti-private Landlord Radio Station,

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    It’s a failure of government regulation and building regs that’s caused this not private landlords who bought in good faith I suppose the famine in Africa is private landlords fault or what about knife crime that’s all our fault aswell the vilification if the private landlord by media and politicians is nothing short of an outrage and forcing many including me to descale or leave all
    together then once there isn’t enough houses for the vulnerable to let we will be being begged to re enter. I’m selling up and buying somewhere in the sun as the way I am gettin treated in this country makes me ashamed to be British. Rant over

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    Nobody mentions the home owners who bought these flats aswell yet another thing swept under the carpet its the people who allowed the cladding to be used who are to blame, who’s this ermmmm let me think the government and local councils by any chance and in the bbc loony left news it’s the poor tax payer bailing out the greedy horrible axe murdering landlords who are to blame it makes my sick

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    and fire signed it off

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    UN ordered the cladding--seriously

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    Council is the Freeholder, they own the building walls floors roof, they send out GR and SC as well as Insurance Policy premuim to the Leaseholders every year.
    The leaseholders did not build this block, the council sold some of the Leases. The Council are to blame, they instructed the builder, they signed off his work. They granted permission.
    Council should pay, not the tax payer which will be difficult because they get their money from council tax, fines and government central bodies hand outs.
    Council should be charged with neglect and persons within council named and shamed and sentenced to prison. As they would prosecute a private LL if he she was responcible.

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    Steve you are spot on right council and housing officer responsible + building control, if you or i were the freeholder we would already be in prison, stinks doesn't it ?

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    It’s the Council that were responsible for having the sub-standard cladding installed which caused the deaths of 72 persons RIP at 24 storey Grenfell Tower affecting hundreds of Families, so much pain & suffering if Regulators kept away it wouldn’t have happened. I am now astonished that just a mile up the West Way construction has started on another Residential Tower Block but this time it’s going to be 42 storey double height of
    Grenfell Tower ? I am
    speechless.

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    • 06 June 2019 17:25 PM

    It was the Labour Regulatory Reform Order introduced by Labour that removed the Fire Service from responsibility for managing properties etc.
    The Fire Service needs to be the lead safety operation not the local council.
    The Fire Service is independent and apolitical.
    It enforces regulations council or otherwise.

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