Industry news


Calls made for outright ban on combustible cladding on all buildings


The banning of Grenfell style combustible cladding from all new buildings over 18 metres high has failed to damp down protests from those wanting to see a complete ban on the use of such materials. Former residents of the Grenfell Tower, fire


fighters, architects, insurers and a group of mainly Labour MPs are calling on the Government to extend the ban to all existing buildings, including those under 18m tall. Led by Steven Reed, the 20 MPs say that


while the ban on using combustible cladding on new buildings is welcome, it does not go far enough. They warn that many existing buildings – including schools, low-rise hospitals, care homes and sheltered housing – are clad in dangerous materials and they are all used by people who would have serious difficulty in getting out if there was a fire. The MPs are asking Housing Secretary


James Brokenshire to extend the ban “so that everyone in our country can be reassured that the buildings they use are safe from fire.” The ban is due to come into effect this Autumn through a change made to building regulations. The Fire Brigades Union said the measures


were “designed for political convenience” and failed to address the issue of Grenfell-style cladding already used on nearly 500 buildings across England. Matt Wrack, the FBU general secretary,


said: “This is not the outright ban on combustible cladding that firefighters have been calling for. The Westminster Government continues to allow cladding of limited combustibility for any building work in the future. The FBU called for a universal ban on these flammable materials.” He added that the measures should apply to


all buildings, not just those over 18m high, and include a ban on the use of A2 materials. “I welcome this correction of the building


regulations in regard to non-combustible materials,” said Arnold Tarling, an independent fire safety expert. “It takes us back to the safety standards we had in 1935 under the London Building Act. But what about all of the other buildings that have been built in the interim? Unprotected combustible insulation is used in cladding systems on thousands of buildings. What is the Government going to do about that?”


Social housing landlords get £248m for cladding removal


combustible aluminium composite material cladding from 135 high-rise tower blocks. This is the first tranche of money to be released


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from the £400m programme announced by the Prime Minister earlier this year. Eighty per cent of the estimated removal costs will be paid up front to allow for an early start on the works. The remaining 20 per cent will be paid when the works are complete and the final costs are known. Applications had been received for funds to pay


for the removal of Grenfell-style ACM cladding from 159 buildings, all of which need to be 18 metres or higher. A dozen applications were deemed ineligible and more information has been requested on a further twelve. No details of the landlords or the tower blocks


has been released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as a matter of public safety although it is understood most of the tower blocks are in London. According to MHCLG statistics, work had already begun on 120 of the 157 social housing


lmost £250 million has been allocated to 43 social housing landlords to pay for the removal and replacement of unsafe


blocks, with works completed on 22 of them. This is in stark contrast to the private sector where work has started on only 38 of 291 private sector blocks with ACM cladding, with work completed on just 17. Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has issued


another stark warning to private developers and freehold owners, saying he “will not rule anything out” if the building owners do not pay for remediation works. Regarding the financial help being given to social


housing landlords, he said: “I am pleased the £400m funding has started to be released. We are doing the right thing by residents and fully funding the replacement of unsafe ACM cladding in social housing buildings 18 metres or above.” Of course this still leaves question marks hanging


over the future of the other buildings that have ACM cladding on them, including student halls of residence, hotels, schools and hospitals. At the moment the Government is holding its line that a height of 18m is crucial in determining the need to remove combustible cladding from buildings. There is also no news on whether the


Government will assist with the costs of retrofitting water sprinklers in tower blocks. Council leaders at Birmingham and Croydon have been vociferous in demanding help with the multi-million costs of these works, which many safety experts are also calling for.


Midlands tower blocks to be demolished


Hundreds of high-rise homes are to be demolished in Birmingham and Rugby as a result of decisions to knock down seven tower blocks. In Birmingham the council is demolishing five


large panel system tower blocks as part of a £43.3m regeneration project of the Druids Heath Estate in the south of the city. Three more tower blocks on the estate will be refurbished including structural strengthening, re-roofing and new external wall insulation. The council is planning on building 250 new


homes on the estate to replace those demolished, with 150 for affordable or social rent and 100 for sale. “It’s fantastic to see the regeneration of Druids Heath moving forwards in this way,” said Sharon Thompson, the council’s cabinet member for homes and neighbourhoods. Just over 30 miles away to the east in Rugby, two tower blocks at Biart Place are to be demolished


18 | HMM November 2018 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


after they were found too expensive to fix. The high-rise blocks are considered to be “beyond economic repair” - costing £20m to fix, whereas for an extra £3m the blocks can be knocked down and replaced with new council homes The future of the two towers has been in


question since residents were told they had to move after an investigation found the large panel buildings were built to “a poor standard”. Over 90 of the 124 flats at Biart Place are already empty with both blocks expected to be empty by next March. Neighbouring high-rise blocks at Rounds Gardens are in better condition and will not be demolished. Michael Stokes, leader of Rugby Borough


Council, said the total cost of repairing and replacing homes could be as much as £60m and he would be approaching the Government for financial support.


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