NEWS Private tower cladding removal ‘stalls’
ACCORDING TO government statistics, only two projects ‘got under way’ in a month to remove flammable cladding from privately owned buildings, while only a quarter have plans in place. Construction News and Inside
Housing reported on the slow uptake for removing combustible cladding from private towers, with only two new projects under way in the four weeks up to 12 July. Of all privately owned buildings with aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding, 23 had started the removal process by 12 July − ‘only two more’ than by 14 June. Four further buildings with
ACM had been identified in that time period, taking the total up to 301, 74% of buildings with ACM ‘having not informed’ the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) of ‘any plans to remove the cladding’, a small fall from 76% a month before. The status of cladding on 100 buildings, the MHCLG added, was ‘still to be confirmed’, with between 3 to 5% of these expected to have ACM cladding. Inside Housing added that only 77 of 301 private sector buildings had provided MHCLG with work plans, the ministry also pointing out that while 15 social housing buildings had been said to have completed work, this had been revised down to 13 after ‘further investigation which identified that two buildings had not been signed off by their local authority’s building control team’.
An MHCLG spokesperson
said: ‘Over 70% of social housing buildings with unsafe cladding have started remediation. We have also taken action in the private sector to ensure this complex work happens as quickly as possible. Removing and replacing unsafe cladding must be done properly and will take time. In the meantime the fire and rescue services are working with building owners and interim safety measures are already in place to ensure residents are safe now.’
Construction News reported in turn that developer Mace had announced it will replace combustible cladding on two blocks in Greenwich ‘at no extra cost to residents’. The move to undertake remedial work at Greenwich Square in London means that residents ‘will not be forced to pay for its removal’, with work coming ‘at no extra cost’ to them. Cladding on two blocks in the development needed replacing after being found to be ‘the most combustible’ type. Mace stated in a letter to
residents that after ‘complex work’ investigating the issue, it had decided that the blocks would need ‘remedial work’, adding that ‘this work will be carried out at no cost to the residents of Greenwich Square, and should not require anyone to move out of their flat while works take place’. However, the developer would not confirm to the news outlet that it would ‘cover the full cost of the work, or details of who would potentially provide funding’. So far it has pledged to ‘continue to pay’ for a 24 hour fire patrol or ‘waking watch’ until the work is completed, which was estimated to be around £100,000 a month. The design and programme for
the works is now being finalised, and Mace will soon be ‘able to provide more details on timings, logistics and installation method’.
10 SEPTEMBER 2018
www.frmjournal.com
A spokesman stated: ‘We can confirm that required remedial work to the cladding at Greenwich Square will be carried out at no cost to the residents. ‘We are currently finalising our plans and will be able to provide more detail about the proposals shortly. We would like to thank all of the residents of Greenwich Square for their patience while we have worked to reach this point.’ Recently, the National House Building Council announced a ‘landmark decision’ related to the New Capital Quay development in Greenwich, where residents will no longer have to ‘foot the bill’ for cladding replacement, a move that ‘could have repercussions for other apartment blocks’. There has been ‘increased pressure’ on developers ‘not to push the costs’ onto residents, including from the government. Secretary of State for
Communities James Brokenshire had introduced measures to ‘accelerate action’, with the government asking to ‘increase the pace at which dangerous cladding is removed from high-rise blocks, while also calling on them to ensure the costs of this work do not fall on residents’.Measures include forcing developers to ‘draw up action plans for buildings found to have unsafe cladding’, as well as ‘setting up a taskforce of ministers, fire chiefs and local councils to oversee a national programme of remediation’
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