Grenfell progress
However, under the terms of most leases, the responsibility for replacing flammable cladding on high rise private buildings fell into the hands of the leaseholders, creating stress, anxiety and fear for residents6
. This has resulted in a lack of progress,
increased by legal conflicts between freeholders and leaseholders, with many homeowners unfairly resorting to paying for fire wardens to reduce safety concerns while the legal wrangles are resolved7
. Despite some
attempted enforcements, the majority of private residential buildings with unsafe ACM have not been adjusted, leaving residents in dangerous conditions. The issue has been largely ignored8
.
Campaigns are underway and legal battles, two and a half years after the fire, dispute the replacement of unsafe cladding8
. In May
2019, the government offer was extended to private sector residential buildings with unsafe ACM cladding. The £200m allocated to this cause9
all and only applicable to ACM style cladding, excluding other flammable cladding types previously used10
. Disputes and contestations
have created obstacles in reaching adequate safety levels, forcing many people to live in unsafe homes. The process is still slow, and it is an embarrassment that two and a half years after the disaster, responsibility for correcting dangerous buildings is still contested.
During a recent investigation, Shelter found that issues are still being ignored by councils and housing associations, with one in ten tenants having to report the same issue more than ten times to their landlord11
. Over the
last three years, at least 400,000 people have come across an issue regarding fire safety, which in over two fifths of the cases12
affected
their neighbours. This emphasised a deep mistrust and significant lack of transparency for residents12
. In June 2019, tower blocks across England
were lit up with projections which featured text appealing to the public about this national fire safety crisis13
. Messages included :’2 years was certainly not enough to fix them
after Grenfell and this building is still covered in dangerous cladding #DemandChange’, and ‘2 years after Grenfell this building still has no sprinklers’. These striking illuminations were a powerful message to the government, highlighting the absurd slowness of its action and spreading awareness of this issue. A resident of one of the illuminated tower
blocks emphasised this absurdity, stating: ‘This is not something we should have to fight for’13
.
Safety should be prioritised, especially when lives have been lost. It is increasingly important for us all to take responsibility for resident safety and concerns, which must be taken more seriously and acted upon as promptly as possible. In addition to improving resident security, this will develop a more positive,
FOCUS
www.frmjournal.com DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020
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