Morning Briefing: MPs hit back over cladding certificate

In the news

We reported yesterday that Labour MP Steve Reed had uncovered a certificate claiming a government fire expert signed off on a cladding material similar to that used on Grenfell.

The government responded by saying he was “wrong”. It added: “The certificate he referred to does not approve cladding with a polyethylene core for use on high-rise buildings.”

But on Twitter, Mr Reed has struck back, sharing the extract of the certificate which specifically says the material can be used “on the external surface of a high-rise building”.

.@mhclg say I’m wrong about Govt adviser approving Grenfell-style flammable cladding. Here’s his signature on the certificate, the line about multi-storey buildings, and the type of cladding @insidehousing pic.twitter.com/Z9RjXnJNDz

— Steve Reed (@SteveReedMP)

.@mhclg say I'm wrong about Govt adviser approving Grenfell-style flammable cladding. Here's his signature on the certificate, the line about multi-storey buildings, and the type of cladding @insidehousing pic.twitter.com/Z9RjXnJNDz

— Steve Reed (@SteveReedMP) March 7, 2018

Elsewhere, Bristol Council has launched a scheme to fast-track planning applications which pledge at least 20% affordable housing. This has echoes of Sadiq Khan’s 35% tariff in London.

The Wall Street Journal runs a lengthy piece of analysis suggesting fragile house prices might stop the Bank of England raising the base rate of interest.

In the Architects Journal, Colm Lacey, chief executive of Croydon’s wholly owned development company Brick by Brick, calls for a shift away from demolishing old council estates to replace them with new housing.

“So then, if we are to accept that pre-existing council housing estates, and the lives that are lived there, have value that we should not lose, how about a sequential planning test for the demolition of existing stock?” he writes.

“Are there vacant infill sites on the estate or nearby with capacity for new housing? If so, don’t demolish. Does the existing estate provide housing of a compliant standard? If so, don’t demolish. Is the existing stock capable of being refurbished for less than the cost of demolition and rebuild? If so, don’t demolish.

“If the answer to all of these questions is no, then the demolition of the estate, and the terms thereof, should be put to a ballot of residents.”

Finally, City Metric shows there are enough golf courses within 2km of a station in South East England to build 500,000 homes.