ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

Government announces major developer will cover fire safety costs in tower block

Major developer Barratt Developments will foot the bill to replace dangerous cladding from a tower block in south London.

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Citiscape, Croydon (picture: Google Street View)
Citiscape, Croydon (picture: Google Street View)
Sharelines

Government announces major developer will cover fire safety costs in south London tower block #ukhousing

Citiscape leaseholders faced a £2m bill to remove the dangerous cladding #ukhousing

Sajid Javid, housing secretary, has announced that Barratt Developments will cover the fire safety costs at the Citiscape development in Croydon, where leaseholders faced a £2m bill to remove cladding that had failed fire safety tests.

Leaseholders recently lost a tribunal to determine who should cover the costs.

Leaseholders were told at a residents’ association meeting last night of Barratt Developments’ decision. The company has said they will cover future and backdated costs relating to employing a fire warden and the removal and replacement of unsafe cladding from the building.

Barratt is not the freeholder or managing agent of the development, but was the original developer.


READ MORE

GM mayor urges government for ‘immediate funding’ to remove unsafe claddingGM mayor urges government for ‘immediate funding’ to remove unsafe cladding
Government fire expert signed certificate for Grenfell-style claddingGovernment fire expert signed certificate for Grenfell-style cladding
Leaseholders lose appeal over cladding removal costsLeaseholders lose appeal over cladding removal costs

The government has called on building owners to pay the cost of removing cladding. However, very few owners have agreed to take on these costs. At the New Capital Quay development in Greenwich the owner, Galliard Homes, and insurers the National House Building Council are locked in a dispute over who should pay.

A government spokesperson said officials have been in discussions with private sector landlords, freeholders and house builders over the issue, including Barratt Developments.

A spokesperson for Barratt said: “Following the recent ruling that the costs for necessary recladding at Citiscape will fall on the individual apartment owners, many of whom were originally Barratt customers when it was built in 2002, we have decided that we will pay for the work.”

“Citiscape was built in line with all building regulations in place at the time of construction. While we don’t own the building or have any liability for the cladding, we are committed to putting our customers first. The important thing now is ensuring that owners and residents have peace of mind.”

Steve Reed, Labour MP for Croydon North where Citiscape is located, said: “This is fantastic news for residents in Citiscape who were facing unaffordable debt to make their homes safe. But this applies only to Citiscape. The government’s intransigent refusal to set out a plan to remove flammable cladding wherever it’s found has left tens of thousands of residents living in fear. Instead of relying on the goodwill of builders the government must accept responsibility for the failure of their safety regulations and take all flammable cladding down before there’s a repeat of Grenfell Tower”

Mr Javid said: “I applaud Barratt Developments’ decision to cover the costs of fire safety works. They have listened to the concerns of Citiscape residents, engaged with government and have done the right thing.

“Other building owners and house builders in the private sector should follow the example set by Barratt Developments to protect leaseholders from costs and begin essential fire safety works. I want to see all leaseholders in this position get the peace of mind they deserve and I am keeping this under review.”

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.