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London borough will serve notice to building owner for removal of dangerous cladding
An east London council has said it intends to issue a building owner with an improvement notice demanding the removal of combustible cladding from one of its blocks.
Havering Council said the cladding system installed on the Axis buildings in Mercury Gardens, Romford, was found to be unsafe after several independent investigations.
It is in the process of issuing an improvement notice that will order the buildings’ freehold owner to undertake remedial work to replace the cladding.
The council has not named the freeholder, while Inside Housing has asked for further details on the Axis buildings’ cladding system.
The Romford Recorder reported that the system is made of expanded polystyrene.
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The freeholder will be told to commission a qualified chartered engineer to carry out repair works on the cladding, removing the unsafe material and replacing it with materials compliant with current building regulations.
A spokesperson for Havering Council said: “We understand why the residents of Axis are concerned and this improvement notice mean that the freeholder will need to take action to make the buildings safe.
“The council is committed to working closely with the freeholder, landlords and leaseholders to ensure these improvements are carried out quickly, safely and with as minimal disruption as possible.”
The council added that it is assessing other residential buildings within Havering to ensure they are compliant.
The freeholder at the Axis development set up a waking watch after the cladding was found to be unsafe.
In the March Budget, the government unveiled a £1bn Building Safety Fund to pay for the removal of all types of cladding on buildings over 18m, for which registrations have now topped 1,000.
The latest figures from government released this week show that Grenfell-style ACM cladding is yet to be removed from 246 tower blocks.
