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Welsh Government will not pay for council’s non-ACM cladding removal
The Welsh Government has told Inside Housing it has “no plans” to pay for the removal and replacement of unsafe cladding on six tower blocks owned by Cardiff Council.
In June, the authority confirmed it would be stripping the high rises after their cladding systems failed combustibility tests.
The blocks are not clad in aluminium composite material (ACM), the type used at Grenfell Tower which has been subject to concern since the disaster in North Kensington last June.
Instead, the systems consist of veneered, fibrous hardwood rainscreen panels with non-combustible insulation.
Following the Grenfell disaster, the council initially believed them to be safe after confirming that they did not contain ACM.
However, fire safety consultants commissioned to check them out recommended further cladding tests – which this month concluded “the panels have been treated with chemicals that mean they do not meet today’s combustibility standards”, the authority said.
When burned, the cladding released 17.5MJ of heat per kilo, while the ACM cladding used on Grenfell Tower had a 45MJ/kg combustibility rating.
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Some non-ACM cladding systems have required removal from buildings around the country, including external wall insulation cladding in east London.
London boroughs are understood to have pushed government for funding to remove cladding to be expanded to non-ACM systems – so far without success.
A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said: “We welcome Cardiff’s proactive approach to tackling concerns over non-ACM cladding.
“Earlier this year, in line with the UK government approach, we announced specific funding to remove ACM cladding in high-rise residential buildings in the social housing sector.
“We currently have no plans to fund remediation work on non-ACM cladding.”
The Welsh Government agreed in May to pay £3m to replace ACM cladding on three towers owned by Newport City Homes which failed large-scale safety tests, a week after Theresa May announced that the UK government would “fully fund” the removal of dangerous ACM cladding on social housing high rises in England.
Umbrella group London Councils has called on ministers in Westminster to pay for non-ACM cladding removal, too.
Apart from the buildings owned by Cardiff Council and Newport City Homes, Inside Housing is not aware of plans by any other social landlords to remove cladding from tower blocks in Wales.
A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said: “While our high-rise buildings do not have ACM cladding, following proactive testing earlier this year, six buildings in the city were found to have cladding that fails current safety standards.
“The process of removing that cladding is almost complete and the council has written to the Welsh government requesting clarification regarding funding for that work and any replacement cladding installed.”
The council said costs associated with the work are still being finalised.
