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Calls for funding as government pushes for removal of Grenfell-style cladding from all buildings
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick is under pressure to extend the government’s fund for buildings wrapped in Grenfell-style aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding after new guidance demanded its removal from all buildings regardless of height.
The National Housing Federation (NHF), the Local Government Association (LGA), London Councils, the G15, and the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership all called for government to meet the costs of removing ACM cladding from buildings under 18m tall.
The calls came after safety advice published by government on Monday warned that Category 3 ACM with an unmodified polyethylene filler “presents a significant fire hazard” on buildings of any height and that action to remove it “should be taken as soon as possible”.
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This goes a step further than previous advice which said cladding need only be replaced on high rises – buildings over 18m. The government’s move is “due to increasing concerns that the industry is not acting with due haste to remediate buildings with Category 3 ACM”.
Darren Rodwell, executive member for housing and planning at London Councils, said a move to fund the remediation of buildings under 18m would be “equitable and consistent” with its approach for ACM buildings over 18m.
Victoria Moffett, head of building and fire safety programmes at the NHF, welcomed the decision to remove Category 3 ACM from all buildings, but said the same principle around funding needed to apply to those under 18m.
The new guidance around ACM cladding came amid a flurry of building safety announcements, including that the height at which sprinklers are required in new residential buildings will likely be slashed to 11m – down from the current 30m trigger height.
Ministers also published a consultation proposing extending the 2018 ban on combustible materials in the external walls of new buildings from 18m to 11m.
Lord Porter, spokesperson for building safety at the LGA, said councils “will be looking to central government to pick up the bill” for any extra work now required.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it is engaging with the Treasury over potential loan options for buildings over 11m.
