| The Government has successfully persuaded the housing development company Barratt Developments to fund the recladding of Citiscape.
The cladding of Citiscape, two blocks of flats on the corner of Frith and Drummond Road, was deemed to be a fire safety risk following the Grenfell tragedy – with residents told that they would have to pay for the recladding. The cost of recladding an improving fire safety were expected to cost leaseholders between £5,000 to £6,000 per flat. The two tower blocks, which are ten and six storeys tall respectively contain 97 flats, with the exterior covered in a cladding material deemed unsafe following the Grenfell tragedy. Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, announced the decision via Twitter, stating: “Delighted Barratt Developments have told residents of the #Citiscape flats they will cover fire safety and cladding costs. This is the right thing to do and I want to see others follow their lead to protect leaseholders from unfair costs Barratt’s decision to fund these necessary safety changes is the result of pressure from Sajid Javid and the Government. It’s important that these works go ahead so that a tragedy like Grenfell can never happen at Citiscape – but it would be wrong for residents to be clobbered with the hefty costs of making the changes happen. This shows the importance of having effective people in Government who can work with business for the benefit of residents. |
