Hundreds of thousands could be living in unsafe buildings 8 years after Grenfell
A huge campaign began at national and local level by leaseholders demanding their buildings' owners or constructors, and local authorities, fixed the potential fire hazards
Hundreds of thousands of people are feared to live in unsafe buildings eight years after the devastating Grenfell Tower fire. A nationwide scandal erupted after 72 people were killed in the west London blaze in June 2017, when fire ripped through the block due to flammable cladding wrapped around the building.
It quickly emerged that developments and social housing across the UK had been covered in similar or the same material. A huge campaign began at national and local level by leaseholders demanding their buildings' owners or constructors, or local authorities, remediated their tinder box blocks.
In 2022, the government banned the specific type of cladding which allowed the blaze to spread so rapidly, meaning metal composite panels with an unmodified polyethylene core now cannot be used on any building of any height.
Previously, the ban applied only to buildings higher than 11m. But as of March 31, government data showed that 500 of the 2,718 high and mid-rise social housing blocks with 'life-critical fire-safety cladding defects' have unclear remediation strategies.
While on March 21, the Public Accounts Committee said that up to 7,000 unsafe buildings had yet to be identified.
Its report added the government had 'yet to find a way to secure financial contributions from manufacturers of dangerous cladding'.
The Committee said the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had not made enough progress to identify and fix the estimated 9,000 to 12,000 buildings over 11 metres that may need work.
At the end of 2024, work had not yet started on half of the 5,000 buildings already within the UK Government's portfolio, it said.
In Leeds, Rachael Loftus 48, is still fearing for her life inside the Timblebeck building, which is part of the Fearn Island Mills development.
She bought her flat in 2007, having no idea of the risks the cladding on the building posed.
Rachael, who is part of campaign group The Leeds Cladding Scandal, said:
'Along with the timber cladding on the outside of the building, we have also been told that this polycarbonate sheeting should never have been used on a residential building, because it's likely to melt if the temperature got very high.
'The other problem is that the insulation behind the outer wall is polystyrene, so that would melt and be quite toxic in the event of a fire.'
Rachael - with the support of the Ministry of Housing - last year took the freeholders, Grey GR, to court to try and force them to start the process of remediation.
As a result of the civil case, the work to make the cladding safe must be completed by November next year (2026).
'They have done nothing yet,' she said. 'In fact they have already started saying that they're not sure they will hit the November 2026 target.
'All of the surveys have said the same thing, that everything we knew about the building in 2020 is exactly the same now, and they've still not done a single thing.'
She said there has been an 800% increase in her service charge, at £500 per month, while also forking out more than £600 each month for insurance, which has rocketed from £150 per year since the faults were discovered after Grenfell.
'We're paying these bills which are being caused by the delays of the freeholders,' she added. 'You'd think you'd get a discount for living somewhere unsafe, but obviously not.
'The freeholder has been saying for the past five-and-half years that 'safety is our number one priority'. We were initially told it would be sorted in two or three weeks.'
She said leaseholders were unable to sell their flats and were 'stuck' in them while values nose-dived.
' Theresa May promised on that morning after the fire: 'Never Again', but there are many buildings that will testify that this 'never again' is infinitely possible.
'There have been a number of fires in buildings and only because they've been on high alert there haven't been losses of life. But it's just luck.
'We're living with a very high level of risk. If a building where 72 people died doesn't give the government a reminder - as it talks about house building and deregulation - of the risks that exist, then nothing will.'
A spokesperson for Grey GR said it was not involved in the development of Fearn Island Mills and said it was awaiting approval from the Building Safety Regulator for its remediation plan.
It added: 'The safety of residents has been and remains Grey's utmost priority.'
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Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Telegraph
Grenfell Uncovered: Netflix should be commended for such sober, vital journalism
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The Sun
4 days ago
- The Sun
Dad who lost unborn baby & ‘climbed over bones' to escape Grenfell slams cladding firm as ‘smoking gun' emails uncovered
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'I think she's an example of a lot of the lives that were lost and a lot of people had very promising careers ahead of them, promising paths ahead of them that they never got to fulfil.' Grenfell survivor relives the trauma of fleeing the fire Khadijah, whose mum Mary Mendy, 54, also died in the uncontrollable blaze, had her art work exhibited at the prestigious Venice Biennale in Italy just prior to her death. But Olaide insists the documentary 'isn't about me' and instead her film focuses on other residents of the tower. Baby tragedy Grenfell Uncovered, which streams from Friday, hears from Marcio Gomes, whose son Logan was stillborn after wife Andreia was put in a coma, having been overcome by smoke. Marcio had wrapped his family in wet towels to help them make their way down the stairwell from the 21st floor, having been told to 'stay put' by the Fire Brigade even when the fire was spreading up the building. 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Eddie Daffarn, 62, a resident who warned there would be a 'serious fire' at Grenfell six months before the disaster, ends the film saying: 'So much time has passed but so little has changed.' Many survivors now want a jury to decide if anyone committed a criminal offence. At the moment the Metropolitan police is still investigating. Olaide concludes: 'There's definitely a very palpable upset and rawness that still exists in the community. 'People are definitely still angry, people are definitely still seeking justice and accountability for what they went through and what their loved ones went through.' The final death toll Fathia Ahmed Elsanousi, Abufras Ibrahim and Isra Ibrahim (floor 23) Mohammed Amied Neda (floor 23) Hesham Rahman (floor 23) Rania Ibrahim and her two children Fethia Hassan, four, and three-year-old Hania Hassan (floor 23) Marco Gottardi (floor 23) Gloria Trevisan (floor 23) Raymond 'Moses' Bernard (floor 23) Eslah and Mariem Elgwahry (floor 22) Anthony Disson (floor 22) Choucair family (floor 22) Nadia Choucair, 33, her husband Bassem Choukair, 40, their three children Mierna, 13, Fatima, 11, and Zainab, three, died along with their grandmother Sirria Choucair, 60. The Kedir family (floor 22) Hashim Kedir, 44, died with his wife Nura Jemal, 35, daughter Firdaws Hashim, 12, and sons Yahya Hashim, 13, and Yaqub Hashim, six. The El-Wahabi family (floor 21) Father Abdulaziz, 52, wife Faouzia, 41, and children Yasin, 20, Nur Huda, 16, and Mehdi, eight, all died. Ligaya Moore (floor 21) Jessica Urbano Ramirez (floor 20) The Belkadi family (floor 20) Farah Hamdan, 31, her husband Omar Belkadi, 32, and children Malak Belkadi, eight, and six-month-old Leena Belkadi, all died. Mary Mendy (floor 20) Khadija Saye (floor 20) Victoria King and Alexandra Atala (floor 20) Tuccu-Ahmedin family (floor 19) Mohamednur Tuccu, 44, his wife Amal Ahmedin, 35, and their three-year-old daughter Amaya Tuccu-Ahmedin, all died. Amna Mahmud Idris, 27, was visiting her cousin Ms Ahmedin at the time of the fire and also died. Marjorie Vital and Ernie Vital (floor 19) Debbie Lamprell (floor 19) Gary Maunders (floor 19) Berkti Haftom and Biruk Haftom (floor 18) Hamid Kani (floor 18) Isaac Paulos (floor 18) Sakina Afrasehabi (floor 18) Fatemeh Afrasiabi (visiting her sister on 18th floor) Vincent Chiejina (floor 17) Khadija Khalloufi (floor 17) Miah-Begum family (floor 17) Kamru Miah, 79, Rabeya Begum, 64, Mohammed Hamid, 28, Mohammed Hanif, 26 and Husna Begum, 22. Joseph Daniels (floor 16) Sheila (floor 16) Steve Power (floor 15) Zainab Deen and Jeremiah Deen (floor 14) Mohammad al-Haj Ali (floor 14) Denis Murphy (floor 14) Ali Yawar Jafari (floor 11) Abdeslam Sebbar (floor 11) Logan Gomes (floor 21) Maria del Pilar Burton (floor 19) A spokesperson for Arconic Architectural Products said: "We have not seen the Netflix documentary 'Grenfell: Uncovered' and cannot comment in detail on it. "So soon after the solemn anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy, our thoughts remain with all those affected, their families and friends. "Foremost we continue to remember the 72 people who lost their lives. AAP, along with others, has made financial contributions to settlements for those impacted, and we support all efforts to strengthen regulatory oversight in the construction industry."
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Community calls for justice eight years on from Grenfell fire
Survivors and bereaved relatives of the Grenfell Tower blaze have demanded justice following the eighth anniversary of the 2017 tragedy. The blaze left 72 people dead, including 18 children, and is still being investigated by the Metropolitan a few months' time, work will begin to take down the 23-storey walked in silence through west London on Saturday evening before hearing the names of the dead and speeches by campaigners, as the tower loomed over them. London monuments were lit up including the BT Tower and London Eye and the Crystal Palace transmitting station. In Greater Manchester Salford Civic Centre was lit are concerns no-one has yet been prosecuted. Grenfell United vice chairman, Karim Mussilhy, lost his uncle in the inferno. He told the crowd: "Eight years have passed, eight years since the fire - lit by negligence, greed and institutional failure - tore through our homes, our families and our hearts."And still no justice has come. The truth is, there's almost nothing new to say because nothing has changed."As we stand here eight years on, the only decision this government has made is to tear down the tower - our home."He branded the disaster a "forgotten scandal". "The tower has stood not just as a reminder of what happened, but of what must change - a symbol and a truth in the face of denial, of dignity in the face of power, of our resistance, of our 72 loved ones who can't fight for their own justice."And now they want it gone, out of sight out of mind, a clear skyline and a forgotten scandal."There were cries of "shame" and "justice" from the final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report, published in September, concluded victims, bereaved and survivors were "badly failed" through incompetence, dishonesty and Sunday Kensington and Bayswater MP, Joe Powell, told the BBC's Inspirit with Jumoké Fashola: "The one thing I think everybody would agree on is that there should be criminal accountability. "And of course we can't pre-judge how far up the food chain it will go, in terms of companies that were found culpable in the inquiry report, but that is the expectation."Leader of Kensington and Chelsea council Labour group, Kasim Ali, said he lived 500 metres (about 1,600ft) from the tower and saw "horrifying" things. He said: "My fear is that people's lives have been taken for granted and no-one cared about, let's say, communities who lived in a council-owned property, who lived in social housing. "There is stigma around it and I think they have been ignored."He said he wanted the legacy of Grenfell to be housing fit for human habitation, adding: "What we are seeking... is justice. Who is responsible for what happened to 72 members of our community that we have lost?" News of the government's demolition decision this year was met with criticism from some bereaved and survivors of the 2017 fire who expressed upset and shock, saying they felt they had not had their views considered before the decision was Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, later said she knew meeting those most closely affected was going to be "really difficult" and that there was "not a consensus" among everyone over what should happen to the Saturday, placards read, "This much evidence still no charges" and "Tories have blood on their hands. Justice for Grenfell".Large green papier-mache hearts were held aloft, had words including "hope", "integrity", "enough is enough" and "justice" written on Tower Memorial Commission has been consulting on plans for a permanent memorial of the tower, with recommendations including a "sacred space", designed to be a "peaceful place for remembering and reflecting".It is expected a planning application for it could be submitted in late 2026.
