Edgbaston MP comments on the findings from today’s landmark report into the causes of the Grenfell disaster
4th September 2024 – Today, the final phase of the Grenfell Inquiry was published, highlighting serious failures among national and local politicians, builders, material manufacturers and salespeople, fire-testing experts and the London fire brigade.
The report comes more than seven years on from the Grenfell disaster, in which 72 people lost their lives in the deadliest residential building fire since the Second World War.
The report has wide-reaching implications for the 4,630 residential buildings identified with unsafe cladding whose remediation progression is being monitored. Of those buildings, less than 30% have completed remediation works.
A key conclusion from the inquiry is that the remediation progress for properties with unsafe cladding remains too slow.
One of the buildings affected by unsafe cladding is The Hemisphere Estate in Edgbaston. Residents are still waiting for flammable, unsafe cladding to be removed from their homes, more than seven years after the Grenfell disaster.
The Labour Government’s position is that industry actors that profited from the events leading up to the building safety crisis should pay to fix the problems they created.
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham, Edgbaston, was instrumental in pushing for the Building Safety Fund to kickstart remediation for affected buildings, including the multimillion-pound award for Hemisphere.
However, residents at Hemisphere are still trapped in their unsafe homes while they wait for vital remedial works to be completed. At every stage of the remediation process developers Redrow have avoided responsibility for the cladding, even going as far as taking the government to court to avoid paying remediation costs.
In a Judicial Review, Redrow took the government to court after challenging the lawfulness of a decision for the firm to reimburse money awarded through the government’s Building Safety Fund.
Gill’s constituents had to wait nearly 18 months for this legal process to end, despite scaffolding being up since August 2023.
Residents say their mental health has been severely impacted by being forced to live in unsafe apartments, and others state that their flats remain unsellable until remedial works take place.
Preet Kaur Gill has been working closely with residents to speed up the works. She met with the Minister to call for a faster remedial process and hosted a Birmingham Cladding Scandal Summit in 2021.
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham, Edgbaston, said:
“The publication of the findings from the final phase of the Grenfell inquiry is a landmark moment. We must never forget the 72 people who lost their lives because of the systematic dishonesty of companies coupled with years of government failure.
“It’s shocking when you think of the risks my constituents have had to face while waiting for these essential works.
“I welcome the Prime Minister setting out his government’s commitment to some immediate steps to ensure those trapped in unsafe accommodation see the justice they deserve. It’s vital that the remediation progress for people trapped in unsafe accommodation, like my constituents in Hemisphere, is sped up, and companies attempting to evade responsibility for creating this nightmare are forced into action.”
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