Protest to highlight plight of leaseholders hit by safety defects

LEASEHOLDERS from across the South West are expected to descend on Bristol this weekend for a building safety rally.

The cladding crisis continues to affect homeowners across the country, with scores of Bristol buildings found to have significant fire safety defects years on from the Grenfell tragedy.

Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire is one of a number of speakers confirmed for the event at City Hall, which will see leaseholders from across the region gather to “make their voices heard”.

The event starts at 2pm on Saturday. It follows a protest outside Parliament last month which saw people whose homes have been blighted by fire safety problems march to demand help from the government over repair bills.

The Facebook page for this weekend’s event reads: “Over 40 buildings in Bristol have been found to have historic fire safety defects meaning they are potentially dangerous and require significant remediation.

“Leaseholders are being forced to pay for the incompetence of both developers, for failing to comply with building regulations, and the Government, for failing to regulate the industry over many decades. Some leaseholders are facing bills of over £100,000 and many are now considering bankruptcy.”

It comes after the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told the Post that 100 per cent of the high-rise residential buildings identified with unsafe ACM cladding in Bristol have started remediation, and over half have completed remediation.

But hundreds of leaseholders across the country continue to face huge costs for remediation work for other fire safety defects.

Also speaking at the event are Cllrs Alex Hartley and Tom Renhard as well as Steve Day, the man behind a proposed Polluter Pays Bill, which would see affected buildings apply for a ‘compliance determination’ and then recover costs from responsible parties if a breach is found.