Two years after Grenfell... 60,000 still living in fear
GRENFELL: 2 YEARS ON WE CALL FOR ACTION » Thousands still living in unsafe homes » Fire service cuts continue despite risks
TENS of thousands still live in unsafe buildings two years after 72 lives were lost in the Grenfell Tower horror.
And despite Theresa May’s vows to do whatever it took to keep people safe in the wake of the tragedy, every fire authority in the country has had its central government funding slashed.
Residents who raised concerns about unsafe conditions before the disaster two years ago today still feel their pleas for urgent action are not being heeded.
That is why the Daily Mirror is launching its Grenfell: Never Again campaign, with five demands for measures that must be urgently implemented to make good the Prime Minister’s pledge.
Karim Mussilhy of Grenfell United, which represents survivors, told the Mirror: “It’s unbelievable that in modern Britain, two years after Grenfell, people are still living in homes that are not fit and buildings that are not safe.”
Yesterday, on the eve of the anniversary, the group beamed powerful messages on
to unsafe high rises across the country to highlight residents’ ongoing struggle.
At Finstead House on the Silchester estate, neighbouring Grenfell, the message highlighted its lack of sprinklers.
All new residential towers require them, but retrofitting is not mandatory.
At NV Buildings in Salford, Greater Manchester, the projection read: “2 years after Grenfell and this building is still covered in dangerous cladding.”
Leaseholder Peter Brown said nearly 250 households face a bill of almost £3million to make their homes safe.
In Cruddas Park House in Newcastle, a council block of 159 households was lit up with the message: “The fire doors in this building are still not fit for purpose.”
Grenfell survivor Tiago Alves said: “We want to show our support.”
Labour estimates 60,000 people still live in tower blocks with the same aluminium composite cladding used at Grenfell.
Official figures show there are 328 high rise and public buildings still clad in the material, known as ACM. This includes 265 residential blocks, 29 hotels and 27 student accommodation buildings.
A further 1,700 buildings, including 340 high rises as well as schools, hospitals and hotels are clad in other potentially combustible materials.
Many high-rise blocks still do not have
sprinklers, years after a plea to ministers for retrofitting from a coroner in the case of the 2009 Lakanal House fire in Camberwell, South London. Only 32 out of 837 council-run tower blocks above 98ft have sprinklers and only 105 of the 673 new-build schools.
There are further fears over cuts to spending on fire services. In 2019-20, the sum spent will be just £858million – down from £1,013million in 2016-17.
The cuts range from 11% in Greater Manchester to 42% in Warwickshire. The number of fire safety officers has fallen from 924 in 2011 to 680 in 2017. As a result, the number of inspections has slumped from 84,575 audits in England in 2010-11 to 63,210 in 2015-16 – a 25% drop.
The Fire Brigades Union wants a new independent authority to oversee the service and minimum standards set for crewing and response times.
FBU chief Matt Wrack said: “With response times and massive cuts to firefighter jobs, a sprinkler system, where appropriate, could make the crucial difference.
“Warnings from residents of unsafe conditions at Grenfell fell on deaf ears.
“Grenfell was a tragedy born from years of neglect and a community abandoned by the political establishment. We need to end the persistent cuts to the fire and rescue service.
“Fire safety officers are essential to catching fire risks early on. Massive cuts and creeping interventions from the private sector are leaving risks like those at Grenfell unnoticed.”
Grenfell United said: “In most cases, those in power simply aren’t interested in acting on our concerns.”
Yvette Williams of Justice4Grenfell said: “The things the Daily Mirror is raising need to be implemented now. It has an impact across the nation.”
Of the 202 households from Grenslowing fell, 14 remain in temporary accommodation two years on. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “The Government’s lack of action is utterly shameful. I welcome the Mirror’s campaign to hold ministers to account and urge them to adopt the changes.”
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says ACM cladding has been removed from 105 buildings since the fire.
A spokeswoman said: “We’ve allocated £600milion for the removal and replacement of ACM cladding on high-rise homes and are working with councils to ensure this work is completed. We issued unambiguous advice to building owners 18 months ago to reinforce existing building safety requirements and tell building owners what to do to make sure their cladding system is safe. This advice was updated in December 2018.” VOICE OF MIRROR: PAGE 8, REAL BRITAIN PAGE: 23