Cladding crisis at Decks apartments
CLADDING is putting owners of hundreds of flats in Runcorn at risk of fire and homelessness, the borough’s MP has warned.
Derek Twigg, Labour, told a House Of Commons debate that his constituents now faced bills of £30,000 to upgrade the cladding on 266 apartments at The Deck before they can be sold or rented out.
The Weekly News broke the story in November of how waking watches had been put in place in case of fire after a survey found multiple problems with the six blocks, built in 2007.
Mr Twigg recounted these to the Commons, telling MPs how:
Sections of external walls on every building are fitted with cladding that would support fire spread.
Cavities behind the cladding do not have the required cavity barriers or fire stopping to prevent vertical and horizontal fire spread.
The timber frame is exposed inside the external cavities.
The external wall cavity is open to the ground floor car park, permitting fire spread into it in the case of a car fire.
He added that there is a risk of structural collapse if the timber frame is affected – which could block escape routes.
Mr Twigg urged the Government to deal with the issues as he warned of the dire situation facing residents because of the ‘high-pressure laminate’ cladding (HPL).
He said: “There is a massive human cost. It is a nightmare and causes stress to the people living there.
“Many of my constituents are in negative equity.
“The 266 homes are unsellable and not rentable.
“Constituents have been advised it will cost them around £30,000 per household to remedy the issue.
“They do not have that sort of money.
“They are worried they will be bankrupted and lose their homes and become homeless.
“It is through no fault of their own as they bought their homes in good faith according to the regulations that applied at the time.”
He added: “It is important that the Government really tackle the issue, and they can do that only by setting up a fund to make the buildings safe and comply with the regulations now.
“Leaseholders are not to blame and should not bear the cost. My constituents should not be treated differently simply because the cladding is HPL.”
The leaseholders and cladding debate was brought by Labour MP Hilary Benn and MPs recounted tales from around the country of owners facing dire costs.
Esther McVey, the thenhousing minister, told the
Commons that Treasury talks were continuing over whether the Government could support leaseholders.
She said: “We all know that this issue causes much stress and anguish to residents. How do we support everybody?
“People can appreciate that issues are evolving as time goes on.
“We also understand that it is not the fault of the leaseholders who bought their homes that things have happened.
“We all understand that anybody could be one of those leaseholders; this is happening to so many.
“I praise what MPs are doing today in bringing this issue forward.”