Cladding insurance bill at town flats could pass £1m
FEARS have emerged that insurance costs could top £1m at a Runcorn apartment complex due to dangerous cladding.
The Deck on Mersey Road is among hundreds of locations of countries where flammable cladding materials are to eventually be replaced following the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy that killed 72 people.
But until then, owners of flats at The Deck must contend with not only safety fears but also spiralling including insurance.
Their cause has been taken up by east Runcorn MP and shadow housing minister Mike Amesbury, and Derek Twigg MP whose Halton constituency covers the block.
A spokesman for Mr Amesbury’s office said insurance costs for the Deck have soared 1,400% to £504,000 since 2019, averaging £2,000 per year for each of the 288 flats across six blocks.
Waking watches were imposed at The Deck in November 2019 amid the ongoing release of findings from the inquiry into Grenfell that implicated the aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding as “the primary cause” of the fire spread.
Although the Trespa Meteon high pressure laminate (HPL) material used at The Deck was different from that which ignited and spread the fire at Grenfell, it was also deemed a risk under Government guidance.
Leaseholder Julie Fraser bought her two-bed apartment to give her security in retirement.
Instead, she and fellow residents are under “incredible financial strain” while living in apartments deemed worthless and unsellable.
She said: “The insurance is sky high.
“And we know that come the end of this year the management company will have to reapply for the insurance again.
“It was difficult enough to get it this year and the premium was over £500,000.”
Julie, founder of the Liverpool Cladiators action group, added: “So if everything stays the same, the insurance is certainly not going to go down. costs
“Are we going to be talking about £1m for insurance? “And we have to pay that.”
Campaigners and the Labour opposition have said the Government’s Building Safety Bill, drafted in response to Grenfell, won’t do enough to protect existing leaseholders from safety issues or the financial burden.
Mr Amesbury’s office said there would be no help towards rising insurance costs or the new fire alarm systems that cost each Deck leaseholder £1,200 on average.
And only the three taller blocks at The Deck, in Runcorn, qualify for repair work to be funded from the Government’s Building Safety Fund.
Leaseholders in the three shorter blocks are expected to pick up the bill by taking out loans.
Because of the way the lease is structured, the repair costs may end up being shared across all six.
Residents fear being left with debts totalling £30,000-40,000 each.
Weaver Vale Labour MP Mike Amesbury has met residents of The Deck in his capacity as shadow housing minister along with his friend and neighbouring MP Derek Twigg who represents their Halton constituency.
Summing up for the opposition in Parliament during the second reading of the Building Safety Bill this week, Mr Amesbury asked: “Will it deal with the horrendous and astronomical rise in insurance premiums that members across this chamber have highlighted in today’s second reading? “No.
“Will it change the size and scope of the Building Safety Fund to help constituents at The Deck in my Honourable Friend’s constituency in the Runcorn part of Halton where one part of the development is below 18 metres - but still at risk and the other is above 18 metres? “No.
“It definitely won’t help the likes of Julie and those constituents in Runcorn.”
Speaking afterwards, he said residents have been “betrayed” by the Government: “Up to 11m people may be affected by the cladding crisis as well as other safety defects.
“The toll on people’s mental health has been immense.
“They have been betrayed by a Government that promised on at least 17 occasions these innocent victims of the building safety scandal would not be expected to foot the bill.
“Of course, what we have is a Government that is far too close to developers.”
He added: “Labour’s approach would be to establish a Building Works Agency, identify problem buildings, fund the repair work upfront and then recover costs from the companies that created this mess.”