DANGER CLADDING ...ON NEW BUILDS
Schools, hospitals and care homes among 163 sites
DANGEROUS cladding is still being used on new buildings – including hospitals, schools and sheltered housing – four years after Grenfell.
The revelation comes despite a proposed ban on such material, which is yet to come into force and leaves a loophole.
At least 163 high-risk projects under 18 metres tall have started since the 2017 tower block inferno that claimed 72 lives.
Ministers cannot confirm their locations as they are yet to set up a register promised in the wake of the disaster.
But industry experts estimate dozens of schools, eight hospitals, nine sheltered housing schemes and 32 private and 12 social housing schemes are affected. Thousands of leaseholders have had to take out loans to cover removal of cladding from buildings after it was identified as a factor in the Grenfell tragedy.
And campaigners fear more may be buying into the problem while owners of public buildings will face huge costs.
Paul Afshar, of the End Our Cladding campaign, said: “Developers are still putting up dodgy buildings with flammable cladding. Kids, the ill and vulnerable people are having their lives put at risk.” Shadow Housing Secretary Thangam Debonnaire added: “The Conservatives are giving builders the green light to put profit before lives.”
It is not illegal to use flammable cladding materials in buildings up to 18m. After millions of leaseholders found themselves stuck in unsellable homes, ministers launched a £3.5billion fund so costs did not fall on those above sixth floors, or 18m. Those in blocks 11-18m tall had to take out Government-backed loans.
No policy was revealed for those under 11m – creating a loophole which allows installation of potentially dangerous flammable materials to go on.
The study on new builds was done by non-combustible insulation maker Rockwool – and with no official register it is considered the most accurate picture of their cladding risks.
A Housing Department spokesman said: “All materials must pass relevant safety checks before they can be used.”