10 January 2022
Responding to the announcement by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, that developers must pay to fix the cladding crisis that they created [1], Green Party co-leader and Bristol City Councillor, Carla Denyer, said:
“Michael Gove’s announcement that developers will be expected to foot the bill for replacing dangerous cladding is welcome, but the issue is far from wrapped up.
“He is relying on the goodwill of developers, far too many of whom have already shown themselves to be irresponsible and motivated by profit rather than safety.
“And there has been no acknowledgement of the stress and anxiety the government has put thousands of households through by delaying action.
“The government focus is on cladding and it is unclear how non-cladding fire hazards such as wooden balconies and missing fire doors will be addressed.
“Developers must also be required to address defects in council and social housing. It’s completely unacceptable that these costs should fall on housing associations or councils whose budgets are already at breaking point.”
“I have heard from so many people affected by this scandal, in Bristol and beyond. They need to feel completely secure in their homes, so if this really is to be an overhaul of government policy on housing safety, all hazards must be addressed, not just headline-grabbing cladding.”
“We also need clarity of government action and government funding to enable homeowners to shut the door on the awful limbo they have been living in for the past five years.”
Notes
[1] Government forces developers to fix cladding crisis
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