“Four years after the terrible Grenfell tower tragedy which cost 72 lives, we still have many buildings with flammable cladding. Over 1,000 flats in Basingstoke are potentially affected, including Crown Heights, where a 2020 survey found the external cladding was in fact flammable, contrary to earlier reports. They also found insufficient fire breaks.
Residents live in fear of a fire, trapped in properties they cannot sell or get remortgages on, with huge fees for waking watches, special insurance requirements, and repair bills of tens of thousands of pounds which leave them facing bankruptcy.
The Tory response to this has been shocking. Our MP abstained from a Labour parliamentary motion to fix the cladding scandal, and refused to support an amendment to another bill despite only days before promising residents to do all she could!
The current proposals are woefully inadequate. They don’t cover all defects or buildings under 18 metres, or six stories. And residents shouldn’t be paying. It needs Labour Councils to pressure the Government into action and hold those responsible to account.”