Following the fire on Saturday morning at New Providence Wharf, a high-rise residential block in Blackwall, an angry group of residents gathered in Marsh Wall on Sunday afternoon to raise awareness of the lack of urgency builders Ballymore have shown to fixing the Grenfell-style ACM cladding present in the block.
Same cladding as Grenfell Tower used
New Providence Wharf was built by Ballymore subsidiary Landor Residential with the same ACM type of cladding that led to the Grenfell Tower catastrophe but according to the protestors Ballymore has been slow to remove the cladding.
In January a government report revealed that more than three years after Grenfell Landor Residential had still not removed the cladding despite central government funds being made available.
No help for leaseholders from government
The government refuses to help owners of flats with ACM cladding fix the problem which means many of these homeowners face bills of up to £100,000 and until the work is carried out they cannot sell their properties.
Parliament recently voted against protecting leaseholders of flats with ACM from necessary fire safety costs which means they will have to pay for the mistakes of others themselves.
In some cases this work could cost individuals as much as £75,000 each although the average cost is believed to be lower.
Many of those protesting on Saturday were members of the Tower Hamlets Justice for Leaseholders (THJL) group that was formed to give voice to Tower Hamlets leaseholders living in flats with flammable cladding and associated fire defects and to raise local awareness of the leasehold scandal.\
Leaseholders protest – photo gallery
It was good to see several Tower Hamlets councillors at the demonstration including Cllr. Rabina Khan, Cllr. Amina Ali, Cllr. Ehtasham Haque, Cllr. Gabriela Salva Macallan and Canary Wharf ward councillor Andrew Ward in attendance.
The Enquirer sent the Wapping Mole along with his camera to take some photos as he needed some fresh air after a lot of recent digging.
Related Internet Links
- Tower Hamlets Justice for Leaseholders (THJL) – Facebook
- MPs vote against banning building owners from passing on remediation costs – Mortgage Introducer
- Leaseholders shamefully hung out to dry in cladding scandal – Guardian
- Cladding scandal archives – The Leaseholders Charity
- Cladding Scandal UK
- Cladding: What makes it unsafe and what money has the government promised? – BBC
- Ballymore Group
