Council orders removal of 'dangerous' cladding

Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman said: "It is shocking that seven years after the devastating Grenfell Tower fire there are still high-rise buildings clad in ACM"

An east London council has taken legal action against a private building owner to remove Grenfell-style cladding from a high-rise property.

Tower Hamlets Council has secured a remediation order, which ensures essential works required to remedy relevant defects take place without delay.

The order has been taken out against the freeholders, who the council have not named, to remove aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding from their high-rise building in Stepney.

The council claims it is the first local authority in the country to bring a legal action of this kind, under the Building Safety Act 2022, against a freeholder of a private building.

'Shocking'

ACM cladding allowed the fire to spread at Grenfell Tower. Seventy-two people died as a result of the June 2017 blaze.

Plans to speed up the removal of unsafe cladding, including target dates for making buildings safe and tougher penalties for refusing to act, were announced by ministers on Monday.

Under the plans, buildings higher than 18m (59ft) - defined as high-rise - with dangerous cladding that are covered by government-funded schemes will be fixed by the end of 2029.

By the same date, unsafe cladding in buildings over 11m (36ft) should either be fixed or have a date for completion, otherwise landlords will face penalties.

If the freeholders do not carry out the work within a set time frame, Tower Hamlets said the matter could be enforced through the county court.

Executive mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman said: “It is shocking that seven years after the devastating Grenfell Tower fire there are still high-rise buildings clad in ACM in this country.

“I believe everyone deserves to live in a safe and secure home in Tower Hamlets and this action proves we will do everything within our power to get this."

He added: “We are taking this approach with other private building owners who are failing to remove dangerous cladding from their buildings and we expect to secure more orders in the near future.”

Tower Hamlets said officers were currently working on securing more remediation orders against freeholders of other high-rise buildings where progress has stalled.