Flat residents hopeful as cladding work agreed

Flat ownerJulian Bradbrook said it was "the first big positive move" since the issues were revealed

A man who owns a flat in a waterfront development blighted by structural and fire safety issues said he was "very hopeful" on learning the flats qualify for government funding.

Properties at The Mill development in Ipswich, Suffolk, became worthless, with leaseholders unable to re-mortgage, after the issues came to light in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Government housing agency Homes England has confirmed the buildings qualify for remediation work under the government’s cladding safety scheme. A buyer has also come forward to purchase the freehold.

Julian Bradbrook said the combined news was "the first big positive move since we found out about the issues last year".

The uninhabited Mill Tower is structurally unsound and needed new claddding

"We're very hopeful that with funds from Homes England to do the cladding on these buildings and having a buyer, there is a process that can take place which gets us to getting their value back," said Mr Bradbrook, from The Mill Leaseholders’ Association.

Fire risk appraisals, on the external walls, have been carried out on behalf of Homes England.

The freeholder of the 249-flat development went into administration in 2010. No one currently lives in the Mill Tower, which is structurally unsound.

Administrators RSM UK warned in March that costs to repair the structural and fire safety issues could reach £30m

Mr Bradbrook said "it's a huge relief" a buyer for the leasehold has come forward, who "knows what the problems are".

Flat owner Barbara Spraggons said "things were bleak, but I'm always positive that things will work out"

"It has been absolutely terrifying for the last three to four years, but there is light at the end of the tunnel," said Barbara Spraggons.

She owns three leasehold flats at Quayside, one of the blocks of flats at the Mill, living in one and renting out the others.

While it was a relief to hear the flats were eligible for government funding she said: "[The government] has made certain laws that leaseholders shouldn't have to pay towards it, so if the government has made those laws, they've got to put their money where their mouth is."

She accepts it will be "three to five years before it is sorted".