Flat owners waiting years for dangerous cladding to be removed

Paul Baston fears his flat is currently impossible to sell

Flat owners in Birmingham have demanded a developer remove flammable cladding from their block more than three years after it was first discovered.

A survey of Liberty Place on Sheepcote Street found several fire safety defects but none have been fixed amid uncertainty over who should pay and the level of work needed.

Leaseholder Paul Baston said he now thought of his home as a "death trap".

He said he believed he would be unable to sell until the defects are fixed.

The 65-year-old, who has a top-floor apartment, said: "I feel betrayed. I feel that in good faith we signed up to own a property, presuming that people had done their job and that they were honourable and that they hadn't built somewhere they knew was unsafe."

He paid off his £240,000 mortgage in 2010, but after the fire safety report was done, the apartment was given a valuation of zero.

Paul said: "My retirement plans are on hold, we are just stuck but we don't have the luxury of time.

"All in all I don't think the government both local and national are doing enough to protect ordinary people."

Residents at Liberty Place have been disappointed by the lack of progress

Paul's high-rise block was deemed eligible for money from the Government's Building Safety Fund, which was set up following the 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire, in London.

However, before works could begin the developer Lendlease signed up to the Government's cladding pledge.

Once signed, the contract requires developers to help fix unsafe cladding on tall buildings they have worked on.

This meant that Liberty Place was transferred out of the Building Safety Fund scheme, and the developer became responsible for funding the works.

Mark Adlam, chair of the Resident Management Company at Liberty Place, said leaseholders were disappointed with the lack of progress since then.

He said: 'We have only been able to get one meeting in the last five months with the developer, which is way too little attention for such an important issue.

"We would like to see Lendlease remove this cladding as part of the initial remediation work so that leaseholders can have full peace of mind as regards the building they live in."

'Absolutely unacceptable'

In a statement to the BBC, the organisation would not be drawn on when that work would take place.

A spokesperson from Lendlease said: "As a responsible developer and international business we comply with the law within every region in which we operate, and our priority is always to ensure every building we're responsible for is safe."

It added: "We have established a dedicated team that works with the Government and building owners to assess and work on any remediation works that we might be responsible for."

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: "It is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to have to live in an unsafe building and residents' safety and wellbeing should always be the utmost priority for building owners.

"This Government has taken significant steps to make buildings safe and to make sure those responsible pay, with 51 of the country's largest developers agreeing to fix their own buildings through our developer contract."