Shock over Ipswich tower block cladding costs

The cladding was stripped from St Francis Tower, Ipswich, in work costing £2.4m, after a safety report in the wake of the Grenfell disaster

Leaseholders in a tower block have reacted with shock after being told they will have to pay £21,000 each to replace their outside cladding.

The cladding was stripped from St Francis Tower, Ipswich, in work costing £2.4m, after a safety report in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.

Flat owners have expressed concern at the costs, the Ipswich Star has reported.

The block's management company said its priority has been residents' safety.

Work stripping the cladding from the 17-storey building started in August.

St Francis Tower in Ipswich was built at the end of the 1960s

Leaseholder Kie Humphreys, who has two properties in the building, said he has been to a meeting to discuss the breakdown of the cost of the removing the cladding and he was shocked at how much he might have to pay.

He said the £21,000 means some people are being asked to pay "a third of the value of a lot of the flats".

"These are people's pensions and investments. People are thinking where are they going to get the money from," he said.

David Collinson, managing director of Block Management UK Ltd, which runs the building, said: "Since the tragedy of Grenfell Tower an unprecedented amount of work has gone into ensuring resident safety at St Francis Tower.

"Despite not being the original developer of the building the current freeholder has funded all work to date and will continue to do so until all safety issues have been addressed. All parties involved are exploring every possible avenue to mitigate the costs being attributed to the leaseholders."

Block Management UK added it is also investigating whether to install a new sprinkler system.

The fire service and local council have said they are both reassured by work undertaken.