Seven years on from Grenfell, of the 4,834 buildings 11 metres and over in England that have been identified with unsafe cladding, work has been completed on only 1,436.
Current estimates suggest that there are between 4,000 and 7,000 buildings in England with unsafe cladding still to be identified. New measures are required to overcome the many barriers holding up progress and address the building safety crisis and keep residents safe.
In September 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged a comprehensive reform of the construction products industry and proposed measures to speed up the remediation of buildings with dangerous cladding, in response to the Grenfell report.
The UK government’s Remediation Acceleration Plan sets out the government’s approach to tackle barriers to remediation, fix buildings faster, and support residents.
What is causing delays in remediation works?
- Constrained regulatory capacity: Enforcement officers are currently stretched, meaning expertise is scarce when compared with the scale of the challenge in many areas, and the enforcement framework can be difficult.
- Social housing providers have varying access to funding: Barriers to remediation include limited access to funding and lengthy cost-recovery processes.
- Developer inconsistency and third-party disputes: Disputes between developers and freeholders over access to buildings and scope of works, quality of assessments, and delay in securing necessary regulatory approvals are some of the barriers to faster remediation works.
- Shortage of skilled professionals: The number of skilled professionals able to meet the sector’s demands is low, slowing down building works and reducing contractors’ capacity.
How will the Remediation Acceleration Plan deal with remediation works?
This plan aims that by the end of 2029, all high-rise buildings (18m+) with unsafe cladding in a government-funded scheme will have been remediated. By the end of 2029, every 11m+ building with unsafe cladding will either have been remediated or have a date for completion, or the landlords will be liable for severe penalties.
“Our remediation acceleration plan will ensure those responsible for making buildings safe deliver the change residents need and deserve”, says Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister.
The government plans to
- create a legal obligation on landlords to remediate unsafe cladding
- give regulators, local authorities, fire and rescue authorities, and the Building Safety Regulator powers to enforce remediation
- speed up the progress of buildings in government-funded schemes by reducing the time from application to the start of work on-site
- encourage and support developers to achieve their stretch target to start or complete remedial works on 80% of the buildings for which they are responsible by July 2026, and on 100% of those buildings by July 2027
- work with regulators to intensify enforcement action against any third parties who unreasonably block remediation and make sure that landlords who unreasonably block remedial works could face serious consequences
The government has set targets to begin remediation works in high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding by the end of 2025, with a specific goal to start addressing buildings with the most unsafe cladding by the end of March 2025.
How MyDek is supporting remediation works
MyDek has worked on various remediation projects, replacing non-compliant decking products with minimum A2 fire-rated, non-combustible decking. We believe that finding simple solutions for remediation and refurbishment cases is essential.
At MyDek we are constantly streamlining our decking range to provide only safe, smart, and sustainable solutions to clients.
Take a look at our decking remediation projects in Manchester and London.
Learn about the new era of accountability and safety in the construction industry in our CPD ‘Navigating the Building Safety Act’. Register your interest: www.mydek.com/online-cpd-booking/