Grenfell cladding costs must be resolved by Ministers – Yorkshire Post Letters

GERALDINE Scott’s article (The Yorkshire Post, February 2) highlights the dreadful situation first exposed by the Grenfell disaster nearly four years ago.

This situation must be resolved because of the safety implications and the impossible situation the flat owners find themselves in – 20,000 of them in Yorkshire alone.

Housing minister Chris Pincher says there is no quick fix and cites the complexities of the situation “involving many parties, leaseholders with different leases, developers, warranty holders, the insurance industry, the mortgage lenders, the owners themselves”.

But the situation cannot be allowed to fester on. It seems to me quite clearly a total failure of the Health and Safety Executive.

As a Government body, this makes the Government ultimately responsible for the financial fallout.

I know the cost is enormous, but the Government is just going to have to pay up to remedy this failure of building control.

I do not blame any minister or administration but the Government is ultimately responsible for what is done in its name.

So what to do? The Government must stop vacillating about who is responsible for this dangerous and distressing situation. The cladding and related problems must be resolved at public cost or things will never be put right.

The Government should, at the same time, determine how this disaster occurred.

Four years after Grenfell you would think they would know but clearly there are organisations at fault – cladding manufacturers and fire-test laboratories to name but two whose performance needs examining.

The authorities can then do what they can to obtain damages from the parties responsible.

The people who are wholly innocent in all this mess are the flat owners who bought in good faith, relying on the established institutions of the state to ensure their properties were safely and soundly built.

They are not wealthy people and it is unacceptable they are stranded in this hideous limbo.

From: Martin J. Phillips, Tinshill Lane, Leeds.

IS Leeds City Council aware there is a national lockdown?

At present the communal areas in these council flats are being redecorated by contractors employed by the council.

I have yet to see any wearing any sort of face covering and they do not seem concerned about social distancing.

As if that isn’t worrying enough, I received a letter delivered by hand from the electrical unit of the council to say that further work will be taking place to replace the wiring connecting the new security door intercom systems with handsets in each property.

Given that I have underlying disabilities and health issues, I am reluctant to even set foot outside my flat, let alone let anyone in to carry out any work.

Surely these works could have been deferred until the rates of infection have been lowered?

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