Grenfell Tower: dozens of buildings across Yorkshire still covered in dangerous cladding seven years after deadly fire

In the report into the blaze which was published yesterday, the chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick found that every one of the 72 deaths was avoidable.

He said the devastating fire had been caused by “decades of failure” by government and the building industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.

The latest figures for July 2024 show there are still up to five buildings in Sheffield, with the same aluminium composite material cladding that turbocharged the flames on Grenfell, that are yet to start remediation work.

Across Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale and Sheffield less than half of the 18-metre plus high rises with other forms of dangerous cladding have been remediated under the Building Safety Fund.

And work has not started on any of the 32 blocks of flats in Yorkshire and the Humber that have applied for help under the Cladding Safety Scheme.

The CSS was set up in November 2022 to carry out safety work where residents are unable to pay for it themselves and believe someone else, like the developer, is responsible. 

Typically it supports buildings where the freeholder has pushed impossible charges on leaseholders and left them trapped in flats that they are unable to sell.

Rachael Loftus is trapped in her flat at the Timblebeck development in Leeds, which has been beset with fire safety issues.

After the Grenfell fire in June 2017, Ms Loftus and her neighbour asked the owners of the building if there were cladding issues, however they were assured it was safe.

In 2019, the government found a litany of issues with the building, including dangerous cladding.

Since then the NHS worker has forked out around £20,000 for extra safety measures, including guards to watch the building for fire.

But the freeholder still has until November 2026 to remove the dangerous cladding.

“These dangerous buildings are just seen as money on spreadsheets, not homes where people live,” the 47-year-old, who campaigns with End Our Cladding Scandal, said.

“They don’t recognise it’s my home, it’s my life, it’s the biggest investment I have.”

The flats were bought by Grey GR, ultimately owned by RailPen, the railway pensions fund, from a previous owner and the developer that built it no longer exists.

It previously told this paper: “The safety of residents is of utmost concern and Grey is progressing with the necessary surveys, Building Safety Fund application and plans as quickly as possible.”

“Under the Building Safety Act no leaseholder will need to contribute towards cladding-related costs.”

On the Grenfell report, Ms Loftus said: “First and foremost it is about the 72 people who lost their lives, their families and the people who lost their homes.

“But it’s been really helpful to have the inquiry be quite so detailed and to really get behind the masks of these companies that have put up fairly flimsy defences for the way they have acted.

“Seeing that level of detail means that when the inquiry says there’s been systemic dishonesty, it’s got the evidence to back that up.

“It’s been shocking for me to try and uncover the truth just about my own home and see just how dishonest and disingenuous so many bad actors have been through that process. 

“It shows it’s across the piece and everyone who had the chance to put profit before people seems to have done so.”

Responding to the inquiry’s final report, Sir Keir Starmer said: “There are still buildings today with unsafe cladding.

“And the speed at which this is being addressed is far, far too slow.”

The Prime Minister said: “This must be a moment of change. We will take the necessary steps to speed this up.

“We are willing to force freeholders to assess their buildings and enter remediation schemes within set timetables with a legal requirement to force action if that is what it takes to tackle industry intransigence.”