A case brought to the First Tier Tribunal regarding the cladding remediation of a block of luxury apartments in Westminster has been ruled in favour of the residents who have faced four years of delay
As reported by the Evening Standard, making the order to fast-track the cladding remediation work on Artillery Place to completion by December 2025, Judge Latham said: “There have been unacceptable delays, and works should now be put in hand at the earliest opportunity.”
He added: “The delay in the works has caused unnecessary anxiety and stress to the occupiers and lessees. This is not only the risk to their safety. It also includes their uncertainty about their future, the fact that they are unable to sell their flats and that their flats are unmortgageable”. The judge also criticised the building managers, Y&Y Management Limited over their “lack of transparency.”
Suspected fire safety issues in the building were first raised in 2021, as flammable insulation panels and wooden balconies were identified in the building’s construction. Remedial work was begun but stalled in 2022, with residents suspecting the management company was avoiding paying for the work.
Whilst waiting for a new fire detection system to be installed, leaseholders had to pay in excess of £200,000 for a ‘waking watch’.
Further inspections carried out at the building identified “inconsistencies with fire cavity barriers behind the facing brickwork” and found exposed flammable insulation visible on the plant room walls, a “significant fire risk” that had been omitted from the original safety assessment of the building. “The insulation and associated timber elements of construction present a real fire ‘load’ and obvious risk to rapid spread of fire,” Judge Latham said.
Explaining the position leaseholders have found themselves in, the chair of the resident’s association, Kevin Hastings, said they “have endured four years of delays and lack of transparency (and) significant emotional and financial stress.”
“(They) have found themselves trapped in properties that they cannot sell or remortgage”, he added.
Challenging the remediation order, Y&Y said that plans for the cladding remediation work were underway, with a completion date of August 2026. However, the court ruled that the remediation work must start in March and be completed by December 2025.