The Welsh government has been criticised for failing to put pressure on property developers to contribute to fire safety remediation costs in Wales, and a perceived lack of urgency in resolving the ongoing cladding scandal.
This month, thirty-five of the biggest property developers in the UK have agreed to pay £5bn towards fire safety remediation costs in England. The move came after the UK government warned that those who do not sign up to the voluntary pledge could be banned from carrying out new construction projects in England. The Welsh government has yet to make any statement following the announcement.
However, a number of the companies which also operate in Wales have failed to pay out towards remediation costs within Wales. Campaign group “Ripped Off By Redrow” have highlighted how developer Redrow has signed up to pay towards remediation in England, but has not committed to paying towards its affected properties in Wales.
The Welsh government previously made £10.5m available to remove aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding for social sector housing. According to campaigners however, some leaseholders are still facing bills in excess of £50,000 each for their fire defective properties, which they are unable to sell.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised the Welsh government over their “silence” following the addition of measures to assist cladding and fire safety victims in England were announced and have called on the Welsh government to follow suit with England.
Jane Dodds, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader, said: “Labour cannot continue to remain silent on this issue. If the UK Government can force developers to the table in England, there is no reason why the Welsh Government cannot do the same.
“It is simply not acceptable we could be left in the perverse situation where property developers agree to pay towards remediation costs on their properties in England, but not on their properties in Wales.
“We are also yet to receive any clarity from the Welsh Government on whether all sections of the Building Safety Bill introduced in England will become law in Wales.
“Almost five years have passed since the Grenfell tragedy and communication between those affected by the fire safety crisis and the Welsh Government remains poor. Labour must start treating this issue with the urgency it deserves.”
Affected housing can even be seen from the Senedd in the Cardiff Bay, as the neighbouring blocks totalling 457 homes were revealed in 2019 to have either “very poor” or “non-existent” fire stopping.
Leaseholders there are facing enormous service charges, and have been warned that their insurance prices could increase by over 500% next year.
Leaseholder in one such block, and chair of the Celestia Management Company Limited, Mark Thomas said: "The English model is what we all want, which is to make the developer accountable, because we're in devolution we don't actually know when the Welsh Government is going to pass that bill for Wales.
“We already have a clear plan. We just need the money and the other thing that's important with this, which is very critical under the Building Safety Bill, it gives local authorities the power to issue what are called remediation orders under Section 125 and also remediation, contribution orders, which means that if Redrow don’t step up, the local authority can issue a legal remediation order and force them.
“At the moment we have no idea of what the Welsh Government is doing in relation to this. In the last two weeks, the developments in England have been absolutely major. Redrow made an announcement to the English government that they would be happy to remediate English homes a month ago, and we've heard nothing from any Welsh Government official on this. I mean, it's just beggars belief. It's one of the biggest stories in England and we have no politician shouting about it. We have Redrow, a Welsh-based company and a month on, nothing is being said.
“I'm not political, but I cannot believe how the government has just shown indifference to this. It is absolutely staggering the impact that Michael Gove has had in the last month or so and in Wales no-one in the political sphere is talking about this."