Earlier today, during Business Questions, Andrew Rosindell M.P., Member of Parliament for Romford, raised the plight of residents at Axis Apartments, Mercury Gardens, Romford, who face severe delays in cladding remediation.
Nearly four years after fire safety issues were identified, leaseholders remain trapped - unable to sell or remortgage, burdened by rising costs.
He called on the Leader of the House to urge the Secretary of State for urgent intervention to resolve this national crisis.
I would like to make the Leader of the House aware of the serious delays to cladding remediation faced by residents of the Axis apartments in Mercury Gardens, Romford. It is a common problem across the country. Residents of the Axis apartments have endured years of uncertainty since fire safety issues were identified nearly four years ago, following the Grenfell Tower fire. Despite the building’s management agent applying for permission for remediation works over a year ago, the Building Safety Regulator has still not approved the application. This regulatory delay has left leaseholders trapped; they are unable to remortgage or sell their homes, and face ever-increasing insurance premiums and unaffordable safety costs. Will the Leader of the House ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to make an urgent statement on this matter, so that my constituents, and others across the country facing similar problems, can escape financial ruin and move on with their lives?
Andrew Rosindell M.P., Member of Parliament for Romford
I am sorry to hear about the situation in the hon. Member’s constituency. It is one with which I am extremely familiar; in my constituency, dozens and dozens of buildings face many of the same problems. As he says, there have been very serious teething challenges for the Building Safety Regulator in processing its caseload. That is why the Secretary of State recently announced some quite big changes to its leadership, capacity and management; they were laid before this House two or three weeks ago. I am confident that will speed up the cases he describes. We have a remediation action plan as well, and the Secretary of State will come to the House soon to keep us updated.
The Rt Hon. Lucy Powell M.P., Leader of the House of Commons
