{"id":2861,"date":"2021-05-10T14:37:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T14:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/?p=2861"},"modified":"2021-06-11T08:52:13","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T08:52:13","slug":"archive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/05\/10\/archive\/","title":{"rendered":"Cladding"},"content":{"rendered":"

15th March 2021<\/strong><\/h3>\n

PRESS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

News that the Government is set to bring in a developer levy and appoint a regulator for the building sector, is to be very much welcomed.<\/p>\n

The move, a response to the Grenfell Inquiry, will bring disreputable builders to heel and come to the aid of crisis-hit leaseholders up and down the country.
\nA survey by Inside Housing magazine reveals that leaseholders hit by the cladding crisis are on the brink of financial ruin, with one in six exploring bankruptcy options and 62.5% facing repair costs of more than \u00a330,000.<\/p>\n

As part of the management team at St Ann\u2019s Quays, Newcastle, which has 91 apartments, I have fought an uphill battle over many years, as our leaseholders have been forced to pick up bill after bill for the shoddy and negligent workmanship of our builder. They handed over a development with many hidden flaws that surfaced as time went by.<\/p>\n

Robertson Group has been around since 1976, but they formed a separate company to build St Ann\u2019s Quay and they subsequently closed that business down in 2015. I can only conclude that the separate business was launched so as to avoid liabilities within the Robertson Group name. In doing so, the directors have walked away from all financial and moral responsibility for the shortcomings of their work.<\/p>\n

However, our leaseholders have, over the years, had to face continual costs for a vast range of very expensive problems, including cavity barriers, insulation, masonry, balcony timber, the potential cost of replacing inflammable cladding and numerous leaks in the water system caused by the use of substandard fittings and atrocious workmanship, together with water ingress around window frames because the units have not been installed to specification.\u00a0Our pain has been long and deep and, at this moment in time, we honestly don\u2019t know how, or when, this will end for our leaseholders.<\/p>\n

I meet as part of a group called the Building Alliance, which comprises Pandongate, Marconi House, High Quays, 55 Degrees North, Ochre Yards, Commissioner\u2019s Wharf and Quayside Lofts. We come together to discuss issues of mutual interest and, without fail, the discussions inevitably turn to the builders and the catalogue of errors and negligence that costs many thousands of pounds to put right.<\/p>\n

The Grenfell Inquiry has brought focus to the safety of high rise apartments and while the Government is now offering financial assistance to replace flammable cladding, we at St Ann\u2019s do not as yet know if we qualify. However, there is a development that we are fully supportive of.<\/p>\n

The news the Government is to introduce a developer levy and to put in place a regulator, hopefully, with enough power to hold builders and developers to account, is a watershed moment for the building sector.<\/p>\n

Residents will be protected through the establishment of a national regulator which will ensure materials used to build homes will be made safer. The regulator will have the power to remove any product from the market that presents a significant safety risk and prosecute any companies who flout the rules on product safety.
\nThis follows recent testimony to the Grenfell Inquiry that shone a light on the dishonest practice by some manufacturers of construction products, including deliberate attempts to game the system and rig the results of safety tests.<\/p>\n

The regulator will have strong enforcement powers including the ability to conduct its own product-testing when investigating concerns. Businesses must ensure their products are safe before being sold in addition to testing products against safety standards.
\nAdditionally, The Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, has announced plans to hit developers in the pocket by introducing a new levy and tax on the UK residential property development sector as part of a range of funding measures designed to pay for the costs of removal of unsafe cladding in residential buildings in England.<\/p>\n

The proposed developer tax and levy forms part of a “comprehensive” plan to deal with the funding and removal of unsafe cladding, with the costs being picked up directly by the developer and not the leaseholders or the taxpayer. The levy will apply when developers seek permission to develop certain high-rise buildings in England.<\/p>\n

In addition to the levy, there is now the prospect of a new tax for the UK residential property development sector to help pay for cladding remediation costs. This is expected to be introduced from 2022 and to raise \u00a32bn over the next ten years.<\/p>\n

There is scant detail around how these proposals are intended to operate. The Government is to consult “in due course” on the developer levy and tax but the intent is for largest property developers make a fair contribution to the remediation programme.<\/p>\n

Sadly, it does always seem to be the case that it takes a disaster before radical change takes place. For far too long, developers and builders have acted irresponsibly and simply walked away without fear of penalty or punishment. This is set to change and leaseholders up and down the UK look forward to this coming into force.<\/p>\n

Louise Richley, Director St Ann\u2019s Quay, Newcastle<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2861"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2903,"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861\/revisions\/2903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stannsquaymanagement.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}