Labour call for more affordable social homes during Ipswich visit
Matthew Pennycook, Shadow minister for Housing met with those affected by on-going cladding issues
Last updated 17th Apr 2023
Labour's calling for the government and private sector to come together and build more affordable social homes.
It comes as Matthew Pennycook, Shadow minister for Housing was in Ipswich today, talking to people who continue to be affected by cladding issues.
Residents and landlords of Cardinal Lofts and St Francis Tower have been hugely affected.
St Francis Tower has been covered in scaffolding wrap for over a year and residents at Cardinal Lofts were forced to move out last month due to their building being unsafe to live in. And has previously been described residents as a 'Grenfell near miss'
Speaking to residents about their experiences
Matthew Pennycook told about the conversations he had with tenants and that he couldn't help but be moved by the 'human toll it's taken on its residents,' whenever he visits a building affected by the cladding building safety crisis.
"I spoke to lots of residents this morning who said they would at least be satisfied if their managing agent landlord was at least giving them a sense of the progress of the work and when they could expect things to be completed.
"As things stand, most of them told us that they're completely in the dark, to the extent that some of them have said they've just gotten used to it (the living conditions) and that's heartbreaking to hear.
"...It's scandalous that they've had to put up with those conditions for so long."
St Francis Tower - Ipswich
St Francis Tower - Ipswich
St Francis Tower
The Shadow Minister was not able to go inside Cardinal Lofts due to the safety risks, but he did visit St Francis tower.
Founder of Ipswich Cladiators, Alex Dickin told us more.
"Today was quite a sunny day, you should be able to see across Ipswich and the skyline you would see from a twelfth or an eight-floor apartment but today we saw nothing so that really shows you what the conditions are like."
"One of the residents told us.. they feel like this is the norm now. Because it's been 2 years it's not a new issue that happened and that's affecting them, they've moved past that stage now, and they now feel that it's normal...
"It's really horrible to hear because as a campaigner and campaign group, we want to help residents as soon as possible... but unfortunately the reality is we cant do that, we can do all we can to campaign and highlight issues, but so much more needs to be done."
What has the Government said about this?
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities say millions of pounds has been put aside to speed up urgent repair work.