Residents of Bexhill high rise call for action over flammable cladding

As the report into Grenfell failings is released, residents of The Landmark are still affected a year after work began

Adrienne Burton could not open her bedroom window this summer due to scaffolding
Author: Katie Ahearn and Aine Fox, PAPublished 4th Sep 2024

Residents of a Bexhill high rise are still living with flammable cladding outside of their homes over a year after work began to remove it.

Work began on The Landmark in May 2023 with scaffolding still expected to be up until the end of this month.

It comes as a final report is due out today on the failings surrounding the fire at Grenfell Tower which killed 72 people in 2017.

Meanwhile, residents have been forking out on costs for building insurance and fire alarms - which have added hundreds of pounds extra to their bills each month.

Adrienne Burton, who lives in the building, says many residents are spending their savings on the renovations:

"The people in our building are retired people - their pensions are just going on this.

"For the few of us that work, our earnings are going on service charge, which is just crazy."

She adds that more action needs to be taken alongside the release of the report.

"It's seven years on from the Grenfell tower fire - why haven't these buildings been done?

"Everybody needs the work done, it needs to be done quicker, decisions need to be made much quicker.

"People shouldn't have to live like this."

The elements expected to be considered as part of the final report are the actions of the London Fire Brigade, including its structure and management, and its preparations for fighting fires in high-rise blocks of flats.

It's also thought to look into evidence on the testing and certification of materials used in construction.

The report will be released at 11 o'clock this morning,

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.