Birmingham resident feels he won't be alive to see dangerous cladding removed

It comes as the National Audit Office report has revealed some may never see the cladding removed from their building

Published 4th Nov 2024

A Birmingham man said that he does not believe he will ever see dangerous cladding removed from his apartment block.

Paul Baston lives in Liberty Square in Birmingham City Centre.

He has been campaigning for dangerous cladding to be removed from his building since the Grenfell Tower disaster highlighted the problem.

Today (Nov 4th), a National Audit Office report revealed that Paul may have to wait even longer for the cladding to be removed.

The report suggested some may never have it removed, and some may have to wait a further decade.

"I was 59 years old when the Grenfell fire happened. By the time remediation is completed, I will be at least 77. I genuinely believe that I will not live to see the end of this nightmare.

"The report is just recommendations, nothing has changed yet. We need the government to take a more robust approach with the business owners and get something done," he said.

For Paul, he cannot sell his home until he has the cladding removed, as the building is deemed in an unsafe condition.

In response, Building Safety Minister Alex Norris said: “The pace of remediation to make homes safe has been unacceptably slow.

"This government is taking action - meeting our commitment to invest £5.1 billion to remove dangerous cladding and making sure those responsible pay for the rest.

“This Government will protect leaseholders and empower regulators to take enforcement action against those building owners who fail to act.

"Since coming into office, we have ramped up work with local authorities and regulators to speed up remediation and we will set out a Remediation Acceleration Plan soon," he said.