“Fear for your safety is always in the back of your mind”: Birmingham residents share cladding worries as Grenfell report released
King Edwards Wharf is an apartment block in Birmingham which has the same cladding as Grenfell Tower
Residents at King Edwards Wharf in Birmingham are still fighting to have the cladding removed from their homes despite discovering the problem years ago.
It comes as the government has been called out for knowing the risks of this type of cladding but failed to act on the Grenfell Tower.
The building caught fire, and the cladding condition meant the fire spread quickly, killing 72 people in 2017.
These deaths have today been described as ‘avoidable’ by the latest Grenfell Tower report.
At places like King Edwards Wharf in the West Midlands, the cladding still hasn’t been removed.
Whilst the building is deemed in an unsafe condition, the residents cannot sell their properties either.
Alex Elder is a resident in King Edwards Wharf, “Anybody younger wanting to move around must feel totally trapped in this situation.”
“I know when we first discovered the cladding, there was a lot of people suffering with their mental health because of this,” said Elder.
He has been campaigning to get government funding to remove the cladding and said they are close to achieving that goal.
Residents had to fight this battle on their own after both the contractor and developer of the apartment block declared bankruptcy shortly after the homes were built.
If they get the funding, work can start on the problem in Spring 2025.
Until then, he said he is constantly worried about the devastation a fire could bring to his home.
“It’s always in the back of your mind, especially when you go to bed. You have to keep asking yourself: am I safe?” explained Elder.