Protestors in Ipswich call for developers to front cost of cladding removal
Protests are happening all over the country today.
Last updated 5th Jun 2021
A group of protestors are holding an event in Ipswich today calling for developers to front the money needed to remove dangerous cladding from buildings in England.
It's one of a number of protests taking place across the country today.
The Ipswich Cladiators, who are planning to gather at the Taylor Wimpey site in Wolsey Grange from 10am, want to see the company cover all the costs of removing the cladding so leaseholders aren't left with huge bills.
Alex Dickin, founder of the group, told us why it's an important issue in the town: "Our developers no longer trade, so we're targeting those developers that are still active and therefore still have the ability and the funds to cover these costs."
He told us why they've decided to specifically target the Taylor Wimpey site today: "They have 232 dangerous buildings, so far they have committed ÂŁ164m towards the remediation costs.
"This is a substantial figure, however we have estimated that there will still be a ÂŁ1.3m shortfall for each of those buildings."
A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey has told us: "At Taylor Wimpey, the safety of our customers is of paramount importance. We have always looked to do the right thing and are taking steps where appropriate to help our customers with fire safety measures.
"On top of a previously announced ÂŁ40 million in funding to cover replacement of ACM cladding on high risk buildings over 18 metres, we recently announced ÂŁ125 million of additional funding to bring apartment buildings constructed by Taylor Wimpey over the last 20 years up to current RICS EWS1 standard, including buildings below 18 metres."
Cladding protests
Protests about the removal of unsafe cladding have been taking place regularly across the country since an inquiry the Grenfell Tower fire.
The fire at the 24-storey building in London in June 2017 killed 72 people and left many more injured and homeless.
An inquiry into the fire in October 2019 found that the building's exterior did not comply with regulations and was the central reason why the fire spread.
Campaigners have been pushing to have similar cladding removed from other mid and high-rise buildings in the country ever since.