1,000 buildings in UK could be covered in flammable cladding

Revealed: Removing cladding from private buildings could cost £2bn

This week Grenfell survivors and bereaved have been shining a light on what they believe is a wholly inadequate response from the authorities to the fire that killed 72 people, writes Symeon Brown.

Two years on what’s been become clear is this wasn’t a freak accident. It was just waiting to happen.

Experts say there are possibly more than a thousand buildings around the UK covered in similar, potentially dangerous cladding systems.

Leaseholders from all over the country have found themselves not only in danger, but owning properties now estimated to be almost worthless and deemed unsafe by the fire service.

So far the government have pledged £200m to fix ACM cladding on private buildings, but the Local Government Association estimate the total cost to fix all unsafe cladding could be closer to £2bn.

The government are scheduled to test six different types of potentially flammable cladding which could be on thousands of homes around the UK.

Perhaps the most shocking part of this scandal is that some people living in these suspect buildings don’t even know they could be at risk.