‘It could happen again at any moment’: Grenfell survivors join residents trapped in dangerous flats to demand urgent action
As thousands continue to reside in unsafe homes with unfit cladding, the government has been told to act immediately "or be responsible for another Grenfell."
Survivors and bereaved family members from the Grenfell Tower fire have joined forces with residents trapped in dangerous flats as part of a major campaign to remove cladding and transform housing legislation.
Campaigners are claiming that 700,000 people are still living in dangerous conditions six months after the government announced a repair fund – with millions of others residing in unsellable homes.
The ‘End Our Cladding Scandal’ campaign has relaunched this week – setting out 10 Asks to resolve the crisis which has left about 200,000 high-rise homes wrapped in deadly materials.
Marathon / Geograph
Grenfell Tower was consumed by flames in summer 2017 and claimed the lives of 72 people.
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The fire spread rapidly due to materials used in construction, and reviews have revealed that as around 20,000 high-rise flats still have the same unfit cladding today.
Grenfell United, a group of bereaved families and survivors, have warned a similar incident in another building could “happen at any moment.”
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“It’s been three years since the fire that took the lives of our loved ones and neighbours,” said GU representatives.
“With this dangerous cladding still on buildings all it will take is a simple kitchen fire to cause another Grenfell.”
They added: “Only the Government has the capacity to sort this mess out. They haven’t done enough and every month they stall they are willingly leaving thousands of people in danger. Rishi Sunak and Robert Jenrick need to step up and make this right.”
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Backed by former Grenfell residents, groups are demanding an urgent national effort to remove all dangerous cladding from buildings by June 2022 and for funding to be provided up front to all blocks.
The 10 Asks are from the groups are as follows:
The Government must lead an urgent national effort to remove all dangerous cladding from buildings by June 2022, actively prioritising the buildings most at risk
The Building Safety Fund must cover all buildings, regardless of height, and a range of internal and external fire safety defects not just cladding
The Government should provide the money up front, and then seek to recover it from any responsible parties or via a temporary levy on development
Social housing providers must have full and equal access to the fund
The Government must compel building owners or managers to be honest with residents about fire safety defects
The Government should cover the cost of interim safety measures
The Government should act as an insurer of last resort and underwrite insurance where premiums have soared
A fairer, faster process is needed to replace EWS and funding is necessary to ensure all buildings requiring a form are surveyed within 12 months
Mental health support must be offered to affected residents
Protecting residents from historic and future costs must be a key commitment of new building safety legislation
We hope the relaunch of the END OUR CLADDING SCANDAL campaign has refocused people & given them the motivation needed to carry on fighting
The campaign states that the £1bn Government Fund will cover fewer than 600 of the 2,957 developments requiring restoration, leaving 2,357 with no recourse to remediation.
Without government funding, costs have fallen on leaseholders – and some residents are being charged more than £100,000 to finance the repairs themselves.
Leaseholders are also required to fund waking watches (24-hour fire patrols) at costs of up to £800 per month until their blocks are deemed safe.
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Michael Mansfield QC, representing a collective of lawyers working for Grenfell Tower families, said: “There are many more Grenfell fires waiting to happen. Thousands of citizens are at risk.
“After three years it is a disgrace that this risk has not been eradicated by the removal of all combustible cladding. With the advent of more lockdown, the message is clear and urgent CLADOFF!”
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester has expressed his support for the plan and local Cladiator group, along with Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor and Chair of the Greater Manchester High Rise Task Force.
The Manchester Cladiators have said that residents are “suffering”, claiming the government has continued to pursue a “flawed approach” which is putting lives at risk.
Ritu Saha, a founding member of the UK Cladding Action Group, said the government “must act now or be responsible for another Grenfell.”
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“Grenfell has exposed terrible failings of the building safety regulatory regime in this country,” said Saha.
“Thousands of buildings are now deemed unsafe, with horrific mental and financial consequences for innocent leaseholders.
“Any decent government must put the safety of residents first.”
News
Environment Agency officially declares a drought in north west England
Emily Sergeant
The Environment Agency has officially declared a drought in the north west of England following the driest start to spring in 69 years.
It comes after river flows and groundwater levels have been declining due to the dry March, April, and start of May, and now reservoir storage levels in the region are also receding too, meaning at this moment in time, they’re currently lower than they were during the famous drought years of 1984, 1995, and 2022.
According to the Environment Agency (EA), a decision to declare drought is taken based on reservoir levels, river flows, and moisture in the soil, along with taking into consideration weather forecasts on a long-term basis.
Declaring drought status enables the EA to ‘plan, deliver, and manage’ actions in drought plans.
The Environment Agency has officially declared a drought in north west England / Credit: Pxhere
However, there is no single definition for drought, the EA admits, so while it’s a given that it’s caused by a period of low rainfall, the nature, timing, and impacts on people, the environment, agriculture, or business will vary.
Some droughts are short and intense, while others are long and take time to develop over multiple seasons.
Although there has been some welcome rain across the North West in recent days, the EA says this is ‘not enough to reverse the dry start to the year’ and is definitely not enough to cover the expected hotter weather in the coming weeks, which it believes is only set to ‘exacerbate’ the situation.
The decision by the EA to move the region into drought status means the regulator will increase its operational response throughout the summer.
It follows what has been the driest start to spring for the region in 69 years / Credit: David Dixon (via Geograph)
This will be all while ensuring that water company United Utilities steps up the actions agreed in its drought plans – including fixing leaks, communicating with customers and supporting them to reduce demand, and submitting drought permits to take more water, as and where needed.
According to the EA, if these actions are taken in a ‘timely manner’ will help preserve supplies for people and the environment.
“Drought is a naturally occurring phenomenon,” explained Andy Brown, who is the Water Regulation Manager at the Environment Agency. “As we see more impacts from climate change, heavier rainfall and drier summers will become more frequent and this poses an enormous challenge over the next few decades.
“Despite the rain over the weekend levels remain low and we are encouraging people to be aware of the impacts of drought as we enter the summer period.
“With further unsettled periods and rainfall over the coming weeks we will continue to closely monitor the situation and implement our Drought Plan.”
Trafford gymnastics coach jailed for 18 years after raping and sexually assaulting young girls
Emily Sergeant
A gymnastics coach from Trafford has been jailed after being found guilty of non-recent rape and sexual assault against young girls he taught.
It comes after a woman bravely came forward to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) back in September 2020 to disclose the prolonged abuse she suffered at the hands of a sports coach during her youth – with the years of offending spanning from the late 1980s to the early 90s.
That coach was Michael Haynes, from the Urmston area of Trafford.
Mr Haynes, who is now 77 years old, appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced this week after a four-week trial.
During the trial, the court heard how in the late 80s, one of the victims – who was 11 at the time – joined Trafford School of Gymnastics, and it was here where Haynes first sexually assaulted her by inappropriately touching her through her clothing as he was appearing to ‘help’ her with stretching exercises.
This progressed over time, and eventually turned from sexual touching to rape – with offences occurring in his vehicle whilst he was assisting the victim’s family to transport her to and from the gymnastics club.
Following these discoveries, then in December 2023, another woman learned that Haynes was to stand trial for sexual offences and bravely came forward to the police to report what happened to her when she was around 12 years old and had already been at the gymnastics school for years with Haynes.
Michael Haynes / Credit: GMP
The court learned how Haynes began inappropriately asking her about relationships with other boys her age, before proceeding to touch her leg and sexually assault her.
“Michael Haynes violated boundaries I hadn’t yet learned how to name,” the first victim tragically explained in a victim impact statement.
“I didn’t understand what had happened, or how I felt about it. I just knew something had shifted in me. Something had been taken by someone I trusted, and I carried confusion and shame for many years. I still live with the effects of what happened, but I also live with pride in who I’ve become. All you have left now is shame.”
Michael Haynes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was found guilty of nine counts of rape and 11 counts of sexual assault against two girls.
Following the sentencing this week, Detective Inspector Rick Lees, of Trafford’s CID, said: “This was a harrowing investigation, and I would like to thank the survivors for their bravery in coming forward after all these years and reporting what happened to them.
“I cannot imagine the psychological effect that this abuse had on them over the years, and I hope today’s sentencing brings some form of closure and a sense of justice.”
Following the investigation, GMP said it believes there may be further victims of Haynes’ from the same time period who may have previously felt unable to come forward.
“We would like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who has been a victim of any form of sexual abuse, whether it be recent or non-recent to please get in touch with us, no matter how long ago it was, we will listen to you, and we can help,” DI Lees concluded.
The Manc -
29th September 2020 
