Image: New Festival Quarter (White Associates)
Developer Bellway is to pay for the replacement of aluminium composite (ACM) cladding on two housing blocks in work expected to cost £6m.
The work relates to the Prospect Place development in Cardiff and New Festival Quarter in east London.
Nonetheless, Bellway highlighted that despite the fact it was removing and replacing the cladding it “received regulatory sign off for the use of ACM at the time.”
Managing agent of Prospect Place, Warwick Estates, had started to pursue a claim on the NHBC warranty on the block on behalf of residents.
Meanwhile residents of New Festival Quarter, which Bellway developed in partnership with Peabody, feared they would have to pick up the £2m cost of replacing cladding until Bellway stepped in.
The company announced in its annual results earlier this month that it was setting aside a total £5.9m to cover remedial work.
In a statement, the firm said: “Bellway and Peabody do not want customers to be concerned about the cost and have agreed to share the cost irrespective of the outcome of the NHBC investigation and whether they will make a financial contribution. NHBC have not concluded their investigation. Bellway are in the latter stages of designing cladding replacement, after which we will have a better idea of the likely costs.
“Bellway will communicate directly to customers on other developments with ACM on an individual and case by case basis. In all cases we received regulatory sign off at the time of construction, however, the buildings, their ownership and management, and the cladding used is different on every development. We have already confirmed to our customers at Prospect Place in Cardiff that we will be replacing the ACM at that development.”
Housing secretary James Brokenshire has already warned developers and builders of housing blocks that they faced possible enforcement action unless they “do the right thing” and remove and replace cladding.
