Cladding updates

October 21st 2024

Please click here for the October cladding update from Sol Unsdorfer

July 30th 2024

Please click here for the July cladding update from Sol Unsdorfer

December 2023

Please click here for the latest cladding update bulletin from Parkgate Aspen

July 5th 2023

Please click here to see the latest cladding update bulletin from Parkgate Aspen.

See graphic below for a reminder of the BSF application process (extract from the April 2023 presentation).

April 26th 2023

Please click here to see presentation from the Parkgate Zoom Q&A.

March 20th 2023

Please click here to see the latest cladding update from Parkgate Aspen.

December 19th 2022

Please click here to see the latest cladding update from Parkgate Aspen.

August 2nd 2022.

Please click here to see the latest cladding update from Parkgate Aspen.

March 16th 2022

Please click here to download the slide pack presented by Steven Unsdorfer at last night’s Zoom open meeting with Sol Unsdorfer and team.

February 2022

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has launched a ‘BSF leaseholder and Resident Service’ that provide on-line status updates on a building’s BSF application process. To access the (monthly) updates click on this link and then enter the relevant building code, which will be one of the following: (NB do not include the building name)

B6_new_lewisham_6 (for Hanover House)

B3_NEW_Tower Hamlets_119 (for Berkeley Tower)

B3_NEW_Tower Hamlets_120 (for Eaton House & Circus Apartments)

B3_NEW_Tower Hamlets_35 (for Belgrave Court)

[The reason Hanover House has a ‘lewisham’ reference is because the BSF confused our Hanover House with a similarly named building in Lewisham…]

January 2022

Please see Sol Unsdorfer’s January 2022 news bulletin for the latest cladding update.

1st October 2021

Please click here for the latest cladding update from Parkgate Aspen.

16th July 2021

Please click here for the latest cladding update from Parkgate Aspen

25th March 2021

Please click here for the latest cladding update from Parkgate Aspen.

9th February 2021

Please click here for the latest cladding update from Parkgate Aspen.

22nd December 2020

Please click here for the latest cladding update from Parkgate Aspen following the recent intrusive access works.

25th November 2020

On-site intrusive access works are progressing well. IFC attended for their first inspection yesterday and will be returning again tomorrow and next week.

• Progress with the BSF is also on track. There is a lot of administrative bureaucracy but we are getting lots of assistance from our case officer and things seems to be falling in to place.

• The responses to the request for State Aid De Minimis declarations has been encouraging.

• Similarly, the tender process is on track for us to have tender prices back on a ‘worst case scenario’ basis in time for submission by the 31 December deadline.

We appreciate the patience of all residents whilst the scaffold is up in various locations of the building. Hopefully it will be worth the investment and disruption if we can find existence of cavity barriers in the locations we are looking which may serve to reduce the overall extent of the works.  Many of you will have heard of the supplementary advice and announcements issued over the weekend in respect of the EWS1 system. Regrettably, this doesn’t appear to help us in any meaningful way. 

19th November 2020

With scaffolding currently being erected at Canary Riverside to facilitate the investigations by the fire engineering consultants RACR has received queries from residents as to the duration of these investigations. Sol Unsdorfer, the Section 24 Manager, has responded to RACR as follows:

“I regret the inconvenience especially for the many residents working from home. As to location of the scaffolding, we are in the hands of the fire engineering consultants IFC who mapped out precisely the specific sections they wanted to expose for their invasive survey. As you can see from the attached image [of Eaton House] from their report, they need to expose the window spandrels and check fire breaks as well as the wall and insulation checks. As to timescale, we should know by the end of next week how quickly IFC were able to get all the areas inspected and how soon the exposed areas could be closed up by the contractors prior to demounting of the scaffold. Remember, all affected buildings nationwide are having to work towards an almost impossible timescale laid down by the government’s Building Safety Fund, which requires remedial works to start by the end of next March. There are only 300 or so fire engineering consultants in the country who are qualified and insured for EWS certification purposes, and with thousands of other buildings on the waiting list, I need to seize whatever scarce resources I can get my hands on - whether that be consultants, contractors, scaffolders- to be ahead of the game. Rest assured, the scaffold will not be up any longer than is absolutely necessary.”

12th November 2020

Please click here for an update on the works to identify the extent of fire safety/cladding remediation.

9th November 2020

As part of Canary Riverside’s application to the Building Safety Fund leaseholders who rent out their flat or use it for business (NB this doesn’t mean working from home, unless running a business from the flat) are required to complete a declaration confirming whether they have been in receipt of state aid. If your flat is held in joint names, each leaseholder must complete a separate declaration.

You will shortly be receiving the declaration form together with a covering letter from Parkgate Aspen. An example letter/declaration form can be found here.

It is essential that these forms are completed and returned ASAP. Failure to do so may result in insufficient funds being awarded to complete the remediation works. Any shortfall will have to be funded by way of the service charge.

23rd October 2020

Please click here for a copy of the latest update from Sol Unsdorfer and the Section 20 Notice of Intention to carry out cladding remedial works. Observations and nominations for a preferred contractor must be made by 27th November 2020.

Update 25th September

Please click here for the latest update from Parkgate Aspen.

Update 15th September

Please read RACR’s submission in response to Parliament’s ‘call to evidence’ following publication of the draft Building Safety Bill. The Government claims the Bill will make ‘people safe in their own homes’ - homes that had been built in accordance with the regulations in force at the time.

Those regulations have now changed (per the January 2020 ‘consolidated advice’ note). The Building Safety Bill would make leaseholders legally responsible for the costs of bringing cladding/insulation etc up to the new standard - and the costs of any subsequent revisions to the regulations, eg, following the outcome of the Grenfell Tower Enquiry. The Bill proposes a second service charge: demands made under that charge would be payable by leaseholders within 28 days.There would be on-going costs associated with maintaining that standard.

Update 19th August

Parkgate Aspen has confirmed that they have registered with the Government Building Safety Fund and will be submitting an application for funding. At this time buildings under 18 meters do not qualify for funds from the BSF, which means that Hanover House is excluded from any Government funding. IFC have been appointed to determine the scope of the remediation works required across the four residential buildings.

Update 17th July

Please click the link here for the latest update from Parkgate Aspen.

Update 27th May 2020

The government yesterday published more information in respect of the £1bn Non-ACM ‘building safety fund’ announced by the Chancellor in March 2020. The press release can be found here, and the registration form questions here. Sol Unsdorfer, the s.24 Manager has set up a cladding working group at Canary Riverside which includes representatives from CREM, RACR and Residential Land (the owners of Circus apartments), and has advised that his staff will be completing the questionnaire ready for submission in July.

Background: Cladding regulations post-Grenfell

Following the tragic accident at Grenfell Tower in 2017 the Government undertook various reviews of building fire safety regulations, focusing on cladding and insulation materials found on residential buildings above 18 meters in height.

An inspection at Canary Riverside immediately after Grenfell found that there was no ACM cladding used at the Estate, and initially it was thought that no further action was required. However, in December 2018 the Government issued ‘AN14’. This required that every residential building >18m have a professional survey undertaken to ‘check that the external walls on their buildings were safe’. This extended beyond whether ACM cladding was present: potentially unsafe materials included non-ACM cladding and insulation, and also included installation (eg, whether there were cavities that could potentially facilitate the spread of fire). Further advice notes were issued and in January 2020 a ‘consolidated note’ was published. This was followed by an announcement in the Budget that a £1bn Remediation Fund for non-ACM cladding would be made available. The Fund prospectus was published on the 26th May and can be found via this link.

Impact on flat owners of the change in regulations and the EWS1 form

The change in regulations has caused chaos for flat owners looking to sell or re-mortgage their properties, as lenders are demanding that they prove their flat complies with the 2020 regulations by way of an EWS1 form - something that was created by RICS and UK Finance (the body that represents lenders). The EWS1 requirement poses several problems for flat owners:

1. It can only be obtained by the building owner/manager, and leaseholders are reliant on them taking appropriate action.

2. The EWS1 form must be completed by a suitably qualified person, and there is a shortage of such experts who have the right experience/qualifications and PI insurance cover. With thousands of buildings affected this has meant big delays in scheduling inspections.

3. If the inspection identifies that remediation works will be required a completed EWS1 form will be of no benefit to the flat owner - and might actually exacerbate the problems they face, if lenders consider mitigation of fire risks (such as waking watches) are required until such time as the remediation works have been completed.

4. A new EWS1 form will be required every five years.

The Leasehold Knowledge Partnership has written a helpful explanation of “what you need to know about EWS1”.

Almost every block of flats, regardless of height, has been caught by the EWS1 certification requirement and there are many stories in the media of flats being given zero valuations by valuers, sales falling through and residents having to pay thousands of pounds to fund waking watches and increased insurance premiums. It is a government-made disaster for flat owners: we bought our flats on the understanding that they were safe and fit for purpose, having complied with the building regulations in force at the time they were built.

Cladding at Canary Riverside

In response to AN14 arrangements were made by the s.24 Manager for a professional firm to undertake an inspection of the external walls at Canary Riverside. FRC were appointed, and their inspection has identified problems with cladding/insulation materials used at the very top of all four residential buildings (rooftop service structures and penthouses) and also with insulation behind some of the pre-cast masonry panels. Remedial works are required.

Parkgate Aspen have engaged IFC to undertake a holistic review in order to determine the scope of the works required.

Resources and lobbying

The cladding issue affects hundreds of thousands of residents throughout England and Wales. A number of action groups have formed in order to lobby Government, and RACR has joined the UK Cladding Action Group. We are also working with representatives from other estates on the Isle of Dogs, the majority of whom are similarly affected by the cladding issue, and are holding regular virtual meetings with our MP, Apsana Begum.

The Birmingham Leaseholder Action Group (BrumLAG) has an excellent resources page where you can find links to further information, groups and documents.