Wandsworth’s housing spokesman Cllr Kim Caddy has welcomed the announcement that the Government will fund the removal and replacement of cladding from taller privately-owned tower blocks.

Cllr Caddy said James Brokenshire’s announcement on Thursday that Whitehall would pay for the cladding to be replaced was “great news for Wandsworth residents who have bought homes in these blocks and were until now left facing huge uncertainty about how the cladding outside their homes would be removed and who would pay for it.”

 “Many of the developers who built these blocks have argued that the cladding complied with building regulations and so they have been unwilling to pay for these remedial works.  

“This had created an impasse and the victims of that were the residents who had bought these homes in good faith.

“I am delighted therefore that the Government has decided to act to end this impasse and that residents of Wandsworth who found themselves in the middle of this dispute are now being given the reassurance about their safety that they have long been calling for”

There are also two council owned blocks in Wandsworth with cladding and the removal and replacement of these panels is now well underway, also funded by the Government, following lobbying from Wandsworth Council.

In last week’s announcement Housing Secretary Mr Brokenshire pledged £200m to pay for the removal and replacement of cladding at 170 privately owned tower blocks.