{"id":475935,"date":"2026-04-01T14:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/?p=475935"},"modified":"2026-04-01T18:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:14:10","slug":"unsafe-cladding-in-london-wont-be-fixed-for-a-long-time-despite-grenfell-tragedy-mayor-admits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/london\/unsafe-cladding-in-london-wont-be-fixed-for-a-long-time-despite-grenfell-tragedy-mayor-admits\/","title":{"rendered":"Unsafe cladding in London won\u2019t be fixed for a &#8216;long time&#8217; despite Grenfell tragedy, Mayor admits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Dangerous cladding on the capital\u2019s high-rise buildings won\u2019t be fixed \u201cfor some time\u201d, the Mayor of London has admitted as he said London was uniquely hampered by the issue.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ministers have ordered landlords to either remediate or set a completion date for all residential buildings over 11m with unsafe cladding nationwide by 2029, or risk severe penalties.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"69959\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448384\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtNTU3NDA1MTE1IiBjbGFzcz0ic291dGgtb3V0YnJhaW4taW4tYXJ0aWNsZSBzb3V0aC1lbnRpdHktcGxhY2VtZW50Ij48ZGl2IGNsYXNzPSJPVVRCUkFJTiINCmRhdGEtb2ItY29udGVudFVybD0iaHR0cHM6Ly9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzLmNvLnVrL2FyZWEvbG9uZG9uL3Vuc2FmZS1jbGFkZGluZy1pbi1sb25kb24td29udC1iZS1maXhlZC1mb3ItYS1sb25nLXRpbWUtZGVzcGl0ZS1ncmVuZmVsbC10cmFnZWR5LW1heW9yLWFkbWl0cy8iDQpkYXRhLXdpZGdldC1pZD0iQVJfMiINCmRhdGEtb2ItaW5zdGFsbGF0aW9uLWtleT0iU09VVEhBTzVLQ0VLOEdOQkJOMUdQNzZQOSINCj48L2Rpdj4NCjxzY3JpcHQgdHlwZT0idGV4dC9qYXZhc2NyaXB0IiBhc3luYz0iYXN5bmMiDQpzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vd2lkZ2V0cy5vdXRicmFpbi5jb20vb3V0YnJhaW4uanMiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Until then, however, residents across the capital remain \u201ctrapped\u201d in unsellable and unsafe properties, almost 10 years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, where inappropriate cladding was one of the main reasons why the initial fire engulfed the entire building, killing 72 residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"d3vQbjwZu5GTFfMu1mKpwl0K8vBWXIY7AJeyg8xAGIUPnmrcEN6aM9N3jrk4dzi0XSJSlQoDV\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"bWR7hamtHj\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/news-plus\/mayor-approves-canada-water-masterplan-with-only-9-affordable-housing-despite-giving-a-grant-of-over-50-million\/\">Deputy Mayor approves Canada Water Masterplan with only 9% affordable housing despite grant of over \u00a350 million<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Deputy Mayor approves Canada Water Masterplan with only 9% affordable housing despite grant of over \u00a350 million&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/news-plus\/mayor-approves-canada-water-masterplan-with-only-9-affordable-housing-despite-giving-a-grant-of-over-50-million\/embed\/#?secret=TrClEI91JV#?secret=bWR7hamtHj\" data-secret=\"bWR7hamtHj\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mayor of London has now admitted that Londoners are uniquely exposed to this danger, with the capital having more than double the amount of dangerous buildings than the rest of the country put together.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"68153\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448385\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMjkwOTk0MzE4NyIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWNvbnRlbnQgc291dGgtZW50aXR5LXBsYWNlbWVudCIgc3R5bGU9Im1hcmdpbi1sZWZ0OiBhdXRvO21hcmdpbi1yaWdodDogYXV0bzt0ZXh0LWFsaWduOiBjZW50ZXI7Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtMngxIj4NCjxzY3JpcHQ+DQpnb29nbGV0YWcuY21kLnB1c2goZnVuY3Rpb24oKSB7IGdvb2dsZXRhZy5kaXNwbGF5KCdkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLTJ4MScpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICAgICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>During a session of People\u2019s Question Time last week Sir Sadiq was asked what City Hall are doing to fast track remediation for the most ulnerable residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The unnamed questioner, who lives in Theatro Tower in Greenwich, said her building was still covered in Aluminum Composite Material (ACM) cladding, which can contribute to the rapid spread of fire and release toxic fumes in the event of a fire.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71156\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448386\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMTY1NjUwODQ3NyIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1OSBzb3V0aC1lbnRpdHktcGxhY2VtZW50Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtbXB1OSI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHU5Jyk7IH0pOw0KPC9zY3JpcHQ+DQo8L2Rpdj4gICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"616\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-resident.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-475937\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-resident.jpg 616w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-resident-442x280.jpg 442w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-resident-231x146.jpg 231w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The unnamed questioner living in Theatro Tower, Greenwich, at People&#8217;s Question Time, 24 March 2026<br>Credit: City Hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-1000x457.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-475938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-1000x457.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-500x228.jpg 500w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-768x351.jpg 768w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-260x119.jpg 260w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-1320x603.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-750x342.jpg 750w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower-1140x520.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Theatro-Tower.jpg 1369w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Theatro Tower, Greenwich<br>Credit: Google Maps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"497\" height=\"393\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-Mayor-of-London.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-475936\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-Mayor-of-London.jpg 497w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-Mayor-of-London-354x280.jpg 354w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-Mayor-of-London-185x146.jpg 185w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sadiq Khan at People&#8217;s Question Time, 24 March 2026<br>Credit: City Hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a building of eight storeys and 52 apartments and it\u2019s still covered in ACM cladding,\u201d she told the Mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur building\u2019s insurance is \u00a3130,000 and this has resulted in the deterioration of our building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have elderly and disabled people trapped in their homes because we don\u2019t have a working lift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat are the GLA doing to alleviate the bottleneck of Building Safety Fund applications and fast track those of us living in unjust and unacceptable conditions?\u201d<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71157\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448387\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMzcxMTE2MDExMiIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1LTEwIHNvdXRoLWVudGl0eS1wbGFjZW1lbnQiPjwhLS0gIC8xNTQ3MjUwNzAsMjI2OTQxOTY5Njkvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cy9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzIC0tPg0KPGRpdiBpZD0iZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCcpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICA8L2Rpdj4=<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mayor pointed out the establishment of a new coalition between City Hall, Government, local councils, the London Fire Brigade and regulatory bodies that aims to \u201caccelerate the removal of unsafe cladding on residential buildings over 11metres\u201d in the capital, but admitted a lot of Londoners will simply have to wait before they can be sure their building is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe idea of owning a home is a dream \u2013 but it becomes a nightmare if you have dangerous cladding and can\u2019t sell it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an albatross around your head. One of the things Grenfell taught us is that people are living in buildings that are dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe bad news is that it\u2019s taken years and the cladding is still up. We\u2019ve said to the government that the scheme is not working \u2013 even though they\u2019ve set aside a billion pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey have agreed to allow my Deputy Mayor and the Safety Minister be in charge of the joint remeditation body to get the cladding removed, to find landowners and managers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to persude the government to take action against all types of buildings and all types of cladding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m confident, working with the Building Safety Regular and the Safety Minister, that City Hall can make some progress. But the bad news is that it won\u2019t happen for some time because of the backlog of unsafe buildings in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn London alone, we have more than double the amount of dangerous buildings than the rest of the country put together. This is a London problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There were 4,310 residential buildings 11 metres and over in height identified with unsafe cladding by the government at the end of February nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, 2,298 buildings (53 per cent) have undergone remediation, including 1,521 buildings (35 per cent) which have completed the works. There are still 15 buildings yet to start ACM remediation of the 513 identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"JQIug1UYKndCHP6qzGfs7SWjvR50FkxyXlO8iepANbMoB\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"aLHyZOU9ym\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/news-plus\/walworth-building-still-covered-in-unsafe-cladding-more-than-three-years-after-removal-approved\/\">Walworth building still covered in unsafe cladding more than three years after removal approved<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Walworth building still covered in unsafe cladding more than three years after removal approved&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/news-plus\/walworth-building-still-covered-in-unsafe-cladding-more-than-three-years-after-removal-approved\/embed\/#?secret=yegzT9ADZf#?secret=aLHyZOU9ym\" data-secret=\"aLHyZOU9ym\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dangerous cladding on the capital\u2019s high-rise buildings won\u2019t be fixed \u201cfor some time\u201d, the Mayor of London has admitted as he said London was uniquely hampered by the issue. Ministers have ordered landlords to either remediate or set a completion date for all residential buildings over 11m with unsafe cladding nationwide by 2029, or risk [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19652,"featured_media":475938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":"London has more than double the amount of dangerous buildings than the rest of the country put together"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"800"},"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[13539,13549,800,13602,13543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-475935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-housing","category-london","category-news","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":475948,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475935\/revisions\/475948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}