Skip to main content

Cladding Crisis - Welsh Gov Must Protect People First & Pursue Developers Later

Ahead of today’s Senedd debate on a cladding safety Bill, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have reiterated their calls that the Welsh Government must protect people first and pursue developers later when it comes to tackling the cladding crisis.



 

Under current plans, the Welsh Government is pursuing developers to force them to pay for the removal and replacement of unsafe cladding, but the Welsh Liberal Democrats have argued that citizens cannot continue to live in unsafe accommodation or front up the bill while the Welsh Government wrangles in legal loopholes with developers.

 

The Party is calling on the Welsh Government to front the cost of the changes as soon as possible and pursue the developers for costs at a later date in order to ensure no one is living in unsafe accommodation.

 

Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:

“The cladding scandal has been a long and drawn-out nightmare for leaseholders. I cannot imagine what it feels like to have a waking watch being what’s keeping you and your neighbours safe, to watch costs skyrocketing, the price of your property plummeting – all while many of the property developers continue to make a profit.

 

“I have now heard countless stories of the terrible reality of the situation people are facing. In South Quay, Swansea, leaseholders are facing service charge increases of up to £4000 in this year alone.

 

“Similarly, leaseholders in Cardiff face costs of up to £8,000 per year – with that figure set to rise.

 

 

“People feeling like they are falling through the cracks, waiting for action as costs rise, feeling that their lives are on hold, becoming unwell and needing counselling.

 

“It's appalling that the burden of responsibility has been placed on these innocent leaseholders, rather than the building owners and developers who cut the corners in the first place.

 

“Cladding is just the tip of the iceberg. As they’ve found recently in Australia – the internal alterations required are substantial, disruptive, and costly.

 

“Rather than taking a begging bowl to developers asking them to do the right thing, this Government needs to protect people first and recoups costs later.

 

“There deserves a tremendous amount of recognition for those people across Wales who have had no choice but to become campaigners rallying people together to press for action – all the while dealing with the potential of financial ruin experiencing huge personal strain.

 

“This issue must be solved once and for all.”


Labels

Labels:
Location: Wales, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Significant Gaps Remain in Welsh Government Building Safety Announcement

  The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed progress announced today in the Welsh Government’s building safety announcement but have warned significant gaps remain. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS and Cardiff Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Rhys Taylor addressing building saftey campaigners.   The announcement given by Environment Minister Julie James MS confirmed that 9 property developers have now signed up to the Welsh Government’s “Developers Pact” agreeing in theory their responsibility to remediate buildings they constructed with safety defects.   The announcement follows a lengthy campaign by leaseholders in the five years since the Grenfell Tower Disaster.   However, three major developers are still yet to reply.   The Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated that due to the Welsh Government’s failure to work with the UK Government on the Building Safety Act, they are left with little to no options to deal with the property de...
Post a Comment
Read more

UK Government must grant refugee status to all Uyghur asylum seekers

  We are calling on the government to offer the Uyghur population asylum in the UK, so that they can flee t   he unthinkable horrors of the situation in Xinjiang and find safety here.   n just the last few months, drone footage believed to be from Xinjiang in China, showed Uyghurs kneeling and blindfolded, waiting to be led onto trains. At the same time, the Chinese Government is also accused of undertaking a  programme  of forced  sterilisation  against Uyghur women.   The situation is abhorrent. Over the course of the last three years, Liberal Democrats have urged the UK government to do more to stop this gross violation of human rights. We have led cross-party letters, parliamentary debates, and parliamentary motions.   We remain clear that the UK has a duty to act.  That is why we have led on a cross-party letter this week to Priti Patel urging her to do the right thing and automatically give refugee status to the Uyghur people. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mid Wales Growth Deal funding insulting

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and MP for Brecon and Radnorshire Jane Dodds has called the UK Government’s £55m funding for the Mid Wales Growth Deal insulting.Mid Wales Growth Deal funding insulting Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns used his speech to Conservative Party Conference in Manchester to announce £55m of funding for the Mid Wales Growth Deal over 15 years. The UK Government are contributing £500m to the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and £241m to the Swansea Bay City Deal. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MP commented: Alun Cairns’ announcement shows that, under this Conservative Government, Mid-Wales will never get the funding we truly need. The £55m promised is frankly insulting. Not only is it nowhere near enough, it is a fraction of the funding being provided for the Cardiff and Swansea City Deals. Our rural communities have been let down and forgotten about for far too long. What’s more, they will be some of the harde...
Read more