The Governments new ‘Building Safety Fund’ which was announced in the March budget has been slammed by local Labour Councillors as being “inadequate” and described as “a huge let down”.

In the aftermath of the Grenfell fire, just over 3 years ago, the fund was established so that dangerous cladding could be removed from high rise buildings. However, under the proposals that were published on the 26^th May, in a registration prospectus, the majority of buildings will be left without any financial support. A parliamentary inquiry into the proposals has found that the fund will cover only a third of the 1,700 most dangerous high-rise blocks, and will not cover work on a further 9,600 buildings that are likely have flammable cladding.

The new Leader of the Labour Group, Cllr Nick Peel said, “This let down is particularly worrying for Bolton in the aftermath of the Cube fire on Bradshawgate, as we now find that student accommodation, like the Cube, has been arbitrarily excluded from eligibility to the fund. Boris Johnson was happy to pose for the cameras in the aftermath of the fire. We didn’t know at that time that he was planning no help whatsoever.”

Cllr Richard Silvester, Labours Shadow Housing and Planning spokesman said “This is a massive let down, not only for Bolton, but for residents across the country who are living in dangerous buildings. The fund is completely inadequate; it only covers re-cladding, but it should obviously cover all fire safety defects. Now we have been told that it does not cover buildings such as the Cube, which has suffered its own disaster. This is a huge smack in the face to all those who are tirelessly campaigning in the aftermath of Grenfell.”