Robert Jenrick's widely predicted response to the cladding crisis has been announced today, with a promise of a £3.5 billion injection to help affected leaseholders. As Nick previously flagged, the scheme will also incorporate a levy on high rise developments going forwards and a tax on residential development.
It's not quite what leaseholders were hoping for, as estimates for the total cost of remedying defective cladding are in the region of £15 billion and the plans have come under scrutiny from a number of MPs, the London Mayor and tenant associations. Stephen McPartland, the Tory MP for Stevenage, who has been a prominent critic of the Government response throughout, labelled the new plans inadequate and Jenrick "incompetent".
There is also consternation about how the fund is to be applied, with leaseholders in buildings below 18 meters or six storeys in height only being offered loans towards their cladding remediation.
We haven't seen much in the way of industry response as yet but it will be interesting to see how developers react to the Government's proposals in the coming days.
Leaseholders are the innocent parties in this. Many people were in primary school when these buildings were constructed and they're now being hit with bills that will be bankrupting them