Cladding crisis: The Milton Keynes flat owners fighting for answers

After the 2017 Grenfell tower block fire, which killed 72 people, it was discovered remedial fire safety works were needed in thousands of blocks of flats in England. Many residents are still waiting for the defects to be fixed, while organisations argue about who is responsible for the work, so how are those caught in the middle coping?

In January, Michael Gove, then Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), said he would make developers pay up to £4bn for the removal of unsafe cladding.

Despite the announcement, many residents of flats and apartments where defects have been found are still worried about big bills and being left unable to move.

The BBC has spoken to residents in blocks of flats in Milton Keynes to find out where they stand.

Iain Horn lives in Coleman House, part of the Aqua development in Fenny Stratford, where fire safety remedial work is needed - but as the building is classed as under 11m (36ft), it is too short to benefit from the government scheme.

Mr Horn says residents were told about 14 months ago that "at the very minimum", the cladding and the wooden balconies needed to be removed.

He said they had not been told how much this might cost but he had had conversations where a figure of £100k to remove the cladding and £5k per balcony was mooted.

No figure for replacing the cladding has been mentioned.

Plus, the government says, that for low rise blocks, other measures like fire alarms are often more appropriate.

"I'm worried I could not afford the bills, lose the flat and go bankrupt," he says.

He adds that the situation has led to him having "not very much sleep".

"It's constantly there in the background but I have good days when I don't think about it until I get home," he says.

"It's quite stressful... sometimes I think about the best way to go bankrupt.

"I like it round here, I really like the flat and I like the block but all this has left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth."

Terry Scoltock says that if he had known there was going to be a cladding problem when he moved into the Vizion block in Milton Keynes in 2012, he would never have bought his two-bedroom apartment.

After residents were told fire safety remedial work was needed, he decided against retiring because he did not know how much he would be expected to pay.

Barrett Homes, which built the block, says it will pay for the work - but no one knows when it will be done.

Mr Scoltock, who earlier this year told the BBC he had "put the rest of [his] life on hold" because of the issues, says it is "definitely a step forward".

"At least we've got some positive news as to who is saying they are responsible to pay for it and that they are committed to doing it," he says.

"There are quite a lot of 'buts' though.

"When is it going to happen and what is the remediation work actually going to be? None of the details seem to be very forthcoming at the moment."

While Mr Scoltock says that while he does "feel a little more comfortable", he is still "a bit unsettled about it".

"I did intend to retire in 2020 but that didn't happen because I didn't know how much I was going to have to pay," he says.

"So I'm still working and carrying on until I have a better idea of what it's actually going to cost me."

Crabtree Limited, the property agent for Coleman house, says it is assisting the management company for the development with the cladding issues and had "engaged the relevant experts to assist".

"Crabtree acknowledges there are difficult situations faced because of the cladding and sympathises with the residents on these issues, though there is nothing further we can do to resolve the matter at this time," a statement says.

Y&Y Management, which manages Vizion, says it is the developer which is "now responsible for when those repairs will be carried out".

"As the building's managing agent, we will work alongside them to ensure they can carry out the necessary works," a statement says.

"A letter has been sent to the apartment's residents informing them of this."

A spokesman for Barratt Homes says it has appointed a fire engineer at Vizion to carry out a thorough inspection of the buildings over the coming weeks.

"We will review [this] with the managing agent to determine what works are required and then ensure they are carried out as quickly as possible at no expense to leaseholders," he says.

A DLUHC spokesman says it us "finalising the legally binding contracts that developers will sign to fix their unsafe buildings, and expect them to do so very soon".

"We will not accept any backsliding on their commitments," a statement says.

"It is building owners' legal responsibility to ensure all buildings are safe.

"For low-rise buildings, less intrusive measures, such as fire alarms, are likely to be more appropriate than extensive remediation."

The government department added that assessments under a new fire risk appraisal standard will make clear that buildings below 11m are "highly unlikely to need costly remediation work".

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