2 minutes reading time
(451 words)
There Are Thousands Of Towerblocks That Everyone Has Forgotten
Cladding Matters, chaired by Gareth Wax
Friday 27th June at 1pm
If you're not one of the residents living behind a waking watch, an uninsurable flat, or scaffolding that's become semi-permanent, it’s easy to think the building safety crisis is mostly sorted.
Grenfell was eight years ago. Billions have been pledged. The headlines have quietened down. Yet the truth is, there are thousands of towerblocks that everyone has forgotten.
Royal Artillery Quays in Thamesmead is just one example. Eight years after the first safety defects were reported, remediation of the external cladding is only now getting underway. Even then, it’s scheduled to take 120 weeks.
The internal fire safety issues – missing fire doors, failed compartmentation, and more – still have no confirmed plan, no timetable, and no funding allocation. Residents are living in the gap between promises and progress, and they’re not alone.
Across the UK, thousands of buildings remain trapped in what we might call the 'missing middle.' They are too short to trigger the strictest policies, or too complex to fix quickly, or simply outside the gaze of policymakers and press attention.
Over 12,000 buildings in England alone are estimated to require remediation. Social housing blocks are some of the worst hit, with 2,000 of them identified as having 'life-critical' safety issues. Only 9% have been fixed. Nearly a third haven’t even begun.
Some buildings, like Spectrum House in Dagenham, are now uninhabitable. Others, like the York Castle Museum and public theatres with RAAC concrete, have been quietly closed. In Aberdeen, the council is preparing to demolish 300 RAAC-affected flats.
The urgency is real, yet the silence is louder.
This week on Cladding Matters, we’re not just highlighting the buildings that make the news. We’re naming the ones that don’t.
The ones that remain forgotten by policy, invisible to the media, and indefinitely on hold.
We’ll talk about the blind spots, including internal safety issues that aren’t covered by cladding-focused regulations, residents still footing the bill, and timelines that drift towards 2035 with no one accountable.
Chair Gareth Wax is joined by regular contributors Hamish McLay and Stephen Day, resident at RAQ, to bring lived experience into the light.
We will also be joined by Dominic Ahern, an independent chartered accountant, who brings valuable financial insight into what these delays and oversights really cost.
The numbers tell one part of the story. The waiting tells another.
Join us live on Friday 27th June at 1pm. Let’s remember what others have forgotten.
PS:
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For podcast/media info:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Friday 27th June at 1pm
If you're not one of the residents living behind a waking watch, an uninsurable flat, or scaffolding that's become semi-permanent, it’s easy to think the building safety crisis is mostly sorted.
Grenfell was eight years ago. Billions have been pledged. The headlines have quietened down. Yet the truth is, there are thousands of towerblocks that everyone has forgotten.
Royal Artillery Quays in Thamesmead is just one example. Eight years after the first safety defects were reported, remediation of the external cladding is only now getting underway. Even then, it’s scheduled to take 120 weeks.
The internal fire safety issues – missing fire doors, failed compartmentation, and more – still have no confirmed plan, no timetable, and no funding allocation. Residents are living in the gap between promises and progress, and they’re not alone.
Across the UK, thousands of buildings remain trapped in what we might call the 'missing middle.' They are too short to trigger the strictest policies, or too complex to fix quickly, or simply outside the gaze of policymakers and press attention.
Over 12,000 buildings in England alone are estimated to require remediation. Social housing blocks are some of the worst hit, with 2,000 of them identified as having 'life-critical' safety issues. Only 9% have been fixed. Nearly a third haven’t even begun.
Some buildings, like Spectrum House in Dagenham, are now uninhabitable. Others, like the York Castle Museum and public theatres with RAAC concrete, have been quietly closed. In Aberdeen, the council is preparing to demolish 300 RAAC-affected flats.
The urgency is real, yet the silence is louder.
This week on Cladding Matters, we’re not just highlighting the buildings that make the news. We’re naming the ones that don’t.
The ones that remain forgotten by policy, invisible to the media, and indefinitely on hold.
We’ll talk about the blind spots, including internal safety issues that aren’t covered by cladding-focused regulations, residents still footing the bill, and timelines that drift towards 2035 with no one accountable.
Chair Gareth Wax is joined by regular contributors Hamish McLay and Stephen Day, resident at RAQ, to bring lived experience into the light.
We will also be joined by Dominic Ahern, an independent chartered accountant, who brings valuable financial insight into what these delays and oversights really cost.
The numbers tell one part of the story. The waiting tells another.
Join us live on Friday 27th June at 1pm. Let’s remember what others have forgotten.
PS:
For content enquiries:
For podcast/media info:
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