Dear Barnet Council,
Since I first tried to make contact with you on Monday 4th of March I have had no response to my initial questions. I have since had time to research further into your plan, your FAQs and the new article which you published on the Barnet Council website on the 5th of March.
I have copied our local MP Sara Conway to this email, as you must be held accountable for reasonable communication with residents, which is something you have promised to do and Sara needs to know from day 1 that you are not helping residents.
I have prepared the below questions, with the intention of sending them to you and you having the adequate time to produce answers for the "drop in" session arranged for the 16th of March 2024, however upon calling the council today and speaking to Angela she has informed us that this drop in session is only for tenants and not freeholders (despite it being mentioned in the freeholder letter we received). And there are no formal or otherwise discussions planned with the council for freeholders.
In one letter you have blindsided us with this work, you have instantly made our homes unsellable, uninsurable and caused incredible financial distress to residents in one of the worst cost of living crisis that we have lived through, and you have made no effort for any further contact or acknowledgement to residents.
I have separate the questions into 3 categories, as you have provided different information between the letter to freeholders, the FAQs document and the article which you published on the 5th of March:
1. Questions relating to the original notification issued to residents
2. Questions relating to the FAQs document that came with the letter
3. Questions relating to the article published on the Barnet Council Website 5th March 2024.
Questions relating to the original notification issued to residents 1st March 2024
1. “Recent external surveys on similar properties to yours have shown that your property type appears to have the same cladding”
Question: Please provide a copy of the survey and investigations carried out and on which properties that has resulted in this notification being delivered to 580 homeowners.
Have the homes been declared defective by the survey?
2. “Barnet Council has a legal duty under the Housing Act 2004 to ensure that high risk hazards in properties including privately owned properties are reduced to protect the health and safety of residents.”
You’ve quoted the Housing Act 2004 only in the context to intimidate residents into believing this is their only choice and must comply, but you have not given any further information in regards to the housing act and what your further responsibilities are. Instead you choose to put snippets in an online article published 5 days after residences were informed to “look good” to media and make it appear as though you are being supportive. Further questions in relation to this online article are outlined below.
3. “If you choose to appoint the Council to carry out these essential works, costs are estimated at between £14,000 to £23,000 per property.”
Question: What exactly are we getting for this money? What is the exact process of what you are doing? What will it look like? What is it made from? How is it being installed?
From research the issue with previous fires have been a combination of two things:
1. Combustible cladding
2. Cavities behind the cladding.
Are you simply removing the black wood cladding and replacing it with a cladding of another material? Or do you plan to also address the issue of cavities behind the cladding
London Fire Brigades response to the ban on combustible cladding:
Source: https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/2018-news/brigade-responds-to-the-ban-on-combustible-cladding/
"While we are supportive of a ban on combustible cladding, it’s not enough to make buildings safer.
“Banning cladding won’t make buildings safer unless you ensure that only properly qualified people can make decisions about how buildings are built and maintained. For example, you could strip a building of combustible cladding but a building owner can still make other alterations that could be just as dangerous. Only properly qualified people should be making decisions about the materials we use and changes we make to our buildings and so Government must move quickly to implement the fundamental changes to building regulations as outlined in Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of building regulations and fire safety.
What assurance can you give residences that replacement cladding has been designed and finalised by a “properly qualified person”? Please provide the name of the person or the company who you have appointed to complete the work.
4. “Your home insurance may be impacted by this, so I strongly recommend that you contact your insurer immediately to update them on this matter.”
Question: I have notified my home insurance of your letter. Once works are completed they will require proof, what will be given to residences? A certificate of repairs?
5. “A dedicated team will deal with your enquiries and they can be contacted using the details below”
Question: I first sent an email with initial questions to the email address provided on the 4th of March, I have had no reply.
The contact at the top of the letter is contact “Timbe”, the letter is then signed by “Cath Shaw”, your website for these changes state “Barnet Homes will have a dedicated project manager who will be the first point of contact for owners and residents.”
Please immediately provide the name and contact details of this project manager. Especially considering your online article dated 5th of March says works will begin in April 2024.
I also believe it is essential that we have a SLA in place to receive answers to questions in a reasonable time, you state you are “working closely” with residences, but we have been completely blindsided by this. Immediate action need to be taken due to the incredibly short time scale you have provided between notification and works starting.
The communication about this project has been anything but supportive and dedicated, you state on your news announcement 5th of March “The investigation last summer was conducted by expert building consultants, Capital, at the request of Barnet Homes (Barnet Council’s arm’s length management organisation for council properties).” Why were residence only informed for the first time on the 1st of March?
6. A drop-in session is also being arranged, please use the above contact details to register your interest.
Why have you failed to put the date, time and location of the meeting on the letter? Many residents are not aware of the meeting, and this feels intentional.
Questions relating to the FAQs issued to residents 1st March 2024
1. When were the homes built? The homes were built between the 1930s and 1960s.
This is incorrect, our homes on the Watling Estate were built from 1927 to about 1933.
2. When was the cladding installed to the homes? Barnet Council is not aware of the exact date that the cladding was installed, but believe it was during the late 1980s.
This is incorrect, according to the Barnet Council website history of the Watling Estate. These homes were intentionally designed and constructed with timber, and have remained like this for almost 100 years.
“Plans were drawn up by George Forrest (the London County Council's chief Architect) and 45.8 acres were put aside for use as allotments and parks, 16 for schools and other public buildings, and the rest for housing. Construction work began early in 1926. Most of the houses were made of brick, 464 were timber, and 252 were "Athol steel" houses (houses made with steel plates).”
3. What are the advantages of accepting the council contractor versus procuring my own contractor? Works carried out by Barnet Homes on behalf of the council will be executed by an approved contractor that has been through a robust procurement exercise to ensure value for money and quality assurance.
As highlighted above these homes were originally built by the council, so they should have already been through a robust procurement exercise BEFORE they decided to sell the properties. If the works are now completed, but in the future the “rules” change again, will Barnet Council again hold the residences responsible for further changes?
4. If private homeowners do not allow changes to be made, what will happen? If the works are not completed, then regrettably, Barnet Council will need to take the appropriate enforcement action to ensure that homes are made safe.
Please explain in no uncertain terms what action will be taken, as this is received as a threat should we challenge what is going on.
5. Are there any government schemes which can be used to cover the cost of the works? Unfortunately government payments are only available for high and medium-rise buildings.
It is your responsibility to go to government and secure the same funding / grants that was secured for medium-rise buildings, and secure the same for us.
Questions relating to Barnet Councils News Announcement 5th March 2024
1. In the online article you state “The cladding constituted a “Category 1 hazard”. This is the highest risk, where the council has a legal duty to take action.”
Question: Why has the letter to residence not included this statement of being a Category 1 Hazard, as with this determination comes a procedure which should be followed under section 5 of the Housing Act 2004. Please advise which official course of action has been taken in this situation, and under which section of the House Act 2004 it falls under?
2. “Barnet Council has briefed London Fire Brigade”. Nothing is mentioned in the letter to residents about this briefing, according to the Housing Act 2004 section 10, “Before taking the enforcement action in question, the authority must consult the fire and rescue authority for the area in which the HMO or building is situated”
Question: Please provide the London Fire Brigades response to your briefing, and if in fact you have had a proper consultation with them, if you have please provide their response that the plan by the council is adequate in ensuring residents safety.
3. “Following an investigation, it was found the UPVC cladding installed on the exterior of the properties allowed the fire to spread quickly to neighbouring homes. Along with the timber frame of these buildings and fire stop issues, they no longer meet more stringent post-Grenfell building standards.”
Michael Grove Secretary of State himself commented “The government is partially to blame for the Grenfell Tower tragedy because of "faulty and ambiguous" government guidance”
Our houses were built by the London City Council as part of the “Homes fit for Heroes” campaign, the estate was designed by the council chief architect and were construction between 1927 to 1933, this is outlined in Barnet Councils own historical description of the Watling Estate:
They were intentionally designed and built of timber, the council choose to use non-conventional methods, and to later sell them as part of the governments “Right to Buy Scheme.
Exactly in the same way that the government had to take blame and responsibility for Grenfell Tower, along with the developers, it is the government / councils responsibility and burden to cover the costs of repairs to the houses under the Watling Estate. Our homes were not a priority until now according to the article “Since Grenfell, legislation and remediation has focused on making safe high-rise tower blocks and not low-rise homes.” Now that the focus has turned to lower height buildings the same support and grants to cover these costs must be issued, you simply cannot just pass that on to homeowners who bought the properties in good faith.
4. “We are organising* a loan and a repayment plan for those who need it, but we’re really limited on what we can do.”
“A report to Cabinet (12 March) is recommending offering a loan and repayment plan to homeowners who opt to commission the council to undertake the refit.”
* This is subject to agreement by Cabinet at its meeting on 12 March.
Question: Why are we not waiting for an answer to this before asking residents to pay? What happens to residents if it is not approved? Even if it is approved, what happens to residents who can’t afford to repay a loan? Is the loan interest free?
5. Cllr Ross Houston added: “Ours is an inherited problem relating to buildings constructed and adapted a long time ago. We recognise how hard this will be for all the homeowners who will be faced with an unexpected bill for works, but we have a legal duty to act, and the safety of our residents must come first.”
Question: Can you please explain how this is an inherited problem for the council when it was the council who designed and built these homes in the first place? It is a problem of their own creation. It is in fact an inherited problem for residences who bought these homes in good faith from the council.
Additional questions:
1. Do we have the right appeal the letter and go to a tribunal?
2. According to an article published by the Guardian “Barnet council has alerted the government and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan”. Please provide the details given and when these were passed on.
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