Pace of cladding repairs 'has been far too slow'

DEVELOPERS have fully fixed only four out of 163 at-risk buildings in Wales more than eight years on from the Grenfell disaster, which claimed the lives of 72 people.

- STAFF REPORTER

The warning came as the Senedd debated a building safety bill which excludes powers to enforce legally binding deadlines on developers to finish the work.

Labour's John Griffiths chairs the Senedd’s housing committee which warned progress on remediation “has been far too slow and this should not be allowed to continue’

Urging ministers to accelerate progress as the bill cleared the first hurdle in the Senedd, Mr Griffiths called for changes to include legally enforceable deadlines and penalties.

He told Senedd members: “It cannot be right that residents are left to continue the difficult battle to resolve safety issues through no fault of their own”

Jane Dodds, the Liberal Democrats’ leader in Wales, warned innocent leaseholders remain trapped in homes they cannot sell and faced with costs they cannot bear.

She said: “We've got 163 buildings that developers are responsible for remediating. And then we hear that only four of those buildings have been completed. Four out of 163.