Gove demands a ‘new deal’ from developers

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove has called on developers to pay £4bn for cladding remediation in a “new deal” with the industry. The comments came in a flurry of announcements around building safety ahead of the anticipated levelling up white paper expected this month. Speaking in the House of Commons on 10 January, Gove acknowledged “failures of enforcement and compliance in our building safety regime” that led to the Grenfell Tower fire. “It is clear that the building safety system remains broken,” he added. Gove has called for developers and manufacturers to stump up the funds for remediation work on buildings between 11m and 18m, and vowed to remove any costs and burden passed to leaseholders. He said: “To those who mis-sold dangerous products, such as cladding or insulation, to those who cut corners to save cash as they developed or refurbished homes, and to those who sought to profiteer from the consequences of the Grenfell tragedy: we are coming for you.” Gove pointed to the suspension of Rydon Homes from the Help to Buy programme last year as “only the start of the action that must be taken”. In an open letter to the industry, Gove called on developers to publicly commit to footing the bill, with a deadline of early March. He has demanded that developers pay for and undertake all remediation on buildings over 11m in which they have played a role and provide comprehensive information on all buildings with historic fire safety defects over the last 30 years. In the letter, Gove said: “I am prepared to take all steps necessary to make this happen, including restricting access to government funding and future procurements, the use of planning powers, the pursuit of companies through the courts and – if the industry fails to take responsibility in the way that I have set out – the imposition of a solution in law if needs be.” The announcement left the UK’s largest housebuilders reeling, with £1bn wiped off the value of the FTSE 100 builders in one day. Gove has withdrawn the consolidated advice note requiring EWS1 checks for lenders, despite pushback from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, saying it had been wrongly interpreted and driven a cautious approach. Instead the government will support new guidance for assessors developed by the British Standards Institution. The government will also take the power to review the governance of RICS to support the new regime. A £27m fund will provide fire alarms to replace waking watches and Gove promised to change grant funding guidance to allow sub-lets. The government is working to put the recommendations of the Hackitt review into legislation and will soon commence the Fire Safety Act 2021, Gove said in the Commons. A deluge of announcements from the government this week included the Industry Safety Steering Group’s third report on culture change in the built environment, led by Dame Judith Hackitt. “It has been crystal clear to many of us from the outset that legislation alone will not deliver the outcomes we are looking for,” said Hackitt. “The culture of the industry itself must change to one which takes responsibility for delivering and maintaining buildings which are safe for those who use them.” To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@eg.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @EGPropertyNews Photo: gov.uk