Protesting at Bellway Housing 1 May 2021

Protesting at Bellway Housing 1 May 2021   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Pete Mason, Chair, Barking Reach residents’ association

Three-quarters of cladding systems on new medium-rise buildings use combustible materials. Now residents trapped in fire-risk buildings are taking to the streets to protest outside the salerooms of builders and developers who refuse to rectify the problem.

Networks of angry residents have sprung up. The government has doubled down on its refusal to legislate to ensure that leaseholders, facing bankruptcy or a lifetime of debt, will not end up paying.

We had two successful protests outside the Bellway Homes showrooms on the Barking Riverside estate in east London, where a fire took place in 2019. We were joined by New Providence Wharf residents, who suffered a fire on 5 May (see ‘Canary Wharf fire’ at socialistparty.org.uk), and residents from three other estates.

Now our call for nationwide protests on 5 June, outside the sales offices of builders and developers, has received a big echo. Plans are being laid in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Ipswich and Southend. More than 50 attended a planning meeting.

We demand that the government should pay, and builders and developers should remediate without charging residents.