Following our previous meeting with Telford Homes in late January, we had a follow-up meeting on 4th June to discuss progress with their building safety remediation programme.
We met with Jason Newbold, Remediation Programme Director; Giorgia Sharpe, Remediation Engagement Lead; and Graeme Mitchell, Remediation Associate Director with a focus on design delivery.
We discussed a wide range of topics which you can read about in our full report below. In summary:
• Almost all buildings have an external wall assessment confirming if remedial works are required or not. However, Telford remains significantly behind the pace of other developers in terms of starting works on site.
• Telford expects to submit 26 building applications to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) this year for building control approval. Original timelines had slipped, but the first submission was expected by late June.
• The BSR had declined a request to classify internal compartmentation works as “emergency repairs”, which may delay the timeline for some internal works.
• For a small number of buildings, an access licence has not yet been agreed with the Responsible Entity and this continues to delay either undertaking a FRAEW assessment or starting remediation works on site.
• At a development where leaseholders dispute the outcome of a PAS 9980 assessment, a programme of bespoke testing by a panel of engineers has been agreed by all parties and will be funded by Telford Homes.
• In relation to concerns that they will not always fund the full extent of works required, such as balconies and defective fire doors, Telford described their approach as being “as generous as we can be”, by dealing with “anything that could be considered a defect… unless there is a question mark over obvious damage”.
• Telford confirmed their approach is to reimburse all costs incurred for waking watch and alarm installations, if such measures had been commissioned “in good faith”.
• Some Telford developments have been able to secure an insurance policy that reduced building insurance costs by 60-70%, based on the developer’s commitment to remediation and a full scope of works.
• Telford’s resident portal had been rolled out to 12 sites so far. Feedback suggests the frequency of communication has increased, but more information is needed about progress against expected timescales.
• Telford confirmed their commitment to the Code of Practice for the remediation of residential buildings.
Read the full report on our meeting with Telford Homes here
CALL TO ACTION!
Are you a leaseholder or resident in a Telford Homes building, having issues in relation to assessment or remediation – and unable to get a satisfactory response via your managing agent? Please email the developer directly at buildingsafety@telfordhomes.london and copy us at endourcladdingscandal@gmail.com if you would like us to be aware of the issues being raised and to follow up if needed.
If you need to escalate your concerns to MHCLG (formerly DLUHC), please email building.safety@communities.gov.uk, providing the name and address of your building together with a short summary of your concerns, and detailing the attempts you have made to contact the developer. Please copy our team at endourcladdingscandal@gmail.com so that we can follow up where necessary.
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