Five major housebuilders sign up to post-Grenfell cladding pledge

Five of the UK’s big housebuilders have signed new deals with the Government designed to ensure they fix cladding problems that were discovered after the Grenfell fire.

Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Crest Nicholson, Bellway and Redrow all said on Monday they had put pen to paper on the so-called “developed remediation contract”.

The deal will compel the companies to find any buildings they constructed that are deemed unsafe and fix them “as soon as reasonably practicable”, the Government has said.

They will also have to report to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) on their progress once a quarter.

Bellway boss Jason Honeyman said: “Bellway remains fully committed to acting responsibly with regards to building safety and we are making good progress, through our building safety division, on the remediation of legacy developments.

“Bellway has engaged extensively and constructively with DLUHC over many months, both directly and through the Home Builders Federation, which has ultimately resulted in the group’s decision to sign the self-remediation terms.”

Between them Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Bellway confirmed they expect to pay more than £1.1 billion to ensure their buildings are safe.

Crest and Redrow did not confirm the amount they expect to pay, but have previously set aside hundreds of millions of pounds for the remediation.

It is the latest in a years-long process to ensure there is no repeat of the Grenfell fire in the future.

The fire was able to spread rapidly across the London high-rise in 2017 because of an external cladding material which burned easily.

Companies were not forced to sign the new deal. But if they had not, the Government could block them from starting new construction projects under a law which is expected to come into force in the near future.