Building safety scandals: Archbishop of Canterbury visits campaign group Manchester Cladiators to show support

The Archbishop of Canterbury travelled to Manchester to meet and offer support to residents affected by the cladding and building safety scandals.

Justin Welby made a visit to the city to speak with the Manchester Cladiators campaign group and hear from leaseholders stuck with flats in buildings with major defects.

The Cladiators have been campaigning since 2019 and want to ensure leaseholders do not end up paying a penny for faults they say are the responsibility of the government and the construction industry.

And they have the backing of one of the country’s most prominent religious leaders following the archbishop’s trip to Manchester.

Why did the Archbishop of Canterbury travel to Manchester to meet the Cladiators?

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby travelled to Manchester and met with the Cladiators and affected residents at a flat in the Green Quarter.

The meeting took place at the home of leaseholders affected by the cladding and building safety scandals.

Archbishop Welby was joined by the Bishop of Manchester David Walker who has been a supporter of the Cladiators and its campaign since it was formed.

The archbishop listened to half a dozen residents from across the North West speak about living in unsafe buildings.

He heard about the building issues, the bills leaseholders are facing to put things right and the impact this crisis has had on their mental health.

What is the aim of the Cladiators campaign?

Since the tragedy at Grenfell Tower in 2017 when dozens of people died in a devastating fire, it has been recognised that many tower blocks are either covered in dangerous cladding or have other issues such as fire safety features not being correctly installed.

However, the Government has come under widespread criticism for not doing enough to financially support residents affected by these problems.

The Manchester Cladiators have spent several years battling the authorities on the issue and represent thousands of people across Greater Manchester who are being saddled with bills for remediation work on the buildings they live in.

The Cladiators say the entire crisis was caused by a combination of the construction industry carrying out shoddy work and politicians failing to provide oversight of what was going on over a significant period of time.

They are therefore adamant that leaseholders should not be ending up out of pocket as they bear no responsibility for the buildings being in an unsafe state.

What was said after the meeting?

Archbishop Welby said: “Although we know the facts around the building safety and cladding crisis, when you meet the people and see the trauma they have been through it really brings it home.

“We need action to deal with this injustice which is impacting millions of people across the country.”

Rebecca Fairclough from the Manchester Cladiators said: “We were honoured that the archbishop found time to meet us and to hear first-hand the awful situation faced by millions of ordinary people across the country.

“The archbishop told us about his experience of being at Grenfell just hours after the tragic fire nearly five years ago.

“We must ensure that nothing like that ever happens again, and that people are finally placed before politics, so that the injustices faced by millions of leaseholders are promptly and fairly resolved.

“The Government must now ensure there is true statutory protection for leaseholders in the Building Safety Bill making its way through Parliament now.”

What has the Government said?

The Government said in February that it agreed that no leaseholders in high or medium-rise buildings should have to pay anything for the removal of cladding.

And it unveiled proposals that developers and product manufacturers who do not help could find themselves being blocked from the housing market.

This could be done by barring planning permission or building control sign-off on new developments.

The Government said it hopes these powers will not have to be used and it wants to encourage the construction industry to do the right thing.

This measures are amendments to the Building Safety Bill, which will have to be approved by MPs.