Government wins case over Stevenage tower remediation works

The government has won a legal challenge against a freeholder owned by the railways pension scheme, forcing it to fix building safety issues at a Stevenage tower block. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities launched legal action against Grey GR in October 2022 following delays in fixing multiple fire safety issues at Vista Tower first identified in 2019. The court will now issue a remediation order specifying a timeframe in which the issues must be fixed. Grey GR is ultimately owned by Railpen, which manages £34bn in assets. The government is seeking remediation orders on a further five Grey GR buildings that have or will be going to trial over the next year. This includes the Chocolate Box in Bournemouth, where remediation works have begun. Secretary of state Michael Gove said: “Leaseholders have lived with uncertainty for far too long while Grey GR delayed essential works to make homes safe. This decision is a victory for leaseholders in Vista Tower and across the country. “It is hugely disappointing that Railpen… has kept leaseholders in limbo in this way. Railway workers with their pensions invested in this fund, as well as innocent leaseholders, deserve better. “This court case should serve as a warning to all building owners. If you fail to fix your unsafe buildings and ensure the safety of residents, we will see you in court. We will not stop until we secure justice for leaseholders.” A spokesperson from Grey GR said: “We have always been fully committed to remediating the buildings for which we are responsible, including Vista Tower, where we have made considerable progress remediating. By its own admission during the final hearing, [DLUHC] accepted that Grey was committed to remediating Vista Tower. “While we are satisfied with the tribunal’s judgement to issue a remediation order solely to provide an additional ‘backstop to give reassurance’ to leaseholders, it is important to note the tribunal’s determination that this is ‘not a fault-based order’, nor that the terms of the order will change the timeline for delivery of the agreed remediation. Indeed, the order is based solely on the plans already submitted by Grey and that are already in progress.”The spokesperson said internal works were completed in 2023, and “extensive remedial work to the external façade began early this year”. “We remain optimistic that we will finish all works by our provisional completion date of Autumn 2025, and the court acknowledged that the remediation order has no bearing on our ability to speed up the process.”