Despite, the Chancellor promising an extra £1bn to pay for the removal of unsafe combustible cladding from high rise buildings. Residents 'have been told they must pay up by the end of July so work to replace flammable cladding can at least begin within the current insurance year.' This story of residents having to foot the bill is all too familiar 

Residents are being threatened with legal action if they do not pay the bill by the end of July. For those who cannot afford to pay they have been told to contact the managing agent Scanlans so that they can discuss the matter.

The management company bosses have claimed that they have reached out for government funding, that was set aside after the tragic Grenfell tower fire in 2017, but their application was refused. This is a worrying situation as the "it is very unlikely" that the tower block will be able to obtain insurance cover in the future if they do not start removing the combustible cladding before January. 

What's more, the Edge's cladding is thicker than the cladding that was found on Grenfell Tower. As such, it is not certain if the tower block will be able to benefit from the Government's new funds aimed at tackling dangerous cladding. Resultingly residents are worried as communication has broken down as they have requested for a "residents meetings in two years" and they have not had a single one. The Edge has already "got away with it once" says a resident after no one was seriously injured after a fire during the construction of the tower block almost 15 years ago.

"A Scanlans spokesman added: “We are hopeful that The Edge apartment building will benefit from this additional funding, as it is higher than 18m, but until such time as the government qualifies how the funding will be distributed and what criteria will be applied, we have to remain cautious in our optimism."

With Covid-19 disrupting much of the world it remains to be seen what lies ahead for the residents of the Edge. Whatever the outcome might be, we will cover it here at the FIA.