Sheffield and Leicester high rises get more than £350,000 grants to fix cladding issues

The grants have prevented costs from being passed to leaseholders through service charges.

The Leicester building’s external wall system was formally identified as requiring cladding remediation in 2024. 

While remediation was being developed, the building faced an interim safety issue. It either required a costly waking watch or the installation of a temporary radio-linked fire alarm system. 

The waking watch was set to cost leaseholders up to £30,000 per month as they were not eligible for the funding. 

Rather than accept this position, Horizon Management engaged directly with the Waking Watch Relief Fund administrators and the local Fire and Rescue Service, and secured a Fire Enforcement Notice, confirming that interim measures were required. 

The application was successful, and grant funding was secured for the installation of a temporary fire alarm system without the prerequisite of a live waking watch. As a result, approximately £106,000 of anticipated interim safety costs were avoided. 

The Sheffield block qualified as a medium-risk building under the Building Safety Act 2022, but its design and construction raised concerns regarding potential combustible materials within the external wall system.

A Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) was required to determine the remediation scope. The anticipated cost was approximately £21,000, to be apportioned across 56 leaseholders. 

The building had a history of service charge challenges. Horizon Management submitted a hardship-based application to central government, evidencing the building’s financial position and the risk to leaseholders if the full cost were recovered through the service charge. 

The application was successful. The full £21,000 cost of the FRAEW was covered by government funding, with no additional service charge contributions required from leaseholders. Following completion of the FRAEW, a further £250,000 pre-tender support package was secured. 

Chris Browne, CEO of Horizon Management, said: “These outcomes weren’t inevitable – they required detailed knowledge of the Building Safety Act framework, the ability to identify the right funding routes, and a willingness to engage with regulators and fire authorities that many managing agents shy away from.

“At both buildings, leaseholders were facing potentially significant financial exposure, and challenging conventional interpretations of the eligibility criteria made the difference.”