Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner to meet as hundreds of residents STILL living in unsafe homes

Greater Manchester residents are having to "battle" to find out when their homes will be safe from dangerous cladding, campaigners say.

Seven years after the Grenfell Tower fire which killed 72 people, more than 150 buildings around Greater Manchester are in 'interim measures' due to unsafe materials. In buildings where work has started, progress has often taken several years, with some high rise blocks left covered in scaffolding.

Residents in some blocks around the region have complained about how fire safety works have made their lives a "nightmare" and taken too long. The situation has led to Andy Burnham asking the government to step in, with the Mayor due to meet Angela Rayner to discuss the issue.

READ MORE: 'It's a s***show': How Greater Manchester residents' lives have been turned upside down after Grenfell

Giles Grover, from the group Manchester Cladiators, said long-suffering leaseholders and tenants need urgent action from the government to resolve the situation. "The law may have changed over two years ago, but it is too complicated," the campaigner added.

"There are several funding schemes, layers of unequal leaseholder protections, complex building ownership structures, self-interested stakeholders arguing over liability, and ongoing disputes over safety risks.

"After over seven years of staunch support when in opposition, Labour must take control and get a grip to ensure that leaseholders and residents no longer have to battle simply to find out when homes will be made safe.

"All leaseholders are equally innocent irrespective of their circumstances. We need the Labour government to show it has the political will to recognise this and to move quickly to protect us all from costs to fix safety defects we played no part in causing."

Thorn and Spruce court in Salford are two high rise tower blocks affected by the issue. Tenants recently reported problems with large amounts of dust seeping into their homes due to the work taking place, and the "constant" sound of construction at the Salford City Council owned towers, which are managed by Pendleton Together.

Thorn Court tenant, Kevin De Vulder, called for a rent reduction in August, after putting up with "excruciating" sound levels for two years. Work on the blocks is still set to continue for another 12 months at least.

Tom Brothwell, a resident in Manchester's 360 building, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in September that he has faced years of battles to get the building's cladding removed, with work yet to begin.

"It's worrying, the pace of change to fix it has not matched the urgency of the problem," he added.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham told the LDRS that he is meeting deputy prime minister Angela Rayner in two weeks to discuss a way forward.

He said: "We need a clear solution so that we can get more buildings safe as soon as possible. It's not right that seven years after Grenfell, we're still in a position where over 150 buildings have interim measures - we need end solutions, not interim measures now.

"I have a meeting with the deputy prime minister in a couple of weeks where this issue will be being discussed. I think the government does need to take a more direct role now in fixing the problem."

The government confirmed a plan for speeding up the pace of work will be shared this autumn. A spokesperson added: "The progress on remediation has been too slow – which is why we are taking action to ensure that dangerous buildings are dealt with urgently.

"We are ramping up work with regulators and local authorities, with plans to accelerate the pace of remediation to be announced this autumn.

"The full force of government will be brought to bear to make sure building owners fix this and people have the safe and secure homes that they deserve."