Stevenage: Vista Tower freeholder ordered to fix issues

Multiple serious fire safety issues were first identified in 2019, with remedial work costing around £15 million and leaseholders being handed bills asking them to pay a service charge of up to £208,000.

After delays in fixing the issues, the government launched legal action against Grey GR in October 2022.

Following a trial in March, the Court has now decided in favour of the government. A remediation order will be issued, imposing a legally-binding requirement on Grey GR to fix building safety issues within a mandated timeframe.

Grey GR started work on Vista Tower in January this year, after legal action had commenced, and estimate that work will be completed by September 2025.

They could now face sanctions if they do not complete the work by a date set by the remediation order.

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Remedial work will include removing combustible insulation and replacing it with non-combustible materials, installing cavity barriers for fire protection, and installing effective 'fire stopping' around the vent ducts and openings.

Sophie Bichener, a leaseholder in Vista Tower, said: "I am very pleased to see this remediation order has been made. This gives leaseholders the reassurance we deserve and is the closest we have been to regaining our freedom after what has been an extremely difficult few years.

Leaseholder Sophie Bichener has spent years campaigning on issues with Vista Tower. (Image: Supplied)

"We thank the Secretary of State for bringing this remediation order – it will have a huge impact on our lives and we hope our involvement in this case will bring hope to many others who are waiting for their freeholders to do the right thing and make their homes a safe place to live too."

Michael Gove, levelling up secretary, 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.

Michael Gove runs the department that brought legal action against Grey GR, the freeholders of Vista Tower. (Image: Lucy North/PA Wire)

"It is hugely disappointing that Railpen - the ultimate owner of Grey GR and who manage £34bn in ‘assets’ - 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."

The Vista Tower case was the first legal action brought by the government under the Building Safety Act 2022, which introduced new powers including the possibility of using remediation orders.

The government is also seeking remediation orders on a further five Grey GR buildings that have or will be going to trial over the next year. They include The Chocolate Box in Bournemouth where, following legal action, Grey has now started remediation works.

Responding to this story, a spokesperson for Grey GR said: "The safety of residents has been and remains Grey GR's utmost priority.

"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, the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (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.

“Additionally, the Tribunal asserted that criticism of delays caused by Grey's application to Building Safety Fund funding was 'misplaced', due to Grey having followed the Government's own complex guidance and advice in assessing the fire safety of Vista Tower.

“Internal works throughout the building were completed in 2023, and the 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.

"As detailed during the hearing, we have faced numerous delays during the remediation process in our attempts to seek the clarity needed from DLUHC to proceed at pace with remediation.

"We have engaged extensively with the government throughout where it has been possible to do so, but have been met with slow – and in some cases no – responses to our enquiries, constantly changing deadlines and requirements, and a frequent moving of goalposts.

"Following the decision, we hope we can move forward and continue to be a part of the solution to an issue that was not of our making and provide leaseholders with safer homes."