A Bracknell mum has voiced her frustration over being unable to sell her flat due to back and forth over hazardous cladding which has reportedly dragged on for two years. 

Laura Turner, 31, lives with her 10-year-old son, her partner and his two children, a boy and a girl aged 13.

The family of five share a two-bed flat at the Kelvin Gate apartments that were built in the 2000s.

Now the couple are trying to move but cannot because the flats have cladding that is a fire safety hazard.

The cladding, although due for a removal project, has not been removed due to a ‘back and forth’ between housebuilders and a management company.

Miss Turner said: “It’s awful. It’s not sellable in its current state, but it’s not bad enough so we are still able to live here.

“We first tried to sell in March 2022, we have been pushing to sell since but we have been pushed back because this hasn’t been solved.

“It’s been ongoing, the first we heard was way back in 2022 when we were trying to sell, after we paid for redecoration and the stuff you do prior to moving.”

A fire safety assessment was conducted around that time, with Kelvin Gate getting a B2 rating, meaning that there isn’t an adequate standard of fire safety and remedial work or interim measures are required.

Miss Turner said: “Since then, we get letters every six months or so we get another letter pushing the work back and passing the buck.”

Kelvin Gate was built by housebuilders Fairview, with Ms Turner’s flat being managed by housing association HomeGroup, which found and appointed a contractor for the remediation works.

However, a change in the law passed responsibility for the project to Fairview, with the cladding remaining in place.

Ms Turner explained: “We got a letter from Fairview in August 2023 saying it would 100 per cent definitely be done in Quarter 1 of this year. We then got a letter on March 31 that it would be January 2025.

“I don’t know why it’s not been done. 10 years ago this flat was perfect for me and my son. My partner and his two children also live here, so there’s five of us in the flat. His two children share a room, which they can’t do for much longer as they get older.

“We’re struggling and we’ve had very little support. We can’t just buy somewhere else, we need to sell this place first.

“The whole situation has put such a downer on us. It leaves a very negative taste in your mouth.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked for answers from both HomeGroup and Fairvew.

Alex Clarke, lead technical building safety manager at HomeGroup, expressed sympathy with neighbours, sharing ‘frustration’ that the project has not taken place in circumstances beyond the company’s control.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Fairview reaffirmed it’s committed to the remediation works, with detailed investigations being required before the project can begin.