Residents of cladded tower to return home in 2025

The government says residents of an unsafe tower block are due to return home in the spring.

Work to replace potentially dangerous cladding at St Francis Tower in Ipswich started in 2018 and residents were evacuated in 2023 due to flooding incidents.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it had awarded £3.9m in additional funding to help finish the remedial works.

"More than seven years after the Grenfell Tower fire, the pace of remediation to make homes safe has been far too slow," said a government spokesperson.

"We have ramped up work with local authorities, fire and rescue services and developers to speed up remediation and we will set out a remediation acceleration plan soon."

After the evacuation, people were initially told they could return in a matter of weeks, however that was extended and no fixed timeline was set.

The government said residents had been provided temporary accommodation by an insurance company.

Ross Bonner, who owns four flats in the building, said hearing the news was a "relief" and that people had had their lives "turned upside down".

He believed work fixing the water damage had only started in the last month, and that the insurance company was waiting for lifts to be repaired.

Mr Bonner thought it was more likely that residents would start moving back into their flats in the summer.

The Labour MP for Ipswich, Jack Abbott, said residents "deserve this good news after years of misery".

The BBC contacted building manager Pier Management for comment.

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