Govt extends Waking Watch Replacement Fund

The government has extended its £20.6 million Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 to March 2026, also offering up to £21.11 million of additional funds.

The additional funds of the extension will be available for the installation of common alarm systems, replacing waking watch measures in all residential buildings where a waking watch is currently in place in England.

This is “regardless of where the costs of the waking watch fall,” the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said.

Waking watch involves the constant monitoring of fire threats.

MHCLG’s announcement confirms a commitment in its Remediation Acceleration Plan of December 2024 to extend the current fund until the end of March 2026.

The Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 was opened in May 2023. In November of that year, the deadline for applications was extended to the end of March 2024.

The fund was then reopened in September 2024, to run until December 31.

It comes after the £35 million Waking Watch Relief Fund (WWRF), which focused on high-rise residential buildings above 17.7 metres with a waking watch in place due to unsafe cladding and at cost to leaseholders.

This was followed by the £27 million Waking …