Southwark Council has yet to decide whether to go ahead with plans to put cladding on three huge tower blocks in Peckham, as part of its Major Works programme.
The nineteen-storey blocks of the Tustin Estate, beside Old Kent Road and Ilderton Road, are due to undergo a multi-million pound refurbishment.
But the News has been told by a resident that cladding – which was originally included in the schedule of works – may be taken out of the plans.
A council spokesperson said: “The council is exploring all options in its major works programme, and many planned works will be re-considered in the light of the Grenfell tragedy.”
Since the Grenfell Tower disaster in Kensington and Chelsea, the use of cladding for insulating homes has become a worrying subject for residents in high-rise estates across the country.
Tests have shown that some forms of cladding, made from a combination of aluminium sheets and insulation, can ignite when exposed to flame.
The Department of Communities and Local Government said on June 30 that 149 high-rise buildings in 45 local authorities across the UK had failed fire safety tests.
Southwark Council revealed last month that a low-rise blocks, Medina House in Peckham Rye, also had cladding that would ignite if exposed to “intense radiant heat”.
The News reported in April that Tustin Estate leaseholders will be billed upwards of £115,000 for the refurbishment of their homes. Though the estate’s twenty leaseholders, the majority of whom are landlords, have yet to receive the official itemised bills for the works.
Councillor Stephanie Cryan, Southwark Council’s cabinet member for housing, previously said: “We recognise that because of the likely costs we will need to go over and beyond this in explaining the issues to those leaseholders who will be affected. We will offer one-to-one meetings with every leaseholder so that we can advise them on the individual options that are open to them to help spread the cost of these bills.”