An investigation by Inside Housing has found that a tower block in London is paying £49,000 a year for a three person Waking Watch.

Residents of Canalside Square block on the Packington Estate in Islington are being charged £1,528 a month to keep the Watch in place, although Hyde, the owner of the block has claimed that the fees cover more costs.

In December the Government announced a £30 million fund to help end the scandal of excessive waking watch costs. The fund will enable residents to replace it with the installation of fire alarm systems in high-rise buildings with cladding.

Commenting on the funding last December, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “I’ve heard first-hand from leaseholders the misery that rip-off waking watch costs have been bringing to residents of high-rise buildings with cladding.

“I’m announcing today a £30m Waking Watch Relief Fund to help relieve the financial pressure on those residents and to ensure they are safe. We have continued to prioritise the removal of unsafe ACM cladding throughout the pandemic and expect around 95% of remediation work will have been completed or be underway by the end of this year.”