Owners face huge bills for cladding at flats
HUNDREDS of people living in a landmark waterside development next to MediaCity could be left facing a huge bill after cladding on their blocks was found to be dangerous.
Nearly 250 leaseholders at the NV Buildings in Salford Quays - which have won awards previously for their design - were shocked to be told by the fire service that the exterior of their homes is flammable.
So far they say nobody has accepted responsibility for the failure and, as a result, they may end up having to pay to have it stripped through no fault of their own.
It comes after hundreds of leaseholders at blocks in the Green Quarter lost a legal battle over similar defects and were left holding a repair bill - understood to be up to £3m.
The latest defects at NV, built by Carillion, came to light after Greater Manchester fire service carried out inspections of high rises across the conurbation in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.
Fire safety officers found the material on the building’s exterior, known as EPS cladding, was combustible and required essential work to make it safe. As a result, residents have had to scramble to ensure the building is safe in the short-term while they try to work out who pays to fix it permanently.
Leaseholder Peter Brown said: “We feel stuck in the middle. Both I and the other 245 leaseholders have been shocked to find out that the flats we bought thinking they would be our homes are now considered unsafe because of the cladding.
“It’s unfair that we should have to pay for repairs to the cladding for which we’re not responsible. “We are all worried about our safety and that of our families and how we are ever going to find the money to pay for
it.” The three blocks were built in 2004 by Carillion on behalf of the developer Countryside, who then sold on the freehold to Freehold Managers (Nominees) Ltd. Both the developer and the freeholder are now in discussions with residents about the issue, but several previous legal challenges by leaseholders around the country – including earlier this summer at the Cypress Place and Vallea Court Peter Brown blocks in Manchester city centre – have ended with them having to foot the bill for similar work.
Peter also believes the problems at the NV Buildings point to a wider ‘national housing scandal’ than previously identified - because although the government is currently focusing on blocks with Grenfell-style ACM cladding, this case shows that is not the only dangerous material on buildings.
“There are buildings with hazardous cladding materials other than ACM that are not being counted and not included in government reports,” Peter said.
“How many I don’t know, but surely this national housing scandal is bigger than the ACM numbers alone suggest?”
A GMFRS spokesman said: “GMFRS has carried out fire safety compliance inspections in every residential high rise in Greater Manchester since the Grenfell tragedy, which includes the NV Buildings, and has required steps to be taken to identify the nature of cladding on buildings and whether this poses a risk to residents.
“The managing agent and the management company for the NV Buildings have worked with GMFRS and commissioned fire engineers to investigate the cladding. This identified that the Sto Render system as installed poses a risk if a fire was to occur.
“The management company and Agent have acted responsibly and implemented the mitigation measures which were recommended by the fire engineers including restricting the use of the car park and moving to an evacuation strategy supported by fire wardens.
“GMFRS has not taken any enforcement action and is committed to working with the manage- ment company to support them in making the building safe.
“The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Salford city mayor Paul Dennett, chair of the High Rise Taskforce, have also repeatedly called on the government to provide immediate funding for every block that needs cladding stripping, and will continue to lobby ministers on this issue on behalf of residents.”
After the fire service issued its safety notice, residents commissioned a structural engineer’s survey to look at the problems in detail.
It concluded that due to the cladding - which is not only flammable, but is not broken up properly by barriers to stop the spread of flames - the blocks may have always been in breach of building regulations.
But Salford council insists the buildings did comply at the time they were signed off by its building control provider, Urban Vision.
Coun John Merry, deputy city mayor at Salford council, said: “The Building Regulations application for this development was received in February 2003 and was approved under the regulations that existed at that time.
“The original designer, contractor or supplier of the external system would be ultimately responsible for ensuring compliance with the building regulations. This is a difficult situation and we have lobbied government to step up and provide urgent funding for repairs.”
A spokesman for Countryside said: “Safety is our priority. At the time of completion, NV Buildings received all relevant approvals. Countryside takes very seriously the matter raised by residents at NV Buildings.
“We have launched an urgent investigation with the design team, requesting a comprehensive review of the building’s design and construction. This process is ongoing and we will keep residents informed on the outcome of the review.”
Freehold Managers (Nominees) Limited acquired NV Buildings’ flat leases in 2005.
It is understood they believe the contractual responsibility for the works lies with the residents’ management company, of which all flat owners are members.
A spokeswoman for Freehold said: “We sympathise with the leaseholders’ concerns in relation to the fire safety works at NV Buildings and have already arranged to meet with the resident director and are offering assistance in relation to managing the situation.”