Cladding removal work to begin at city high rises

WORK to remove cladding on four of the six high-rise blocks in Cardiff which failed fire safety tests will begin in the coming weeks, the council has said.

Cladding on three blocks at Lydstep Flats in Llandaff North; Loudoun House and Nelson House in Butetown; and Channel View in Grangetown failed fire safety standards during tests in March.

The tests were ordered by the Government following the Grenfell Tower fire to see whether any cladding on tower blocks contained aluminium composite materials (ACM) – which were present in the outer wall at the London high-rise where 71 people died on June 14 last year.

While ACM was not found at any of Cardiff council’s tower blocks, further testing revealed the cladding systems – installed in the 1990s – fail today’s combustibility standards.

Cardiff council says work to remove the cladding from four of the blocks will begin “in the next few weeks” and all residents affected will be informed.

The first four buildings to have cladding removed will be Nelson House and the three blocks at Lydstep Flats.

A council spokeswoman said: “Cladding identified as not meeting current fire safety standards on six high-rise blocks earlier this year will be removed and we are currently agreeing plans with our contractors.

“We anticipate work to remove the cladding from the first four blocks will commence in the next few weeks and all affected residents will be informed about the detail of the removal programme for their block.”

Work to replace fire doors which can hold back fire for 30 minutes to those than can protect for 60 minutes, has also been completed at four of Cardiff council’s high-rise blocks.

The blocks that now have the 60-minute doors are Sycamore House, Beech House, Nelson House and Loudoun House.

The spokeswoman continued: “Good progress has been made on the installation of 60-minute fire doors with four high-rise blocks now complete. Following some supplier delays, the replacement programme is expected to finish over the summer.

“Fire safety consultants have been commissioned to design sprinkler installation plans for all our high-rise blocks and we are meeting contractors shortly to discuss timeframes and other practical issues for installation.”