SAFETYFIRST
Cladding removed from North tower blocks as a ‘precautionary measure’ after tests
CLADDING has been ripped d from five Sunderland towerr blocks as national concern overr fire safety spreads to the North.
The high-rises, all in the St Peter’s area of the city, are managed by Gentoo, a social housing provider which operates in Wearside.
Since the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze on June 14, which claimed the lives of at least 79 people, investigations have centred on panelling which is applied to the outside of some buildings.
A national investigation is under way after early indications suggested “combustible” cladding contributed to the North London inferno. Downing Street has ordered that cladding on all towers be tested for fire safety and, as of yesterday, 34 towers in 17 different council areas had failed tests.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said testing of potentially combustible cladding “is running around the clock”.
“So far, the cladding from 34 high-rise buildings, in 17 local authority areas, has failed the combustibility test,” he added.
But the Department for Community and Local Government could not confirm that Sunderland was one of those areas.
Portsmouth and Brent, along with Camden, Manchester, Plymouth and Hounslow, were named by the Government yesterday as having buildings that had failed tests.
The DCLG declined to confirm any more areas until all affected residents had been informed of any potential failure.
Gentoo said they were taking the cladding off as a “precautionary measure” and declined to say that they had “failed”.
They said the panels were not the same Reynobond ACM PE brand that were installed at Grenfell but did feel moved to remove them when they received the results of tests.
A statement from John Craggs, chief executive officer of Gentoo, said: “As we stated last week, none of the high-rise blocks in Gentoo’s ownership have the same cladding and insulation as appears to be the case at Grenfell Tower.
“We were advised by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to submit samples of some of our cladding panels to the Building Research Establishment (BRE) for testing.
“We now know the outcome of the tests and have taken the decision, as a precautionary measure, to remove a very small amount of decorative panels from five highrise blocks in the St Peter’s area of the city.
“I can confirm that all of these panels are being removed from these buildings today.
“Regular communication with our customers is incredibly important and we are carrying out face-to-face reassurance with all of the residents living in these buildings as part of this exercise.
“All of this activity has been coordinated in conjunction with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and we will continue to work in partnership with them to ensure the ongoing safety of our customers, which is our key priority.”
The five blocks which are clad with the suspect panelling are Church Street, Dock Street, Victor Street, Dame Dorothy Crescent and Zetland Square.
Of the five, Church Street and Dock Street are the most extensively cladded, with panels running up the sides of the building and around the windows.
The other three only have cladding around the base of the building.
One resident, Peter Cuddihey, said he was pleased to see his housing provider being proactive.
The 63-year-old, who has lived in the block for two, years said: “I was expecting it to be honest.
“It’s good that they’re getting it sorted it out here.
“They can’t hesitate if there’s potentially a problem.”
Work on the flats continued until 8pm last night and will carry on today.