Anger over two-year hold-up on flats’ safety

RESIDENTS AND politicians have hit out at a two-year delay in an investigation into potentially dangerous cladding on a tower block in Yorkshire.

The inquiry was launched after the 16-storey Hanover Tower in Sheffield failed new fire-safety tests introduced in 2017 in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.

At the time, councillors maintained that the report would be finished by the end of the year, although there have been repeated delays.

Coun Angela Argenzio, who represents Broomhill and Sharrow Vale on Sheffield City Council, said: “We feel very frustrated that it has taken this long for the investigation to be carried out and the fact the results are not yet public.

“It must, however, be a lot more worrying for the residents of the tower.

“Over two years on from the Grenfell tragedy and people are still waiting for answers.”

At the start of this year, Janet Sharpe, the council’s director for housing, said the report was 95 per cent complete, apologised for delays and said it would be published in March.

Michael Mullin, who used to live and still has relatives in Hanover Tower, said residents were put at risk between 2012 and 2017 and said the council had “made a mockery” of the situation.

Ms Sharpe said: “We made a decision to commission some external expertise to help with the investigation and validate our findings.

“It has taken longer than expected but we are at the final stage now and intend to issue the final report soon. We will arrange to meet residents to discuss it before we issue it to the wider public.”

The Grenfell Tower disaster claimed at least 79 lives when a blaze erupted in the building in London in June 2017. It prompted concerns over cladding which did not meet safety standards in high-rise buildings nationally.