Today, Deputy Mayor, John Merry, made no apologies for the length of time it is taking for the dangerous cladding to be removed from the nine Pendleton blocks owned by Salford Council...
"I'm acutely aware of the fact that we needed to come up with a solution that actually met the needs of the residents" he told a full meeting of Salford councillors this morning "There's no point in putting cladding back on in a very hurried manner that in three or four years time we suddenly have to take off again because there's a further scare about its safety...
"We have taken a little bit of time, and I regret that, but I think it was absolutely right to come up with a solution that will meet the needs of the residents" he explained "...We've reached agreement with PTOL [Pendleton Together Operating Limited], design work is underway and, following that, there will be a start in March, I'm fairly confident, to actually put the stuff on the tower blocks.
"People say 'Oh why has it taken so long?'" he added "Well, we've got to get the design right. If we actually fudge this or don't get it right, or don't do the required tests we would be failing in our responsibilities to residents who will be even more inconvenienced and put at risk."
Measures had been put in place during the period to keep residents safe, John Merry insisted, with a system of patrolling fire marshals and work on fire doors... "I don't think anyone can complain that the people who are directly involved are not being kept informed of the progress and discussions" he said.
Meanwhile, the Council has approved a loan to PTOL - part of the £25million loan the Council itself has taken out – to do the work, and this will be paid back with interest, said Merry.
"No-one has compromised their legal right, but rather than let this go to court now which could take three or four years to resolve, we thought we'd put it to one side for the moment and get on with the work and sort out the legal liabilities at a later stage" he explained "We will be working with PTOL to see if there's money they can recover from other people."
He also waded into Theresa May's false promise of helping to pay for the cladding work... "There are no resources available from central government" he said, accusing the Tories of "trying to wriggle out of any responsibility..."
While the Pendleton blocks should see work starting in March, Merry said that documentation had been sent to councillors relating to what the other Salford housing companies, Salix Homes and City West, are doing. This has not been published for the public.
Merry also promised that the Council would soon be in a position to give a report on what has been compiled about how the cladding got onto the tower blocks in the first place.
Making reference to a Salford Star Freedom of Information request for emails between Housing Lead Member, the late Paul Longshaw, and Pendleton Together, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, John Merry told the Council meeting he was "disappointed" with the article that appeared.
"Understandably we had to comb through an awful lot of emails" he disclosed "First of all we wanted to make sure there was nothing of any personal nature that was being released but secondly we wanted to be clear on which ones needed to be released. And we did that to the Salford Star despite them complaining about the length of time it took...
"What did they find to complain about?" he asked "The only thing they could find to complain about was the fact that PTOL had decided not to talk to them, as though we had somehow told PTOL that they hadn't got to talk to them...
"It's remiss of the Salford Star" he added "I'm disappointed in this case to have at least made the point that following their inquiry that was the only thing that they could find to complain about, and they should have made that more clearer in the statements they made at the time."
A few things here. First up, what was the Deputy Mayor doing getting involved in a Freedom of Information request? They are supposed to be investigated by a neutral officer.
Second of all, after six months of waiting, only 14 emails were released, so the question has to be asked about what was held back. Thirdly, we did make it clear in the article that the emails we received showed no cover up...
And finally, John Merry scoffed at the notion that the Council had an agreement with the Pendleton Together not to communicate with the Salford Star..."as though we had somehow told PTOL that they hadn't got to talk to them...". That is exactly what the emails reveal in black and white..."As per our agreement with the Council we did not respond to the Salford Star..."*
The Salford Star is very disappointed that John Merry doesn't appear to be able to read...
*For more details see previous Salford Star articles...
Salford City Council Blocked Pendleton Together From Speaking To The Salford Star – click here
Salford City Council Wins Uncle Joe Stalin Award For Open And Democratic Government – click here
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