'While Pendleton Together and Salford Council play semantics, Sue herself and her children are still stuck in a block, two thirds covered in dangerous cladding, with no way to get out if a fire breaks out near her front door...'
It was on August 2nd last year when social workers and an independent reviewing officer were in a ground floor flat at Holm Court in Pendleton having a meeting with a tenant, Sue*, about her children, one of whom is disabled...
"The patio door was open because it was so warm in here and there's no windows" she recalls "My little girl was playing and my son was in his wheelchair and all of a sudden we heard a pop and all this glass came smashing in...it came flying across to the kitchen door; there was loads of it."
The glass had fallen from one of the flats above, and Pendleton Together, the company managing Holm Court - one of nine dangerously cladded blocks owned by Salford City Council – knew there was a problem because tenants had been warned not to go outside of their patio doors.
Initially, Sue says, she had been told it was because of the windows 'as they keep popping', but adds that the housing company subsequently told her it was issues with the cladding. Yet, around most of the low-to-mid rise blocks on the estate, there are metal cages underneath all of the balcony windows, but not under all of the cladding.
A fragment of the shattered glass had to be removed from Sue's child's foot, as the social workers went outside to see where the object had come from. Sue got no apology from Pendleton Together, just an anti-social behaviour letter the next day for venturing outside, even though it was the social workers who went onto the grass.
"It was dangerous" she says "Social services put complaints in to say how dangerous it was."
Tenants soon began asking questions about window safety to Salford City Council, to Pendleton Together, and via the Salford Star* and Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey.
Yet in the minutes of the Council's Growth and Prosperity Scrutiny Panel on 22nd October, repeated to the MP in a recent letter, "Pendleton Together confirmed that there had not been any reports of windows having fallen to the ground. All balconies were fitted with toughened safety glass and balcony door glazing was laminated on the inside..."
The suspended – yes, suspended for 'breaches of the constitution'– elected chairman of the nearby Malus Court TARA (tenants and residents association), Graeme Langton, is furious...
"I brought this up at Council meetings and with the housing company and through the MP and they have denied knowledge that it happened" he says "Now we have the proof, I have been vindicated."
What could be regarded as semantics to avoid the issue do not only pertain to this case. Shortly after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Pendleton Together commissioned Trident consultants to report on safety issues in the blocks.
Both the City Mayor, Paul Dennett, and Deputy Mayor, John Merry, have said that tenants should be able to read the conclusions. Yet nothing has been shown, as Pendleton Together continue to resist making it public, arguing that it is not a 'report'...
In a statement to the Salford Star only last week, the company insisted "There is no Trident Report, Dossier or formal collation of these documents or recommendations", refusing access yet again.
While Pendleton Together and Salford Council play semantics, Sue herself and her children are still stuck in a block, two thirds covered in dangerous cladding, with no way to get out if a fire breaks out near her front door – as the patio door cannot be opened and her kitchen window only opens slightly.
This is just one example amongst lots of safety issues within the blocks. Pendleton Together is currently undertaking a programme of "required fire safety work", which further beggars the question whether tenants are living in safe housing, while the cladding replacement tender has not even gone out to potential contractors yet.
The whole Pendleton Together management is a complete mess, with elected resident representatives being suspended, two blocks having no representation at all (Spruce and Whitebeam), and the word games being played to seemingly avoid safety issues.
The Salford Star asked Pendleton Together to comment but the company has not responded. This afternoon, Deputy Mayor, John Merry, told the Salford Star...
"I've already agreed to meet with Mr Langton to discuss these issues with him" he said "But the only record I've got is of a balcony, not a window, and that this was partly caused by vandalism..."
See previous related Salford Star articles...
* Cladding and Window Safety Scares At Pendleton Blocks - click here
* Just £20 Compensation Paid To Freezing Tenants in Pendleton Stripped Cladding Block - click here
* Salford Council, Pendleton Together and Tory Government Win Grenfell Tower Memorial Award - click here
* Sue is not the tenant's real name which has been changed to protect anonymity
Update: 7th Feb. Pendleton Together has now responded. A spokesperson says: "Pendleton Together are aware of a Juliette balcony being vandalised at Holm Court, resulting in a small number of properties being affected by some falling glass. The glass that fell had marbled (split into small, rounded pieces) as designed. We encourage tenants to work with us to ensure everyone's safety by following any safety advice given. Anyone with any concerns should contact us at once."
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