Back in January 2018, Salford Council Deputy Mayor, John Merry, said he was "fairly confident" that new cladding would be put on the nine Pendleton tower blocks, beginning in March that year. He added that residents' safety had been put "top of the list...I don't think anyone can complain" (see here).
Almost two years later, the dangerous Grenfell-style cladding is still on eight of the blocks, much to the anger of many Pendleton Together tenants.
In September of this year, a tenant of Malus Court wrote to the Council's Scrutiny Panel with a series of questions about the fire risks associated with the blocks. In response, the Council states...
"It was anticipated that work to the cladding would begin in the autumn. Whilst no programme for the cladding removal is available it is now anticipated that this will begin early in the new year."
While the removal might 'begin' next year, the most recent accounts for Pendleton Together Operating Ltd state that external cladding work will not be completed until 2021 (see here).
Some tenants also feared that the ultimate plan was to demolish the blocks but the response from the Council confirmed that "There are no plans to demolish the blocks and the Council are committed to getting the required fire safety works carried out including the installation of sprinklers.
"The completion of this work will allow the fire marshals to be stood down for the blocks" it adds. As of May this year, £2million had been spent on fire marshals patrolling the blocks (see here)
Meanwhile, two separate windows have fallen out of the blocks*, almost harming children, but the answers from the Council state that "Two glass balconies have shattered and Pendleton Together has demonstrated they have taken appropriate steps to make the properties safe and investigate the causes of the faults. Specialist window contractors concluded that the most likely cause of the glass breaking was vandalism..."
See also previous Salford Star article: True Horror of Fire Risks in Pendleton Blocks Revealed – click here
* See previous Salford Star article Smashing Balcony Glass Just Missed Children - click here
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
(3).jpeg)
.png)
(1).JPG)
