A tower block in Wythenshawe has been found to have the same sort of cladding as that used at the Grenfell block in London where last week a tragic fire swept through killing over seventy people.
The Village 135 block run by Wythenshawe Community Housing Group was found to have some decorative cladding on its top levels in one part. Test results indicate that it could be made of similar materials to those in the Grenfell incident and they will be removed immediately.
In a statement issued yesterday Wythenshawe Community Housing Group said:
Following the tragic events from the Grenfell Fire, Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG) working with the Greater Manchester Fire service has conducted a comprehensive review of all ten tower blocks within Wythenshawe, Manchester.
We can confirm following early fire safety actions taken we have been able to detect that our Village 135 scheme, has been identified as having 78 feature panels which are located in a small area of the overall development, works to remove these panels will commence today.
We want to reassure all our residents we take their safety very seriously. We have robust fire safety measures in place, with a state of the art fire alarm system for early detection, 24 hour on site concierge service and all alarms are linked to a Careline system for added security.
Group Chief Executive Nigel Wilson said, “I want to reassure all our residents we take their safety very seriously. We immediately commissioned an extensive review of all our 10 tower blocks following this tragedy, which has flagged up a small area of failed panels on one scheme. We have taken immediate action and are in the process of having these panels removed and are working closely with the Local Authority and Greater Manchester Fire Brigade”.
Chair of the Board, The Bishop of Manchester, The Right Revd David Walker said, ”WCHG have reacted without delay commissioning this review, following this terrible tragedy, the safety of our residents is our first priority and immediate action is now being taken to resolve this”.
Greater Manchester Fire Service said, “Following Village 135’s test results, we have conducted a fire risk audit, which has concluded that this building is safe for all its residents. We are happy with WCHG’s active and passive fire systems”.
