Salford cladding deal wins final approval
The Government has signed off a £28m funding agreement to enable Pendleton Together Operating, the company in charge of nine council-owned blocks in Pendleton clad in dangerous aluminium composite material, to complete fire safety works.
Salford City Council had already approved the agreement, which comprises a loan to Pendleton Together Operating from its parent company Together Housing. However, the deal was subject to final sign-off from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government because the properties are council-owned.
Pendleton Together Operating estimated that the cost of remediation work would be in the region of £32m and has been given a loan from Together Housing to fund the project.
Salford City Council is providing an additional £4m for the installation of sprinklers.
Tom Miskell, chair of Pendleton Together Operating, said that all unsafe cladding would be removed by the end of this year following approval of the funding deal.
The project is expected to take two years to complete.
In 2018, the Government said that Pendleton Together Operating was ineligible to apply for a share of the £400m set aside for the removal of the faulty ACM cladding nationwide due to its status as a private finance initiative, which provides dividends for shareholders.
The Government also refused to sanction Salford City Council’s request for a £25m loan, which it planned to give to Pendelton Together Operating to start the work.
The nine blocks, refurbished by housing provider Keepmoat as part of the PFI deal agreed in 2012, are:
- Whitebeam Court
- Malus Court
- Beech Court
- Salix Court
- Spruce Court
- Holm Court
- Hornbeam Court
- Thorn Court
- Plane Court
Cllr John Merry, deputy mayor of Salford City Council, said: “My gratitude goes to our Salford tenants who have been incredibly patient during the last three years as we worked with Pentleton Together as it developed a financial model to pay for the works and secure funding to make the homes safer.”
