Life in Salford 26 • August 2019 27
Salix Homes leads the way on building safety Salix Homes has become one of the first housing associations in the country to sign a new Building Safety Charter, which sets out to raise the bar of building safety following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Salix Homes is part of a group of early adopters which have been working closely with the government to trial new ways of working that aim to improve safety in the construction and social housing sectors. Sue Sutton, executive director of operations at Salix Homes, said: “This industry has a collective responsibility to safeguard the people living in our buildings and ensure they are safe places to live both now and in the future. “The new Building Safety Charter will help pave the way for real change within our sector, and we are very pleased to be among the first to sign it, demonstrating our continued commitment to putting safety first.” Salix Homes owns 18 tower blocks across Salford, eight of which were found to have cladding systems that
did not meet the government’s test criteria. All affected blocks were only partially cladded in aluminium composite material (ACM) and these cladding systems have now been removed from all eight blocks, which are Mulberry, Magnolia and Sycamore Courts, Riverbank and Newbank Towers, Blackfriar Court and Arthur Millwood and Canon Hussey Courts. Salix Homes has worked alongside technical experts to develop a permanent solution to replace the panels. Replacement cladding systems that meet the most stringent of safety requirements have now been installed and completed on six of the affected blocks. Remediation work is continuing at Arthur Millwood Court and Canon
Hussey Court in Islington, however, the defective cladding has been completely stripped from both buildings, fire alarms have been installed and sprinklers are being fitted. This programme of work at the remaining two blocks is expected to be completed next spring. Sue added: “Two years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Salix Homes has implemented and embedded a new standard of building safety. We will continue to develop and raise our standards, working closely with the fire service, the government, safety experts, and of course our residents, to ensure all our buildings continue to be safe places to live, both now and in the future.”
Top right: Sue Sutton from Salix Homes with former Housing Minister Kit Malthouse MP at the launch of the new Building Safety Charter. Left and above: Cladding has been completely removed from all Salix Homes’ affected tower blocks.
Read this issue of Life and back issues online at https://issuu.com salfordcouncil
