Anger, fear and confusion as city centre residents told to leave home and move into hotels

Anger, fear and confusion reigned as evacuated residents gathered to hear details about how and where they are supposed to live. Tenants, leaseholders and landlords were among around 200 people who sat row-by-row inside a Manchester conference room, where a hastily arranged meeting was being held yesterday evening (October 9).

It followed the shock evacuation of Skyline Chambers, a £15 million apartment block in the Angel Meadows area of Manchester's city centre. Hundreds of residents have been moved out to hotels until October 20 following a discovery about materials used in the building's 'courtyard' area, which came to light last week.

The meeting heard the area should have been safe for one hour in the event of a fire, allowing those inside to leave the building. But the materials discovered by a fire engineer for surveyor Neaves and Co were 'not what was expected', the meeting heard - making the area a severe fire risk.

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Residents will be moved from hotels into temporary accommodation while the urgent works take place. But at a meeting where frustrations only grew, residents were told it was not known how long the upheaval would last.

"We've been dropped on this like you have," said Sam Gumble, fire safety manager at Simarc, who was chairing the meeting on behalf of freeholder Wallace Estates. "All we are doing is acting on your safety."

The meeting heard how the company responsible for finding residents somewhere else to live - ICAB - has secured 107 apartments for