Part of Royal Exchange's roof has been 'condemned' and needs replacing

A section of the Royal Exchange building’s roof has been ‘condemned’ and will be replaced, new planning documents show. Bosses at the theatre, shopping complex, and offices, say the repairs will be ‘light touch’ and are ‘essential’ in order to preserve grade-II listed structure.

According to a survey submitted to Manchester council’s planning department, some sections of the roof need replacing, while others are in need of repair or restoration. Some sections are just in need of an inspection or regular maintenance, the report, written by a commercial roofing firm called The Garland Company UK Ltd.

However, sections 'A' and 'C' of the roof are in need of work, the survey says.

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“Following the examination of the existing roof systems, it is apparent that the present waterproofing has completely broken down and water has completely saturated the system,” it said of roof section 'A'. “The insulation has completely broken down leading to the asphalt slumping especially around the perimeters, I would label this roof section as condemned.

“The reason for the failure is simply down to the age of the roof, over time UV exposure has deteriorated the asphalt leading to slumping and blisters which in turn create weak spots in the system.”

It goes on to say section 'C' requires ‘a comprehensive repair schedule’. The report was prepared in March 2019.

Asset managers Hines UK Ltd, which looks after the Royal Exchange declined to comment when asked why there had been a four-year-delay from undertaking the survey to applying for planning permission. However, the work will be ‘in keeping’ with the