The Greater Manchester tower blocks where they can't invite anyone in

Malus Court is cold. Inside the Salford Precinct apartment block residents are wrapped, up and there's an air of malaise.

It’s around a year since the Manchester Evening News was last here. In early 2022, bills were very much on people's mind.

That wasn’t down to surging utilities prices, though. Residents put their sky-high energy bills down to the NIBE heating system - which relies on insulation from cladding that currently doesn't exist, and costs them a lot even when the heating isn't on.

Malus Court is among nine blocks in Pendleton that are waiting for insulation work to be completed, years after cladding was removed in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire disaster in London.

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Now, the surge in energy prices means residents of towers in Pendleton, some of Salford's poorest residents, have been hit by a triple-whammy of increased utilities costs, a ‘confusing’ heating system, and a lack of insulation.

“We have been living in crisis for three years, and we have added the cost of living crisis on top of that,” said one resident from another of the affected blocks, Thorn Court, who asked not to named.

“These walls are breeze blocks and brick with a cavity wall inside it. We’re now living in a situation where the air is coming in absolutely everywhere.

“You can never get this place warm. The machine is chasing itself. I had it on at the weekend when it was cold. It cost me £1 per hour.

“For four years I have not lived in this living room. I go into the bedroom at 6pm because it’s vaguely warm.”

A short walk away is Eddie Farrell, 61. He spoke to the Evening News