Urgent candle warning issued to apartment block residents due to 'significant risk'

A fire safety report has deemed that the occupants of an 11-storey apartment block opposite Trafford town hall are at ‘signfiicant’ risk and that major work needs to be carried out to make it safe. It recommends residents of the building are advised not to smoke, use barbeques, light candles or use fire pits on balconies.

The owner of Warwickgate House on Warwick Road has applied for planning permission for the removal of existing cladding and balcony decking and the ‘relacement of combustible materials’ in the facades and decking. In the report submitted with the planning application, surveyor Anstey Horne and Co says: “The identified risks are significant across the building, exacerbated by the height of the building.”

It goes on: “It is our recommendation that in the short term, the composite timber decking to the balconies are replaced with alternative non-combustible materials and the timber joists either replaced or encapsulated.”

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The report says the render system to the duplexes on the top floors must be replaced using construction components that are fire resistant. Warwickgate was originally a nine-storey office block built in the 1960s but was converted approximately 20 years ago to create 72 apartments.

Two more floors of lightweight construction were added to the original roof construction approximately seven years ago to create a further 10 duplex apartments. The report adds: “The property is within good proximity of fire and rescue services and as such we anticipate the response times would be relatively quick in an emergency. There is good access to the front left-hand side and rear