Work at block bought for £1 set to cost £33.7m

Significant work has been done at Nova House - pictured here as it looked in 2020 - after it failed fire inspections

A council expects to eventually spend £33.7m to replace cladding and install other safety measures at a residential tower block it bought for £1.

Slough Borough Council bought the owner of renovated office block Nova House in Slough, Ground Rent Estates 5 Limited (GRE5), in 2018.

The 68-flat development in Buckingham Gardens failed two inspections after the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017.

The safety project, which was delayed by Covid restrictions and “a range of additional defects and technical issues”, had cost £30.9m by the end of August.

Installing insulation and new cladding on the building started in September 2023 and was about 70% complete in the summer, the council said.

The cladding is expected to be fitted by the end of this month and the whole project is due to end by January 2025.

The authority said it spent £19.9m on cladding and its installation at Nova House by the end of August and expects to spend a further £1.2m on it.

The council added GRE5 has “instructed lawyers and other professionals to pursue recovery action” for the work.

It said leaseholders contributed £500,000 and, once grants and other funding and compensation is paid, the authority will have a final cost exposure of between £1.9m and £2.8m.

GRE5 filed an claim against insurance giant Allianz in September 2021.

Its company directors met with Allianz representatives and a mediator and the case was settled for a confidential amount.

Those funds were received in July 2023, the council said.

The authority's assets disposals cabinet committee will receive an update on the project on Thursday.