Candles ban for flats over 'significant fire risk'

Residents at Warwickgate House are advised not to smoke or light candles on the balconies

People living in some high rise flats are being warned not to light candles or smoke on balconies as the block is deemed a "significant fire risk".

A safety report said major work was needed to be carried out on the 11-storey Warwickgate House in Trafford, Greater Manchester, including replacing balcony decking with non-combustible materials.

Residents are also told not to use barbeques or fire pits.

The owner of the block has applied for planning permission to remove the existing cladding and decking and replace combustible materials in the facades and decking.

In the report, which was submitted with the planning application, surveyor Anstey Horne and Co said: "The identified risks are significant across the building, exacerbated by the height of the building.

"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."

Two more floors

The report said the render system to the duplexes on the top floors must be replaced using construction components that are fire resistant, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Warwickgate was originally a nine-storey office block built in the 1960s but was converted about 20 years ago to create 72 apartments.

Two more floors of lightweight construction were added to the original roof construction about seven years ago to create a further 10 duplex apartments.

The report added: “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."

The owner of the building is Warwickgate Freehold Ltd.

Cladding on the construction of high-rise buildings has come under scrutiny since the Grenfell Tower disaster in London in 2017 which killed 72 people.

Combustible cladding was blamed for the speed at which the blaze engulfed the building.