Northampton: Cladding in flats not up to standard

Cladding might have to be removed from flats in Northamptonshire

A council has told its tenants they could find out on Monday whether cladding on their flats fails new safety standards.

Contractors are assessing blocks of flats in Northampton and, so far, two have been found that do not comply.

West Northamptonshire Council refused to reveal where those blocks were as it said tenants should be told first.

Officials said 24-hour safety patrols, used in some areas, would not be needed.

The council carried out inspections in 2018 after the Grenfell Tower fire in London and found that the cladding in all blocks of flats in Northampton met the fire safety standards that existed at the time.

The standards were tightened in January and contractors have been compiling new reports into about 10 buildings in the county town that are either at least seven storeys or 11 metres high.

The council said it would start telling tenants on Monday which blocks would need repair work and the information would be given on the doorstep where possible rather than in a letter.

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While a block of flats elsewhere in the region has been given a 24-hour patrol and another has been evacuated completely because of concerns about cladding, the council said the situation in Northampton was different and daily checks would suffice.

Cllr Adam Brown said replacing sub-standard cladding was 'the right thing to do'

The Conservative council's cabinet member for housing, Adam Brown, said: "As things happen in the world, we adapt building regulations and we seek to make things safer.

"Even if that does come at a cost, it's simply the right thing to do, but people are no less safe today than they were last year."

The council said it hoped to get government money to pay for any repairs, but added that tenants would not be liable for the cost of the work.