Reading tower block residents face cladding removal wait
People living in a tower block with dangerous cladding are having to wait longer for it to be removed.
The cladding at Hanover House on Kings Road, Reading, was deemed a "fire safety risk" in 2017, following London's Grenfell tragedy. Proposals to remove and replace it were approved in 2018 but expired last year when no work was carried out. A second application has now been submitted by Hanover House Residents Management Company. In 2017, Berkshire Fire Service found it had the same aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding as Grenfell Tower where a fire in June 2017 killed 72 people and injured more than 70 others. The blaze spread rapidly up the building's exterior cladding, which a report found contained "a highly combustible polyethylene polymer filler". A planning statement for Hanover House, from Oxford Architects, states: "The existing cladding has been confirmed by the Berkshire Fire Service as potentially proposing a fire safety risk to the residents at Hanover House." "The current building is therefore not providing a safe environment for its residents." The latest proposals seek to replace the cladding at the eight-storey building with powder-coated metal cladding which Hanover House Residents Management Company said meets all necessary fire and safety requirements, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Hanover House was originally built as offices in the 1960s but was converted into flats in 2015. The building has a sprinkler system and does not have the other issues that Grenfell Tower had, according to Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Attempts have been made to contact Hanover House Residents Management Company. Reading Borough Council has also been approached for comment. Hanover House is one of four Reading buildings, including St Lawrence House, Queen's Court and Crossway Point, found to have dangerous ACM cladding. The cladding at Lawrence House was removed last year, while at Queen's Court it was removed in March. Work to remove and replace the cladding at Crossway Point was delayed due to Covid-19 and is now expected to be finished in December. The government said it had provided £1.6bn for the removal of unsafe cladding at buildings over 18m (59ft) high. Related Internet Links Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service Reading Borough Council