Work is set to start next month on recladding an apartment building in Hull city centre to ensure it meets the latest Government requirements on fire safety.
It comes after Pure Block Management secured funding of £2.7m from the Government on behalf of the leaseholders at Kemley House, which stands on the corner junction of Ferensway and Spencer Street.
The 1980s building initially housed offices but was converted into a residential block in 2005, consisting of 34 flats.
Although it did not have the same cladding as that on the Grenfell Tower fire in London, which killed 72 people in 2017, a fire risk assessment and external wall survey, carried out in 2023, revealed it fell short of the latest standards and therefore requires remediation works.
That led to Pure Block Management, who are instructed to manage the building by leaseholders, applying to the Government’s Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) for funding.
Having now been granted full funding approval, specialists HRS Cladding have been selected and are set to start work on site soon, removing and replacing the cladding and insulation on the southern and eastern-facing sides of the building.
It will ensure Kemley House’s external walls not only meet the latest fire safety regulations, but also have a modern, new appearance.
Project to be completed by end of year
Liam Parker, Director of Pure Block Management, says all residents will be able to remain in the building whilst the works are carried out, although there will be some inevitable noise disruption.
“We’re delighted to have secured the funding required to complete what is of course a very important project, and work is due to start imminently,” he said.
“Obviously the regulations around external cladding and insulation have continually evolved following the tragic events at Grenfell Tower in 2017, with the focus quite rightly on ensuring fire safety is the priority.
“Following the Grenfell fire we supplied samples of the cladding on Kemley House for surveys and the building was at that time deemed not to be a risk as it was not the cladding of concern at that time.
“However, the picture has constantly evolved since, and following the latest updated regulations, which were introduced in 2022, we found at our next scheduled annual fire risk assessment at the development, in 2023, which covers both inside the building and the external envelope, that the cladding and insulation now needed to be changed.”
Through the Government’s Cladding Safety Scheme, Pure Block Management was able to secure initial funding to appoint project managers Wainwrights, architects (DLA) and fire engineers to propose the works required, and now contractors HRS Cladding.
Pure Block Management will draw down funds from the scheme to cover the costs as the project progresses over the next nine months.
Kemley House is one of four Yorkshire residential apartment blocks that Pure Block Management is securing funding for to replace external cladding which has been identified as no longer meeting the required standards.
“Obviously, residential management companies at shared residential blocks like Kemley House are not going to have millions of pounds in their budgets to cover costs for unexpected projects such as this, so the Cladding Safety Scheme is vital as it ensures the funds are available, to make the building safe” added Mr Parker.
“We’ve had to go through a detailed process to get to this stage where everything has been approved and we are ready to start on site, but to have the project all completed by the end of the year would be an excellent turnaround on behalf of the leaseholders and tenants.”
