Dozens of residents at an apartment block in Salford have been told they each face a £100,000 bill to remove flammable cladding and make a series of other fire safety improvements.
Flat owners at Transport House in Salford had already been concerned that they could face costs as high as £30,000 for fire safety measures, but they were recently sent an email telling them they each faced a bill for £97,000 to replace the combustible expanded polystyrene (EPS) cladding and install cavity barriers.
With other measures included, their bill could reach six figures – and in some cases, these sky-high costs exceed the entire value of their homes.
Residents in the apartment block say their situation is one of several cases that exposes serious inadequacies in the government scheme designed to protect leaseholders from serious fire safety costs after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the Guardian reports.
The £5 billion government grant scheme referenced has been designed to help fund work needed to make buildings safe.
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Addressing the situation, a spokesperson for the Ministry for Housing said: “Building owners are responsible for making their buildings safe, including the owners of Transport House, and we expect them to take swift action to identify and fix defects, including where work has been sub-standard, without passing costs on to leaseholders.”
The £100k bill is to remove flammable cladding and make other fire safety improvements / Credit: Google Maps
While government ministers have said that a loan scheme could mean residents will not pay more than £50 extra a month for recladding, many have not yet been given details.
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It’s now not just the financial impact, it’s also affecting the residents’ mental health.
Resident Matthew Harris said he would be “destroyed” by the costs handed to him – which amount to more than he paid for his Salford flat less than a decade ago.
He told ITV Granada: “I’m exhausted. I’ve not slept properly since we’ve had the news. I’m constantly trying to find ways to make the situation better, trying to learn more about the situation – it’s become almost like a second job.”
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“I definitely do not have £100,000 to pay for someone else’s mistakes,” he added.
Claire Griffiths – Executive Director of Growth, Development and Assets at affordable homes and services provider, Irwell Valley Homes – conceded it was an “impossible situation” for those affected.
“We know this is an impossible situation for the homeowners affected and remain committed to supporting them and working together to try to find a solution,” she said.
Featured Image – Google Maps
UK News
Manchester City win first Women’s Super League title in a decade
Danny Jones
After a decade of hope and hard work, Manchester City have finally won the Women’s Super League once again in a huge moment for the local club.
Lifting not just their first division title in 10 years, but only their second WSL trophy since the modern female football era began in 2010, it felt like only a matter of time to many supporters.
Ending a six-year Chelsea supremacy, this is also manager Andrée Jeglertz’s first at the helm of Man City’s women’s team, who arrived at the club with a strong silverware record at the start of this season.
These were the scenes at home base as one key result sealed their status as champions:
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 6, 2026
City Women secured the WSL title following third-placed Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Brighton on Wednesday evening.
They even managed to do so with a game to spare and a six-point gap over the west London club, which has won so much over the past few years.
Speaking in an interview with club media after confirmation of the win, captain and Euro 2025-winning Lionesses defender, Alex Greenwood, said: “[It feels] absolutely incredible. “A moment – we as a team, me personally – us as a club has waited so long for”.
“An incredible moment, it’s an incredible feeling. I’m so glad we got to spend this moment together as a group. Just an absolutely incredible feeling.”
With fans watching both at home, along with the first team themselves, the celebrations have already begun as the team shared a look back at how they got here.
You can see the recap posted on social media in full below.
Commenting on his latest accolade, the Swedish head coach added in a full club statement: “There’s never been doubt about the talent in the group, but there is something else about talking about being winners and champions. We started that early, and we believed in that. That’s led us through this year.
“It hasn’t been easy; it’s been hard work every day, but we had a strong belief that we could be sitting here in May and be champions. That is the first thing, and we definitely deserve it.”
Congratulations to the Cityzens on a well-deserved and long-awaited WSL title; could this be the start of another sporting dynasty of dominance over in East Manchester? Only time will tell…
In other news around the Etihad Campus, the women’s, EDS and academy team stadium is also set to host the final of the FA Youth Cup later this month.
2027 Manchester Marathon sells out in record time after biggest event ever
Danny Jones
The 2027 adidas Manchester Marathon has already sold out in record time after the biggest event in the race’s history.
Incredible stuff.
Yes, after more than 42,000 runners took on this year’s 26.2-mile challenge – the highest number to date – public places for next year’s Manchester Marathon have gone in the blink of an eye.
To be specific, they were snapped up in just 10 days: even faster than the last time around, with 2026 having also broken the previous fastest (or PB, if you will) time before that.
Posting on social media, the organisers wrote: “We’re blown away by the response as a record-breaking number of public places were secured during our launch window, and we’re now officially at capacity.
“Thank you for the amazing support. We can’t wait to help you turn your 26.2 dreams into reality.”
They also went on to remind people that even if they missed out, potential participants can still secure a place through their official charity partners.
Manchester Marathon maintains annual partnerships with the likes of Alzheimer’s Society, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Mind, and The Christie Charity.
Teaming up with numerous non-profit organisations over the decades after it first began way back in 1908, before enjoying multiple stints during the 1980s and late 90s into the noughties, huge sums have been raised over the years.
It’s never anything less than a heartwarming and inspiring day.
The modern MCR Marathon, as we know it, returned in its present format nearly a decade and a half ago, beginning its current collaboration with sportswear giants adidas, therefore helping raise the profile even further, with the 2026 fundraising tally also reaching a record-breaking £5.2 million this past April.
At the moment, the Manchester Marathon maintains annual partnerships with the likes of Alzheimer’s Society, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Mind, and The Christie Charity.
Once again, these organisations, along with the likes of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity and many more, will continue to offer charity places for the 2027 Manchester Marathon, provided you can hit the fundraising total.
We don’t know about you, but we’re loving this city and the surrounding boroughs being well and truly in their running era, and we also urge all of you who make up part of the local culture to immerse yourself in all aspects – especially when it comes to the post-race season party…
DJs, karaoke, quizzing, three full rooms, an entire beer garden to themselves, and MUCH more. 👀
The Manc -
24th June 2021 
