A Manchester apartment block at the centre of the recent cladding scandal has now been considered so high risk that it doesn’t even qualify for fire insurance.
An inspection at the Albion Works building in New Islington last year revealed a wide range of fire issues – with leaseholders claiming they were unknowingly sold unsafe homes.
The previous insurance policy for blocks D and E was due for renewal two weeks ago (September 1), but according to management company RMG, previous insurers are unwilling to provide cover any longer.
Freeholder Artisan H2 has so far failed to secure new fire insurance – meaning leaseholders are at risk of losing everything if a blaze breaks out.
In the meantime, RMG is urging residents to be vigilant when cooking and to avoid leaving naked flames unattended.
Sarah, a first-time buyer at Albion Works, said: “It is terrifying that we not only have to live with the risk from combustible cladding but now we discover there is no insurance for the very thing our building has been found to be at a high risk from. I’d have more consumer rights if I’d bought a toaster.”
Artisan H2 has said it is making ongoing efforts to acquire cover, but after a fortnight of being left uninsured, residents are still waiting to hear more information.
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Leaseholders in Albion Works have already been billed £400,000 for fire wardens, £70,000 for fire alarm improvements, and £10,000 in consultancy fees.
Anyone who fails to fork out for the necessary repairs is being threatened with referrals to debt collection agencies.
Pollard Street / Google Street View
Sarah says: “I now feel utterly trapped. I’ve had sleepless nights worrying about the safety of my home and I feel physically sick every time I receive an email from my management company as I have no idea how many thousands they will be billing me for now.
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“I am unable to make any plans for my future and I don’t know if the bills I am still to receive could bankrupt me.“
Another resident, Leanne is equally distraught.
“I was so proud as a single young female I managed to get myself on the housing ladder and was so grateful to have the help of the government’s Help to Buy scheme,” she said.
“Three years later I’m feeling as though the government don’t care that my property could be the next Grenfell, my life is on hold, my mental health is deteriorating, and my financial future is ruined.
“Why is the government allowing this to happen to us?”
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Albion Works has been registered for the government’s £1.6bn building safety fund.
However, this pot of money is only expected to cover a third of the British buildings requiring urgent repairs.
Decisions on funding allocations will apparently be made on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
If the buildings do not qualify for the fund, leaseholders will have to foot the bill.
LBC
As buildings await confirmation on financial support, Albion Works residents remain stuck with no fire insurance in apartments worth £0.
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Responding to LBC, building owners Artisan H2 said they were “working day and night” to resolve the issue.
“We are committed to ensuring that the buildings are fully insured and we continue in daily discussions with a number of brokers in order to obtain full cover as quickly as possible,” said representatives.
“We appreciate the concern that this situation is causing, indeed as leaseholders of properties within the blocks we share the concern of our follow leaseholders. We are working day and night to obtain the best possible cover.
“We will keep all parties updated as soon as there is any movement on the insurance position.”
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Chester Zoo named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors
Emily Sergeant
Congratulations are in order, yet again, for Chester Zoo… as this time its been one of England’s most popular attractions.
Merely months after being named the UK’s best zoo for the second year running, thanks to receiving more than 11,000 ‘excellent’ reviews from TripAdvisor, Chester Zoo has now got itself another prestigious title, as a major VisitEngland (VE) report has ranked it the third most-visited ‘paid for’ attraction in England – and the most visited outside of London.
The national tourist board for England gathered information from a total of 1,373 attractions across the country, and ranked the UK’s biggest charity zoo as the third overall in terms of popularity, with a whopping 1.9 million visitors in 2024 alone.
The Tower of London took top spot with 2.9 million visitors, while the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew was second place with 2.3 million visitors.
When it comes to free attractions, on the other hand, it wad the British Museum that claimed the top spot with 6.5 million visitors, while the Natural History Museum (5.9 million visitors) took second place, and the Tate Modern (4.6 million visitors) got third.
So as you can see, the south and London in particular is a pretty dominating force in England’s tourism industry – which is why it’s even more impressive to see Chester Zoo ranked so highly.
The new VE title also comes after the zoo was recently given £4 million of lottery funding to help ‘transform’ the local environment and restore wildlife habitats across the Cheshire and wider North West region.
Not only that, but if course follows Chester Zoo’s unveiling of its new immersive experience named Heart of Africa, which is the the largest zoo habitat ever created in the UK and is home to 57 iconic African species.
Chester Zoo has been named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors / Credit: Chester Zoo
“As a major international wildlife charity, everything we do is focused on supporting global conservation,” commented Chester Zoo’s Commercial Director, Dom Strange.
“Whether it’s caring for highly-threatened animals and plants, making scientific discoveries, influencing Government environmental policies, impacting the National Curriculum to better connect young people with nature, or our conservation efforts in around 20 countries, we’re fully committed to protecting endangered species for the future.
“But none of this would be possible without our visitors.
“Every person who comes to the zoo for a fun and inspiring day out is helping to fund our vital work, so we want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped us to rank so highly in VisitEngland’s latest report.”
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Manchester Museum saves a ‘national treasure’ to ensure it stays in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum has made a stunning new addition to its natural history collections, and in the process has ensured a ‘national treasure’ stays in the UK.
Not long after claiming the coveted title of European Museum of the Year for 2025, Manchester Museum has done it again – this time working together with John Rylands Library to acquire Henry Dresser’s unique personal copy of his anthology A History of the Birds of Europe so that this ‘invaluable resource’ can remain in the UK for future generations.
The beautifully-illustrated collection of books provide an important historical record to help understand how and why bird populations have changed over time.
Dresser’s personal copy is heavily-annotated with personal notes and observations.
These books are deemed to be of ‘outstanding significance’, not only for scientific purposes but also for their aesthetic value, as they have also been illustrated by some of the leading wildlife artists of the day.
The volumes were recognised as a national treasure by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, which is supported by the Arts Council, and this meant that the Government placed a temporary export deferral on them to allow time for UK buyers to raise the funds to keep them in the country.
Brilliantly, the acquisition of these books reunites them with Dresser’s own bird specimens that are already cared for by Manchester Museum, including species such as the Slender-billed curlew, which is now believed to be extinct.
The now-extinct species’ presence in both Dresser’s beautifully-annotated volumes and the ornithological collections at Manchester Museum highlights the vital role that historical records play in tracking biodiversity loss over time to uncover the long-term impact of environmental change.
Manchester Museum has saved a ‘national treasure’ to ensure it stays in the UK / Credit: Manchester Museum
“Threats to the natural world and biodiversity have never been greater and while this anthology has historical value, it also speaks to the urgent issues of the present,” commented Esme Ward, who is the Director of Manchester Museum.
“These books are breathtakingly beautiful, and by bringing them together with natural history collections, we believe they will not only provide scientific benefit, but also capture the hearts of future ornithologists and conservationists.”
A History of the Birds of Europe will be officially unveiled at a private view on Friday 27 June, before being displayed to the public for the first time in Manchester Museum’s ‘Living Worlds’ gallery from Saturday 28 June 2025 right through until Sunday 25 January 2026.
The Manc -
14th September 2020 
