The government’s new plan for the removal of unsafe cladding has left residents saying they feel ‘betrayed’.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced £3.5bn of extra funding in the House of Commons on Wednesday (February 10), calling it the “largest ever government investment in building safety”.
The minister said that grants will be available to people living in high-rises in England over 18 metres tall, or above six storeys. Loans will also be offered to leaseholders in shorter buildings.
But the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign, which represents residents of flats with unfit cladding, said the government had broken its promise.
“We were hoping for a solution to stop the sleepless nights and for millions living in buildings less than 18m there has been none,” the organisation stated.
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“Many people living in buildings under 18m will still have to bear the cost – for many above £30,000 – saddled with debt around their necks for thirty years.
“Where is the money for missing fire breaks, alarms or for cladding on buildings under 18m? Leaseholders are the victims of this crisis and have done nothing wrong to deserve this.”
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Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham also criticised the funding plan, claiming the campaign for a solution to the crisis “will go on.”
The Mayor asked: “How on earth can the Government justify this unfair and divisive move?”.
“The Cube in Bolton was below 18m but it burnt as quickly as Grenfell. 1000s of people in Greater Manchester will now face a choice of unaffordable loans or living with unsafe cladding.”
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How on earth can the Government justify this unfair and divisive move?
The Cube in Bolton was below 18m but it burnt as quickly as Grenfell.
1000s of people in Greater Manchester will now face a choice of unaffordable loans or living with unsafe cladding.
New safety legislation was introduced in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell fire – which killed 72 people – to remove all combustible cladding on tower blocks nationwide.
But flat owners have been charged for the necessary safety repairs to their buildings – leaving thousands of people with “life-changing” bills.
According to Inside Housing, one in six leaseholders involved in the cladding crisis are actively exploring bankruptcy options, with 62% facing costs greater than £30k.
In September, survivors of Grenfell campaigned for the government to do more on cladding – warning them the crisis “could happen again at any time“.
The government announced a £1.6bn building safety fund last year which failed to cover the total cost of repairs – with 700,000 people left living in debt in dangerous high rises.
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Last week it was revealed that Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) would take charge of distributing a £30 million Waking Watch relief fund – covering the installation of fire alarm systems – to local leaseholders.
But for some residents the fund “came too late”, with many having already paid thousands of pounds for Waking Watch measures (which involve security guards patrolling buildings with air horns).
Leaseholders living at Albion Works building in Ancoats reportedly had to pay £400k for seven months of Waking Watch measures, before having a new fire alarm added which was then deemed unsuitable – leading to the reintroduction of Waking Watch patrols in February.
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Two men jailed after series of Porsche thefts across Greater Manchester totalling £1m
Emily Sergeant
Two men have been handed prison sentences following a series of Porsche thefts across Greater Manchester.
An investigation into the actions of Eidmantas Sadauskas and Vytautas Ceponis, both of no fixed abode, by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) began back in January of this year.
Described as being ‘sophisticated’ operation, the pair used equipment and tools to disable the vehicle security alarms and gain access to them, before they would then clone the vehicles, using different registration plates to allow them to slip under the radar.
In total, 25 Porsches – estimated, in total, as being approximately £1 million – were linked to the theft series and identified as having been taken by Sadauskas and Ceponis.
The thefts occurred across Greater Manchester – including in Salford, Bury, Trafford, Manchester, and Stockport – and it’s believed they were being stolen to be sold on for illegal gain.
The thefts occurred between January and October 2025, according to police, before the investigation began.
A comprehensive investigation Stockport’s Neighbourhood Crime Team (NCT) found that Sadauskas and Ceponis were mapped out as being in the areas of the crimes as they occurred, and the vehicles involved in the thefts were additionally identified as being linked to them.
The pair subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal motor vehicles at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court in late November, before their sentencing last Friday.
Ceponis was jailed for four years for conspiring to steal motor vehicles, while Sadauskas was jailed for four-and-a-half years for conspiring to steal motor vehicles.
Several of the Porsches have since been recovered, and police say work remains ongoing to locate the outstanding vehicles and reunite them with their owners.
“No one should have their property taken from them,” commented PC Chris Hopkins, from GMP’s Stockport NCT. “As officers in the Neighourhood Crime Team, we work proactively to tackle these sorts of offences and punish those responsible.
“We have recovered several of the stolen vehicles and will continue to do so while Sadauskas and Ceponis are behind bars.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Fans are preparing to pay tribute to Mani from The Stone Roses ahead of his funeral service
Danny Jones
Stone Roses fans and Greater Manchester locals alike are getting ready to pay their respects to the late, great, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, following his tragic passing last month.
As well as details surrounding his funeral being announced earlier this week, the iconic Manc musician’s cause of death has also finally been revealed.
While Hatton’s service featured a high-profile cortège which started all the way from his hometown of Hyde, past multiple landmarks and ending at the Etihad Stadium, those local to Mani’s family home on the edge of Stockport are also being welcomed to help send him off.
It's the funeral of Mani of the Stone Roses on the 22nd. He lived locally. This poster is asking people to line the route of his funeral cortege to "show that he truly was adored". pic.twitter.com/X0DYHl10Hp
He had been struggling with emphysema for some time; he was declared dead at his home in the suburb of Heaton Moor, and is said to have died peacefully in his sleep.
As you can see from the posters put in various places around the area, residents wishing to pay their own tributes to Mani before his private funeral service at Manchester Cathedral are encouraged to line the long street leading down from St Paul’s and Heaton Moor United Church as he heads towards the city.
Departing Parsonage Road from 10am on Monday, 22 December, before turning right onto Heaton Moor Rd, then Wellington and eventually on to the Cathedral, you can expect plenty of people to show up.
One of those people will be his former bandmate and another influential guitarist, John Squire, who is one of many famous musical names to have honoured him in their own way over the last few weeks.
Other members of The Stone Roses, as well as Primal Scream (who he joined in 1996), are expected to join the close family and friends at the service itself.
Nevertheless, we have no doubt that plenty will be observing the funeral in their own way.
So, for those of you also looking to honour him, you know what to do; and to quote the poster itself, “together we can show this local legend and his family that he was truly adored.”
The Manc -
10th February 2021 
