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
Oldham Athletic’s next game postponed amid red weather warnings
Danny Jones
Oldham Athletic FC’s next game has been postponed amid red weather warnings, with a frozen pitch having already set in.
We suspect they won’t be the only ones either…
Oldham Athletic were set to take on Notts County FC at home this weekend, with the upcoming fixture set for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, 10 January, but the state of the Boundary Park stadium’s playing surface has already been declared unfit for use.
Informing the fans of the unfortunate decision, the rescheduled date and time for the match remain yet to be confirmed.
Saturday's home fixture against Notts County has been postponed due to a frozen pitch. #oafc
Addressing supporters online, OAFC wrote: “An inspection took place on Thursday afternoon with the pitch frozen following persistent freezing temperatures since our last home game on New Year’s Day and further adverse weather forecast.
“The inspection was called due to persistent freezing temperatures and in anticipation of further adverse weather between now and kick-off. Tickets will remain valid for the rearranged date, and refunds can be claimed after the new date is confirmed.”
As for Notts County, they have also updated their fans on social media.
They have assured that “tickets purchased for this fixture will [also] be valid for the rearranged date” and that “supporters who require a refund will be able to do so after the date for the rearranged fixture is announced.”
Postponement comes amid parts of Oldham, Greater Manchester and other areas across the country being hit with severe weather warnings, which have now been upgraded from an initial yellow rating.
2026’s first named storm, the weather event dubbed by Goretti by the French meteorological service, is set to bring further frosty conditions and blustery winds to us Brits.
The UK received its first snowfall of the year earlier this month, but this next pattern of cold air is set to see even more arrive, with the forecast potentially running into next week.
As for the Latics, the 15th-placed League Two team will have to wait until their ground thaws out to try and make up ground between them and the play-off spots.
Worth keeping an eye on the Met Office if you were planning a trip to the footy over the next few days.
‘Big John’ is bringing his ‘BOSH’ bingo to Manchester
Danny Jones
Attention, all you ‘Big John’ lovers, the man himself is coming to Manchester this year for his very own ‘BOSH Bingo’ show.
Excessively large takeaway order not included*
That’s right, ‘Big John’ Fisher has gone from being a viral sensation famous for eating shedloads of Chinese and saying that one catchphrase to hosting his very own live bingo tour.
Even by his standards, his announcement video was an eye-catching one, to say the least – and we expect the event itself to be equally hilarious.
— big john the boshfather (@Johnfis08605918) January 7, 2026
For anyone somehow unfamiliar with ‘The Boshfather’, there isn’t a single sentence that isn’t completely accurate, and that doesn’t sum up pretty much everything you need to know about the man, the myth, the legend.
Besides his son, Johnny Fisher Jr., being an aspiring boxer and fellow influencer on the side, as well as having appeared on Newsnight to talk about the UK’s multiculturalism being what makes this ‘Great Britain’ (legend), his legacy will very much be written online and on the back of a take-out menu.
Or will it?…
Riding the back of his growing popularity and being quite literally the physical representation of a British bulldog, he’s now preparing to do live shows all over the country.
Set up at the start of the New Year, the 51-year-old will be heading to Manchester city centre and more throughout 2026 for his debut BOSH Bingo tour.
Visiting 12 locations in total, he is promising “rave intervals, on stage competitions, ‘bosh’ prizes and, of course, a sprinkle of chicken balls for good measure.”
Put simply, not only the chaos of everyone’s favourite Bongo’s, “This is not your average bingo night, it’s BOSH BINGO!”
Sounds ridiculous… We’re SO there.
Coming to The Grosvenor on Oxford Road on 21 February, before heading to the likes of Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield, just to name a few, you can grab your tickets right HERE.
Let’s just say there’s some very silly but nevertheless fun and fantastic stuff happening in town this year.
The Manc -
24th June 2021 
