Salford tenants demand rents are cut

£100,000 bill for repairs to a 15-storey block of flats, less than five years old.

Originally, the multi-storey Floral Court block in Salford's Bury New Road cost £250,000. A year ago cracks appeared in the brickwork and chunks of brick fell away as the exterior began to crumble.

The block was built by the city's direct works department, which was eventually closed because of its overspending. And the corporation now have to pay almost half the original cost of the building to replace the outside walls, brick by brick.

It is a job which could well over a year.

Meanwhile angry tenants are demanding a rent-cut for the inconvenience they are suffering.

Scaffolding covers the whole block from top to bottom. A wooden fence erected around the base of the flats completely blocks the view from every flat on the ground floor where most of the tenants are elderly people.

Many of the tenants are worried that the block is dangerous.

Others complain of lack of privacy and say that the scaffolding makes their homes dark, causing them to burn electricity than normally.

The tenants have had to put up with this inconvenience for over a year.

Scaffolding was first put up in 1971 when the brickwork first began to crumble. It remained until investigations had been carried out and was then removed.

Two months ago the corporation started to erect new scaffolding, which is still not completed and which has to be tested for safety before workmen can Wandsworth mass rents TENANTS plan a mass lobby of Wandsworth council, South London, tonight when a vote will be taken on whether to implement the Tory "fair rents' Bill.

The controlling Labour group is almost split down the middle on the issue. The group's original decision was for non-implementation, so long as they had the backing of London's other Labour councils.

Last month, however, a stormy group meeting reversed this decision. This led to several resignations by councillors from leading positions. begin their task of replacing brick with a new one.

A spokesman for the city engineers' department has explained that not enough provision had been made originally to allow for expansion, and contraction of materials and cracks had appeared near windows and at floor level.

There was no danger to anyone in the flats, he said, because the block as concrete shell which was filled in with bricks.

planned Cllr Ian McGarry, who resigned as leader of the council, will address a tenants' meeting before the resolution on implementation comes up in the council chamber.

Other speakers calling for non-implementation will include Hugh Jenkins, Labour MP for Putney, where McGarry is the agent. lobby