Cladding to be removed from tower blocks in Newcastle

A block at Riverside Dene with the strip of decorative panels in the middle of the block Credit: Newcastle City Council

One hundred days on from the Grenfell Tower disaster, when a fire destroyed a 24-storey block of flats in West London killing 80 people, it has been announced that cladding on five residential buildings in Newcastle will be removed.

None of the 38 blocks in Newcastle were found to have aluminium composite material – a type of cladding used on Grenfell Tower. Cladding was fire tested and all samples passed.

However, tests by Your Homes Newcastle discovered that decorative panels on blocks at Riverside Dene and Cruddas Park House should not have been used above the height of 18 metres.

The contractors, Wates Living Space, who installed the panels, have agreed to take them down.

The work is expected to start on Monday September 25.