Anger as cladding on Sheffield council block crashes to ground AGAIN

Two of the fallen pieces of cladding lying on the ground (photo: Mayo Photographic)

A furious resident of the apartments on the Hanover estate in Broomhall says this is the second time it has happened in just four years.

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The cladding fell from Henry block on the Hanover estate in Broomhall (photo: Mayo Photographic)

Mickelmas Youngus claims he was lucky not to be hit himself when three panels, which he says measure at least 7ftx2ft and have sharp edges, were dislodged from Henry block on Exeter Place and went flying through the air at around 1pm.

He says one of the panels landed in the middle of the road on William Street, and he claims it is lucky no one was injured.

"I almost got injured today but I was lucky enough to be watching what was happening as I was getting my camera equipment out. These panels are over seven feet long and two feet high, with sharp edges," he said.

One resident said the cladding previously had to be reattached after coming loose in February 2014 (photo: Mayo Photographic)

"Leaseholders are not happy as the cladding cost them over Â£10,000 each and then they keep getting charged again when things like this happen. They are fuming over being charged constantly for faulty workmanship."

Mr Youngus said cladding was put up around five years ago and when he and other residents told the council it wasn't being done properly they were ignored.

On February 12, 2014, he says, panels were flapping in the wind and blowing off, forcing police to close the road as it was a safety hazard.

"One week later, the council said it had now used longer screws on the panels to ensure this didn't happen again. We told it they were useless as they were screwed tdo close to the edge and screwed into foam insulation blocks.

"The council tried telling us we were wrong but it's now happened again and I and other residents are concerned it's only a matter of time before the poor workmanship makes more panels come off and someone gets killed."

Mr Youngus said he had reported the fallen cladding to the council at around 1.30pm and a cordon was placed around the flats at about 4.30pm.

Janet Sharpe, Sheffield Council's director of housing, said: "We responded immediately to the situation last night and made the area safe.

"We are very concerned by what has happened and will be arranging for panels to be checked and any repairs to take place to stop this from happening again."