Storm demolishes staircase at FreshStart block
EMPIRICAL Property Group (EPG), the parent company of FreshStart Living, has been forced to move tenants of one of its blocks in Manchester into temporary accommodation after an external staircase blew down in Wednesday’s storm.
The three-storey stairs, which provided the only access to flats on the second and third floors, completely collapsed at Empress Mill close to Chester Road.
No one was injured but residents were left either trapped inside or unable to return home. EPG has not said how many people have been affected.
Empress Mill, close to FreshStart’s stalled Trafford Press scheme, was to include 100 apartments across two blocks – a converted mill and a new six-storey building next door. It was due to be completed last year but the conversion is unfinished and the new block was not built.
In a statement EPG said the staircase was temporary and was only supposed to provide access until the second phase of the scheme was completed. The firm’s chief architect Andrew Norton said, “The structure was completely safe and secure, approved by building regulation inspectors alongside architects and structural engineers”.
Chief executive Charlie Cunningham said: “We are moving tenants into replacement accommodation located in the city centre and providing a daily food allowance to help ease the cost on tenants. We’ve also arranged for a transport service to and from Empress Mill to get tenants to their hotels, and are co-ordinating a retrieval process for tenant possessions.”
The company’s statement added: “Our largest concern is, and always will be, the safety and wellbeing of our tenants. This unforeseen incident is as a result of freak weather, which has had disastrous effects across the UK. We ask that all our tenants contact us regarding any concerns, questions or additional requirements they have so that we can best aid them during this time.”
TheBusinessDesk.com has previously written about three FreshStart schemes where tenants have been moved out on safety grounds. Last year the fire service intervened at Colonnade House in Bradford and Gilmour House in Paisley, while administrators appointed to the Trafford Press block evicted residents after they discovered inadequate fire and safety measures, exposed electrical wiring, “severe problems” with the roof, defective window frames and no building regulations approvals for common areas.
Last year Stockport Council issued a planning contravention notice over breaches at Mac Court in St Thomas’s Place and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service separately issued an enforcement notice over fire safety issues.
