PAYING A HIGH PRICE

Residents in "perpetual limbo" as Beetham Tower saga drags on

- By JAMES HOLT & DAVID DUBAS-FISHER

Residents "perpetually in limbo" as Beetham Tower saga drags on

INVESTIGATIONS are still continuing into the long-term repair of the glass panels at one of Manchester's most prominent buildings.

Beetham Tower, on Deansgate, has for years been the subject of headlines, with leaseholders unable to sell their flats and hit with crippling service charges over facade issues that have never been fully rectified.

A Manchester Evening News special investigation revealed earlier this month how - years after a case in the High Court - leaseholders say they are ‘trapped’ unable to sell their homes and paying skyrocketing fees due to defects found with the sealant around the glass panels on the building’s exterior.

Now, Homes England and Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell are continuing investigations into what can be done at the city centre tower once regarded as the figurehead of aspirational city centre living.

It is understood that discussions are centred around attempts to ensure leaseholders won’t have to foot the bill for remedial works, predicted to be around #23 million, and that the possibility of additional Government funding is being explored.

Once the tallest building in the UK outside London, Beetham Tower has been largely regarded as the catalyst for the boom in inner-city living in Manchester.

But the 47-storey mix of flats and a hotel on its lower floors was found to be in a state of disrepair following a case in 2019, when the owners of the Hilton Hotel, which then occupied part of the building, took the freeholder to court.

A probe highlighted issues that had first surfaced in 2014, when defects with the panels outside the building’s dazzling all-glass exterior were first uncovered.

The bond provided by the structural sealant was failing in various cases and affected an estimated 1,350 shadow box units.