The Friars House block in Aylesbury town will see combustible cladding removed ‘after over three years’ since it was first discovered.

The planning application lodged is set to ‘replace the materials on the front’ of the block, which sits above the Friars Square Shopping Centre in the town, and which was ‘found to have’ combustible cladding in 2017 after the Grenfell Tower fire. With it now being ‘over three years since it was revealed the building had potentially dangerous materials on its facade’, the application means that the cladding ‘looks set to be removed’.

The news outlet noted that at the time, a representative of the block’s management company Moreland Estate Management said that it ‘completely understood’ concerns ‘on this matter’, adding that ‘we have worked closely with Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to review the entire fire safety of the property, including the structure, management and facilities provided for the fire safety of the residents. We regularly check all fire systems at all of our properties’.

In turn, it was pointed out that ‘there is no work planned inside’ the building, with the planning application ‘focused on’ replacing the combustible materials on the outside of the building’. The news outlet added that the plans ‘show very similar elevations for the flats once the work is done’, including that ‘colour and appearance won’t change much at all’. Buckinghamshire County Council has a deadline of 21 September to make a decision on the application.

www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/