Residents at luxury apartments furious as they ‘live in permanent darkness’ after building is wrapped in PLASTIC

 RESIDENTS in a luxury apartment block are "living in permanent darkness" after their entire building was wrapped in PLASTIC.

Huge sheeting covers every inch of Islington Gate's six-storey tower block in Birmingham while workers replace dangerous cladding with a non-flammable material.

Residents in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter are 'living in darkness' as their apartments are coated in plastic
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Residents in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter are 'living in darkness' as their apartments are coated in plasticCredit: SWNS
Danny Kelly is having to fork out thousands for the repairs while being told to keep off his balcony
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Danny Kelly is having to fork out thousands for the repairs while being told to keep off his balconyCredit: SWNS

Leaseholders who paid between £160,000 and £200,000 for each of the 141 apartments in the city's Jewellery Quarter are now facing five-figure bills to put up the new cladding.

And due to delays in the work, the plastic means they have been unable to see out of their windows for six months.

Danny Kelly, who as been a leaseholder on the sixth floor since 2018, said: "There's no sunlight, I can't tell what the weather is.

"In the day the workmen are two metres from my desk - the drilling, knocking the brick out is very loud.

"There's no privacy because there are people walking past every day.

"I either let people see in or close my blinds all day."Many of the residents are first-time buyers who bought the properties with mortgages before a fire safety review outlawed certain cladding following the Grenfell fire tragedy.

The review found Islington Gates' aluminium and cedarwood cladding was different to that at Grenfell but was still too flammable and needed replacing.

Scaffolding was put up and workmen started removing the cladding in April this year but plastic sheeting still shrouds the 250m-long building.

As well as being denied a view and living in permanent gloom, residents have also complained about leaking ceilings and mould.

Jennifer Reid, 40, bought her one-bedroom sixth-storey flat in February 2019 and found out later that year there was a "significant fire safety issue".

The marketing manager was initially slapped with a £50,000, which has since been reduced to £30,000 after help from the Government.

'DARK & COLD'

Jennifer said: "It's been a really tricky, horrible two years having committed to buy the flat and then learning I was on the hook for a pretty huge bill.

"We used to have views across the city but now the plastic completely blocks the light. It's pretty miserable.

"It is dark and cold and compounded by the fact they've taken the bricks out and it's starting to get darker now so you have to have your lights on all of the time."

Meanwhile her neighbour Danny, who lives with his 27-year-old fiancée Danielle Poole, said the five-figure bill he faces has forced them to put their marriage plans on hold.

The 30-year-old said: "We had some timber and panel-style cladding which was too flammable.

"They also discovered fire safety defects like there being no fire breaks.

"They had been signed off as having been put in but they hadn't.

"We had wooden balconies which needed to be removed."

It is dark and cold and compounded by the fact they've taken the bricks out and it's starting to get darker now so you have to have your lights on all of the time

Jennifer ReidIslington Gate Resident

Danny said leaseholders were told the building's repair bill was £9million and his share ran to £75,000.

The Government's Building Safety Fund, announced in the 2020 spring budget, reduced his bill but still left him out of pocket.

He explained: "It's gone down £10,000 or £11,000 but it's still five figures.

"And I've lost my view because of the plastic."

Shabana Mahmood, the Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood, has been an advocate for leaseholders.

She said: "While it's welcome that the cladding works have finally started, there are already significant delays.

"The damage to flats is completely unacceptable.

"These issues are driving many leaseholders to the brink of financial ruin and only compounding the significant toll on the mental health of my constituents."

The award-winning Islington Gates, comprising of apartments, offices and restaurants was built on the banks of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at a cost of £30million and was completed in 2018.

Philip Davis, Chair of Islington Gates' Leaseholder Management Board, said: "The Leaseholder Board is well aware of the unpleasant conditions imposed by the removal of the cladding.

"Working with our Building Consultants and the works contractor Woodman Bros. Ltd., we are doing all we can to get the fire safety works finished.

"The Government grant paying for some of the fire safety costs makes no provision for funding alternative accommodation.

"Any such cost would fall on all leaseholders and is not sustainable given the already substantial costs we all face for the building industry's negligence."

He added: "Unfortunately the plastic sheeting covering the site and other impacts of the works are unavoidable as we push forward with the £8million plus fire safety works."

Residents are having to pay thousands for the repairs
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Residents are having to pay thousands for the repairsCredit: SWNS
Danny Kelly is having his wooden balcony stripped from the building and can't see a thing through his windows
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Danny Kelly is having his wooden balcony stripped from the building and can't see a thing through his windowsCredit: SWNS
Windows are completely sealed off from view
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Windows are completely sealed off from viewCredit: SWNS
Jennifer Reid has to face the scaffolding as she works from home
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Jennifer Reid has to face the scaffolding as she works from homeCredit: SWNS
Residents on the top floor would normally enjoy sky-high views
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Residents on the top floor would normally enjoy sky-high viewsCredit: SWNS
Instead, plastic coats the building
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Instead, plastic coats the buildingCredit: SWNS
UK government announces £3.5bn fund to fix cladding on high-rise buildings

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