Fireproof cladding request meets council approval

A plan to replace cladding removed after a fire at an apartment block has been approved.

The blaze broke out just after midnight in a flat at Mosaic Apartments on Slough's High Street on 22 August, 2024 when all 282 residents were evacuated.

Part of the block was fitted with the same aluminium composite material (ACM) flammable cladding that was used at Grenfell Tower before the fire which led to the deaths of 72 people in 2017.

Wallace Estate, the building's freeholder, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) last year that the cladding had been removed but that further work to the building was necessary.

Following Slough Borough Council approving the application, the block's sixth and seventh floors, where ACM cladding was previously present, will be fitted with compliant aluminium rainscreen cladding.

Cavity barriers, a fire protection measure, will be installed and matching cast stone panels will be put in place around the building's elevations.

The balcony and roof terrace areas were previously covered in combustible insulation and timber decking.

These have been removed and will now be replaced with compliant substrates and aluminium decking.

For the canopies of the apartment building, non-compliant soffit materials will also be fitted with fire-safe aluminium cladding materials.