WORKS to remove potentially dangerous cladding from an apartment block in Basingstoke has been delayed again.

Residents at Crown Heights, in Alencon Link, were told that work would begin in July this year after a series of delays.

However, work has been pushed back to August as Barratt, the original developer of the building, is waiting to receive approval for the works from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

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Cladding will be removed from Crown Heights (Image: Newsquest)

The BSR is responsible for regulating high-rise buildings in England and must grant planning permission for any works to commence.

A spokesperson from Barratt told the Gazette that BSR has requested 'an additional 28 days to review and respond' to the application. If approval is granted, the work will not start until mid-August.

The spokesperson added: "Crown Heights residents were made aware of this development in May."

The external cladding at Crown Heights, which has around 250 flats, contains the flammable material ‘expanded polystyrene’ and features no fire breaks.

It means the building is at risk of being engulfed if a fire broke out, similar to the tragedy that happened at Grenfell Tower in 2017.

The work is expected to take 26 months, a change in timeline from the original figure of 14 months provided to residents. 

The spokesperson continued: "This was due to a change in principal contractor for the works.

"The original timeline was an estimate provided by the original contractor, however, when the new contractor was appointed, a new design was produced with more accurate and detailed programme timelines that were based on more informed design development.

"We are now well placed to start work on site as soon as approval has been granted by the Building Safety Regulator."