Building Assessment Certificates (BACs) have been issued for two highrise apartment buildings in Salford that underwent significant safety works in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Replacement cladding, insulation and fire compartmentation, as well as new fire alarms and  sprinklers were ordered for nine residential blocks managed by Salford social landlord Pendleton Together Operating Ltd (PTOL), part of the Together Housing Group.

Pick Everard was appointed principal designer (CDM) to support a programme of safety upgrades across the scheme, working closely with the client to ensure compliance with current building safety legislation.

As part of this role, the team undertook detailed structural surveys and supported the submission of the Building Safety Case, resulting in BACs being issued for two blocks, Spruce and Thorn Court, both of which now meet the required legal duties relating to the spread of fire and structural standards.

Work is continuing on safety upgrades to the remaining buildings. While the scheme experienced early delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the issuing of the BACs is a major turning point with all blocks due to be completed in spring 2026.

Simon Senior, Project Director at Pick Everard, said: “The project sits within the transition period for adopting the Building Safety Act 2022, with our team working to ensure services aligned to the requirements of the developing legislation and associated regulatory requirements.

“Collaboration remained a key element of this project and involved liaising with a complex network of stakeholders, including PTOL, the construction management team, contractors, neighbourhood management team, Salford City Council and Together Housing.

“Fire safety is, understandably, a matter of significant sensitivity, and the development and maintenance of strong stakeholder relationships was critical to providing reassurance to everybody involved in the scheme and the residents.”

The latest building control approval data from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) shows it is currently considering 283 remediation cases. The report states: “Having focused on addressing the new build backlog initially, BSR is now developing a focused plan to extend the lessons learned to remediation cases.”

Services provided by Pick Everard on the scheme include building surveying, building and construction safety, architecture, structural and building engineering, project management, M&E, and quantity surveying.

Simon added: “Achieving certification reflects the project’s disciplined governance and resident-focused outcomes, providing a strong benchmark for future schemes.

“To address the highly sensitive nature of the project we refined our building and construction safety consultant team’s usual communications process to create a proactive, tailored engagement strategy.

“Applying learning from past projects, we ran regular risk workshops with representatives of each design discipline and the wider design teams (sub-contractors, package contractors) with design responsibility.

“All parties shared their health and safety learning, reinforcing our joint commitment to safety – which was so important to residents.”