‘Red, white and blue’ New Lodge repair plan

Published Friday, 13 May 2011
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Tower block residents in the nationalist New Lodge area of north Belfast are angry with the Housing Executive's repair plans, which they say include covering the buildings in red, white and blue.

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The scheme is intended to fix the problem of damp, which has plagued many of those who live in the area's 450 flats.

The NIHE are proposing to use PVC cladding on each of the seven blocks at a cost of £7m, along with pitched roofs and PVC windows, to reduce heat loss and prevent dampness.

However residents have hit out at the scheme, which they believe has been poorly thought out - so much so that they say red, white and blue pebble dashing had been proposed for the towers.

Angie McManus, who has lived in Maeve House since 1991, and spends over £120 a month heating her tenth floor home, wants the internal problems dealt with as well as the external ones.

"From what we've gathered there'll be little benefit for residents," Ms McManus told UTV.

"It'll protect the brickwork, but £7m is a lot of money and we're asking them to spend it wisely."

Prof. Geoff Green of Sheffield Hallam University is an expert in urban policy. He says both residents and the Executive need to look at the issues involved.

"It's no good just protecting the fabric of the building," he said. "Some say that's what cladding is intended to do, without sorting out the problem of providing a good home for people."

No-one from the Housing Executive was available for interview, but in a statement the organisation said no final decision had been taken and they would continue to consult with residents.

© UTV News
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19 Comments
No-One in The Newlodge wrote (529 days ago):
This is not true. The flats are to be done in a neutral colour (possible grey) This (red-white-blue) was made up, possibility by the Seven Towers Committee. They do anything to discredit the NIHE, Cladding in High Rise flats in Scotland (Much bigger than the newlodge towers) and have worse weather than us have reported great success on their own cladding projects. Clear off 7 towers, you guys are useless.
Seamas in belfast wrote (735 days ago):
Thomas. Are you definate about that?
Thomas in Belfast wrote (737 days ago):
The subject of my sentence was both the people, and their actions, in this case their style of writing. I have yet to find evidence for starting a sentence with a nominal noun and ending it with the third person indefinate article, as being bad grammar. Using numbers (3rd) however, rather than spelling them, unless over the value of ten, is bad grammar.
seamas in belfast wrote (737 days ago):
Thomas. “…people have tried…” is perfectly acceptable. So too is “…it ends up…”. It’s not grammatically correct however to begin your sentence with the nominative noun people but end it with the 3rd person indefinite article. Who’s the subject of your sentence, the people or their style of writing?
Thomas in Belfast wrote (738 days ago):
Seamas, please tell me how "...people have tried..." is wrong? That is the correct spelling, and also, "...it ends up..." is classed as a colloquialism, perfectly fine in the english language, seeing as it is in the dictionary. I think your point of this being a comments forum is a fair one, but when people are debating, and arguing their points, i think it is appropriate to use correct grammar, as it persuades people to take you a little more seriously...
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