Residents of India House on Whitworth Street in Manchester say life in the building has become 'miserable' because of scaffolding works that have dragged on for years. One tenant told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that 1,617 of the last 2,277 days have been affected by the scaffolding, which has been up on and off for six years. The problems are thought to have started in 2020 when work was needed on the roof.
A building with a rich history
India House, first built between 1905 and 1912, was originally a packing warehouse before being converted into flats in 1988. Parts of the building are grade II listed. It is managed by Guinness Partnership, a housing provider with more than 70,000 properties across England, including in London, Liverpool, and Cornwall. The building was one of the first in Manchester city centre to provide social housing.
The apartment block also holds a special place in Manchester's musical history. Oasis star Noel Gallagher lived there in the 1990s and wrote songs for the albums Definitely Maybe and What's the Story, Morning Glory while resident.
Tenants describe a 'nightmare'
Three different tenants spoke to the LDRS about the problems at the building. Some residents feel their landlord is overwhelmed with the responsibility of looking after the building and say they feel Guinness isn't listening to their concerns.
One tenant, who asked not to be named to protect their tenancy, described the impact on daily life. At midday, all the lights are burning bright in his apartment; switching them off plunges the room into darkness, making it impossible to see writing on a notepad. "People feel trapped, it's a nightmare to tell the truth," he said. "You get people climbing on the scaffolding, you don't feel safe in your own home. It's like we're caged in by it. It's miserable, you have to pick yourself up sometimes."
The tenant, who has lived in the building for years, said there are other ongoing issues, including 'bed bugs' on some floors and fire alarms that are 'constantly' going off. He added that some people have stopped getting up to leave when the alarms ring, saying: "There could be a disaster here if there's a real fire and no one goes out."
Councillor demands action
Another tenant said: "It's people's wellbeing, but when you talk to Guinness about it you don't feel listened to. Some people have moved out over this. There's social housing here so a lot of people have challenges, physical and mental. You can't open your windows at the moment because of the workmen and all the noise." Another resident said: "Every morning some people are screaming and swearing because of this scaffolding."
The lack of progress has prompted action from Manchester town hall. Anthony McCaul, the councillor for Deansgate, has written to Guinness about the 'extensive scaffolding and building works that have been ongoing for several years', asking for an update on how the landlord can support residents. The letter noted that the works led to the closure of the community garden at the rear, and that some top floor apartments are currently empty due to being 'uninhabitable'.
Councillor McCaul told the LDRS: "I work closely with the resident scrutiny panel at India House so I am aware of the impacts that constant on / off scaffolding and building works has had on the health and wellbeing of residents. Recently, a resident wrote to me documenting that residents have had over 1600 days of scaffolding since 2021 which prompted me to write to the CEO of Guinness Partnership to highlight the urgent need to get an end date to construction and a plan to minimise impacts to residents. We have arranged a meeting with residents and the CEO, supported by Lucy Powell's office, so we are hoping to make some progress on this soon."
He added: "India House is one of the first buildings to provide social housing in the city centre. I appreciate there are complications when managing a listed building, but five years of constant construction is not on, and Guinness need to do better for the residents at India House."
Guinness responds
One tenant said frustrations are growing towards Guinness over the situation, adding: "Anger is growing, people feel angry about it and they want options, to either be moved, compensated properly, and a formal apology and acknowledgement."
Guinness Partnership was not able to confirm an end date to the works when contacted by the LDRS. It said the works are being reviewed and that an update will be given to residents in a meeting being held next week. The housing provider explained that the long-standing works have been on the roof of the building.
A spokesperson from Guinness apologised for the inconvenience and said it has previously paid out compensation to tenants. They added in a statement: "Working on this listed building has proved to be more complex than envisaged, with issues that have emerged during the course of works leading to extensions to the programme. The fire alarm installation that was carried out as part of these works has now been recalibrated to reduce the instances of false activations. We continue to monitor activations to see whether any further changes to the system configuration are needed. The scaffolding is alarmed to deter and prevent intruders, and we have also now installed CCTV for the same purpose. There are strict noise protocols in place for working on the scaffolding, and our contractor has reminded their operatives of the need to adhere to these and to work in a way that respects residents' privacy as much as possible. We have carried out a full assessment of resident needs and we continually update our assessment to ensure our understanding of residents' needs remains current. Where the assessments indicate a requirement for alternative accommodation, we have arranged this. This includes some homes on the sixth floor which have experienced leaks (the current works will address this). Unrelated to the works, we confirm that we are treating a bedbug infestation at India House. This is being treated by professionals in the normal way. More generally, we recognise that some residents experience financial hardship from time to time and we have a fund that residents are able to apply to for assistance with energy costs (and the costs of other essential items) if necessary. Once again we apologise to residents for the ongoing inconvenience while we work to improve India House."
