Urban Splash-linked firms ordered to pay £46.5m for Manchester fire safety work

Five organisations linked to developer Urban Splash were ordered on Thursday 5 November to pay £46,500,650 towards fire safety work at seven Manchester buildings.

The First-tier Tribunal found that all seven blocks had fire safety defects requiring repairs. Most of the award is payable to the Housing Secretary for work funded through the government’s Building Safety Fund. Moho Building’s management company is to receive £741,600 for costs it incurred.

The buildings are Burton Place in Castlefield; Chips Building in New Islington; Moho Building on Ellesmere Street; The Box Works on Worsley Street; and Christabel, Emmeline and Sylvia houses on Dalton Street, known as the Three Towers.

Urban Splash Limited developed the blocks between 2000 and 2008. Inspections followed the Grenfell Tower disaster. The repairs cost £60.6 million including VAT, with around £51.1 million coming from the Building Safety Fund. The government sought £46.5 million of that total. Urban Splash did not own the buildings during the work and received no money from the fund.

The ruling names Urban Splash Limited, Urban Splash Developments Limited, Urban Splash Group Holdings Limited, Urban Splash Work Limited and Stubbs Mill LLP. The government brought the case, with tribunal proceedings starting in April. In April 2024, it had told Parliament it was seeking £46 million for the seven buildings.

In a 260-page judgment, Judge Jonathan Holbrook, sitting with two other tribunal members, said there was a “powerful case” for the developer “rather than the taxpayer, to bear the remediation costs”. The tribunal recognised the company’s assistance with investigations after Grenfell, but distinguished that from accepting financial responsibility for the repairs.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner welcomed the important decision, saying it made clear that those accountable for unsafe buildings must contribute their fair share towards putting them right.

A spokesperson for Urban Splash expressed disappointment that the decision covered several entities uninvolved in the initial development of the seven buildings. The company said it was examining the decision, obtaining legal advice and looking for a constructive path forward with the government. It also described the scale of the liability as “significant for a business of our size”.