Image: Peter Facey / Leamington House, Earlsdon Street, Portsmouth
Two Portsmouth tower blocks face demolition after cladding inspections following the Grenfell Tower fire revealed the concrete is weakening.
Cladding was removed from Leamington House and Horatia House after the disaster and while Portsmouth City Council was looking for suitable replacements, detailed building surveys revealed problems with the original 1960s concrete.
The council put additional safety measures in place and started moving residents to new homes.
More survey work since then has revealed that the cost to repair and strengthen the buildings, built from large concrete panels, would total £86m.
A report for the council has recommended that it look at options for redeveloping the site to create new affordable and social housing, meaning that the existing blocks would be torn down.
The cost of de-construction of the buildings will be between £5-6m. Plans are set to go to the council’s cabinet on 26 February.
