Residents feel 'caged' by years of scaffolding works

People living inside a landmark Manchester apartment block say they have been living in darkness because the building has been wrapped in scaffolding for much of the last six years.

India House in Whitworth Street, where Noel Gallagher wrote some of Oasis's most famous songs during his time living there, is encased in scaffolding and wrapped in thick plastic.

Some residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that they had to leave their lights on all day because little light could get in.

The Guinness Partnership, which runs the building, said there had been ongoing works on the roof, and that it had previously paid out compensation to some tenants to help with heating costs.

Residents said the scaffolding works have been taking place on and off for the last since 2020.

"People feel trapped. It's a nightmare to tell the truth," said one tenant, who asked not to be named.

"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 were other ongoing issues at India House, including bedbug infestations on some of the floors, and fire alarms that were "constantly" going off.

They said some people had stopped getting up to leave when the fire alarms ring, adding: "There could be a disaster here if there's a real fire and no one goes out."

Another tenant added: "It's people's well-being, 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."

India House was built between 1905 and 1912 as a warehouse, but was turned into flats in the late 1980s.

Gallagher moved in in 1989 and wrote songs that appeared on Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory?

It became one of the first buildings in the city centre to provide social housing.

Deansgate councillor Anthony McCaul told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he appreciated that there could be challenges to looking after a listed building, but said "five years of constant construction is not on".

A spokesperson for the Guinness Partnership said "working on this listed building has proved more complex than envisaged".

They also said the number of false fire alarms had been reduced and there were strict rules that contractors working on the scaffolding had to follow.

They added: "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."

The spokesman added that the bedbug infestation was being dealt with.

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