WORK appears to be under way to remove cladding from a building in Bradford city centre.

A picture taken by the T&A revealed machinery in place with work apparently under way to remove cladding at Appleton Point, on Hamm Strasse.

In February 2019, 120 residents at Appleton Point had to evacuated with just 15 hours notice after the apartment building failed a fire inspection.

It was one of two apartment buildings in the city centre, including Landmark House, on Broadway, that had cladding made of aluminium composite materials - similar to the cladding found on Grenfell Tower.

Bradford Council and the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service have been in discussions with Appleton Point building owners about work to remove the cladding.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “The prohibition notice served by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) in February 2019 remains in force and the building remains empty. The council continues to work with the freeholder and WYFRS to ensure that all works carried out meet the necessary requirements.”

A West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “The fire service is currently in discussion with the building owners and Bradford Council.”

The news comes as more than 15,000 people in West Yorkshire are still living in flats with flammable cladding, almost four years after the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy in which 72 people died in their homes.

The Labour Party set out its roadmap to safer homes, as analysis shows many thousands of homes across the country are likely to be affected by the cladding crisis.

At least 110 high rise buildings across West Yorkshire are still waiting to have dangerous cladding removed, suggesting there are approximately 15,000 people living in unsafe flats, according to average building occupancy data.

Only a handful of buildings have been fixed so far. Affected families cannot sell their homes and have had to endure months of lockdown in unsafe flats.

Many leaseholders have been forced to pay thousands of pounds for 24-hour ‘waking watches’. Across West Yorkshire there are at least 38 buildings with waking watches.

Labour Party is calling for the Government to remove the dangerous cladding by paying for it up-front.

Tracy Brabin MP, Labour’s candidate for West Yorkshire Mayor, said: “The Tories have tried to avoid this crisis for too long. Every day that passes puts thousands of people at unnecessary risk and leaves them with unfair costs.

“Residents are being asked to pay thousands of pounds in waking watch fees and remediation bills that they cannot afford, all while locked down in dangerous buildings.

“This has gone on too long. The government needs to get a grip and ensure everyone has a safe, secure place to live.”