Rebuilding begins a year after Irlam gas explosion

A year after a gas explosion ripped through a row of City West Housing Trust properties in Merlin Road, Irlam, work has started on rebuilding five homes.

Planning approval has been granted and the appointed contractor Bramall Construction is implementing the programme of work before the foundations are laid in coming weeks. The homes are expected to be finished by summer 2012.

The value of the scheme is likely to be in the region of £600,000, funded by both City West’s insurers and the private owners’ insurers.

“Rebuilding is the final phase of the work to restore the area,” said the organisation’s chief executive Tim Doyle. “We are looking forward to seeing these homes complete and people settled back in. We will continue to provide a high level of customer support throughout this process.

“We remain grateful to all of those people who have been involved in supporting those affected at the time and we will continue to provide as much help as possible to ensure that people can return home and back to normality.”

Doyle praised the resilience of the local community in the aftermath of the blast which injured 10 adults and five children and left hundreds of people unable to return to their homes.

“Over the past 12 months we have been moved by the resilience of our customers in the Merlin Road area who have pulled together following the incident on 2 November 2010,” he said. “Now and at the time of this incident our priority has been making sure the welfare of our customers has been at the forefront of our activities.

“In the immediate aftermath and the days and weeks that followed, we provided extensive support and assistance to the people who were affected by the explosion. Our staff worked round the clock to provide emergency and temporary accommodation, salvage belongings from homes and put them into storage or transport them to new accommodation, provided welfare support and advice, and carried out the repairs needed to get people home as quickly as possible.”

The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation into the blast which is still ongoing. A spokesperson for HSE said: “Materials taken from the site have now been analysed by specialists at the national Health and Safety Laboratory in Buxton. However, we are continuing to gather statements from those connected to the incident. We will decide at the end of the investigation whether there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges in a prosecution.”