Manningham Council will begin work to replace the external aluminium composite panel (ACP) cladding at MC Square in mid-February 2023.
Construction is expected to take a year to complete and associated insulation works will also take place at this time to reduce potential future disruptions.
Manningham Mayor, Councillor Deirdre Diamante, said all MC Square services and entry and exit points would continue to operate normally while the cladding was replaced.
“So many important services operate from our much-loved MC Square and we will do our best to minimise disruptions to service providers and guests during the works."
In preparation for the cladding replacement, contractors will install scaffolding around the building and this will remain in place until construction is complete.
“Your safety is our priority. The new panels and construction scaffolding comply with stringent building regulations and it is safe to continue visiting MC Square while works are underway” Cr Diamante said.
Due to the nature of the works, the community may notice some noise associated with the dismantling of cladding, drilling and the use of other power tools. Although construction will primarily involve the outside of the building, workers may occasionally work on small jobs inside, such as waterproofing and conducting engineering checks.
The cladding replacement follows the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) state-wide cladding review, which identified MC Square as the only Manningham Council owned building with combustible ACP cladding.
Manningham Council CEO, Andrew Day, said the overall risk relating to the building’s cladding was not an immediate and high enough risk that replacement can be covered by or managed by compensation from Cladding Safety Victoria.
“When it was constructed 10 years ago, the flammable cladding issue was not clearly identified and despite looking at all the courses available to council, there is no option to recover these costs.
Council has allocated $3.4 million to remove and replace the cladding from the 2021/22 and 2022/23 budgets to make the building compliant with current building standards.”
Project updates will be published on Council’s website during the works. For further information please call 9840 9333 or visit manningham.vic.gov.au/news/mc-square-exterior-cladding-replacement-works-faqs.
