Building Safety Case Information - Magnolia Court

Building Information

Name: Magnolia Court
Address: Citrus Way, Salford, Manchester, M6 5AN
Height: 48 metres
Number of floors: 17
Number of apartments: 97
Number of staircases: 2
Year built: 1966

Construction material:
– Large Panel System construction (Fram Russell Type A)
– The External Wall Insulation (EWI) is White EPS and Silkolitt.
– The insulation is 170mm Swistherm White EPS Board.

Principal Accountable Person: As part of the new Building Safety laws, every high-rise building must have a Principle Accountable Person. This is the person or body responsible for managing the fire and structural safety risks of a high-rise building. It could be an individual or an organisation.

In our case, Salix Homes is the Principle Accountable Person. Our Chief Executive Officer oversees Salix Homes’ safety responsibilities.

Evacuation Strategy

The evacuation strategy for your building is ‘Simultaneous Evacuation’.

This means that if a fire is detected anywhere in the building, everyone must evacuate, even if your flat does not seem to be affected.

What to do if you hear the alarm:

If you hear the alarm or are instructed to leave by a fire warden, the fire service, or another official, please evacuate the building immediately.

When the fire alarm activates, it will send an urgent alert directly to the fire service, who will immediately send fire crews to the building.
If you hear the alarm, or you see smoke or flames, alert everyone in your flat and leave together.

– Leave your flat
– Use the stairs
– Never use the lifts

Go to the assembly point. You’ll find details about where your assembly point is in the lobby area, so it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with this.
If you are unable to leave your flat, use the stairs or your exit route is blocked or unsafe due to fire or smoke, return to your flat, close the door and put a wet towel or bedding at the base of the door to help prevent the smoke spreading. Go to a room with an open window and call 999.

If you have any mobility issues, medical conditions or disabilities that may prevent you evacuating your home without assistance, it’s important that you tell us, so we can put the right support in place for you:

Support to evacuate your building safely

Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) Information

Salix Homes has applied for funding through the Government’s Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS), which is newly available funding for social housing providers to help fund the removal and replacement of combustible materials and support wider building safety work on tall buildings.

You can find the latest communications and updates for your block, including letters to residents and other relevant information here: Magnolia Court

Safety Checks and Schedule

Regular safety checks and surveys are carried out in your building to ensure all the fire safety measures and systems we have in place are in working order, in case of a fire or emergency in your block.

Some of these checks are carried out by our team of Property Safety Officers, while some are carried out by other independent building and fire safety experts.

You can find out more about the checks we carry out and when they were last done by selecting the options below:

Fire Doors and Front Doors

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All our tower blocks and communal buildings have fire doors, this includes the front door to your home, and they are designed to help stop the spread of fire.

• Communal Fire Doors
These are the doors in the corridors, stairwells and communal areas.

Who checks: Property Safety Officers
How often: Every three months

• Individual Front Doors
These are the flat entrance doors to your home.

As part of your tenancy audit, our Housing Officers carry out these inspections, however customers can also complete their own door checks.

If you do complete your own door check, we will ask you to complete a short survey about your front door – these checks will take no longer than 10 minutes and require no technical knowledge or tools.

You can access the door check survey here.

Who checks: Housing Officers or customers
How often: Annually

Fire Alarm and Systems Checks

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All our high rise buildings are fitted with a communal fire alarm system. When the fire alarm activates, it will send an urgent alert directly to the fire service, and to Salix Homes, who will immediately send fire crews to the building.

While alarms and systems are checked regularly, these can be ‘silent tests’. This means, while it’s being tested, the alarm will not necessarily make a sound you can hear.

We are currently upgrading the fire alarm system at Magnolia Court as part of our ongoing commitment to strengthening building safety at the block. This new wireless system will help enhance early fire detection across the building and supports the new Simultaneous Evacuation Policy now in place.

Who checks: Property Safety Officers
How often: Weekly

Lift Checks and Servicing

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In the event of a fire, the lifts will not be in operation for customers, and you’ll need to use the stairs to evacuate the building. However, the fire service might use the lifts to help with firefighting, so they have a special key to make the lifts work.

• As part of our regular checks of your building, we check that the lift system is working as it should.

Who checks: Property Safety Officers
How often: Monthly

• In addition to the regular checks by the property safety officers, the lifts in your building are also serviced regularly, to make sure they are working safely.

Who checks: Concept Lifts
How often: Monthly

• Lifts in your building are also independently inspected as part of Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations.

Who checks: Ashdale Engineering
How often: Every 6 months

Fire and Rescue Service Equipment

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In the event of a fire, the fire service needs swift access to essential information about the building or equipment, this can include things like floor plans, or keys to access the dry risers, which are used to help the fire service easily access water. This is kept in a secure information box available to the fire service, which we check and update every month.

As part of these monthly checks, we also check the dry risers and emergency alert systems.

Your building also has ‘wayfinding signage’ which is designed to help the fire service, and others in the building, easily find their way around the building in the event of a fire.

Who checks: Property Safety Officers
How often: Monthly

Compartmentation

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Your building has been designed so that each flat is its own ‘compartment’. This means that in the event of a fire, it should stay contained within the flat.

We work closely with contractors to ensure that they do not breach this compartmentation. If you are carrying out DIY work in your home, or have a contractor in your flat to undertake work on your behalf, please speak to us first so that we can ensure the compartmentation is protected.

Additional Safety Checks

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In addition to the regular checks by our Property Safety Officers, we also employ partner contractors and fire safety experts to carry out further safety checks. These include:

• Fire Risk Assessments (FRA)
– Annually

• Fire Risk Assessments for External Walls (FRAEW)
– Every five years

• Asbestos (checked in communal areas)
– Annually

• Electrical Safety Checks (in communal areas and individual homes)
– Every five years

• Emergency Lighting (the back-up lighting, in case there is no power to the building)
– Monthly functional test and annual three hour full drain-down

• Sprinkler System Servicing
– Not applicable

• PAT Testing (Portable Appliance Testing) (a safety check to ensure that any electrical appliances in communal areas are in good condition and safe to use)
– Annually

• AOV (Automatic Opening Vent) (vents in your building which open automatically in case of a fire, helping to release smoke and improve ventilation)
– Not applicable

• Fire Hydrants Servicing
– N/A

• Dry Risers Servicing (Dry risers are a pipe network that firefighters can use to easily deliver water to higher floors during a fire. It stays empty (dry) when not in use, but can quickly be filled with water when needed for firefighting.)
– Every six months

Fire Risk Assessment (FRA)

A Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) is a report on the fire hazards within the communal areas of a building, as well the external walls and materials used. It’s carried out by an independent fire safety expert. It explains the key safety measures in place and identifies any potential fire safety risks.

It also gives recommendations for Salix Homes if more safety measures are needed to prevent, control, and reduce the effects of a fire. Our FRAs are made available to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service should they be required.

Who checks: Independent fire safety experts
How often: Annually

An FRA is a very technical document, so we’ve summarised all the key bits of information for you here, including any recommendations that have been made and where we’re up to with making any changes or improvements.

If you do want to read the FRA in full, you can request it from our Building Safety Team, by emailing buildingsafety@salixhomes.co.uk

Magnolia Court – FRA Summary

Address	Citrus Way, Salford, Manchester, M6 5AN
Date of latest Fire Risk Assessment (FRA)	8 October 2025
Next FRA due	8 October 2026
Number of floors	17
Number of apartments	97
Number of staircases	2
Year built	1966
Construction material	Large Panel System
Accountable person	Salix Homes
Risk rating	Medium

Actions	Number of actions	Completed actions
High Risk	0	n/a
Medium Risk	9	9
Low Risk	0	n/a

Fire Risk Assessment for External Walls (FRAEW)

As part of our ongoing building safety work across all our tower blocks in Salford, we routinely commission independent experts to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment for External Walls (FRAEW). A FRAEW looks specifically at the fire safety risks linked to the building’s external walls, including the materials used. It identifies any risks and gives recommendations on how to reduce them. Based on this, the building is given a safety rating.

However, it’s important to understand that a FRAEW is the opinion of an independent fire safety expert. Different assessors can take slightly different approaches, which may affect the rating given.

The safety rating for Magnolia Court is High – action required.

Who checks: Independent fire safety experts
How often: Every 5 years

Contact our Building Safety Team by emailing buildingsafety@salixhomes.co.uk if you would like a copy of the FRAEW report.

Structural Assessments

We carry out regular structural assessments of our buildings to assess their strength and stability. It involves experts inspecting the building’s framework, materials, and support systems to ensure everything is in good condition, helping to ensure the safety and longevity of the structure.

Date of last assessment: January 2026
Next due: 5-7 years from date of last assessment.

Investment Work

We carry out a regular programme of investment and improvement work to ensure all our homes and communities are safe and pleasant places to live. We also ensure they meet the Government’s ‘Decent Homes’ standard, as well as our own ‘Salix Standard’.

Previous investment work that has taken place at your building includes:

2015-2016

Installation of a new rendered external wall insulation system to enhance the appearance of the block and improve thermal comfort in your home.
Alucobond panels were also attached to the external façade of the building. These were later removed after failing safety tests following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017. These were replaced with an approved product in 2019 as part of our cladding remediation programme.
Concrete repairs.
Re-roof with a new insulated roof.
Window replacements.
Entrance door to block replaced.
Communal internal fire doors replaced.
Communal decoration including communal flooring replacement.
Kitchen, bathroom replacements and electrical upgrades inside properties.
Flat fire door replacements.
Communal lighting and emergency lighting upgrade.

2016-2017

Both communal passenger lifts were replaced.

2017-2018

Fire alarm installed.
Firestopping works to reduce the risk of spread in the event of a fire.

2020-2021

The gas supply was moved to the exterior of the building to supply the Eco-Pod system on the roof. The system does away with the need to have a gas supply running internally through the building.
Conversion of the shop into a new apartment.

2022-2023

Upgrade to the electricity supply carried out by Electricity North West.

2023-2024

Cross corridor fire doors installed and bedroom fire escape doors upgraded to required flats.

2024-2025

Remedial works to plant room roof.

Customer Engagement Strategy

At Salix Homes, we want all our customers to feel safe in your home and know what we’re doing to help keep you and your building safe.

This strategy sets out how we will work together with our customers to communicate and engage with you on all matters relating to building safety.

The key aims of this strategy are:

Ensure you are empowered to get involved and influence building safety decisions in your home.
Ensure you are aware of key building safety messages and decisions.
Ensure you know how to raise any building safety concerns with us.
Ensure you are aware of and know how to access key building safety information about your home.
Provide you with a clear understanding of our responsibilities as a landlord, and your responsibilities as a Salix Homes customer to ensure your home remains safe.
Ensure you are effectively communicated with in a way that is accessible and easy to understand.
Ensure you know what to do in the event of a fire or emergency in your building.
Ensure you know how to make a complaint if you feel your concerns are not being listened to

You can read our Customer Engagement Strategy here.