Luxury tower block residents abandon homes as issue expected to last days | UK | News

Residents of one of Manchester city centre’s most prestigious tower blocks are being forced to flee their homes following a major power outage that bosses say will not be resolved until Monday.

Power was cut at the towering West Tower, which rises 44 floors above Deansgate and houses hundreds of residents in luxury apartments and penthouses. The properties, known as The Residences, are marketed as “exceptional apartments” with “exceptional service” and have been welcoming residents for five years. Manchester Evening News reports.

But on Thursday evening, residents were seen dragging their suitcases out of one of the city’s tallest buildings, desperately searching for hotels and alternative accommodation, after being informed that electricity would be out for another four days until Monday.

Residents reported that the power first went out around 9pm on Wednesday evening, but the building’s management team tried to reassure residents that work was ongoing to resolve the issue.

Electricity and hot water were unavailable throughout Thursday, before emails were sent to all residents on Thursday evening confirming that the fault would not be fixed until Monday.

Residents are given the option of remaining without power in their homes or providing alternative accommodation and are told the amount will be refunded at a later date. A local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told MEN: “It’s chaos, everyone’s pissed off and it’s just uncertainty, uncertainty about whether the power will actually be on on Monday.”

He revealed he had booked a hotel until the problems were resolved, adding: “I can shower in the gym but I can get by without hot water as I don’t have Wi-Fi or TV. No, I had to leave, I need my TV.”

Another resident said: “Last night the power went out, the whole building suddenly went out. We thought it would work again this morning, but we waited all day, they said the generator would come. Now they say they can’t do anything until Monday, and the reception is so busy with angry people. I have to decide where to go tonight.”

One woman said she was so upset by the situation that she was considering leaving the flats altogether. We do not yet have any information about when electricity will return. I work from home because electricity is vital and I had to take unpaid leave today.

“I pay more than £1,600 a month in rent and expect management to be better equipped and have better quality energy infrastructure. We were told to use the gym showers but only two of the four women’s showers were working. The only thing we are provided with is bottled water. Management refuses to buy new food as well as spoiled food in the fridges and freezers.” He added: “I will definitely be looking for alternative places to live.”

An email from the Housing Authority, seen by MEN, was sent to residents on Thursday evening informing them of the situation. In it, it said, “we sincerely apologize for the disruption and inconvenience caused.”

The statement said: “The cause of the outage was determined to be a fault in the busbar in the Deansgate Square area, which affected the power supply to all properties in the West Tower.

“This part of the development is being managed by a third party who are working closely with their contractors to restore power as quickly as possible. The replacement component has been custom-made and is currently being produced, with delivery expected on site next week. Following this, insurers will investigate the cause of the outage and carry out the necessary damage recovery process.”

The statement continued as follows: “Although we had previously informed that electricity could be supplied to the apartments this evening, it is anticipated that the temporary generator power will not be online until Monday, April 13, 2026, due to unforeseen disruptions.

“Although there was no electricity to the apartments, we can confirm that there was an emergency supply to all elevators and life safety systems within the building (fire alarm system, automatically opening smoke extraction ducts, sprinkler system) and were fully operational at this time.

“In the meantime, residents have the option to remain in the building or arrange alternative hotel accommodation from this evening until Monday, April 13, 2026, when temporary power is expected to be restored.”

The email confirmed that alternative accommodation and meals “up to £120 per night for couples and singles” would be covered, while advising families to consult a member of staff for “further guidance”.

The West Tower forms part of the Deansgate Square skyscraper complex and is currently the 11th tallest structure in Manchester with 44 floors. The city’s tallest building is the South Tower, one of the adjacent towers, rising up to 65 floors.

Luxury flats in the West Tower range from one-bedroom properties from £1,400 per month, two-bedroom flats from £1,950 per month, three-bedroom flats from £2,300 per month and rising to private duplex penthouses, which are “price on application” but rent is believed to reach up to £20,000 per month.

Council officials say they will now demand urgent responses from the West Tower’s management firm about the situation.

City center spokesman Pat Karney said: “This is an incredible development in one of Manchester’s newest towers. I and local Deansgate councilors will be holding an urgent meeting with the block’s management company to consider how we can help residents living on the block.”