In 2019, a Victorian Building Authority (VBA) review found that MC Square was the only Manningham Council building with a type of cladding (aluminium composite panel cladding) that could catch fire.

However, it wasn’t considered urgent, so the VBA did not audit it. The Building Appeals Board recommended replacing some of the cladding. As a precaution, we decided to replace all of it in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 budgets. 

Our top priority is the safety of everyone in MC Square. We will ensure all scaffolding and construction work is done with great care and the new cladding will meet building regulations.

In April 2019, we engaged an independent expert to check the safety of MC Square for current use. They determined that the building was low risk, and we could keep using it as usual.

Unfortunately, like hundreds of other buildings across the state, MC Square has been caught up in the flammable cladding issue. The flammable cladding issue was not clearly identified when the building was built 11 years ago. The overall risk relating to the building’s aluminium composite panel (ACP) cladding was not an immediate and high enough risk that replacement could be covered by or managed by compensation from Cladding Safety Victoria. 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 our 2022/23 and 2023/24 budgets to make the building compliant with current building standards.

The works commenced in February 2023 and are expected to take 12 months to complete.

We’re removing the external aluminium composite panel (ACP) cladding at MC Square and installing new aluminium panels.

The contractor completing the works is MAZ Group Pty Ltd.

Workers will be onsite weekdays between 7.00am and 6.00pm and Saturdays between 9.00am and 1.00pm (if required).

Update 8 September 2023

The replacement of cladding is almost finished and we have started taking down the scaffolding from the completed parts of the building.

Yes, everything at MC Square will keep working as usual, including services and entry and exit points. 

We’ll do our best to ensure there are minimal disruptions. However, you may notice some noise as workers remove the cladding or use drills and other power tools. 

It may be necessary to relocate the afterhours library book drop-off chutes from time to time during construction, but the library will remain open as usual. 

If anything changes, we’ll let you know. We’ll also keep you updated on how the project is progressing, including project milestones.

Although construction will be mostly outside of the building, workers may occasionally work on small jobs inside, such as waterproofing and conducting engineering checks. 

Interior cladding works at the entrance of the Manningham Art Gallery will commence in the middle of the year. Works will include the removal of the lights at the entrance of the gallery. We will keep you updated.
 

Yes, we’ll use approximately 15 carparks on the western side of the Civic Centre throughout the works, however, the remaining car parking spaces at the Civic Centre and MC Square will not be affected.

No. The cladding panels will be delivered to the site once a day in the morning. However, the delivery process will not impact businesses in the area. Please move carefully through the area.