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Hotel's cladding fell off 'due to microclimate'

Zac Sherratt
BBC News, South East
BBC A large hotel with yellow and grey cladding. To the right is a building with plants on the front. In the foreground is a road blocked with orange and white cones and barriersBBC
Victoria Road is closed while builders work to fix the cladding problems on the Hilton hotel

Cladding panels fell from the Hilton hotel in Woking because of the area's microclimate, the town's MP has been told.

Victoria Road has been closed several times since 2021 when panels first fell from the building.

Will Forster, Lib Dem MP for Woking, says he met contractors Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM) on Friday and was told a temporary fix would be completed by the end of March.

The contractor is understood to be carrying out a "wind study" to find a permanent solution, Forster said. SRM has declined to comment.

Speaking to BBC Radio Surrey on Monday, Forster said: "Sir Robert McAlpine say there's a microclimate around part of the building that is resulting in some of the panels either coming loose or falling off."

A microclimate, according to the Met Office, is a "distinctive climate of a small scale area" that may be "subtly different to the conditions prevailing over the area as a whole".

Areas with lots of tall buildings can disrupt the airflow and create strong gusts of wind.

Will Forster, MP for Woking, said he wanted to ensure SRM were held to account for "what they had done to Woking"

Forster said: "We've had panels fall off several times which means the main road through our town has been closed.

"I don't think that's acceptable. They left that meeting in no doubt how annoyed I and Woking constituents are about this."

The company says it hopes to have a permanent solution completed by the summer and that the road will not need to be closed for the work.

But Forster said the timescale was "unacceptable" and that he was pushing for compensation for Woking businesses and residents.

"I think there's a moral obligation on them to pay for the damage that has been caused," he said.

The contractor declined to comment when asked if it would be offering compensation, and when asked to elaborate on the alleged microclimate.

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