Families forced to evacuate five east London tower blocks over an "imminent risk to life" say they have been left in limbo after being told to fund their own temporary accommodation, with no indication of when they can return home.
Five tower blocks in Canning Town are considered at risk due to a crack in a concrete slab supporting the buildings. Centurion Tower, St Vincent Court and Sovereign Tower were evacuated late last week, with correspondence advising residents that entering the towers is not safe and done "at your own risk".
On Friday, October 30, residents in nearby Thanet Tower and Prince Court also received evacuation notices, following a report from the structural engineers who assessed the transfer slab.
Residents told to cover costs
Property management company Prime Property Management told affected residents: "Given the immediate need to vacate, you will unfortunately have to incur the alternative accommodation costs yourself in the first instance.
"The RTM's will be looking to recover these costs from appropriate third parties, however this is going to take time to achieve. This does not, however, mean that you should stay within the North or South Buildings.
"If you can relocate to alternative accommodation free of charge (e.g. family or friends), we would suggest you do this. If you must incur costs to relocate, the incurred costs should be reasonable in nature and amount. For example, a daily cost for a hotel or other accommodation should be as close to the equivalent daily rate of your rent."
Prime previously stated that the risk was linked to a transfer slab beneath the three blocks, a problem which came to light during work to prepare building safety cases for the development. A site inspection on October 21 confirmed the problem.
Structural risks and evacuation
Friday's notice added that the transfer slabs of the building are undersized and "significantly overstressed", well beyond the safety margins that would normally be built into the design. It concluded that "the risks are high, the potential consequences are severe and the South Buildings should therefore not be occupied."
The previous evacuation of around 210 households was carried out at 3am on Friday October 23, as firefighters scrambled to the scene. Some of those evacuated were offered beds in a nearby council building, but a week later have still not been told when they can return to their homes.
James Asser, Labour MP for West Ham and Beckton, said there were "serious questions about how long this has been a situation and where the fault lies". He added: "It's absolutely infuriating me. This shouldn't be happening to my constituents. We need to get answers for them urgently."
Residents' frustration and business impact
The tower blocks are part of a mixed-use scheme called Royal Gateway/Caxton Works, completed in 2018. The residential blocks were built by Galliard sister company Galliard Construction. Speaking after the first evacuations, John Gray, Newham's deputy mayor and cabinet member for housing, said that Newham Council was on hand to support affected residents, and had set up a rest centre and provided emergency accommodation and support. Cllr Gray also encouraged residents to make contact with Prime for additional support.
However, a week on, The Standard has spoken to a number of residents who are frustrated with the lack of support they have received. One resident who wishes to remain anonymous said it was unclear which organisation was responsible for coordinating support, and the placement agency outsourced by Prime has been unable to arrange temporary housing. Numerous families have been forced to pay out of their own pockets for hotels and Airbnbs, with many not having the financial means to cope.
Residents were informed that the development's insurer had declined claims relating to temporary accommodation costs because it considered the issue to be a building defect, according to correspondence seen by The Standard. As such, for now it appears the evacuated residents may not receive any compensation. Residents told The Standard that some occupants remain inside the buildings because they feel they have no viable alternative accommodation.
Tenants said the ongoing uncertainty has had a significant impact on some occupants' mental health. Some residents told The Standard that communication had been inadequate and said they had received little meaningful information about accommodation arrangements or when they might be able to return.
A number of local businesses have also been impacted by the evacuations. Rise Climbing, a bouldering gym and training centre based in Caxton Works, is one of several businesses which has been forced to close. Josh Akapo, head of marketing for the business, said the company hasn't heard anything regarding compensation and they haven't seen any officials on site since last week.
The centre is based underneath Centurion Tower, below the affected slab, and as the business isn't based in one of the towers themselves they were not initially told to leave. Centurion Tower does however effectively make up the ceiling of their building, and within days they were told to evacuate, with signs reading "Danger" and "Do Not Enter" pasted on their doors.
Josh told The Standard: "It's the saddest thing in the world, this place is normally buzzing with life. People don't know when they will next see their friends or use their community space." With high commercial rents, many local independent businesses were already struggling, Josh says, and any day the gym is shut "massively affects the business". He said: "It's been over a week and we have no timeline - we're running out of runway. The founders have young children and have sacrificed so much."
Josh has heard stories from many locals of sofa surfing, struggling to find accommodation. Many have found it hard, as with no timeline on when they can return they do not know how long they will need to stay elsewhere. Josh added: "The financial loss is awful but it is the community loss that is really heartbreaking. Hearing from our members, hearing from schools, people who use the centre as their safe space, their home away from home, has been awful. Having no information about when and how we get it back safely, or who will bear the cost, is literally devastating. So many community spaces have been taken away - it's just completely unacceptable that it's allowed."
While all the businesses in Caxton Works North have been closed for a week, those on the south side, near Thanet Tower and Prince Court, were still open until the second evacuation was sent on Friday October 30. Josh told The Standard that it was "mind-blowing" that a nursery across the road from a building classified as not safe was still open and operating as usual. He said: "How can you tell people to evacuate a building but still have young children in the collapse zone without anyone doing any work on the building?"
Prime and structural engineers have not publicly stated that neighbouring buildings outside the evacuation zone are at risk of collapse.
Prime's response
Speaking after the evacuation on Friday October 23, a Prime spokesperson told The Standard: "We recognise the enormity of asking anyone to leave their home. These are not decisions we have made lightly, but they have been made because safety is our immediate priority.
"The relevant organisations and Government bodies have been notified to seek urgent action to address the identified risks and assess whether there are any other building defects. Some have since attended the Royal Gateway Development to discuss such action.
"Protecting residents and those around the development remains our top priority, together with enabling residents to return to their homes as quickly as possible, when it is safe to do so."
The Standard has approached Prime for further comment.
