Neighbours at war over refusal to leave ‘unsafe’ tower block
Fury of evacuated residents as repairs are delayed
TOWER block evacuees have hit out at “selfish” neighbours for delaying vital safety work by refusing to leave their homes.
Residents from four high rises on the Chalcots Estate have been moved to hotels, where some claimed they had to put up with broken beds and blocked toilets.
But dozens will not budge. The removal of cladding similar to that on Grenfell Tower, plus other repairs, will not begin until all residents move out.
It came as figures last night showed 75 high rises in 26 areas had failed fire safety tests – a 100% fail rate so far.
Evacuee Stuart Phillips, 46, now at the Britannia Hotel, said: “I’m staying in a basement room with no windows and a blocked toilet. And there are still people refusing to leave. They’re idiots.
“The longer they stay, the longer we’re going to be here. It’s selfish.”
FAILURES
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid last night said “multiple fire safety inspection failures” were found at Chalcots in Camden, North London. He said: “Most astonishingly, there were hundreds of fire doors missing.” Residents from some 800 flats were told to leave on Friday. Around 100 of them are in 65 rooms at the nearby threestar Britannia.
Britannia Hotels said: “We are working with the local council to provide urgent, temporary accommodation. We will work hard to resolve any issues.” Camden Council was contacted for comment.
Mr Javid also cast doubt on the time frame for rehousing Grenfell survivors. He said: “We have to respect their choice when they are made offers.” Shadow Housing Minister John Healey said it confirmed the Prime Minister’s vow to rehome every resident within three weeks “has been watered down”.
Cladding was yesterday taken off five high rises in Sunderland as a “precautionary measure”, Gentoo housing association said. It came as Arconic stopped selling its Reynobond PE cladding, used at Grenfell, citing “inconsistency of building codes” globally.