Neighbours at war over refusal to leave ‘unsafe’ tower block
Safety work can’t start until diehards agree to quit flats
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 in London have been moved to hotels, where some have complained of broken beds and blocked toilets.
But dozens more will not budge from their flats. And the removal of cladding similar to that on Grenfell Tower, below, plus other repairs, will not begin until they all move out.
Evacuee Stuart Phillips, 46, now at the Britannia Hotel, said: “I’m 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.”
Residents from 800 flats were told to leave on Friday and around 100 are in 65 rooms at the nearby three-star 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 were contacted for comment.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said “multiple fire safety inspection failures” were found at Chalcots. He added: “Most astonishingly, there were hundreds of fire doors missing.”
Javid also raised fears about how long it might take to rehouse Grenfell survivors. He said: “We have to respect their choice when they are made offers.” Shadow Housing Minister John Healey said his words confirmed that Theresa May’s promise to rehouse every resident within three weeks “has been watered down”.
Figures last night showed 75 high rises in 26 council areas south of the border had failed fire safety tests – a 100 per cent fail rate so far. Scotland has tighter fire safety rules and all the blocks tested here so far have passed.
The makers of the suspect cladding at Grenfell, Arconic, have ended all sales of it for tower blocks. They blame “inconsistency” of global building codes.