Camden residents refuse to leave without a ‘suitable alternative’
ABOUT 200 tower block residents were last night refusing to leave their homes after a London council said they had to evacuate their building in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
People in four Camden tower blocks claimed they were being bullied out of their homes by security staff and said the alternatives homes being offered were poor quality.
Camden council said it advised “in the strongest possible terms” that residents leave due to safety concerns, after the Government disclosed cladding on 60 high-rises nationwide had so far failed fire safety tests. The council said there were “various legal routes” it could explore to require people to leave so safety work can be carried out.
Georgia Gould, the Camden council leader, said she would knock on doors herself to persuade people still occupying 120 households in the Chalcots Estate. She said: “I’m going myself back to the blocks to knock on doors and have those conversations. The last thing I want to do is force people out of their homes, and the conversations I have been having with residents in these buildings is that they are happy to work with us.”
But Dr James Thompson, honorary senior lecturer in psychology at UCL, said: “The wish to ensure safety must be measured against the potential risks to health of rehousing older residents, and there is a case for them being left in their flats. If others have already been evacuated, there will be fewer electric devices in use, and fewer people smoking, so older residents will be even less at risk. Having fire patrols in all buildings day and night would have been more sensible.”
The four Camden towers were found to be covered with the same type of cladding used at Grenfell, where at least 79 people died on June 14. Camden council said the risk has been made worse in their area by problems with gas pipes, insulation and fire doors.
Mandy Ryan, who shares her 22ndfloor flat in Dorney with her son, said: “I was bullied this morning trying to leave the building, he [the security guard] stood in front of the door and guys surrounded him and he said ‘we need to know who you are’.
She said: “We are not the villains here, we are the victims. We are not trying to impede any work whatsoever, we just want suitable accommodation.”
Hanad Mohammed, 24, a law student who lives with his mother, said he had returned to their flat after spending Saturday night elsewhere. He said: “I’m not leaving. Everybody has lives to get on with and the locations that have been offered are absurd.”
Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, said: “I think they’ve done the right thing. You can’t play Russian roulette with people’s safety.”