Residents of an east London apartment complex claim they feel ‘abandoned’ after they were evacuated over a potentially ‘disastrous’ crack in the building.
Two weeks after the evacuation, Metro visited the Royal Gateway development in Canning Town, where ‘risk to life’ warnings have been plastered across three buildings.
Residents likened the estate to a ‘ghost town’ with flats empty and once thriving cafes and businesses in the development closed until further notice.
A construction worker who was outside Sovereign Tower, one of the evacuated buildings, told Metro: ‘As far as I know, there is no work going on. They are still surveying the building. I’m here for a few days to help, that’s all.’
Sovereign, along with Prince Court, Thanet Tower and Vincent Court, is now empty of residents except for a few who have been permitted to return to recover possessions.
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One of them, a medical researcher, said: ‘I’m renting privately, so I’m still paying for the flat I can’t live in. I’ve been staying on sofas at friends’ houses. We all feel abandoned.
‘There’s been little information and there doesn’t seem to be any work going on to fix any problems. I’m looking to rent somewhere else as I’ve given up hope of moving back in. But I’m massively out of pocket; it’s really unjust.’
Hundreds have been left without a permanent home after the evacuation, with some families leaving the premises in just their night clothes.
The blocks, close to the 02 in Greenwich and the cable car across the Thames, house a mixture of private tenants and homeowners.
One owner told Metro: ‘I paid over £300,000 for my flat and now I’m back at my mum and dad’s place. I worked hard to get a foot on the ladder, and now, through no fault of my own, I’m back to square one or even worse.
‘We want answers, but none are forthcoming. For the time being, I own a flat in a ghost town.’
The ground floor of the estate has around a dozen units hosting cafes, yoga classes, a climbing center and shops.
The businesses have also been forced to close, seemingly without warning.
One of the business owners told Metro: ‘We went from making regular money building up a client base to nothing.
‘The future is bleak. It is difficult enough for small businesses so to start again is a non starter, we invested a lot in lifting out our business and now it’s just being left to rot.’
Firefighters were called to the buildings at around 3am on October 23 to lead residents out of the buildings after a potentially dangerous crack was discovered.
The managers of the buildings, Prime Property Management and Newham Council, are now in talks over the future of the blocks.
In a statement, Prime said a dedicated phone line and email address had been set up for those affected, and that support was available out of hours.
‘We recognize 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 statement said.
‘The issue was identified during work to prepare building safety cases for the development. Structural engineers raised concerns after reviewing structural drawings, and a site inspection on October 21 confirmed those concerns.
‘To clarify the position as soon as possible, engineers are urgently investigating whether similar risks are present in the transfer slab beneath Prince Court and Thanet Tower.
‘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.
‘We will provide further information as it is available.’
A London fire brigade statement said: ‘Firefighters were called to reports of a dangerous structure at a residential building on Hoy Street in Canning Town.
‘Crews assisted with the evacuation of residents to a rest center. The scene was left with the management of the building.’
A statement from Newham Council said: ‘We are working with Prime Property Management and other partners to support affected residents in Centurion Tower, St Vincent Court, Sovereign Tower, Thanet Tower and Prince Court buildings.
‘The council, in accordance with its duties, has served Dangerous Structural Notices for St Vincent Court, Centurion Tower and Sovereign Tower.’