Camden Council: Residents remaining in 'unsafe' tower blocks "must leave" amid fire safety fears

Residents in four tower blocks evacuated over fire safety concerns in the wake of the Grenfell Tower blaze will be told they “must leave”, Camden Council has said.

Some 3,000 residents from north London’s Chalcots Estate face weeks in temporary accommodation after Camden Council took the “extraordinary action” to clear 600 flats amid safety fears.

The evacuation comes as part of a nationwide safety operation launched after a fire ripped through Grenfell Tower in north Kensington on June 14, leaving at least 79 people dead.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has urged local authorities and housing associations to submit cladding samples “as a matter of urgency” after the government revealed that samples submitted from 34 high-rises across the country so far had all failed combustibility tests.

The buildings are in 17 local authorities across the country, including Manchester, Plymouth, Portsmouth and several in London, including Camden, Barnet, Brent and Hounslow.

Camden Council leader Georgia Gould said London Fire Brigade inspecting officers had identified concerns over the combination of external cladding, fire doors, gas pipes and insulation at the Chalcots Estate.

But despite being urged to leave by officials, around 20 households had refused to vacate their homes, in Taplow, Burnham, Bray and Dorney blocks, by Saturday evening.

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Speaking on Sunday, Ms Gould said: “This morning council staff will conduct further door knocking to ask those who remain to leave, and issue another letter reiterating to residents who are still remaining in the Taplow, Bray, Dorney and Burnham blocks, that they must leave.

“By remaining in the blocks these residents risk delaying the work that is required and that we are undertaking to make these homes safe. It is not safe to remain in these blocks and our residents’ safety will continue to be the council’s number one priority.”

It could take two to four weeks for the four blocks to be made safe, the council said, and Ms Gould added that nearly 200 offers of accommodation have been made to displaced residents, most of which have been accepted.

She committed £100,000 of council funds to pay for food and essential items residents may need, with the council having already spent £500,000 on hotel rooms for residents.

But residents remained resolute on Sunday, despite threats of legal action from the council.

Steve Perolli, 49, refused to leave his fourth floor flat in the Taplow block despite it being declared unsafe.

He said he had consulted a solicitor amid the council’s repeated attempts to force him, wife Kerry and his two step-daughters out of their home by stopping key fobs from working.

He said: “I’ve consulted my solicitor because I’ve been living here for seven years with these risks, paying my rent and council tax, and it’s not safe.

“We need someone to act on behalf of us and I’m happy to do that. If they serve us legal notices that we have to leave then we will, but I’m away for work all week.

“They’re trying to get us out, the key fobs aren’t working any more, but I’ll just get my wife to let me in if they won’t open the door.”

Refurbishment of the Chalcots Estate was overseen by Rydon, the company involved in the refit of Grenfell Tower, according to the Rydon website.

The site said the Chalcots project was a £66 million refurbishment which lasted 191 weeks.

Work included external thermal rainscreen cladding on five towers, new aluminium thermally broken windows on five towers, and an overhaul of external roofs, while 711 flats were modernised with new wiring, heating, kitchens and bathrooms, it said.

(Top picture: Getty)