Evacuated tower residents 'in limbo' over costs

Residents evacuated from three east London tower blocks over structural safety fears say they are "in limbo", not knowing when they can return or who will pay for somewhere to stay.

More than 200 people living in Centurion Tower, St Vincent Court and Sovereign Tower in Canning Town were ordered to leave in the early hours of Friday after engineers identified what the buildings' managers called "an imminent risk to life".

One resident said they had "not even an hour to get our passports and to leave", while another sad he was still trying to work out what had happened.

Artem Semchik, from Centurion Tower, has been sleeping on friends' sofas and returned to the building to collect essentials.

"What we've been told is, book everything from your own funds, and that's essentially it," he said.

Asked whether residents would be reimbursed, he said nobody had told them who would pay or when.

"Everyone is in limbo, so no one knows what to do," he said, adding that no one could tell him how long he would be out of his home.

James Asser, Labour MP for West Ham and Beckton, said the development was about 10 years old and there were "serious questions about how long this has been a situation and where the fault lies".

"It's absolutely infuriating me. This shouldn't be happening to my constituents.

"We need to get answers for them urgently."

Newham Council said it was told by London Fire Brigade (LFB) on Thursday night about serious structural problems in the buildings, which had been reported by the property management company.

It said it was supporting residents from about 210 households in Centurion Tower and St Vincent Court, and had set up a rest centre and provided emergency accommodation for those with nowhere else to go that night.

Prime Property Management, which manages the Royal Gateway development on behalf of two right-to-manage companies, said the risk was linked to a transfer slab beneath the three blocks.

It said the problem came to light during work to prepare building safety cases for the development, when structural engineers raised concerns after reviewing drawings. A site inspection on 21 October confirmed them.

"We recognise 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," it said.

Prime said the relevant organisations and government bodies had been notified, and some had since visited the site. Its priority was protecting residents and "enabling residents to return to their homes as quickly as possible, when it is safe to do so", it added.

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