Safety works on flat owned by out of town council delayed until September leaves residents in ‘limbo’

By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter

Works to repair fire safety issues at an apartment building owned by Mansfield District council have been delayed again until “at least September”.

The Labour-run authority says the delay at the building in Bedford road, Clapham, has been caused by the “magnitude” of the project.

The council is currently trying to find a contractor for major safety repairs at the site.

It leaves residents living in the 40-home building facing delays for a third time after two previous push-backs on the repairs.

Overall, the authority is expected to spend £20million by 2025 fixing problems at the building – more than a single year’s general fund budget – despite buying the property as an investment for £5.95million.

Residents living inside the building said repair works had faced “repeated” delays.

Work was initially due to start in August last year before the council’s building control application was rejected by Lambeth Building Control that same month.

The work was then delayed by eight months to May 2023 and a contractor was appointed earlier this year to begin moving residents out from all 40 flats this month.

Once residents are removed, all walls, floors and ceilings are likely to be ripped out of each flat so the building can be rebuilt internally.

However, the authority has now confirmed this work has again been pushed back.

A Mansfield District council spokeswoman said: “Given the magnitude of this project and the various elements we are piecing together, the timetable for the works to begin is fluid.

“At present, we have updated residents in our most recent newsletter to say that decanting works will not commence until at least September 2023.

“However, once a contractor is appointed, we hope to have more clarity on the detailed programme timelines.”

Harry Palmer and his partner Charlotte Veal are a couple who have owned a leasehold on a flat in the building since it was built in 2017.

When issues at the building were publicly exposed last autumn, they said their lives were being left in continued “limbo”.

Now Mr Palmer has revealed the situation and the delays have forced them to leave the building and rent out their flat at a loss each month.

They instead moved to Twickenham and say this option was more cost-effective than staying in the Clapham building.

Mr Palmer, an IT account executive, said: “We moved out in the end and now we’re actually renting the flat out until the works take place.

“We couldn’t spend any more time there and it’s forced us to now being landlords, unfortunately.

“Our service fees and costs went up more than 20 per cent and I’m sure we’re subsidising all the issues.

“It’s all a mess, to be honest.

“The council needs to take some responsibility and allow people that want to move on with their lives to do so.”

The building was bought as a way of shoring up Mansfield District council budgets during austerity following a Government drive encouraging local authorities to diversify their income streams.

But following the June 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster, the building was found to no longer meet updated fire safety regulations.

An independent investigation commissioned by the council in 2018, alongside a separate assessment by the London Fire Brigade in 2021, found “numerous” issues across the building that require extensive work to bring right.

These include issues “inside the walls” that would allow a blaze to spread if it caught alight, as well as issues with the fire resistance of materials used in escape routes.

Pictured top: The building In Bedford Road, Clapham (Picture: LDRS)