Southwark Council has told residents of a large social housing estate in Peckham that they need to move out following fire safety concerns.
A recent fire risk assessment of the remaining three blocks in the Ledbury Estate, in Peckham, south-east London, found that "existing problems" within the tower buildings "have worsened".
The council said the fire risk is also higher due to the storage of lithium batteries for mobility scooters.
The council said that it is managing the situation through additional safety works, the continuation of the waking watch that was already in place, and a zero-tolerance approach to modes of transport that need lithium batteries, such as e-scooters and e-bikes.
History of safety concerns
The Ledbury Estate tower blocks were built by the Greater London Council between 1968 and 1970 using the large panel system method of construction, whereby giant concrete slabs were bolted together onsite.
In 2017, the council carried out emergency work in the four blocks that made the estate after major structural issues were found. This included the removal of the gas supply and the introduction of the waking watch, which remains in place.
The estate is currently undergoing redevelopment after 86% of residents voted in 2021 to demolish the original four towers built in the late 1960s and replace them with high-quality homes. Construction of the new estate began in February this year.
Councillor Sarah King, cabinet member for council homes, said: “The action we have taken today follows advice from our fire consultants Frankhams after our joint, intrusive fire risk inspection (FRA4) discovered that existing problems with all three tower blocks buildings have worsened.
"When combined with the new problems caused by the storage of lithium batteries needed for e-scooters, which increase the risk of fire, we have agreed that we cannot risk people living in the blocks long-term while we wait for the new homes to be built on site. Residents will have to move out for their safety and the buildings will be demolished as planned."
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Once again no mention of the removal of asbestos which was installed to stop fire movement.
Another case of gross neglect and breach of duty to care by the council responsible for building these structures… If the councillors/local authority etc. were forced to live in the seriously sub-standard homes themselves, then this would have been dealt with much more swiftly…!?
JC, retired architectural consultant/developer [high rise residential, ex-ACIOB MCIAT
All articles related to construction seem to shift the blame toward the contractor, the reality is that decades of neglect by councils and in turn the government who cut funding for maintenance is more responsible for failure. Generally contractors build to the required codes and get the buildings signed off prior to completion.
I reckon that if it wasn’t for the requirement for the building safety case these intrusive investigations wouldn’t have been carried out and the council and the residents would have been none the wiser until a Grenfell or Lakanal type event occurred. Total mismanagement by the authority / landlord.