Residents of three blocks of flats in Canning Town, east London, had to be evacuated after a crack was found in a concrete slab supporting two of the towers.
Around 211 households were asked to leave their properties early on Friday morning (23 October) following a site inspection carried out earlier that week by the property manager Prime Property Management.
Immediate reports are suggesting the issue may be a transfer slab, which takes the load from floors above and redistributes it to a different set of columns or walls below. A failure of a slab can impact the wider building.
Writing on LinkedIn over the weekend, Damilola Oluwadamilola alaba Opeseyitan, head of building safety at Parkgate Aspen said: “When one (slab) fails, it’s not a local defect. It can affect the whole building. That’s why the decision to decant was made so quickly, and why it was the right call.
“It’s hard not to think of Ronan Point, a few streets away in 1968 [a tower block that partially collapsed due to structural defects – ed]. We’ve come a long way since then, but this is a reminder that structural failure is a real and present risk, not a historic one.”
Galliard and Cathedral scheme completed in 2018
The Centurion Tower, St Vincent Court and Sovereign Tower blocks were part of a mixed-use scheme called Royal Gateway/Caxton Works and was originally developed by a joint venture between Galliard Homes and the then-called Cathedral Group. The overall scheme was completed in 2018 and the residential blocks were built by Galliard sister company Galliard Construction.
A statement to the BBC from Prime Property Management said: “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.”
The evacuation was carried out by the London Fire brigade and Newham Council. The council said it set up a rest centre and provided emergency accommodation and support for residents.
