Judy Terry is a marketing professional and a former local councillor in Suffolk.
At 10 pm on Tuesday, 15th November, residents of the 15 apartments on the top three floors of Cardinal Lofts in a prominent Ipswich site close to the popular Waterfront, were served with a prohibition notice by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and given one hour to evacuate with their young families. Coaches transported some families to a local sports centre, with Ipswich Borough Council alongside the Emergency Planning Unit working to provide temporary accommodation.
However, there is no enforcement mechanism to make residents leave, according to the Mayor of Ipswich, who said the council would support those residents choosing to remain.
SFRS Area Manager, Toby Gray, said:
“We are committed to the safety of residents in the event of a fire. As part of ongoing work, we have raised fire concerns and advised how the building’s management company can resolve them.
“This mitigation has not adequately addressed the risks posed to the upper three floors of the property… we will continue to work with the management company to find a solution.
“A waking watch is now in place for the rest of the building, to address safety concerns, following an independent report.”
Needless to say, residents, some having lived in the block for more than a decade, are in shock. In interviews with the East Anglian Daily Times, they explained that:
“…they knew about this cladding issue for years. We have been raising our concerns for the last four years and had numerous meetings with building management which only resulted in increased service charges for residents.
“Fire safety defects, including unsafe cladding, were first discovered two years ago. We put fire alarms in every room of our flats and have been having walking watch for the last two years.”
The report which prompted the evacuation has not been shared with residents, who are worried about those remaining in the block. ‘Everyone is very much in the dark. We don’t know when the work to make the building safe is going to happen, or how long people are going to be out of their homes. Everyone is very traumatised by the situation.’
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case in the town.
A short walk away, reflected in the glass of one of the finest 20th century buildings, designed by Norman Foster and Listed Grade I, stands probably the town’s ugliest building.
Following the Grenfell disaster, the 17-storey St. Francis Tower was stripped of its cladding, assessed to be ‘more flammable than Grenfell’ in 2018 and subsequently shrinkwrapped without any advance warning with residents eventually advised that it would stay in place for an estimated 18 months
Leaseholders were asked to contribute £21,000 each to help foot the £3.6 million repair bill.
Despite the Ipswich Evening Star’s repeated questions to the block’s owners and management company, there is no information about when the building will be restored. Ironically, problems arose as a result of ‘modernising’ its appearance to make it more attractive to buyers and tenants.
So, residents continue to complain about being “trapped behind the shrinkwrap, which restricts light and airflow… it is suffocating, oppressive, gloomy and depressing” affecting their mental health. But they still have to pay their rent and other bills!
They are all innocent victims, with promises that something will be done, but nothing happening for years, despite having the support of local MP, Tom Hunt, who has raised these issues with Ministers and in Parliament.
Adding insult to injury, within yards of these properties, a major hotel will now house 200 migrants in 4 star accommodation, at significant cost to the public purse, with the Council having had a High Court injunction refused, causing local resentment when the national economy is struggling.
Since 2020, the government has announced various schemes ‘to bring an end to the cladding crisis’, with promises of up to £5 billion in grants, with little evidence of progress.
In January this year, Michael Gove warned developers to agree to a plan of action to remediate unsafe cladding on 11-18 metre buildings at an estimated cost of £4 billion, whilst threatening potential court proceedings for failure to take responsibility. He noted that, if necessary, government would ‘impose a solution in law’.
He addressed Parliament, saying:
“It is neither fair nor decent that innocent leaseholders, many of whom have worked hard and made sacrifices to get onto the housing ladder, should be landed with bills they cannot afford to fix problems they did not cause.”
Now he is back in the Cabinet, and despite distractions resulting from the latest unnecessary housing scandal, caused by mould, Gove is ordering the owners of Cardinal Lofts to fix the defects. If action isn’t taken, they could face a court order, with potential fines for non-compliance. The same pressure needs to be applied to those responsible for St. Francis Tower.
Sadly, Ipswich is not alone.
The cladding crisis is reflected in towns and cities across the country, where it’s estimated that more than 600,000 people are suffering the consequences of poor fire safety during construction, leaving homeowners and tenants facing thousands of pounds in extra costs to cover wardens and repairs, on top of mortgages, rents, and energy bills, whilst nearby hotels are co-opted by the Home Office costing taxpayers nearly £7 million a day.
It is not fair. It’s time to hold those with responsibility, including developers, freeholders and management companies, as well as local authorities, to account and force them to invest in essential works to bring these properties up to full Decent Homes safety standard, and restore residents’ wellbeing.
Gove should also address building regulations to improve fire safety and effective monitoring during construction, and demand that the owners of blocks of flats have detailed maintenance strategies, with implementation reviewed annually by an independent inspector.
There also needs to be a compensation package for those leaseholders who wish to sell up and move on, but are unable to do so because of these long-standing problems deterring potential buyers – as well as mortgage lenders and insurers.
We are fortunate to have a free media in Britain; without its regular reporting to raise awareness, and challenging investigations to arrive at the truth, these scandals would never become public, leaving victims in limbo. The Sunday Times, in particular, has campaigned relentlessly for action – and will no doubt be keeping a close eye on progress to provide solutions, which remain urgent.