‘Are we the next Grenfell?’

Overlooking the Thames only a stone’s throw away from London City Airports sits Waterside Heights, a fancy of 750 fashionable flats throughout seven blocks.

When Philip Chapman purchased a two-bed flat within the advanced in 2014 he thought he was shopping for his dream dwelling.

But 10 years on, his residing scenario has develop into “a nightmare”.

He says that the entire seven blocks have flammable cladding, materials that will not be allowed for use if a property was being constructed at this time.

There are additionally lacking hearth breaks throughout the event and picket balconies stacked on high of one another.

“If one constructing catches hearth then the fabric acts like an enormous chimney and every little thing else will go up in flames,” the 43-year-old tells the BBC.

Following the hearth in Dagenham over the weekend, Mr Chapman says is now much more involved for his security and the security of the opposite 700 residents within the advanced.

“There are a whole bunch of households being left in unsafe buildings and if we’re not cautious, in just a few months time we could be the subsequent Dagenham hearth and even the following Grenfell,” he says.

Mr Chapman additionally tells the BBC that many residents are so apprehensive a few potential hearth that they sleep with bottles of water and towels subsequent to the mattress so that they have one thing to place round their faces in the event that they needed to escape.

Other households within the advanced have needed to train their youngsters what to do if the hearth alarm goes off within the night time they usually should evacuate.

The different downside that residents face as a result of unsafe cladding is that they can not promote their flats.

“We’re caught in limbo,” Mr Chapman says.

“The security inspections have given us the bottom ranking attainable so no financial institution will problem a mortgage as a result of the work that wants doing goes to price a number of tens of millions and till it is clear who’s doing the work, the financial institution will not take the danger.”

In 2021 Mr Chapman’s flat was issued with a hearth security ranking of B2, the worst attainable ranking.

The ranking “means there isn’t an ample commonplace of fireplace security and remedial work/interim measures are required”, in accordance with the federal government’s web site.

Mr Chapman says the property builders, Barratt Homes, and the insurers Aviva finished nothing to make the flats safer and are stuffed with “empty guarantees”.

“They have little interest in making the constructing protected and serving to us get on with our lives,” the digital advertising and marketing supervisor says.

“It’s principally a part-time job making an attempt to contact them – you by no means get a reply, you must comply with up on a regular basis and once they do reply they only repeat the identical factor.”

A spokesperson for Barratt says it’s “absolutely dedicated to enterprise all crucial remedial works” however that it was “unable to start out works till an settlement with the freeholder on insurance coverage issues have been concluded”.

In an announcement, Aviva says it’s Barratt Homes that’s answerable for the works.

“We have been in in depth discussions with Barratt concerning the work wanted to repair these issues and to make sure that residents are correctly protected,” the assertion provides.