Amleen House: Colchester tenants moved into an illegal fire trap

Residents "were at a higher risk of serious injury or death" in the event of a fire, said Essex fire service

Tenants were moved into a new block of flats that had not been signed off as safe to live in, the BBC has learned.

Residents of Amleen House in Colchester were evacuated at short notice in June over fears fire could "spread quickly and uncontrollably".

It was opened without a final certificate, according to the approved building inspector.

Owner Sukhdev Singh Ghotra disputed this, stating he was contacting the inspector for more information.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) closed down Amleen House because there was "potential for rapid fire spread internally".

It had been occupied for a year, according to the service, before it issued its prohibition notice on 26 June.

Safety defects at Amleen House included fire doors not being installed correctly and a lack of intumescent strips on them, which would expand in the event of a fire, block gaps and prevent spread, according to ECFRS.

It revealed there were also two lift shafts, without lifts installed, which were covered with boarding that did not provide sufficient fire stopping.

'Deeply shattered'

The majority of the approximately 125 residents were international students from Essex University.

Ten were contacted by the BBC, but all declined to be interviewed.

Some tenants posted on Facebook appealing for accommodation in the weeks following the evacuation.

One post stated: "We got evicted from our flat in Amleen House, Hawkins Road due to unsafe building. We are seeking help and support from the Colchester community to find an accommodation for couple with a 6 year old kid."

Another read: "The sudden displacement has left us deeply shattered and desperate for assistance."

Councillor Paul Smith described the situation at Amleen House as a "scandal"

A small number of occupants were not students and Colchester City Council discovered some were not eligible for help under its homelessness prevention duty.

These individuals, which included young children, have since left emergency accommodation, but their whereabouts is unclear.

The city council's housing portfolio holder, Paul Smith, said it was a "scandal that people's lives had been put at risk".

He said: "I can't comment on individual cases but, for example, you may not be eligible if you entered the country on a tourist visa or if you had sufficient assets to provide for your own accommodation."

Mr Ghotra, via his lawyer, said it was not the case some of the tenants were in the UK on a tourist visa and that he "retains documentation from the tenants confirming their status".

'Very concerned'

Documents lodged on the council's planning portal showed Amleen House was built by Rootstar Constructions Ltd, which is owned by Mr Ghotra.

Another company, Stroma Building Control, was the approved inspector.

A spokesman for Stroma said it was "very concerned that the property was occupied without having passed all necessary checks and without a final building control certificate having been issued".

He added: "We were not informed at any stage by the building owner or developer of any intention to occupy the building. Having been made aware that the non-complete works had been occupied, we formally notified the building's owner and the local authority that the initial notice for the works ceased to be in force."

Mr Ghotra's lawyer said his client did not accept doing anything wrong and that he could not respond until he had received from Stroma a complete copy of its file, "in order that I can advise my client as to the nature by which Stroma Building Control undertook its duties".

Unsafe building site

Amleen House pictured during its construction in November 2020

During the construction of Amleen House, the building site was also deemed unsafe by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the BBC can reveal.

Rootstar Constructions was handed an improvement notice due to "ineffective arrangements in place for planning, managing and monitoring health and safety during the construction work".

A HSE spokesman said: "An inspector visited it in March 2021. A number of health and safety breaches were found and all work on the site was stopped. An Improvement Notice was issued - this demanded the appointment of an appropriate professional that would better help keep people safe during the construction phase."

The notice was complied with.

'Building not in database'

According to ECFRS, when a new building is in its planning stage, the owner, agent or responsible person must employ either the local authority building control or an approved inspector.

They will then inspect the work and make sure the building is constructed according to the plans.

The fire service then has 15 working days to comment and ensure all safety precautions are in place.

A spokesman said: "It appears that this part of the process was not done correctly in this case, resulting in the building not showing in our database."

The flats at Amleen House were evacuated in a hurry over fire safety

One of Mr Ghotra's other companies, GAJ Homes, was named on the prohibition notice as the "responsible person" for the building.

But it is unclear why the tenants were allowed to move in before certification of the building had been completed.

Mr Ghotra's representative said the tenants were introduced to him by "letting agents and word of mouth".

Essex University said: "Our staff visited the site alongside fire officers so we could tell students straightaway about the support we could offer and gave close to 100 people somewhere safe to stay - including several families."

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