Ipswich Cardinal Lofts residents may be out for a year

The top three floors of Cardinal Lofts in Ipswich were evacuated on 15 November

Residents forced to leave their waterfront homes due to fire-risk at their tower block have been told they may not be able to return for a year.

The top three floors of Cardinal Lofts in Ipswich were evacuated in November.

Alex Dickin, who owns a flat in the building, said it was a shocking and stressful situation.

In its letter to residents, management company Principle Estate said it was "extremely sorry we're unable to give you better news".

It said "initial work could take 12 months to complete".

The building's owner, Grey GR, said: "We sincerely apologise to all those impacted for the concern and disruption as we work to resolve these issues as quickly as possible."

Alex Dickin has been campaigning for leaseholders facing huge bills for flats with fire safety risks

Last month, Suffolk Fire Service said a report found 15 apartments, deemed a fire risk in 2020, were "unsafe" to live in and the three floors were evacuated, with residents moved to alternative accommodation.

Vivak Sharma has lived in one of the affected floors with his family for 14 years and said that, despite the advice to leave, he had not moved out as he had refused to stay in a "budget hotel".

He said the alarm system and provision of a waiting watch had helped him make the decision to stay there with his five-year-old son.

Vivak Sharma said he was still looking for a "like-for-like" property to move into

He believed the work would take longer than a year, as it did "not include the cladding on the outside".

"It's very disappointing, it shouldn't take that long, it's a horrible situation," he said.

"It's very stressful when you don't know where you are going to live."

• Fire service anger at fire risk flats report delay

• 'Our plastic-wrapped tower block feels like a jail'

• Unsafe cladding firms ordered to pay to fix homes

Mr Dickin is part of the Ipswich Cladiators group and owns an unaffected flat on floor five, which he rents out.

He told BBC Radio Suffolk's Luke Deal programme that it was "grim, it's shocking and the situation is extremely stressful for all of us".

"Our building owner has had years to fix this issue and they've failed to make our homes safe and these evacuations were avoidable," he said.

The building's owner Grey GR said "we sincerely apologise to all those impacted for the concern and disruption"

A "waking watch service" was implemented following a fire safety report into Cardinal Lofts in Ipswich

Principle Estate Management's letter said safety "remains our priority" and it was working to carry out the "remediation works required swiftly, so that residents can return to their homes as quickly as possible".

It said a "consultant" carried out a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) that was made available to them on 9 December and shared with the fire service.

The FRA advised that "the top three floors of Cardinal Lofts cannot be resided in until priority work and further investigations are completed", the letter said.

A six-person 24-hour waking watch service would stay for the remaining residents.

Apology 'not good enough'

Principle Estate's letter added: "We understand this is likely to be upsetting and we're extremely sorry we're unable to give you better news."

Mr Dickin said: "We could have had safe homes by now but they've completely let us down.

"An apology is not good enough at this stage."

Grey GR, which owns the building, is owned by Railpen - the pension fund for railways workers.

In a statement, Grey GR said that, in the light of the updated FRA, it had "instructed contractors to start a comprehensive programme of remediation works immediately".

"We have shared the timeline for the works with leaseholders and we will keep them up to date with progress," it said.

"We will continue to provide alternative accommodation for residents on the top three floors and maintain additional safety measures for those remaining until initial works are complete.

"We sincerely apologise to all those impacted for the concern and disruption as we work to resolve these issues as quickly as possible."

Cardinal Lofts (the red-coloured block) on Foundry Lane, is next to DanceEast and The Mill tower block, and has 70 flats in total

Immediate action would be taken to repair the venting system and further assessments would be carried out, the letter said.

Work would also be carried out in the basement to strengthen structural supports.

The letter said the FRA report had listed the following actions as needed:

• A full fire compartmentation/fire resistance survey including within flats

• An investigation of void areas, as there were void areas throughout the property that need to be assessed to see if they pose an increased risk of fire spreading

• Research the requirements and specification for fire doors

• Inspection and testing of fire warning systems

• The firefighting lift and dry rising mains require inspections and ongoing maintenance plans

• Inspection (and repair) of Automatic Opening Vents

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017, an assessment in October 2020 said "combustible materials" on the outside of the Ipswich Waterfront building "provide a route for fire to spread".

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