Residents to be moved out of Lakanal House sister block to allow fire safety repairs

Investigations began at the 16-storey block late last year after a resident reported smelling smoke from neighbouring flats – raising concerns that the fire separation between individual properties had been compromised.

Southwark Council wrote to residents on 27 November, telling them they had discovered “an issue in one flat, which needs further investigation”. They also dropped the stay put advice for the building and introduced a waking watch.

As a result of the issues, the London Fire Brigade served a deficiency notice on the building, ordering Southwark Council to repair the issues by 29 January.

The local authority has since appointed contractor Engie to investigate the issues and has now discovered it needs to carry out intrusive works to repair internal defects, as well as external work that can be done with tenants in the building.

It is aiming to begin the remediation work in January next year, beginning with the outside of the block and starting the internal work once the building is empty.

Council tenants will be offered temporary accommodation while they are out of the building or be given ‘Band 1’ status to bid for a new permanent home through Southwark’s lettings systems.

Leaseholders meanwhile can either take an offer of temporary accommodation or the council will buy back their home, allowing them to purchase elsewhere.

All residents will also be offered a lump sum payment of £6,500. The council will also cover incidental costs of moving, such as phone connections and redirected post and provide a professional removal company to assist with the move.

A fire risk assessment in January last year revealed “substantial risks” at the block, including combustible phenolic foam window panels on the facade and issues with compartmentation, which were said to “compromise the fire safety integrity and compartmentation to support stay put strategy”.

Stephanie Cryan, cabinet member for council homes and homelessness at the council, said: “Southwark Council’s most important commitment to our residents is that we will do everything in our power to keep them safe in their homes.

“Unfortunately, sometimes this means giving residents bad news. Last night we had to inform residents in Marie Curie block in Camberwell that in the future they will need to move out of Marie Curie while we carry out major essential works, including fire safety improvements, to their homes and block.

“This follows intrusive investigations carried out since late last year, when the smell of smoke was reported travelling between flats. At that point the council, in consultation with the London Fire Brigade, introduced additional fire safety measures, including fire wardens and communal alarms, and we have kept residents updated ever since. The block remains safe thanks to the extra measures we introduced.

“I can understand that this must be hugely worrying for residents in Marie Curie, especially after months of living through a pandemic and we know the memory of the tragedy at Lakanal in 2009 exacerbates their fears. I would like to reassure all residents that we are here to answer all their questions and guide them through the next steps.

“I want to thank residents for their patience, understanding and resilience during a difficult time for them.”

In 2017, Southwark Council pled guilty to four offences under fire safety regulations in relation to the Lakanal House fire and was made to pay a £570,000 penalty.

The building safety crisis that has emerged in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire has required residents of several blocks to move out of their homes either permanently or temporarily, including a giant student development in west London.