By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Residents living in a London block of flats owned by Mansfield District Council which were found to have £20m worth of fire safety deficiencies will begin leaving the building in May.
The Labour-run authority has also confirmed it will appoint contractor Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) to empty the building of all 40 households living inside it so major repairs can begin.
The company will help with removing all homes from the building, at 50-52 Bedford Road, Clapham.
The contract also includes funding temporary accommodation for each household and storage costs.
It follows serious fire safety issues being found at the building in 2018 requiring its walls, floors and ceilings to be ripped out so it can be rebuilt internally.
The council decided to buy the building in October 2014 at a cost of £5.95m.
It was bought as an investment to diversify income, shore up budgets and fund services.
The sale officially went through in January 2017 before an independent assessment a year later found “a number of” serious fire safety issues.
This assessment came in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, in June 2017, and in response to updated regulations for cladding and fire safety.
A separate notice of fire safety deficiencies was issued by the London Fire Brigade after other issues were found.
This included the absence of 60 minutes of fire safety resistance protection for escape routes in corridors, lobbies and stairs.
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Deficiencies were also found in the fire resistance of materials used in protected routes and entrance doors, as well as problems with fire exits in the basement car park.
Almost £20m has been allocated to fixing the issues between 2018 and 2025, with the authority’s budget papers confirming £12m of this will be spent in the 2023/24 financial year.
Now new documents have revealed the works could take a step closer next week with LSH to be appointed to assist residents with their relocation.
The company will be responsible for transferring all 40 households out of the building and into alternative accommodation.
It will manage tenants and leaseholders until April 2025, with the contract costing the authority £2,281,770.89.
This will be funded through existing cash allocated for the Clapham scheme and is not additional money being spent on the building.
A council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The contractor will be conducting works on behalf of Mansfield District Council.
“[This includes] establishing communications with tenants, storage and removal arrangements and the management of alternative accommodation.”
A report confirmed the contract will be “all-inclusive”, including funding rent payments, cash settlements and removal fees directly to the residents.
It follows people in the building previously reporting their lives being left “in limbo” by repeated delays to the relocation.
Occupants were originally told the work would begin in 2021 before it was first delayed until August 2022.
A further delay to May 2023 led to frustrations that it may never begin.
Another contractor will need to be appointed to conduct the fire safety repairs, and this is expected to take place after the decanting work has started.
The contract with LSH will see the company operating as a housing and estate agency, supporting residents with living arrangements and decanting the building.
Harry Palmer has lived in the building with his partner Charlotte Veal since it was first built in 2017.
The couple is in a shared ownership agreement on the flat and revealed last year that they will be leaving their home for as long as a year.
Mr Palmer told the Local Democracy Reporting Service in September: “They’ve given us a choice of finding somewhere for us, or they will give us money to find somewhere else to live while this happens.”
Ms Veal added: “We’ll be moving out for between six months and a year. When we move out, the council has said it will pay all the costs.
“Everything has to be ripped out of the flats and we’ve got to take everything out of our own.
“It’s going to be very intrusive work – the floors, ceilings and walls have got to come out.”
A delegated decision to approve LSH’s contract will be taken by Dawn Edwards, the authority’s head of finance, on February 24.
The wider works are expected to be concluded by March 2025.
LSH has been approached for a comment.
