Residents of two Rotherhithe tower blocks owned by Southwark Council have been living with ‘poorly installed’ fire doors for ten years.
People living in Columbia Point and Regina Point in the Canada Estate complained about the quality of the council’s fire safety work back in 2011 and 2012, which was carried out in the wake of the deadly fire in Lakanal House in Camberwell.
Leaseholders – people who own their own flat within the council-owned blocks – were charged about £8,000 each for the works, which also included bin chutes and new lobby doors, according to an estate resident.
But ten years on, a report for the council done by a fire safety consultant in September 2021 found that the block’s fire doors had been badly put in, confirming residents’ fears.
The report said: “The installation of the FEDs [front entrance doors] appears poor, the area around the frame where it meets the wall has a soft silicone type mastic which may not be suitable, the FED is 54mm thick has three hinges and appears to be a notional FD60 as the door does not have any certification.”
“A task has been raised to ensure a FED door survey is carried out to confirm the installation is as expected and able to perform as designed.”
The council said in an email to residents that the original doors had been installed under a tight deadline from the London Fire Brigade, who had told them to make the changes.
Residents say they have struggled this year to get answers from the council about when the doors will be redone.
One officer told a resident: “We are very sorry for the delay in providing the answers you’ve asked for, also for the delay in getting the fire safety aspects of the works done to you block.
“We did not anticipate these to take this long, but can assure you we are doing our endeavour to get the matter sorted as soon as possible.”
It comes after we reported that residents of the Dickens Estate in Bermondsey had also been living with “completely useless” fire doors for years, despite raising concerns with the council.