Up to 1,000 residents have been told to ‘immediately’ evacuate their homes on a West London housing association development due to fire safety concerns.
Occupants of the six-block Paragon estate in Brentford, including nearly 700 students, will be offered alternative accommodation while not-for-profit housing association Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) carries out a ‘comprehensive safety review’.
It is understood that tenants are being told for the first time that they face re-homing on Monday, with people being moved in a ‘Covid-secure’ manner throughout this week.
NHG said it had taken the decision to leave the estate on the basis of health and safety, following expert advice that ‘the construction of the buildings may be putting residents at risk’.
A woman exits block F on the Paragon estate in Brentford, West London, where up to 1,000 people are being asked to ‘immediately’ leave their homes due to fire safety concerns
A man and a woman carry empty cardboard boxes into a residential block to allow their son to pack his belongings, following the instruction to leave the building before Sunday
In a statement the housing association added: ‘Further investigations will establish the full extent of the structural and fire safety issues that have been uncovered at the development and identify next steps.’
NHG did not provide full details of the fire safety issues, but added: ‘Earlier building performance issues, together with fire safety issues related to the cladding and the subsequent new Government guidance since the fire at Grenfell Tower, triggered a series of safety checks at Paragon, undertaken by technical consultants, which have each revealed further problems with this development.’
It is understood some 688 students from the University of West London living on the estate are to be offered alternative purpose-built accommodation.
Those living in 105 shared-ownership leasehold units and 65 intermediate rent homes, will be moved to hotels near the estate.
NHG will cover the costs of the moves as well as new accommodation in the first instance, with residents being given dedicated caseworkers to discuss their needs.
Students were left feeling ‘freaked out’ as they were informed of the need to vacate their accommodation, via email and a series of Zoom calls on Monday, one teenager said.
Laura Howes, 19, in her first year studying business, said: ‘We’ve been told that we just need to leave as soon as possible pretty much, in that there’s been a serious investigation into the safety of the building.’
She added: ‘Now we’re being moved to Wembley which is an hour and a half away which is just catastrophic for our courses.’
A general view of some of the student accommodation blocks within the Paragon residential development which have been placed on a mandatory evacuation order
Students gathered outside block F on the Paragon estate in Brentford, West London. Residents will be offered alternative accommodation while a safety review is carried out
A group of students who have tested positive for Covid-19 are interviewed from their apartment window at the estate, after being informed they must leave the property by Sunday
A general view of some of the privately-owned blocks within the Paragon residential development in West London, which have been placed on a mandatory evacuation order
Ms Howes, who is only two days out of coronavirus self-isolation with friends, said the announcement was ‘very last minute’ and warned that the pressures of moving were ‘going to have a massive toll on our education for the next couple of weeks, until we’ve all settled in’.
She said students had been offered a rent deduction, a month’s worth of travel on Oyster cards and support in moving their belongings.
‘It’s going to take a lot longer, and it’s going to be a lot (more) stressful because we don’t have the support there that we did with our family when we first moved down,’ she said.
Ms Howes added: ‘We have no idea when we’re leaving, we know we’ll be leaving some time as of tomorrow, we don’t know where we’re moving to specifically, we don’t know the address, we don’t know who we’re living with, it’s all very messy at the moment, it’s a bit chaotic.’
A group of women wheel suitcases from one of the apartment blocks deemed unsafe today in Brentford. Paragon is a development of six apartment blocks owned by Notting Hill Genesis
A group of students wearing face masks stand outside the apartment block where they live, which has been deemed unsafe, in Brentford, as they are evacuated over fire safety fears
Kate Davies, group chief executive of NHG, apologised to residents for having to ‘disrupt their lives’, explaining its priority was ‘to provide safe, affordable housing’.
‘We always ensure the wellbeing of our residents, so while we are incredibly disappointed to have to make this decision, we believe that we have no choice but to ask people to leave their homes on the Paragon estate,’ she said.
‘I understand that Paragon residents may feel angry or alarmed by this news, as they have every right to be.
‘This is a very distressing time and we are genuinely sorry for the huge amount of disruption and uncertainty that this situation will cause.
‘This is a complex situation and we don’t yet have all the answers.
Students gesture from the windows of the apartments that have been deemed unsafe today in Brentford. A recent investigation has led to the association asking residents to evacuate
The Paragon estate in Brentford, West London. Notting Hill Housing group, which became part of Notting Hill Genesis group in 2018, acquired Paragon in 2009
A man wearing protective clothing walks towards one of the apartment blocks deemed unsafe. Paragon is a development of six blocks owned by one of London’s largest housing associations
A general view of some of the student accommodation blocks within the Paragon residential development which have been placed on mandatory evacuation order in Brentford
A resident and child of one of the apartment buildings deemed unsafe for habitation take an empty suitcase to their block in Brentford, West London, following the evacuation order
‘We are working to uncover the full extent of the issues at Paragon so that we can provide residents with clarity about timescales, next steps and options as quickly as possible.
A spokesman for the mayor of London said: ‘It is very concerning to hear that this building has been found to be unsafe and the mayor is pleased to see swift action being taken.
‘The Greater London Authority’s housing and land team has been in contact with the building owner and will continue to monitor the situation.’
The Paragon estate, containing a total of 1,059 homes, was initially owned by Presentation Housing Association, which became part of Notting Hill Housing, following its development by Berkeley First.
Notting Hill Housing group, which became part of Notting Hill Genesis group in 2018, acquired Paragon in 2009.