Barking and Dagenham Council sets up fundraising page after fire

As of 30 August, the page has attracted nearly £18,000 in donations from 320 people.

Inside Housing spoke to one resident of the Spectrum Building who said they were “really supportive” of the fundraiser page.

The resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “This is a privately owned block of flats, we’re not linked to them in any statutory way… My view is it’s a really nice thing to do.” 

They continued: “I don’t want to be the person responsible for working out who should get what money, and I think the local authority will have more skills and expertise to do that.”

They added that the council had previously set up successful crowdfunding pages to support people whose homes burned down during a heatwave in Dagenham in 2022.

Their comments came after some concerns were raised about the move. 

Housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa wrote: “Every single penny of this needs to go to the families.

“Secondly, we need clarification as to if there’s any allocated emergency government funding being provided to help the families of the Dagenham fire, or are we relying on GoFundMe now?”

Jonny Ross, a BBC 5 Live commentator, wrote: “A council is now asking people to donate on GoFundMe after a major incident. What happened to councils having money for a rainy day like this?”

Campaigner Tito Mogaji-Williams added: “We pay taxes. We have a government. We deserve better. Barking and Dagenham deserves better than begging online, especially for cladding that the government should have sorted long ago.”

However, author and professor Lucy Easthope said the council is trying to “make sure there is a main legitimate fund set up quickly so that lots of rogue ones don’t spring up”.

“It’s also a mechanism to stop the donation of items or stuff,” she added.

Barking and Dagenham Council pointed to a statement on its website that said: “As has happened in previous emergency situations, our residents always rally together to offer their support.

“Lots of people have been in touch and want to help – we’re asking people not to donate items to the rest centre as officers don’t have time to sort through everything, but instead to donate cash if they want to help.

“This will help the affected residents get back on their feet in the short term.”

Forty fire engines and 225 firefighters tackled the blaze at the seven-storey Spectrum Building on Monday.

The block had several fire safety issues and cladding remediation work was underway when the fire broke out, with scaffolding covering parts of the building. In addition, residents had highlighted their fears about wooden decking on balconies and “broken” fire doors as far back as 2018.

The building was originally built as an office in the 1970s, before it was converted to flats in the 2010s, with solar panels and a roof deck area added.

In 2017, planning permission was sought to add more flats on top of the block, with the new storeys to be supported by timber frame. The application was refused, but then granted in 2018 following an appeal.

In evidence to parliament in 2022, the building’s residents’ association referenced a September 2020 external wall survey which found the block did not fully meet building regulations at the time of construction.

The building’s management company had also been hit with an enforcement notice in April 2023 from the London Fire Brigade, urging it to review its fire risk assessment and emergency plan and implement preventative measures.