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Evacuated Southern Housing block had reinforcement work completed prior to current concerns
A Southern Housing tower block that was evacuated last year due to safety concerns previously had work completed to reinforce the building before the current issues were found.
The 78,000-home landlord revealed in November that it had decanted 60 flats from a building in Woking after an investigation raised concerns about the type of concrete used in its construction.
Around 100 residents from the Centrium 1 block at Station Approach in Woking were evacuated while an investigation was conducted to assess the materials used in the construction of the property, with a focus on the composition of the concrete.
A source with knowledge of the build process told Inside Housing that the Eastgate development was constructed by house builder Barratt using reinforced concrete frames (RCF).
The house builder had previously set aside £70m to complete work on a number of developments that had found issues with RCF.
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No decision taken on decanting residents from block with fire safety concerns, Southern Housing says
A Centrium 1 resident told Inside Housing that those living in the block were advised in late 2020 and 2021 that there were issues with the building structure then and that work was going to be carried out to strengthen the building’s columns.
This was done at the same time as some cladding remediation work was being completed.
The resident said the cladding work was completed, but the structural work never got done as they believed there to be some disagreement over who should pay for the remediation work.
Both Barratt and Southern denied that was the case.
Southern said: “We completed work to replace the external wall system at Eastgate earlier this year. This followed reinforcement works to the external undercroft carpark.
“Additional structural works to the internal areas were proposed by Barratt, however their remediation solution was based on an assumption the building had been constructed as specified.
“So we instructed independent structural engineers to undertake a full review of the building. This review included on-site investigations and testing.
“The safety of our residents has always been our main consideration. Therefore, determining any issues with the building and agreeing a remediation solution was our priority, rather than who should pay for the work.
“We continue to work closely with all Eastgate residents and support them through this challenging time.”
Southern previously confirmed that it was not reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, which is known to decay over time, and has recently been linked to ceiling collapses in schools.
A Barratt spokesperson said: “As announced in 2019, over the past four years Barratt has carried out a specific review of certain buildings with reinforced concrete frames and where remediation has been needed we have carried it out at no cost to residents or leaseholders.
“These latest issues are separate to that review, and we are working with Southern Housing Group to understand the findings of their engineers.”
Towards the end of last year there were a number of developments that were found to have structural safety concerns.
Minutes obtained by Inside Housing revealed how an expert group assembled to advise the government warned of major risks, including unstrengthened Ronan Point-style buildings, and said “the market is… prioritising profit over safety”.
A particular concern was ageing large panel systems (LPS) buildings. The experts said that many “LPS buildings which were supposed to have undergone remedial work in previous decades were not remediated”.
These minutes were unearthed as Bristol City Council declared a major incident at a 65-year-old block in Barton Hill on the edge of the city centre. Hundreds of residents were evacuated from the tower, which was made using LPS.
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