FAMILIES who were evacuated from an unsafe block of flats in Colchester have vanished after not qualifying for a council homelessness scheme... despite losing their homes.
A total of 125 residents living in Amleen House in Hawkins Road, Colchester were forced to leave their flats within two hours on June 26 after an inspection from the fire service found multiple fire safety breaches.
Some residents, including students and families, had been living in the building for up to a year before the inspection was carried out.
Fire chiefs said if the building had caught fire it would have spread very quickly, putting everyone inside in danger.
According to the prohibition notice, escape routes were found to be compromised by “serious fire safety deficiencies".
The fire compartmentation between walls, floors and doors is insufficient and there were also unprotected vertical shafts and exposed electrical wiring found inside the building.
After the evacuation, six households were provided with temporary accommodation in a hotel by Colchester Council at no cost for seven days.
But despite being given just a few hours to move out of their homes, the Gazette understands none of the six households qualified for help under the council’s homelessness prevention duty.
The families have since moved on, but the council do not know where to.
Since the evacuation, building inspectors from Stroma Building Control have said the block of flats was opened without a final certificate, although the landlord has stressed to the BBC he did nothing wrong.
Colchester Council has requested the inspector for copies of the records of their checks on the building but said they have not been provided with any.
A spokesman for Colchester Council said: “The private company responsible for checking the works at Amleen House has ended its involvement and passed the building back to the council.
“The council has asked the owner of the building to submit a new plan for making the building safe. If the owner does not do this, the council will take enforcement action to ensure the building is made safe.
“The private inspector had a duty to check the work regularly and make sure that it was being completed according to the plans and regulations."
A spokesman for the University of Essex said: "We were pleased to be able to provide emergency accommodation to the students and dependents affected and have continued to offer a range of support to help them during this difficult period.”
Councillor Paul Smith, portfolio holder for housing, has called for the issue to be rectified as a matter of urgency.
He said: “The families put into emergency accommodation have all left and none were illegible as part of the homelessness scheme in the council.
“It’s scandalous people’s lives could have been put at risk in such a callous way by people occupying a building which had not been properly completed.
“It was an extremely dangerous situation and I’m very pleased the fire brigade acted so quickly.
“It’s not known when or if the building will be made fire safe. We have a semi-derelict building down there that we would like to have fixed."
Stroma Building Control has been contacted for a comment.
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