The Health and Safety Executive is looking into the collapse of a balcony at an £81million apartment complex in Barking, east London.
Huge pieces of timber and other debris crashed to the ground outside Weavers Quarter in the Gascoigne East estate. There were concerns about three other balconies.
Seventy-seven balconies have been blocked off for residents with scaffolding shoring up the structures before a review is carried out.
Initial tests carried out in a BBC investigation have found that weak glue and plywood more suitable for indoor spaces was used to prop up the balconies.
🧵🪡
— Matt Lismore (@MattLismore) November 12, 2023
Yesterday evening a balcony collapsed in onto the street in my apartment building, just 4 years after construction.
The building, whose freeholder is Barking & Dagenham Council, was constructed by @BouyguesUK on behalf of @lbbdcouncil ‘s social and affordable housing… pic.twitter.com/sUbhNzOEHy
Resident Matt Lismore tweeted at the time: “It means that there could have been a fatality had there been anyone walking underneath that balcony last night.
“Thankfully nobody was injured, but this scale of incompetence, negligence and ignorance to building safety and those trying to bring these issues to light cannot be ignored and cannot go without consequence.”
The flats were constructed by Bouygues UK on behalf of Barking and Dagenham’s affordable sociable housing company BD Reside.
Bouygues UK told the Standard that the elements of the balcony which fell were decorative ones, not structural.
A statement said: “The safety of our buildings is our number one priority. As soon as we were made aware of the incident we went to the site to investigate and immediately engaged with our partners.
“We have been working closely with our partners to reassure residents with regular, comprehensive updates.”
It added: “We determined the incident was caused by water damage and that it might also affect other balconies of similar design on this scheme. We are currently on site removing the decorative brick fascias from each balcony and will replace them with alternative suitable materials.
“The quality of our work is of utmost importance and an integral part to delivering our projects safely. The design and materials we adopted for this scheme were carefully considered by our professional consultants and the approving authorities as part of the development process.”
A spokesman added that the materials used were not the same as the ones that had been specified in the design.
Mr Lismore, who works in finance, added: “The main issues are around building safety, build quality and propensity for defective equipment/infrastructure, poor building management and very slow repairs."
He noted how “several balconies have fallen off onto the property below” and “no attempt has been made to survey whether other balconies are at risk of falling”.
The Health and Safety Executive has confirmed it is working with the council "to understand the circumstances... and what role if any HSE might have investigating it".
Barking and Dagenham Council said: “Barking and Dagenham council welcomes the BBC’s investigation into the balcony fascias at Weavers Quarter. As the local authority, we are shocked to learn that the evidence suggests Bouygues, a major international construction firm, cannot rely on the integrity of its supply chain.
“The use of substandard materials is unacceptable, and the residents of the estate should not be exposed to that kind of risk. The balcony fascia failure in November last year was the latest major “latent defect” in Weavers Quarter. We took immediate steps to impress upon Bouygues the need to ensure all balconies on the newly-rebuilt estate are safe.
“Barking and Dagenham council also wants the necessary powers to intervene and compel private developers to address housing defects. Local authorities across the country have been calling on the government to grant them such powers ever since the Grenfell disaster.”
