Mansfield District Council faces an almost £20m bill to fix fire safety problems at a block of flats it owns in London. The building was bought by the council as an investment in 2017, but parts of its internal structures now need to be ripped out and rebuilt following advice from an independent safety assessment.
People living in the building have spoken of their lives being “in limbo” after the authority delayed the repair works on two separate occasions. The Local Democracy Reporting Service can reveal the Labour-led authority is asking residents in the building, at 50-52 Bedford Road, in Clapham, to temporarily leave their homes while it fixes fire safety issues.
The council says it has taken measures to ensure the building currently remains safe to occupy. It comes after the London Fire Brigade, which has been talking to the authority since it bought the property, issued the building with a Notice of Fire Safety Deficiencies after finding a “number of” issues.
