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A homeowner who was evacuated from his flat a year ago due to dangerous cladding faces battling cancer in his temporary home as remediation work has not yet started.
Josh Morris, 49, was moved out of his home in Skyline Chambers, Manchester, a year ago after serious safety defects were found in the building. Work to make the building safe has not yet started, and Mr Morris is living in a temporary flat 50 metres away.
Mr Morris, who has recently been diagnosed with skin cancer, is now having to look at going through treatment away from home.
He told The Independent: “The saddest bit for me is that I’ve just been diagnosed with cancer in the past few weeks and so I’m going to start going through that journey now. Luckily it’s not spread and it’s curable: that’s the good news. Bad news is chemo, radiotherapy, operation, which is not a nice place to be.
“It makes the situation extra prevalent for me because this is when I want to be in my own space, with my possessions, in my own bed. I’ve lost the liberty of having that.
“If this had been terminal then the probability is that I would never see Skyline Chambers again because I wouldn’t be able to live there again. I would be dead. That’s how long they are taking to do this.
“It would be so nice to spend that recovery, when I’m not feeling great, in my own place that I built up and surrounded by my things. That’s what’s hurting at the moment.”
Mr Morris was extremely proud when he got on the property ladder in 2013 with the purchase of his Skyline Chambers flat. But after the Grenfell fire in 2017, inspections of the building uncovered a number of safety problems including flammable insulation and timber on the external walls.
It was then decided in October 2023 that the whole building (comprising 107 flats) would be evacuated immediately, after more problems were identified with the external walls.
“I’ve got this lovely flat, an investment, that is 50 metres away and is a thorn in my side. I’m still paying my mortgage and my service charge. In the past year I’ve paid over £10,000 for an apartment that I can’t legally reside in,” Mr Morris added.
Mr Morris is one of 15 residents of Skyline Chambers who are being put up in temporary flats nearby. Of the 107 apartments, 15 were owned by leaseholders while the rest were rented out.
Mr Morris said: “The current apartments are nice. They are quite sparsely decorated and a bit basic. I’m basically homeless and living in a rented apartment until the building is remediated.
“April 2026 is the current date for completion of the works . But I suspect this date will get pushed back because they still haven’t started remediation. We’re just in limbo.
“There are a number of things wrong with this situation. I’m still paying my mortgage. I’m still paying exorbitant management fees. I was paying £104 a month when Grenfell happened and by the time I left Skyline I was paying £244 a month. It literally doubled overnight, due to the faults found in the building.
Have you been impacted by the building safety crisis? Contact holly.bancroft@independent.co.uk
“Since I’ve been moved out, they haven’t touched it. It is still sitting there with all my belongings and furnishings in it. They haven’t removed a single flammable panel of insulation. They haven’t removed a single piece of timber, which was deemed not safe.”
Speaking about what he has managed to move from his flat, Mr Morris said: “I got my clothes out and my Lego collection out. I reckon I’ve got 60 per cent of my personal belongings and 10 per cent of my furniture, but the rest is still there. The items that are still there are not insured because I can’t find insurance to cover it.
“I’ve built up those things over many many years and through different places that I’ve lived.
“I never wanted to live in a rented apartment, that’s why I bought my flat. I’d been there for 11 years and was as happy as larry with all my possessions that make my home my home. The majority of my stuff is now in a building that could go up any minute. But I guess the advantage is that I’m not living in a building that is a death trap.”
Read more: The residents still caught in cladding crisis after Grenfell
A spokesperson for Wallace Estates Ltd, the freeholder, said that they were “working to remediate the building as soon as possible” but added: “We have experienced several roadblocks caused in the first instance by the delay in funding being provided through a government funding scheme, as well as delays with planning.”
They added: “None of the current building owners, be they residents or freeholders, are responsible for the existence of fire safety defects at Sky Chambers. It is astonishing that across the country leaseholders and freeholders are having to deal with the failings of reckless developers, irresponsible product managers and central and local government who oversaw a deficient safety regime.”
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Building owners who fail to fix dangerous cladding on their building should be ashamed. Wallace Estates have tried to avoid responsibility for making their buildings safe, but we are taking action to crack down on them and ensure dangerous buildings are urgently dealt with.
“The message is clear: get buildings fixed, or we will not hesitate to take enforcement action.”
