Chalcots estate residents moved overnight into temporary accommodation after council said it could not guarantee safety

Hundreds of residents of a housing estate in north London have been evacuated overnight after fire inspectors said five tower blocks were at risk following the Grenfell Tower blaze.

People living on Chalcots estate in Swiss Cottage were woken during the night and told to leave their homes immediately after Camden council became the first in the country to order an evacuation of blocks at risk of a similar fire.

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Those affected described scenes of confusion as they were told the council was unable to guarantee residents’ safety, They are asked to find alternative accommodation or report to a local leisure centre, where hundreds of mattresses had been laid out. Others were offered hotel rooms for the night.

Speaking on Saturday morning, the leader of Camden council, Georgia Gould, said: “We’ve had a huge effort overnight to evacuate people. We have had 650 households who have moved out of the tower blocks. We’ve had everyone, council staff, volunteers, different councillors, all coming together with the fire service to move people safely out of their accommodation.”

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The last thing I wanted to do was ask residents late on a Friday night to leave their homes. I have been with them all night and people are distressed, angry and scared. It’s such a difficult decision.

“But I said to fire services, is there anything I can do to make this block safe tonight? I offered to pay for fire services to be stationed outside those blocks just so we could have a couple of days to get the works done, but the message was [that there was] nothing to do to make blocks safe that night.”

Gould had announced the evacuation after a review of the blocks found cladding similar to that which had been on Grenfell Tower, as well as fire risks on insulation surrounding gas piping.

“All we care about is getting people to safety. The cost we can deal with later,” she said.

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“The work to make the blocks safe is expected to take three to four weeks. An operation of this scale, at such pace, is not without issues and problems along the way, but we had to do this, we have to act on fire service advice.”

As the scattered families and individuals came to terms with the upheaval on Saturday morning, with some claiming to have only learned of the evacuation after seeing it on the news:

Two relief centres in Swiss Cottage and the Camden centre in King’s Cross were said to be near capacity.

Camden council said it had secured hundreds of hotel beds for evacuated residents.

People were being encouraged to stay with friends and family if possible while remedial work took place.

The prime minister, Theresa May, said her “thoughts are with residents being evacuated in Camden” and offered “every support”.

One of the five towers evacuated was deemed safe and residents were told they could return.

Gould said 83 people refused to leave their homes.

Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, told Sky News early on Saturday morning that the evacuation was forced not by the cladding alone, but “multiple other fire safety failures”, including problems with insulation on gas pipes and missing fire doors.



The council initially announced on Friday that only one tower, Taplow, which contains 161 households, was to be “temporarily decanted”. Within the hour, however, Gould said the decision had been taken to evacuate the whole estate.

She said a rest centre for residents had been set up at Swiss Cottage library and efforts by council staff to process residents’ cases there were beginning immediately.

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A council spokesman said: “We’re encouraging all residents to stay with friends and family if they can, otherwise we’ll provide accommodation.

Swiss Cottage rest centre is nearing capacity, so we’ve secured more space at the Camden centre [in] King’s Cross.

“Specialist staff are on the ground to assist residents with care needs. Pets are also welcome at both rest centres and hotel accommodation.”

The council earlier said it would immediately start preparing to remove cladding from five towers on the estate after an inspection ordered following the Grenfell disaster, which killed at least 79 people, found it could be a fire risk.

Gould said residents had since shared fire safety concerns that she had not previously been aware of and experts who inspected the estate on Friday informed her they could not guarantee the tenants’ safety.



“We realise that this is hugely distressing for everyone affected and we will be doing all we can, alongside London fire brigade and other authorities, to support our residents at this difficult time. The Grenfell fire changes everything, we need to do everything we can to keep residents safe,” she said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Residents being evacuated from the Taplow block on Chalcots estate. A number refused to leave their homes. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

On Thursday, the council said its safety inspection found that while the cladding and insulation were different from that used on Grenfell Tower, the former “did not satisfy our independent laboratory testing or the high standards we set for contractors”. In a letter sent to residents, the council said it was taking legal advice.

Camden council said officials had been knocking on doors one block at a time for safety reasons, starting at Taplow, then working through Burnham, Bray, Blashford and Dorney, from about 8pm on Friday.

A spokesman said residents would be allowed back at the weekend to collect their possessions under fire brigade escort. It is believed that some may not be able to return permanently for up to four weeks.

The evacuation came as four more Grenfell Tower victims were formally identified, bringing the total to nine. Scotland Yard said detectives were keeping open the option of bringing manslaughter charges relating to the fire.



Refurbishment on Chalcots estate was overseen by Rydon, the company involved in the refit of Grenfell Tower, according to its website.



A statement released by Downing Street on behalf of Theresa May said: “My thoughts are with residents being evacuated in Camden while their homes are made safe tonight. We will work with and support the emergency services and relevant authorities to safeguard the public.”

Tulip Siddiq, the Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, the constituency in which Chalcots is located, said the council decision was the right thing to do.

“If you think someone’s in danger, especially in light of Grenfell, you take the first decision, even if it’s not ideal. Off the back of the meeting we had last night, in which lots of residents raised concerns, Camden council and London fire brigade did the right thing, which was to carry out the safety checks,” she said.

“Once they’d checked out the internal machinery, they decided that the buildings are not fit for purpose. So they’ve made a decision that couldn’t have been easy for the council, to rehouse the 800 households that we have. It may seem dramatic to some people, but if you are in a position of responsibility then I think it’s the right decision to make.”