More than 100 residents evacuated from a north London housing estate in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire are said to be refusing to move back until they receive further assurances about its safety.



Camden council began moving residents back into the Chalcots estate near Swiss Cottage in phases last week after completion of safety works it said were signed off by London fire brigade and other local authorities.

But a number of residents are demanding detailed documentation relating to the inspections and the reasons they were moved out in the first place. They are also unhappy about the role of other councils in the assessment process.



Robert Kukaj, who set up a Facebook group allowing residents to voice their concerns, said: “The residents do not want to move in on the say-so of Camden council. There’s nothing in writing; everything is just in statements published on the council’s website. We’ve been living for years in an unsafe place, we want an independent professional body with no ties to local authorities to make an inspection.”

Kukaj, 27, who lives on the fifth floor of Burnham, one of five tower blocks on the estate, said more than 100 residents were refusing to move back in over safety fears.

Jayesh Kunwardia a partner at Hodge Jones and Allen solicitors, which is representing some of the Chalcots residents, said: “My clients have been told by Camden council that their hotel accommodation will no longer be paid for, and that they are to immediately move back into the Chalcot estate, where they will have to start paying rent again. They have been given no explanation about the work that the council has carried out or any evidence that the building is now safe to live in. I’ve written to the council to say that this is unacceptable and that until such evidence is given, my clients must remain in the temporary accommodation provided and paid for by the council.”

The initial concern that led to last month’s evacuation was the similarity of the cladding to that on Grenfell Tower. But LFB checks subsequently identified internal problems including with the fire doors, 1,000 of which were ordered by the council in response.



While modifications have been made to existing fire doors, residents say they have been told new ones will be fitted at a later date. They also claim that with the focus switched to the fire doors, the cladding issue has been neglected.

Hugh Roach, 31, who lives on the 17th floor of Bray, said: “There’s no talk of cladding any more. It’s the cladding that killed people in Grenfell. The fire doors are meant to give you half an hour [to leave the building in the event of a blaze] but the problem is if the cladding is flammable, it can still spread.”

Roach said he had been told that his temporary accommodation would stop being paid for on Saturday but he would not be moving back until certain it was safe. “I don’t want to die of smoke inhalation lying in bed with my wife,” he said.

Saranda Hajdari, 28, who lives on the 10th floor of the Burnham estate with her parents and five siblings, is also refusing to return. “Why are fire marshals here [they have been posted in every block until the work is complete] if it’s safe to move back?” she asked. “We have been told work will happen in the blocks over 18 months and phase two is work on cladding ... If cladding won’t be done in a year’s time then I don’t want to move back at all.”

A spokesman referred the Guardian to several statements on the council’s website and said an independent review, which will begin in August, would address many of the concerns.

In an email to local MP Tulip Siddiq, who raised some of the residents’ concerns, the council leader, Georgia Gould, said the decision to evacuate the blocks followed LFB guidance. “We have followed their advice throughout this process and have only acted to begin assessing floors for reoccupation in conjunction with building control once the LFB had indicated they were assured as to our overall programme of works and our progress.”

She added: “The overall cladding system at Chalcots has fire-stopping measures in place and the insulation material attached to the walls is Rockwool, which is non‐combustible.”

This week Camden council posted an advert for the newly created role of director of resident safety. The successful candidate will “assume accountability for the safety” of the homes the council provides to tenants and leaseholders.



The description of the new post, which has a salary of £100,000 a year, states: “You will be Camden council’s lead advocate on property safety, working closely with our residents to place them at the centre of our gold standard assurance work.”

• This article was amended on 26 July 2017. An earlier version said that the results of an independent review were likely to be published next month. The review, which will examine a period of about 15 years, will start in August 2017 and there is no set date for publication.