Aftermath of the fatal blaze in November

• I SHARE many of the concerns that Cllr Stephen Stark raised at full council and in his letter regarding the tragic Daleham Gardens fire on November 21 2017, (Concerns have been raised after the fatal fire in Daleham Gardens, March 29).

Camden Council officers did act quickly to help residents on the night of the fire and in the immediate aftermath.

When my ward colleagues and I visited residents at their temporary hotel, council tenants were already being considered for replacement housing. This should be applauded.

Since then, however, it has been a difficult process for people who lost everything they owned in one night and experienced the death of a neighbour.

It took meetings to help leaseholders arrange accommodation. We found that some residents’ names were completely missed off lists that we were given. Many residents still have unanswered questions.

We also know that some of the building was undamaged but access to personal belongings is an ongoing battle. I am usually told by council officers that the flow of information is good, no matter how many times I say that residents do not feel they are being properly updated.

It is not just Cllr Stark’s resident that has indicated the building was neglected by the council. Ward councillors and residents have been willing to wait for the full reports before rushing to criticise, but we are four months down the line now.

There has been no meaningful information provided about why the fire happened and there is no date in the diary for when the report will arrive.

Leaseholder residents are caught in limbo. They are unable to plan properly without knowing what will happen to the building and have mortgages attached to burnt flats that they cannot get into.

Post the devastating Grenfell Tower disaster, everything was supposed to have changed in relation to how Camden would approach fire safety matters.

If that was a serious commitment, the investigations into the Daleham Gardens fire would have been expedited so that lessons could be learned quickly for all council owned properties in the borough and to allow the residents affected to move forward.

I do not doubt work is being done behind the scenes. It undoubtedly is a complicated process that must be got right but delay is only serving to increase concerns.

But let’s have at least have some answers now or an interim report and assurances about the independence of the process.

CLLR SIOBHAN BAILLIE
Conservative, Frognal & Fitzjohns ward