‘Holding the council to account over Chalcots estate’

• THIS has been a week of enormous disruption for the residents of the Chalcots estate, with young families, elderly and disabled residents all being evacuated from their homes.

The decision was taken at short notice and nobody should understate the toll this episode has taken on many of the residents. Camden’s officials will detail exactly how this situation came to pass, and why the decision to evacuate was taken so abruptly.

While there is undoubtedly work to do to mitigate the impact of the evacuation on people’s lives, I believe the leader of the council deserves praise for acting decisively to prioritise the safety of residents.

However, in the weeks to come I will be holding the council to account on how so many structural problems existed and were seemingly overlooked on one estate.

I was on the estate for most of the weekend, talking to those evacuated and aiming to provide practical support where possible. Clearly the most important issue is to ensure that all residents have access to decent accommodation throughout the time that the necessary alterations are made to the Chalcots estate.

It is only natural that people want to feel as safe as is feasibly possible in their own homes. That is why residents also raised broader concerns related to their safety, notably the closure of Belsize fire station. There was a large amount of anger directed at the fact that such a vital resource, only 500 metres from the estate, was to be converted into luxury flats.

I raised this question in parliament with Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. In response he stressed that his focus was on ensuring the safety deficiencies of the Chalcots were addressed – but I would argue these two things are not mutually exclusive.

The debate in parliament underlined that the consequences of the Grenfell Tower tragedy are only just beginning. We learned that 75 tower blocks across 26 authorities have failed fire tests for cladding alone. We learned that the testing has been extended to hospitals, schools and government buildings. And we learned that an independent panel on fire safety has been instituted.

However many questions remain unanswered over the government’s preparedness for any future evacuations and their determination to support the families of Grenfell. In the months ahead, I will pressing ministers to act with full transparency to build back the trust that has been lost and to ease the anxieties that remain.

TULIP SIDDIQ MP
Labour, Hampstead & Kilburn