RESIDENTS in an apartment block in Basingstoke will not be able to open their windows properly for 14 months and will lose the use of an outside children’s play area while work is carried out to replace potentially dangerous cladding on the building.

The external cladding at Crown Heights, which has around 250 flats, contains the flammable material ‘expanded polystyrene’ and features no fire breaks.

It means the building is at risk of being engulfed if a fire broke out, similar to the tragedy that happened at Grenfell Tower in 2017.

READ MORE: Crown Heights: Work to get underway to remove cladding

The building failed an external wall system fire review certificate in 2021, leaving residents fearing for their safety and unable to sell their properties.

The original developer of the building, Barratt, has since agreed to pay for the work, which was due to start in September.

However, work is yet to begin leaving residents frustrated by the delay and the news that they will lose the use of their balconies and outside children’s play area, which will be used to store materials.

Jean Pattison, who has lived in Crown Heights since 2015, said Barratt initially agreed to carry out the work on one block at a time, meaning residents would only lose the use of their balconies and windows for a short period of time.

“We were also assured that the podium area where children play will remain available at all times,” said the 55-year-old carer. 

Residents questioned Barratt at a meeting on Thursday, September 28, over why it had changed its mind and decided to complete the work on the entire building at once, meaning residents would lose their windows and balconies for up to 14 months.

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Jean said: “Balcony doors will be sealed shut. Nowhere to dry washing – we cannot afford tumble dryers and the flats in the inner circle have terrible black mould and damp because they face inwards and never get the sunlight.”

She added: “Some of the flats are south-facing with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and get incredibly hot, which will be unbearable without opening the balcony door and opening all windows wide. Our windows will be sealed to open only a few centimetres. Balconies will be sealed off completely.

“We have been told that the wrapping must retain the dust so it won’t be completely opaque but we will not see through it properly and will need to put lights on. Most flats are families with children. Losing the balconies and the play area means that the children will have to be kept indoors.”

Jean said many residents are suffering from the stress of the cladding issue and added: “This will push people over the edge."

At the meeting, she asked Barratt what it will do to mitigate the loss of the balconies for so long.

A spokesperson said: “We will take it away and deal with it on a case-by-case basis. We know that some people do not care about the loss of a balcony.”

Responding to concerns about the loss of a children’s play area, which will be used to store materials, the spokesperson added: “We have looked at so many locations and there is nowhere else we can store anything."

They added: “We won’t be thanked for a small child being injured because they are part of a building site.”

They promised to pay for any damage caused, adding: “We have to be mindful of pedestrian safety. There will be a lot of activity and plant moving around and we do not want people to be injured as part of this process.”

Jean asked Barratt whether they thought sealing up windows and balconies for 14 months was “acceptable living conditions”.

A spokesperson responded: “We understand it’s not easy.”

A resident also raised concerns about the internal fire safety of the building, saying: “The cladding has been appallingly applied. I understand that. But that doesn’t make the building safe. That does not make our building safe from a fire point of view.

"There are breaches inside the building and I’m raising that now because we can’t accept there’s going to be half a job done. We have to see that everything is done properly.”

Barratt admitted that it did not know anything about internal fire safety issues.

Andrew Stallard, from First Port Maintenance, who was at the meeting agreed to look into the issue and report back.

Another resident questioned whether Barratt would pay compensation for failing to build Crown Heights to the “appropriate standards”, and accused them of “negligence”.

He added: “We have all suffered significant costs because the building wasn’t built properly in the first place. Do we have to issue small claims against Barratt or is Barratt going to come to the table and offer recompense?”

A spokesperson for Barratt said it will look at this on a “case-by-case basis”, adding: “We always stand by the fact that leaseholders will not be disadvantaged by the remedial work.”

In a statement sent to the Gazette after the meeting, a spokesperson for Barratt Developments said: "We are sorry for the impact on residents of the building works at Crown Heights, but we are doing all that we can to minimise disruption.

"These are important works to ensure the continued fire safety of the building and are being paid for fully by Barratt.

"We will continue to work closely with all parties, making sure everyone is kept up to date with their progress through monthly residents’ meetings and working closely with the managing agents to listen to people’s views.”