I got a call on Sunday from a resident who was very concerned that residents of the Merridale tower block on Carston Close had been evacuated from their homes due to a suspected structural fault.

I went up there to find out what was going on, but obviously on Sunday, the priority was to make sure everyone was accounted for and had somewhere safe to stay.

We’ve now received a briefing from the Chief Executive of Lewisham Homes.  He advises that:

• On Sunday 17th February the block  was evacuated in the late morning following an incident when several courses of brickwork suddenly bowed out from the main structure at 6th floor level on the south east wing. Residents reported hearing a loud noise shortly before.
• Emergency services and structural engineers attended. A scaffold fan was erected to protect the public and the section of road in front was closed with barriers. Residents were allowed back home in the late afternoon , although two families with young children were provided with temporary accommodation overnight.
• Today Lewisham Homes staff were on site together with a structural engineer. Residents were asking questions but there appears to be no major structual concern.
• Lewisham Homes have been advised by the structural engineer that the block is safe to occupy but closer examination of the area is required to determine the nature and extent of the problem and this is taking place on Wednesday.
• Scaffolders have erected a full height scaffold so that access to the affected area can be obtained and further examination will then take place.
• All the residents have been written to, and as many as possible have been spoken to face-to-face.   There are also additional staff at the Lee Green Housing Office to answer any questions residents have.

I know from conversations I’ve had with residents at Merridale that there’s still a great deal of concern about what’s happened.   Hopefully the inspection tomorrow will make things clearer – then we need to make sure residents are properly briefed on exactly what the problem is and what’s going to be done to resolve it.