Croydon’s tallest tower block needed the police and the fire brigade to be called out overnight, to secure loose metal fittings outside the unsold penthouse flat at Altitude 25.

Croydon’s tallest building has had a “flaky” history

With further storms and high winds forecast for the coming days, contractors were on site this morning in an effort to secure the building, after pieces of aluminium had broken off, some reportedly landing nearly a quarter of a mile away at Addiscombe Grove. The local residents’ association alerted the authorities to the problem.

“If they had hit a pedestrian or a passing car, it would have been lethal,” an eye-witness told Inside Croydon.

Altitude 25 is positioned just a short walk away from the Fairfield Halls and from East Croydon Station, which are visited by tens of thousands of commuters and theatre-goers every day, and the tower overlooks the busy Barclay Road dual carriageway.

“They need to get the building properly secured quickly. Otherwise, they could be looking at closing the A232 to traffic to avoid any accidents,” another local said.

This afternoon, Croydon Council refused to confirm that the building had been issued with a dangerous structure notice, although it has been suggested that this week’s incident of pieces of the prestige building falling from the structure is not the first occasion recently that Town Hall officials have had to intervene.

The 290-foot-tall Altitude 25 on Fairfield Road, and the neighbouring Latitude 25 low-rise development, have had a flaky history since opening in 2009. The developers initially struggled to sell many of the 196 apartments, when some – including the 25th floor penthouses – were originally put on the market for more than £1 million.

Checks of estate agents’ websites show that some of the million-pound flats have since been “snapped up” for barely half that price, while the management has struggled to resolve recurring issues over water pressure to some of the flats in the tower, and owner-occupiers have complained about their properties becoming de-valued as other residents have rented out their flats as venues for raves and even sex parties.

This week’s news about the building’s safety is unlikely to enhance the properties’ values, either.

• Council activates emergency Gold Command over flooding
• Altitude 25 looks to off-load unsold flats as short-term lets
• Altitude 25′s water supplies now come under pressure
• New Year rave has too much latitude as flat is trashed
• Londoners being priced out of London by social cleansing

Coming to Croydon

• Purley Swimathon: Feb 8 and 13
• Mark Steel at Ashcroft Theatre, Feb 12
• Croydon Arts Network meeting, Feb 15
• Chinese New Year children’s event, Upper Norwood Library, Feb 18
• Welsh myths children’s event, Upper Norwood Library, Feb 20
• Norwood Society talk, Upper Norwood Library, Feb 20
• Mr Pooter comes to Croydon, Feb 20-22
• Warm and Well event, Upper Norwood Library, Feb 22
• Stop the Incinerator fund-raiser, Feb 24
• Fairtrade event, Upper Norwood Library, Mar 1
• Coulsdon and Purley Debating Society, Mar 3
• Patchwork and quilting workshop, Upper Norwood Library, Mar 3
• Upper Norwood Library Book Club, Mar 15
• Norwood Society talk, Upper Norwood Library, Mar 20
• Croydon Half-marathon, Mar 30

• If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, a residents’ or business association or local event, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com