EXCLUSIVE: Four fire marshals and battery-powered smoke alarms have been intalled in the mould-ridden block, where there is only a single staircase to serve as a fire escape. By STEVEN DOWNES
Soaring problems: at 35 floors high, The Fold in the town centre is Croydon’s fourth-tallest tower block
The managers of The Fold, the 35-storey residential tower on Queen’s Gardens close by the Town Hall where residents have been plagued with mould and damp, as well as leaks of water and effluent, have now admitted that there is a fault with the building’s fire alarm.
Croydon Council granted planning permission for the 251-flat tower block in 2018. It has just a single staircase that can be used for escape in the event of fire.
The building has only been occupied by tenants, some paying up to £3,000 per month in rent, since 2022.
Less than three weeks ago, the management wrote to Fold tenants and stated: “We want to reassure you that the building remains safe for occupation. This has been independently validated by external fire safety assessors.”
Urbanbubble, the property’s managers, continued to market the building’s “luxury apartments” for rent even as they were telling existing tenants they must leave.
Inside Croydon reported earlier this month that the 100-plus households who remain in the blighted tower block have been ordered to find new accommodation within six months, as The Fold’s owners, insurance giants Legal and General, need the £100million building to be completely vacated to allow for remedial works to fix the long-term build problems.
Residents have had to endure repeated outages of their water supply, as well as lack of heating, and regular lift breakdowns which have placed some tenants in serious danger.
Worried residents have also highlighted significant failings with the building’s fire safety equipment, and two weeks ago they called in the London Fire Brigade to conduct an urgent safety check of the premises.
L&G’s property managers have until now maintained that The Fold is safe to live in.
But yesterday, just after 4.30pm, residents received an email from “The Fold Management Team” which said that they had identified a fault with the building’s fire alarm system the previous Friday (suggesting September 19).
The management said that only now are they “in the process of conducting a full review of the fire alarm system in the building”.
A “waking watch” has been introduced “as a precautionary measure” while tests are conducted.
Welcoming entrance: but what awaits visitors to the L&G-owned The Fold?
“Some faults have been identified that could affect the system’s reliability,” the management email said.
“While we work urgently to complete the necessary remedial works to restore full functionality, from today we will be introducing an enhanced 24/7 Waking Watch and fitting your apartments with battery-powered smoke detectors, to ensure you remain fully protected at all times.
“We want to reassure you that we are acting urgently to resolve this and in the unlikely event of fire, we have fully trained fire marshals to ensure residents can be evacuated safety and quickly.”
The faulty fire alarm has seen the building’s fire risk assessors switch The Fold’s evacuation strategy from “Stay Put” to something they call “Simultaneous Evacuation”. “This means that if a fire is detected, all residents must evacuate the building immediately, rather than remaining inside their apartments,” yesterday’s email said.
There are now four fire marshals on duty, patrolling the building, who are supposed to use air horns or klaxons if fire or smoke is detected.
“We want to reassure you that this Waking Watch is a precautionary and short-term measure, introduced to protect you while we complete the remedial works,” the management said. “Your safety remains our absolute priority, and the marshals are here to support you at all times.”
The management says that they will inform tenants when the remedial works to the fire alarm system are completed. Which is nice of them.
The management was looking to instal smoke detectors in all 251 flats within two days.
Legal and General is the largest asset management business in Britain, ranking in the top 20 largest global asset management companies with more than £1trillion in assets under management.
L&G bought The Fold from developers Hub for £100million in 2018. Last year, L&G said it was “deeply concerned” by reports of mould, damp and leaks in the flats. Tenants have records of complaints about the conditions dating back to September 2022 – within weeks of moving in – which they say the property managers ignored.
Mouldy Fold: residents in the private rented L&G block have lived with conditions like this for years
At a public meeting held 10 days ago and attended by around 70 angry and concerned residents, there were loud groans of disbelief when building managers repeated their claim that the building is safe. The fault in the fire alarm system was “identified”, according to the management’s email yesterday, three days after the tenants’ meeting.
Tenants have issued a set of demands to L&G, seeking compensation for the living conditions that they have had to endure, and financial assistance in locating alternative accommodation and moving costs. L&G has been given until October 31 to meet the tenants’ demands.
The Fold is one of four blocks, built on the site of Taberner House, the former Croydon Council office building, and providing more than 500 homes.
Read more: Mouldy Fold: no problems with council flats says Town Hall
Read more: The Fold folds: Hundreds of tenants given six months to leave
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