Woolwich Central cladding remediation works are 'nightmare'

Woolwich Central is a structure in South East London comprising a series of seven blocks of flats sitting above a large Tesco Extra store.

The building was completed in 2014 by construction company Willmott Dixon and includes 259 homes.

Work began to replace the building’s external cladding in May 2022 after it was found to be flammable and revised building regulations since the Grenfell Tower fire required its removal.

Derek Fay, 45, has lived in his flat in the Greenwich building for over ten years and claimed works to replace the cladding on his block lasted 18 months.

He added that the design of the building meant vibrations from the work could be felt in his flat, even if his property was not being directly treated.

Mr Fay told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “All your light is blocked out and you couldn’t access the balconies or the terrace.

"With all of our stuff that was on the terrace, some of it was moved out but some of it stayed there. It’s now all falling apart. All the furniture and everything that was out there now needs to be replaced.”

He added: “[The drilling] was a nightmare. Even now sometimes they still have people doing scaffolding at 6am because Tesco doesn’t want them doing that type of scaffolding when they open. For a good 18 months at 8am every morning, there was drilling that was really loud. I work from home and that was impossible sometimes just because it was so loud. It felt like it was right by your ear.”

The leaseholder said many of his neighbours have moved out of the building as a result of the noise.

Mr Fay claimed this wasn’t an option for him and his wife so they are waiting for works to be completed so they can sell their flat.

He said: “You couldn’t sell up because you couldn’t get a mortgage because the mortgage companies valued your property at zero basically. So you couldn’t remortgage, you couldn’t go to another mortgage lender.

"You had to stay with the person you were with so you couldn’t shop around to get a good deal. You couldn’t sell up so loads of people actually moved out and just rented their properties.”

A Willmott Dixon spokesperson told the LDRS that transparent netting was added to scaffolding on the building to allow light through and that access to balconies and terraces was restricted to prioritise residents’ safety.

Fernando Martinez, 39, is a leaseholder who also moved in ten years ago and said he was aware of issues neighbours were facing with selling their flats.

The resident told the LDRS: “I know neighbours of mine who were trying to sell and this was blocked because the bank that was going to give the mortgage to the prospective buyer was not granting them it simply because the building was not following the current recommendations regarding fire safety.”

The resident said he also had access to his terrace blocked for several months last year while work was being carried out.

He said the layers of the wall being replaced meant his flat was particularly cold in winter, while being unable to fully open his windows and balcony door made the space very warm in summer.

He said: “The noise was killing me because I work from home seven days per week, so that was the worst part.”

Angelina Ajtobska, 43, is a leaseholder and has been mindful of the difficulties if she wanted to sell her flat, but said she is thankful that she does not have to contribute towards the cost of the remediation works.

The resident, who has been living in Woolwich Central for the past ten years, said work began on her block in winter 2022.

She told the LDRS: “I remember it very well because when they removed the outer layer [of cladding], there was a gap in our window and I remember being very, very cold.”

Mr Ajtobska said the gap is now gone, but that noise from the works was so bad at the time that some of her neighbours would rent temporary offices elsewhere in order to work.

She added that during Easter last year, piping outside her home fell down during the works and caused leaks to occur in her flat.

She said: “It was raining, so the water had nowhere to go and it went right into my flat. So that caused a lot of damage. I had to be at home with buckets and everything, my husband and the kids were in New Zealand. I was at home so I couldn’t sleep the whole night because it was raining.

"I had to be there to mop because we have wooden stairs… We had damp coming in and now we have some damage because of that. They tried to rectify it, but it’s still something that didn’t exist before.”

A Willmott Dixon spokesperson claimed it had no records of any incident relating to piping that had come down and any isolated cases of leaks from extreme weather were promptly rectified.

They added that residents had been offered free offsite storage for belongings on their balconies.

They said a small number of items had been left and received minor damages, but had been replaced in agreement with residents.

Soukaina Tiken, 30, lives in one of the final blocks in the building to be directly affected, with work beginning in March this year.

As a renter, Ms Tiken has not had worries about selling a property in the building, but said the noise and messy approach of the work has been frustrating.

Ms Tiken told the LDRS: “There’s been lots of drilling. I’ve also complained to the management team.

"I have lots of rubbish left on the balcony, which is not really nice because we live in there. For [the workers] it’s just the workplace but we live in there. They shout between themselves and insult each other so it’s not really nice to be in there.”

She added: “Especially now with the nice weather, I have to open the window, so you always get that sound. This morning there was a guy shouting for no reason at 8.30am, and they just shout between themselves. It hasn’t been that great.”

A Willmott Dixon spokesperson confirmed that a small number of properties at Woolwich Central have had works lasting 18 months due to additional works that were needed.

They added that the programme of works was carried out across several blocks as this was deemed the most efficient way to complete the project.

They said that works were permitted from 8am from Monday to Friday at the building.

A spokesperson for Canonbury Management, who provide managing services at Woolwich Central, stated that many of the claims of the residents were ‘exaggerations, isolated cases or outright false’.

The company acknowledged that many buildings in the country had suffered due to cladding related findings.

The spokesperson told the LDRS: “After safety concerns, the main issues relating to selling flats with cladding findings are mortgage availability, uncertain and large remediation costs, and who pays for them.

"Thanks to the resident directors of the residential estate, leaseholders can sell their properties without the problems experienced in other buildings. Residential directors and Canonbury worked closely with Tesco and Willmott Dixon to resolve cladding findings with no financial impact to the service charges.”

The management company acknowledged ‘inevitable inconveniences’ had affected residents in the building, but claimed the majority of leaseholders were happy with the positive outcome following the cladding findings.

They added that leaseholders had worked alongside their freeholder to bring about the best possible outcome.

They said: “Significant parts of the remediation are complete and the scaffolding in large sections has already come down. There is no reason to believe the remainder of the remediation will be any different.

"Leaseholders have confidence that they can sell if they wish to, now or in the future. Future buyers do not have the uncertainty that other buildings have suffered and importantly, the building is safe.”

The management company claimed the building design lends itself to residents socialising in its sky gardens and that the residential estate was run ‘by residents for residents’.

The company said it had called on local MP and Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook to give more leaseholders the right to take over management functions in their buildings from their landlord without having to buy the freehold.

A spokesperson for Tesco said: “The work currently taking place at our Woolwich Extra store is essential, but we appreciate it is disruptive for residents and we are working closely with Wilmott Dixon and the council to minimise the disruption and to complete the work as soon as possible.”