London housing: Council leader urged to resign over balcony flaws

The leader of Barking and Dagenham Council has been urged to resign over flaws in balconies on a £41m estate.

One balcony partly collapsed at Weavers Quarter in east London last year and concerns were raised about others.

The council said it was not able to get involved directly as the companies involved were privately run.

Leader Darren Rodwell said the homes were safe but Matt Lismore, who lives in the flats, said he was disappointed with the council's response.

Last November after the balcony partially collapsed on the estate, 77 balconies were shored up with scaffolding, and residents were told not to walk on them in case they also crumbled.

Tests carried out on the partially collapsed balcony for a BBC investigation found the materials used were made from plywood more suitable for indoor use, and were constructed using "weak" glue - which may have been used in other balconies on the estate.

Multi-national construction firm Bouygues UK said there appeared to be discrepancies between the materials used and the specified design it sent to a subcontractor.

Speaking to BBC Radio London, Mr Rodwell said: "These homes are safe. There is a problem with the façade of them but the balcony is safe, the building itself is safe.

"We are taking every precaution we can to make sure people are safe."

He said he had been told by B&D Reside, the building's housing provider, that residents had been told "not to go out while they were taking the fascias down".

Mr Rodwell also told BBC Radio London presenter Eddie Nestor on Tuesday the authority had done all it could to investigate the issues but that it was not able to "directly get involved because there is a contract between L&Q and Bouygues, and even B&D Reside - which is the company that we wholly own - is still a private company".

But resident Mr Lismore said: "The council have a very big part to play in this. They are the freeholder and the managing agent of this building."

He added: "It's extremely disappointing no one from the council has apologised yet, and I'd also urge him to resign from his position as leader of the council.

"I think people have lost all faith in his ability to spot these dangers, and to act decisively to keep people in the borough safe."

Mr Lismore, who is also the head of the Weavers Quarter residents' association, said it made him sad to consider the lengths he "had to go to to try and get my elected officials to take meaningful action about something that ultimately posed a risk".

He added passing emails on to the developer did not "negate the risk to our lives".

"What we're saying is he should have acted to get them to put the scaffolding up once they'd realised there was a risk. The risk was flagged to Darren in May 2022.

"If they'd taken us seriously they would have erected scaffolding at that point and then waited for the fix from the developer later."

He added: "These balconies were stacked on top of one another up to eight floors so if you were underneath one of those balconies you would still be crushed by the partial collapse.

"He seems to still not grasp the severity of the situation despite so many pleas from our side."

In response to the BBC investigation, Bouygues UK previously said safety was its number one priority and the design and materials were carefully considered by their professional consultants and the approving authorities.

It also confirmed the balconies on the estate were prefabricated offsite by a subcontractor and "the materials used may not be those that were specified in the design", adding: "We take this extremely seriously."

The firm has apologised for the incident and the distress caused to residents.

The council declined to comment further.

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