We’ve been living in a ‘prison’ for years: Apartment block residents surrounded by scaffolding live in the dark and can’t sleep or hear themselves think as building work to replace faulty cladding continues with no end in sight

Residents in a London apartments block have described living with hardly any sunlight, constant building noise, dust and sleep issues due to ongoing building work to remove faulty cladding.

The Oak Square complex, near Stockwell in south London, was discovered to have problems with cladding in 2014 when a tile fell off the wall and onto the pavements below, revealing gaps in the building.

By 2020, scaffolding was placed over five buildings in the complex, with work estimated to be completed by August 2023, according to the website of construction company Equans, who had been instructed by Notting Hill Genesis (a London Housing association) to remove the cladding.

Due to a hand over of building contracts this year from Equans back to Higgins, the original builders of the complex, as well multiple delays, residents have been left living in what they describe as a ‘prison’ with sunlight blocked by scaffolding, building noise early in the morning, broken lifts and insufficient heating in some apartments.

Joanna Everest, 49, a former RAF reservist of 10 years and now civil servant, is a resident who has lived at Acaia Court since 2017. Miss Everest has Fibromyalgia and says the issues at the apartment complex are only getting worse.

Residents in a London apartments block have described living with hardly any sunlight, constant building noise, dust and sleep issues due to ongoing building work to remove faulty cladding (the view from Jo Everest’s flat at Oak Square complex, near Stockwell, London)

Joanna Everest (pictured), 49, a former RAF reservist of 10 years and now civil servant, is a resident who has lived at Acaia Court since 2017

Building work at the Oak Square complex, near Stockwell in south London

She said: ‘I am in a lot of pain with having Fibromyalgia.

‘I am not able to get enough sleep because of the building noise early in the morning and the dust.

‘I am studying online for a qualification in cyber security, and I have to go into the office to do my job as well as my coursework. I can’t work from home due to the noise as it interrupts Zoom meetings.

‘Over the past two years, the issues have only been getting worse. It’s so noisy, it’s dark unless I turn my lights on because no sunlight can get in past all scaffolding. Sometimes the walls vibrate with the drilling.

‘I know about four break-in incidents that have happened because people can climb up on the scaffolding.

‘They are starting to put Monarflex up, a white scaffolding sheeting, as well which is only going to block what little sunlight there is now.’

Miss Everest moved into the apartment in 2016, as the mortgage of the shared ownership apartment at £650 a month including the service charge, was affordable.

Stockwell was an appealing area to live, and since moving in Miss Everest has enjoyed the great sense of community and friendship with her neighbours.

However, since becoming aware of the building issues in 2017 and living with scaffolding since 2020, Miss Everest has since tried to sell the property – only to be told that she is not able to due to the building no longer having a fire safety certificate.

A builder is seen from window of Jo Everest’s flat on the scaffolding at Oak Square complex

Scaffolding seen from the view at RAF reservist come civil servant Jo Everest’s flat

Due to a hand over of building contracts this year from Equans back to Higgins, the original builders of the complex, as well multiple delays, residents have been left living in what they describe as a ‘prison’ with sunlight blocked by scaffolding, building noise early in the morning, broken lifts and insufficient heating in some apartments

Since becoming aware of the building issues in 2017 and living with scaffolding since 2020, Miss Everest has since tried to sell the property – only to be told that she is not able to due to the building no longer having a fire safety certificate

She added: ‘When I was going through the process of trying to sell the apartment, I was told because the building did not have a fire safety certificate, and they could not confirm if the building was safe, and that I could not sell it.

‘I won’t be able to get the certificate until the building project is completed…but with all the delays, nobody knows when that might be.

‘I am trapped here. Because of the lack of fire safety we had a company walking around the building ready to call emergency services in case there was a fire. I think this actually made residents even more anxious.

‘We also pay a service charge, which is going up by about ten per cent this year. The payment is supposed to go towards the maintenance of the communal areas, like the garden when you walk through the main gate.

‘When I first moved in here there were flowers, greenery and even a space to grow herbs. The residents would make planters together and meet each other to have a chat

‘But since they dug it all up when they put the scaffolding in, that’s all gone now. It’s really impacted the sense of community – there is nowhere to get together.

‘It used to be a lovely garden but now it’s a dumping ground for builders.

‘I raised a complaint to the housing ombudsman earlier this year, and some of the residents have got in touch the MP’s about the scaffolding and the impact it is having.

‘We also have regular residents meetings where we get updates about the building work. I think they have no understanding of what it is like to live here. Some of the residents get very distressed during the meetings.’

Building work at Oak Square near Stockwell in South London which keeps residents up at night

A general view of the ‘prison’ of Oak Square near Stockwell, South London

A sign at Oak Square which reads: ‘Danger – Construction work in progress – Parents are advised to warn their children of the dangers of entering this site’

A resident of Oak Square, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that although it was an exciting time to move into the apartment complex in July 2010, they now regret the day they signed their tenancy agreement with Notting Hill Genesis.

They said: ‘I chose to move onto Oak Square because it was close to my family and friends and close to my child’s school.

‘It looked like a nice building where I could possibly meet new people and make friends.

‘However, there were some slight issues with my flat that I noticed around 2010 and 2011.

‘A wooden panel was missing from one of the windows, issues with the communal satellite dish and with the lack of hot water.

‘I also noticed an issue with the lack of warmth in the flats around wintertime in 2022/2012. I found it increasingly hard to warm my entire home to a satisfactory standard.

‘The issues started to take a toll on me and I became extremely frustrated with all the issues that continued to occur.

‘I started to realise that this was just the start of the beginning of something bigger as I had never experienced a situation within a new build where it had a host of issues that did not seem to be getting any better.

‘I also started to realise during the residents meetings that I was not the only one facing these issues and it left me in great despair knowing that I was essentially stuck in the building for the foreseeable future.’

The Oak Square complex, near Stockwell in south London, was discovered to have problems with cladding in 2014 when a tile fell off the wall and onto the pavements below, revealing gaps in the building

By 2020, scaffolding was placed over five buildings in the complex, with work estimated to be completed by August 2023

A resident who lives across the street from Oak Square, who also wishes to remain anonymous, further added: ‘We feel enormous empathy with the residents of Oak Square. How they must feel having to live within this every day, behind the scaffolding, along with the appalling failings of the interior of the building – we cannot imagine how they must feel, the effect on their lives and mental wellbeing.

‘This all has a terrible effect on each of their lives, all through no fault of their own.’

Miss Everest added: ‘I just want everything to be fixed and to get on with the peaceful enjoyment of my home.’

A Notting Hill Genesis spokesperson said: “Oak Square is a development with 271 homes built by Presentation Housing in 2010. Regrettably it has been subject to a substantial building defect remedial programme, including replacement cladding, which has been highly disruptive to residents. This programme, which has been underway since 2020, has taken longer than expected and is expected to be complete in 2026.

“Residents’ safety has never been at risk, however we recognise that they have had to put up with sustained disruption for far too long and we apologise for the inconvenience and distress this has caused. Recognising this we have created a substantial compensation scheme which includes an offer to buy back leaseholders’ homes at a value which assumes all remediation works are complete. That offer remains open until the end of the financial year. We are also offering priority transfers to those in social rent housing, subject to the availability of a suitable alternative home.’

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