Latest news with #towerblock
BBC News
11-08-2025
- General
- BBC News
Coventry's Mercia House flood evacuation blamed on 'freak accident'
A major flood at a tower block which left residents in temporary accommodation was a freak accident, a housing association has floors of the 17-storey Mercia House in Coventry were affected by the leak with both water and power turned off so the issue could be building was evacuated with 63 households having to move into temporary accommodation while others chose to stay with family or friends, Peter Gill, from Citizen Housing director of housing, care and support added: "It's a freak accident. At the moment what we need to do is to do some further investigations." He said a sprinkler joint had become detached and caused the flood."The joint seems to have fractured. We don't quite know why that's happened but at the moment our focus is trying to get the building back up and running so we can get people back home," Mr Gill said."The issues around why people can't stay in the building is because the emergency lighting has been affected and the sprinkler system isn't operational. "It's a high-rise building. The fire brigade has told Citizen that people can't live there."Power had since been restored but further work was needed to the block's emergency lighting, lifts and the sprinkler system, Mr Gill added."We hope to have all that completed by Wednesday but we're waiting to make sure before we sent out information to our customers," he were being contacted by phone and email with an update on Monday, Mr Gill said. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Durham Court demolition branded 'appalling mistake'
Concerns have been raised over plans to demolish a tower block and rehouse its elderly Tyneside Council's Labour cabinet recently unanimously agreed plans to rehouse the residents of Durham Court in Hebburn and to demolish the 18-storey block dates back to 1974 and currently has 96 people living there, the majority aged over councillors from the South Tyneside Alliance Group have criticised the move, describing it as "a staggering waste of public money". Councillor Andrew Guy, a representative for the opposition group, called the move an "appalling mistake", and also raised concerns about the tower being a "substantial customer" for the Hebburn Energy heating facility cost the council £11.9m, of which £4.8m came from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), according to the Local Democracy Reporting added: "This 18-storey tower block will be flattened, in the process wiping out the main reason the £11.9m Hebburn Energy Centre was built." The opposition group and independent councillors said they requested the decision to be "called in" and referred to a scrutiny council chiefs said they had not "received a valid request for call-in" – a ruling which Guy said the group would be "formally challenging".The local authority added a valid call-in request must come no later than 12:00 on the fifth working day after publication of the minutes – which in this case falls on 2 Carter, deputy council leader, previously said it was "by no means a conclusion we have reached lightly" to demolish Durham highlighted how the building would require £12m of investment to modernise and keep at a decent standard – which would have meant "significant disruption to the tenants without any guarantees about the long-term sustainability of the block".In response to concerns around the Hebburn Energy Centre, a council spokesperson said a new children's home would be connected to the renewable energy network, which would "mitigate a proportion of the lost carbon savings".The local authority added rehousing residents and the demolition process was likely to take about three to four years to complete. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
