Newham orders emergency works at Galliard's Canning Town towers as all five blocks stand empty

The notices were served on 29 October under the London Building Acts (Amendment) Act 1939 and cover Centurion Tower, Sovereign Tower and St Vincent's Court, according to a summary the council published on 2 November. The council said it had formed the view that all three were dangerous structures. About 211 households left those towers in the early hours of 23 October. Residents of Thanet Tower and Prince Court followed on 30 October, after a second engineering report on the slab beneath them.

The council's list starts with immediate temporary works and steps to reduce the risk. The owners must then monitor the structure and send the council their data, commission a full structural appraisal that includes investigating the materials, and deliver a safety report and a plan for repairs. A check by independent outside engineers is also required. Unsafe areas must be closed off, and building control officers must get access for further inspections. Under the Act, recipients can contest the dangerous structure certificate or the required actions. If they neither contest nor comply, the council says it may take further enforcement action. The notices were not served on residents or commercial tenants.

The problem surfaced on paper. Prime Property Management, which runs the blocks, said engineers spotted it while reviewing structural drawings for the buildings' safety cases, and an inspection on site on 21 October backed that up, Construction Enquirer reported. A later notice to residents described the transfer slabs as undersized and “significantly overstressed,” according to the Evening Standard. Galliard Construction built the blocks for a joint venture of Cathedral Group and Galliard Homes; the Standard says the scheme was completed in 2018. Galliard is working with independent structural engineers, Construction Enquirer reported.

The notices the council has published cover only the first three towers, and it has not said whether the other two will get them. Residents have no return date. The development's insurer has declined claims for temporary housing, treating the problem as a building defect, the Standard reported, citing letters sent to residents.