Safety fears grow at Rainham estate after roof detached from building

Residents at an estate have said they are growing increasingly worried about the quality of their homes after part of roof detached from the building.

A part of the rood at Orchard Village detached from the building last week. Circle Housing, which manages the site and is conducting repairs, said the work will be completed by the end of the month. - Credit: Archant

The incident last week sparked bad memories for tenants and homeowners at Orchard Village, Rainham, who remembered when a 10ft metal pole fell from the top of the building last year, inches away from a family of three.

Colin Nickless, 40, of Broadis Way, said he had “repeatedly” warned housing association Circle Housing and building contractors Willmott Dixon about the state of the building’s roof.

Circle Housing attended the site to fix the roof and replacement panels have been ordered with the work scheduled to be completed by next Friday.

Head of housing services Karen Ayling said: “We are taking this incident extremely seriously and our residents’ safety is our absolute priority.”

South Hornchurch councillors and Havering Council’s housing director met with Circle Housing in April to discuss the estate.

The housing association was given three months to carry out a host of repairs, something it assured officials it would do.