Ipswich: Cardinal Lofts residents 'angry' after new letter

Residents of Cardinal Lofts on the town's Waterfront were asked to leave their homes last Tuesday as the building was deemed "no longer safe for occupation".

The request came after building surveys identified a high "life safety" risk.

Alex Dickin, a leaseholder in Cardinal Lofts and founder of Ipswich Cladiators campaign group. Credit: Charlotte Bond (Image: Charlotte Bond)

On Friday, a letter - which has been seen by this newspaper - was sent to remaining residents claiming that "should residents refuse to evacuate, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service will issue a Prohibition Order on the entire building."

However, the fire service quickly denied this claim and released the following statement on Twitter: "It has been incorrectly reported that Suffolk Fire and Rescue intends to issue a further prohibition notice on all of Cardinal Lofts if residents refuse to evacuate.

"We have contacted Grey GR to ask them to clarify the situation with residents and hope that they do so shortly.

"Whilst the safety of residents remains a priority for all involved, the decision to recommend evacuation on Tuesday was taken solely by Grey GR based on technical advice received and was not an instruction from Suffolk Fire and Rescue."

Suffolk Fire and Rescue quickly issued a statement denying the claim. Credit: Google (Image: Google Maps)

Alex Dickin, a leaseholder of Cardinal Lofts and founder of Ipswich Cladiators campaign group, said: "Myself and other residents have been left feeling really upset, disappointed and angry that we were sent this threatening letter.

"We were later sent an amended letter which removed any mention of a prohibition order - but we have still received no explanation as to why we received in the first place.

"We no longer have faith in our freeholder and demand an explanation as to why this threatening lie was made during the most stressful weeks of our lives."