RESIDENTS in tower blocks in Grays have told how delayed recladding work means they have been left in flats so cold that they can see their breath condensing as they sit in their homes.

Over recent weeks Thurrock Nub News has reported on the fall-out following a fire at Lionel Oxley House, one of six Thurrock Council-managed blocks in south Grays.

The fire knocked out power in some of the flats for 48 hours and some residents were evacuated to temporary accommodation, while others say they were not contacted and left to fend for themselves.

The tower blocks are all currently undergoing a much-delayed renovation programme which has seen contractors remove existing thermal cladding from the outside of the 15 storey buildings.

The replacement work has been delayed and there are also problems with the refitting of windows, meaning many residents have been left through the recent bleak weather in flats that are uncomfortably cold. See our story here.

Sian Chaplin, of the Seabrooke Estate Residents Association, lives in one of the blocks and says: "My own flat is so cold that I can see my own breath. It's the same for my neighbours, too.

"The council took off the cladding, but didn't think about the timeline for the works to our homes. Now we are having problems with mould. It didn't have to be like this."

Concerns are also growing over the time it is taking to complete the works to the blocks, and a lack of support from Thurrock Council.

Ward councillors Cllrs Martin Kerin, Jane Pothecary and Tony Fish have called for urgent action and issued the following statement: "Our residents are being left with to suffer the worst effects of winter without adequate support from Thurrock Council. People are being left having to find £10-£20 a day extra to heat their flats – it's simply unfair.

"With the lack of cladding and inclement weather, mould is becoming an increasing issue that our residents are having to deal with. Residents are rightly wondering what the plan is from Thurrock Council to support them with the cold and mould.

"A meeting has been requested by the Grays Riverside councillors and representatives of SERA with senior housing officers to get the rights and fair support that the residents of the six tower blocks need."

Thurrock Council, and housing portfolio holder Cllr Luke Spillman, have repeatedly failed to respond to Thurrock Nub News questions about the state of the blocks of flats and the conditions that residents are having to live in.

It has also refused to give an explanation about why an initial statement the council made about the cause of the fire has been proven to be incorrect. A council officer told councillors that the cause of the fire was 'infrastructure failure of the UK Power Network supply'

However, UK Power has said that they have not yet completed investigations into the cause of the fire and the cause remains unknown, two weeks after the blaze on Sunday, 26 December in a rubbish collection area.

The council has now conceded that UK Power Networks' version of the situation is correct and the cause has not yet been identified.