![\"General](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294285563-a89f.jpg\")
\n\t\tAfter just 18 years, the flats are on verge of collapse (Picture: SWNS)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tAfter just 18 years, the flats are on verge of collapse (Picture: SWNS)<\/p>\n
Dozens of people have been forced out of their homes over fears a block of flats could be about to collapse. <\/p>\n
Cracks were discovered in the concrete frame in the car park of the 18-year-old building in Plymouth in December. <\/p>\n
The city council has raised concerns about the structural integrity and fear it could collapse at any moment without structural props. <\/p>\n
On the evening of March 20, new information came to light and residents were told to leave immediately.<\/p>\n
On Friday, a prohibition order was issued, legally banning anyone from entering the building, including those wanting to collect personal possessions, and several nearby roads have been closed. <\/p>\n
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Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n Although the block is less than 20 years old, council engineers say it has been declared unsafe because of damage to key load\u2011bearing beams and significant cracking in the reinforced concrete frame, discovered in the underground car park. <\/p>\n Those structural elements support the weight of the flats above, and until temporary propping is installed, officials say there is a risk of falling debris or partial collapse.<\/p>\n \t\t A structural report seen by the Plymouth Herald <\/a>says the underground car park contains overloaded transfer beams (concrete supports designed to carry the weight of columns above) which are showing widespread cracking.<\/p>\n Inspectors also identified moisture ingress, voids in the concrete and evidence of long\u2011term water damage, which they warned could be detrimental to the building\u2019s structural integrity.<\/p>\n The report recommended the building be propped up with immediate effect and said residents should be moved out if the work could not be completed quickly.<\/p>\n Residents said they had raised concerns about the building for years, describing water leaking through the structure and visible deterioration in the car park below their flats.<\/p>\n One said they could hear water \u2018dripping all over the place\u2019 and claimed beams had stalactite\u2011like deposits forming beneath them. Some residents have said they are unsure whether they would feel safe returning to the building.<\/p>\n \t\t People who live in the 62 flats were put up in hotels by the building management company, Centrick, before being moved to apartments or bedsits. <\/p>\n Morgan Rees and wife Libby are currently living with a relative but feel they are being left in the dark. <\/p>\n They say they were given little detail at the time about what had triggered the sudden evacuation.<\/p>\n \u2018We haven\u2019t been told why we\u2019ve been evacuated,\u2019 Morgan told ITV News<\/a>. \u2018We haven\u2019t been told how long we\u2019re going to be out for, or when we\u2019re going to be allowed back in.\u2019 <\/p>\n The city council has said that people should be allowed to return home by the end of May, but not everyone is as hopeful. <\/p>\n Ryan Marsland, who runs the Fig Tree restaurant with wife Tanya, says footfall halved the day after the road closures. <\/p>\n He said: \u2018I think it can cause businesses to shut down permanently. We know businesses that have lost thousands already \u2013 people don\u2019t have the cash reserves we used to have. It\u2019s just devastating. <\/p>\n \t\t \u2018I am petrified \u2013 it\u2019s very daunting.\u2019<\/p>\n People in Plymouth have expressed frustration that the building is in its current state, considering it was built so recently. <\/p>\n Yannick Lou\u00e9, 44, owns wine bar Le Vignoble, which is just outside the exclusion zone. <\/p>\n He said: \u2018We are an independent business that is struggling right now, and it will struggle if this carries on.\u2019 <\/p>\n A spokesperson for Grey GR, owner of Evolution Cove, said residents would be given alternative accommodation for as long as necessary. <\/p>\n They added: \u2018Data so far show building movement has been within tolerance levels.<\/p>\n \u2018A ground survey has been completed, and the findings are being used to develop back-propping designs. Once these designs are finalised, the propping works will commence.\u2019<\/p>\n Leaseholders had already warned Parliament<\/a> that they felt \u2018unprotected\u2019 by building safety legislation, years before the current evacuation.<\/p>\n Concerns about building safety at Evolution Cove pre\u2011date the current emergency. <\/p>\n In 2022, the residents\u2019 association warned a parliamentary committee that leaseholders felt unprotected by building safety legislation, following the Grenfell disaster. <\/p>\n Residents said they had bought their homes in good faith believing the 2008\u2011built development complied with safety regulations.<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"General](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294285584-3c0a.jpg\")
\n\t\tResidents said they have raised concerns about the building for years (Picture: SWNS)<\/p>\n![\"General](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294285539-3ed5.jpg\")
\n\t\tScaffolding has been put up near the flats (Picture: SWNS)<\/p>\n![\"Tanya](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_294285544-e21a.jpg\")
\n\t\tTanya and Ryan Marsland, owners of The Fig Tree, are facing drops in footfall (Picture: SWNS)<\/p>\n
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