Local residents of the four-storey Ambassador House in Bletchley have reacted with anger to reports from MKFM of a number of issues within the building.
Following an investigation by our team on Monday, a number of concerns relating to fire safety were identified within the block. There was no allegation that the building is in contravention of any Fire Safety Policy.
The issues at Ambassador House were brought to our attention by a concerned resident who said that the rubbish bins had been set on fire in the past and the first they knew about this was when the fire brigade arrived.
As well as responding to the issues around fire safety, many past and present residents have also complained about other aspects of the site.
Former resident Kerrie Coles said "I had to leave, the place is a joke! I had so many floods in my children's bedroom with dirty smelly drainage water! Heating didn't work properly and it was full of mould. The heat in that building as you go in the corridors isn't normal."
Responding to allegations of mould, the building management company Affinity Lettings said "Mould in flats shouldn't be there and a leaflet is available on our website on how to tackle this. The block does not suffer from rising damp so any mould growth will either be from condensation or a leak that needs to be investigated."
Many residents have also reported concerns that the underground car park area of the building has no gate or security which means that anyone is able to walk in to the area, including accessing the rubbish area.
MKFM also discovered that there is no security on the lift in this underground area, which meant our team were able to access any floor of the building with no security pass or key required.
Affinity Lettings have said that "The Car Park Garage door is not scheduled to be brought back into operation due to constant vandalism by residents who don't want to buy a fob or have lost it or want to park more than their one allocated car in this area. We have brought it back into use 5 times this year and within 4/5 days it has been vandalised. We have been researching into bricking up this access and just having the upper deck car park for parking, but the number of parking spaces required for this building does mean there will not be quite enough."
MKFM also visited Mellish Court and Stephenson House, both of which had exterior lockable doors and a locked bin area.
Another concerned former resident Rachel Cairns, who was placed in emergency accommodation in the building, said "The heat is unbearable in that place. [The residents] are always coming down with illnesses. It's disgusting in there [being both a] fire hazard and health risk."
In response to general concerns, Affinity Lettings said "Many comments have been made about the place not being a very nice environment to live and I have been asking all evening for current residents to tell us exactly what they would like to see change to improve things for them. If anyone would like to share there ideas with us on what they believe the issues are and how they can be solved we would be very keen to hear them. Please feel free to contact us directly on info@affinity-lettings.co.uk."
Responding to our findings, Cllr Nigel Long from Milton Keynes Council said "Ambassador House is, of course, not owned by the Council, but the Council does place homeless families in the block. I have already asked Council officers to check with partners that their properties meet fire Fire Assessment Standards and that such properties are safe from fire.''
On our Facebook page, Affinity Lettings said that the building is "a nice place to live".
If you are a current or former resident with any further information or photos, please email our team at news@mkfm.com.
