Negotiations with Ipswich Cardinal Lofts residents ongoing

Grey GR, the freeholder of Cardinal Lofts, says it continues to work with "leaseholders and authorities to find a way forward" almost three years on from an evacuation due to a fire risk.

The specific amount of residents still in ownership of their flats remains unclear, with the company referring to "the few remaining leaseholders".

The high rise is located near the Ipswich Waterfront (Image: Newsquest)

This is down from the eight leaseholders reported by this newspaper in November, meaning that negotiations have and continue to take place. 

A spokesperson from Grey GR said “We continue to work with the few remaining leaseholders and authorities to find a way forward for everyone.”

On November 15, 2022, some of the Cardinal Loft residents were asked to evacuate the building by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

Claire Hamblion, a former resident of Cardinal Lofts (Image: Newsquest) Read more: Ipswich woman on traumatic ordeal of leaving Cardinal Lofts

The fire service then issued a prohibition notice, restricting access to some parts of the Foundry Lane high-rise due to a fire risk, with a full evacuation ordered in February 2023.

In October of last year, Grey GR offered to buy the 80 flats back from leaseholders, which residents said they had mixed emotions over.

The work continues to finalise negotiations before the next steps can be taken, with the remedial work to the building considered to be "uneconomical and unviable". 

Cardinal Lofts in Foundry Lane (Image: Lucy Brown) Last November, Grey GR said: “Cardinal Lofts is a complex building, requiring significant structural and remedial work, caused by the original developers, which should never have been approved by building control.

"Following intensive intrusive investigations last year, Grey’s professional teams concluded it was uneconomical and unviable to remediate the building."

The negotiations of the remaining flats themselves have also been difficult to arrange, with situations including working with multi-property landlords, the estate of a deceased leaseholder or where bankruptcy proceedings are in place, adding further delays to the process.