'Evacuate people out of our unsafe tower blocks immediately,' urge Milton Keynes Tories

They have accused the council of leaving nearly 200 households, many of them including children, at risk in Mellish Court and The Gables.

Earlier this week the Citizen revealed how inspections of the Bletchley and Wolverton tower blocks showed current fire standards were not being me.

The problem is due to the wall cavities in each block, which would not adequately prevent smoke and fire spreading between flats and floors.

Tories say ire safety standards have been an issue at both Mellish Court and the Gables for years and the council

did earmark funds to improve them back in 2016.

"However, the full allocation was never spent and the Labour Cabinet’s promise to “see sprinklers fitted”, a suggestion made after the Grenfell disaster, has also failed to materialise," said Cllr Amanda Marlow, the housing and communities spokesperson for the Conservatives.

She added: "The council has some serious questions that require answering immediately. How long have residents been at risk? Why has the council allowed these properties to fall below fire safety standards? Why are residents only hearing about this now?

"Residents have clearly been at risk and are still in danger. Had there been a serious incident at one of these properties, we could have been looking at a potentially fatal incident as a consequence of fire safety standards not being met."

MK Council has already employed 24 hour wardens, trained in fire safety, to be on site at both premises. And officers have been instructed to decide within eight weeks whether to renovate or demolish both tower blocks.

Either way, residents will have to be provided with temporary housing. But the Tories want this to happen immediately.

Cllr Marlow said: "The future of Mellish Court and the Gables is now unclear. Given the seriousness of the failure

to meet fire standards, the Labour council is now faced with a choice of whether to refurbish both properties or demolish them in order to rebuild them to match fire standards.

"The local Conservatives want the matter to be resolved urgently. With the council leaving residents at risk, they’re calling for tenants to be evacuated from both premises and rehomed immediately."