Nottingham residents 'unaware' of plan for tower block
Residents living in a block of high-rise flats in Nottingham earmarked for demolition were not told their homes would be pulled down.
People living in Highcross Court in Radford must move out despite the city council spending more than £200,000 on fire safety work at the block recently.
But when renovation work was considered at the flats, the council decided they were not value for money.
The councillor responsible for housing has apologised for the lapse.
The property was built with a so-called "scissor-style" design and following the fatal fire at a London tower block last year concerns were raised about the safety of that style of building.
David Liversidege, the councillor responsible for housing in Nottingham, said the residents should have been informed first about the decision.
He said: "I think it's unfair, the council should have been quicker to tell people, but the decision wasn't taken until last Tuesday.
"We should have made sure residents got a letter the following morning, I think we'll learn from that, we made a mistake."
Steve Hale, of Nottingham City Homes which is responsible for maintaining the properties, said: "If the block was to remain in use in the long term, we would want to spend more on additional fire safety work and improving each flat.
"Considering the condition of the block, this cost cannot be justified.
"It makes more sense to find the tenants new homes."
Highcross Court resident Wendy Cooper said she was unhappy with the way the local paper received the news before residents.
She said: "I think it's disgusting, they made the decision on Tuesday to pull them down and we knew nothing."
Residents are expected to begin moving out of the block in 2011.