Residents fear for structural safety of 'beautiful, high-end' apartments

OWNERS and residents of a block of luxury apartments say they are growing increasingly concerned about the structural integrity of their homes after battling problems for years.

- by OLIVIER VERGNAULT

Cliff Edge, on the site of the former Cliffdene Hotel on Narrowcliff in Newquay, is described as offering “beautiful, stylish, high-end apartments” - but some residents say they have spent years trying to get developer Stephens and Stephens to take action over faults and are now angry with Paul and Helen Stephens, who own the company.

One Cliff Edge resident said a load-bearing steel structure less than three years old had started to rust, undermining their confidence in the safety of their home.

Residents say the building is degrading fast, problems have not been resolved and though they have continually tried to get a response from Stephens and Stephens Group, which has its offices in Truro, they have been ignored.

One said she invested her savings in a one-bedroom flat intending to live in Cornwall and enjoy the life style, but instead was staying at her partner’s home in the Midlands because she feared the building was not up to standard.

“It gets worse and worse every time I come down,” she said.

“There are gaps between the concrete slabs in the ceiling in the basement. The basement gets flooded every time it rains, and even when it doesn’t. There’s water dripping down here.

“They told us the steel structure is protected with a fire-retardant paint. How can that be the case when the beams are rusted up?”

She showed a reporter round the building. Though it was a sunny day water was dripping through the basement ceiling in several locations. Bolts were missing from some steel beams; others were loose.