Quality with FransWhat happened
- The blocks are Sovereign Tower, Centurion Tower and St Vincent Court on Hoy Street, part of the five-block Royal Gateway development in Newham.
- The London Fire Brigade was called to a report of a dangerous structure late on Thursday 22 October. Residents were evacuated during the night, and the council opened a rest centre and gave emergency accommodation.
- According to the managing agent, structural engineers raised concerns while reviewing the drawings for the buildings' safety cases. A site inspection on 21 October confirmed them.
- Construction News reports that the inspection found a transfer slab that was sagging and cracked.
- The other two blocks on the site were not evacuated. Engineers are reported to be checking the slab under them as well.
- The council says work started in 2014 and finished in 2017. A structural investigation is under way, and residents have not been given a return date.
Reports differ on a few details. Most say three towers were evacuated, while some early reports named only two. One outlet gives 2018 as the completion year instead of 2017.
Why this matters for QA/QC
A transfer slab carries columns or walls from the floors above and moves those loads onto a different column grid below. It is common in buildings with shops or parking at the bottom and flats on top. It is also one of the most heavily loaded and most congested elements you will ever inspect.
This is not the first warning. In December 2025 the UK Building Safety Regulator told building owners about possible risks in concrete buildings with transfer slabs. The main concern is punching shear, where a heavily loaded column can push through the slab around it. The alert followed new design guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers in November 2024. The regulator also said that having a transfer slab is not a reason to evacuate on its own, and that a slab showing cracks, or with design doubts, should be assessed by a structural engineer.
We do not know yet whether the Canning Town problem comes from design, construction or something else. Nobody should guess. But look at how it was found: engineers went back to the drawings and records. When questions come years later, your inspection records are what people will read. Who checked the punching shear reinforcement at each column? What was the concrete strength? When were the props removed? If those answers are not on file, nobody can show the slab was built as designed.
Check on your site tomorrow
- Find every transfer slab and transfer beam on your project. Mark them as critical elements in the ITP, with a hold point that the designer or their representative signs before the pour.
- At each column, check the punching shear reinforcement (links, shear studs or stud rails) against the approved drawings: number, spacing, position and orientation. Make sure no bars are cut or moved for sleeves or openings near the column without the engineer's written approval.
- Check cover, bar sizes and laps in the congested zones. Confirm the concrete can be placed and compacted around the column heads.
- Make sure test results for each transfer slab pour can be traced to its exact location. Props must not be struck, and loads from the floors above must not go on, until the engineer's strength and propping conditions are met.
- If you see cracks at slab-column joints or unusual deflection on a finished slab, record them with photos and dimensions and report them in writing the same day.
I'll update this story when the investigation reports what caused the damage.
The 31-point checklist I use before every concrete pour, including laps, cover and congested zones.
Download the checklist
Sources: Construction News: London housing blocks evacuated · Architects' Journal · BBC News (via Yahoo) · Evening Standard (via AOL) · Construction Enquirer · Construction News: BSR transfer slab warning · Inside Housing: transfer slabs. The investigation is ongoing; we report only what is confirmed.