Representatives of Metropolitan Property Realizations Ltd (MPRL) – the company responsible for Arlington House in Margate- will attend a Thanet council meeting next month to answer concerns raised over the building and its residents – some of whom have now received ‘no fault’ eviction notices.
The meeting follows a request to the council’s Scrutiny panel last month by Margate ward councillor Rob Yates.
This week it was confirmed MPRL will attend an extraordinary meeting on February 11 where they are expected to hear questions over building and fire safety and a lack of communication from the property’s management.
Deputy council leader Helen Whitehead has also confirmed that the Private Sector Housing team is planning a reinspection of the seafront building later this month.
Enforcement notices
MPRL holds the site on a 199 year lease, which has 140 years left to run. The land was initially leased from Margate Borough Council, and arrangements passed on to Thanet District Council, which is the freeholder, when it was formed.
Last year a notice of enforcement action was issued to MPRL due to structural issues with the building’s concrete that first came to light a decade ago and fire alarm system improvements that were still awaiting completion after five years.
The Building Safety Regulator refused to issue a safety certificate for the 18-storey high-rise tower block and ordered MPRL – which is a subsidiary of billion dollar umbrella company Freshwater – to undertake a full structural survey by 14 July and a full fire safety compartmentation survey by 14 August.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) spokesperson confirmed these documents have been received
Compartmentation divides a building into smaller, fire-resistant compartments to prevent the spread of fire. This is achieved through fire-resistant walls, floors, and doors, isolating a fire and limiting its impact.
Thanet District Council also served a Hazard Awareness Notice. The council has regulatory powers which can require MPRL to take action to address health and safety hazards. TDC wrote to MPRL raising the issues and setting out some initial actions that have to be carried out, which included the full structural survey and the erection of scaffolding around the building.
Fire watch costs
Flat lessees are also worried about mounting costs for four fire marshals to patrol the building 24/7 at a fee of £48,000 a month. The Arlington House residents association has been asking if MPRL has applied for available government funding to pay for the fire watch but no answer has been received.
Eviction notices
At a council scrutiny meeting last night (January 15) Cllr Yates asked for confirmation that residents could attend and speak.
He added: “Just to make members of the committee aware that the resident whose complaint I read out at the last meeting, along with a number of other Freshwater residents, have since been given notice to evict from Arlington House.”
Scrutiny chairman Cllr Phil Fellows confirmed residents could speak at the meeting and that the Freshwater representatives would be attending in person rather than online.
Thanet Conservative leader Cllr John Davis said he welcomed the meeting, adding that it was “probably overdue” considering “the behaviour of certain parties for a long time.”
He added: “I am really concerned to hear about what looks to be revenge evictions.”
Cllr Fellows said the meeting would need to be kept ‘calm’ rather than being “an all out attack.”
Deputy leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning Cllr Helen Whitehead said: “We are aware of the concerns of residents at Arlington House, and the current outstanding safety matters for the building must be addressed by MPRL.
“The council is one of three organisations with regulatory powers related to different aspects of the building. Collectively these powers are designed to compel the owner of Arlington House to improve safety and eliminate hazards at the property.
“Using its powers, Thanet District Council served an advisory Hazard Awareness Notice on Metropolitan Property Realization Limited (MPRL), the owner of Arlington House, Margate, in August 2025. This followed a formal inspection of the shared areas of the 18 storey high-rise residential tower block, which contains 142 flats.
“Our Private Sector Housing team is planning a reinspection later this month, to gain clarity on what steps have been taken so far to address the concerns raised.
“ I have also met with multiple residents over the last few weeks to discuss ongoing issues, both individual and collective, and I and senior officers are due to meet with representatives shortly to discuss collective concerns.
“We will continue to maintain contact with the building’s residents and we have made it very clear to MPRL that it needs to do so the same.
“As part of this, MPRL will be attending an Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting to provide an update on their work to improve the building’s safety. This meeting is scheduled for 11am on Wednesday 11 February.”
MPRL has been contacted for a response.
This building is clearly not fire safety standards and the leasehold company has to assure there is fire regulations in place totaly illegal the council has to protect the tennants
Would it not be simpler for The Council, as freeholder, to simply give itself grounds to demolish this anachronistic eyesore on the grounds of safety? A decade ago much of the external concrete was said to be not up to par. Who honestly believes that Arlington can safely and economically survive until AD2160? It’s utterly ridiculous. All because the freeholder refuses to contest the Listed status.
Freshwater/Daejan’s head offices are literally just round the corner from London’s law courts. Which itself speaks volumes. The lease needs to be terminated for the reasons already stated.
As to rehousing the residents? First step is to reverse the Sanctuary City initiative and refuse to house any more incomers until the Arlington House residents are all comfortably compensated and housed. After all, they are all locals and constituents.
Not everyone thinks Arlington House is “an anachronistic eyesore”.
You don’t live near it (nor do I now, but I did for nearly 20 years). It’s a slum.
The only reason Arlington has the outward appearance of a ”slum” is because of decades of neglect by both the freeholder and the head leaseholder.
A bit more than that: when it first opened, everyone had to have the same type of curtains or blinds. Nowadays, it has pro-Brexit signs, Union Jacks, and various “arty” things.
Indeed I think it’s a wonderful brutalist building built with utilitarian ideals. The undulating facade replicating the imagery of waves and the fact every flat is afforded a sea view is to be commended.
I live near it on Grosvenor Place just the other side of Dreamland. If Freshwater was stripped of its leasehold and the building actually invested in, including the arcade below, which according to the lease should also of been kept in good condition, it would be a welcoming sight when entering the town!
when I last looked, the building was not listed and they are not all leased to local residents, quite a few being 2nd homeowners.
Well done Helen for bringing this to the Council’s attention…others have tried but not very successfully.
Arlington House has been subject to numerous enforcement notices over the last ten years or so. One would have thought the outstanding fire ,health and safety works and outstanding building deficiencies would have been rectified. They haven’t in all the time Freshwater (MPRL) have been the head lease holder .Other external bodies including the fire service and Thanet ( TDC) over decades as the freeholder for the site have failed to hold the head lease holder MPRL to account. The same deficiencies have been identified in reports year on year Echos of Grenfell.
As someone who owned a flat At AH in the past and witnessed first hand the lack of resolve by all those bodies involved previously , particularly TDC. Officers and councillors , of various political persuasions it will be interesting now to see how the spotlight is placed on Freshwater ( MPRL ) and their spin in response .
At last it seems councillors are taking the complaints of residents seriously . Private sector housing have been rather slow in the past or reticent to get involved in AH issues not much appears to have changed .
140 YEARS TIME-THIS EYESORE WILL BE LONG GONE.
Doubt we will have to wait 10 years with any luck it’s an eyesore rehouse and compulsory purchase order for the flat owners and build new apartment in a what is a prime location.
“structural issues with the building’s concrete that first came to light a decade ago”… DEMOLISH IT NOW!
Any mention of Arlington always prompts moronic comments regarding demolition.
Please have some thought and consideration for the hundreds of people that occupy flats within the building and will need to be provided with alternative accommodation if it was to be demolished.
Who is going to fund the compensation for the 106 people who own leases on their flats ?
Who is going to fund the demolition of the building and the clearance of the site ?
Hardly moronic if there are safety issues with the concrete. Is it moronic to demolish those more recent collapsing flats on the other side of Dreamland?
John- some people want Arlington House to be demolished whether it’s in a bad condition or nots -imply because they don’t like the look of it.
John- that should be “simply”, not “imply”.
Some people like to support things when they live nowhere near them.
Thank you Kathy, for a most comprehensive roundup of the timelines. I am following this narrative with great interest. The outcome has national consequences, with regard to the Building Safety Act 2020, not to say the health and safety of the residents. This is one of the first examples for the HSE under their duties as regulator within the act, to demonstrate their powers of enforcement.
Should be 2022, sorry.
Freshwater are the worst landlords I ever came across! In the 1990’s, they did their utmost to evict an elderly lady, Mary S., from her flat she lived in since the 1930’s, in Morpeth Mansions just opposite Westminster Cathedral. They only managed to frighten her out after a bomb (just co-incidentally) exploded in the foyer. Fortunately, no-one was hurt.
I have worked on the electrics in many of the flats in this building, some flats have been totally refurbished and look wonderful, some are still very dated with the original electrics and features. Personally I am a fan of brutalist architecture and quite like this building. Unfortunately under Part P of the building regulations if peoples flats were exposed to fire or other damage due to non compliance or regulations it would invalidate the tenants insurance.
Haven’t the Council recently purchased the land around the corner where the flats are awaiting demolition ? Wouldn’t rehousing the Arlington House residents be a better use of this land rather than more brand new houses for the homeless ?
Absolutely. Now that they’ve built on Station Green opposite, this would make a nice little seafront park area.