I live in shadow of UK’s ugliest building used in zombie film… £40m was spent on it but it’s a gang-ridden monstrosity
IT’S still dubbed the ‘ugliest building in Britain’ even after undergoing a £40m refurbishment that – it is hoped – will entice City bankers to move in there next month.
But The Sun can reveal that ordinary people living opposite Balfron Tower are now calling for it to be knocked down – warning crime is out of control and their wealthy new neighbours could be targeted by gangs.
Residents living in Poplar, East London say their lives are being blighted by the 26-storey concrete monstrosity that is so grim-looking it was once used as a backdrop in a zombie film.
School dinner lady Renee Collins-Edwards, 42, says the tower block stops daylight reaching her kitchen, adding: “They should knock it down.
“They’ve spent a fortune on doing it up and the land is being completely wasted.
“We are in a housing crisis and they could have built a nice new block of flats, and it would have been lovely.
“But that building is still ugly… it’s outrageous given the amount of money that’s been spent on it.
“We have to keep our kitchen lights on even in the summer because there’s no light, nothing. It blocks out all the sunlight.
“I’ve been up there to see what they did and the flats are really big and nice, and the developers are obviously hoping to make a fortune selling them.
“But they’re not worth the money they are charging given where the building is.
“Yes, we’re close to Canary Wharf and central London, but if I had that kind of money I’d want to live somewhere better.
“Just look at what’s in the surrounding area, it’s not going to work.
“There’s always been crime and it’s getting worse because there’s nothing for the kids here.
“There’s no hope for them, so they’re just taking. They’ve grown up in a society where you’re taught, ‘If you can’t get it, take it,’ and that’s what they are doing.”
Starred in zombie film
When The Sun visited Balfron Tower it was immediately obvious why the building overlooking the Blackwall Tunnel and the A12 was used for scenes in the 2002 horror film 28 Days Later.
The slits decorating the lift shaft are reminiscent of falling tears while the pipes at the top are eerily similar to that of a factory. Some have complained it looks like a prison.
The new tenants, however, are expected to be enticed by modern, open plan interiors with sweeping views of London, underfloor heating, sprinkler systems and generous balconies.
They will have access to a cinema, library, gym, yoga space, music room, a roof garden and a floor dedicated to playing table tennis.
But they will have to cough up thousands in service charges – £5 per square foot of the flat they own – to pay for these trendy facilities.
The tower is a short hop from the glittering, glass walled skyscrapers that dot the Isle of Dogs and gentrified Hackney and Shoreditch, but overlooks one of east London’s most deprived areas.
Bad blood
Its expensive renovation has been causing bad blood ever since the previous tenants, who were paying low housing association rates, realised they had been shafted.
They agreed to move out in 2010, expecting to benefit from the revamp, but five years later property managers Poplar HARCA admitted all 436 flats were moving to the private sector.
Lead architects Studio Egret West and Ab Rogers Design have spent millions on the refurb and installed dark glass windows with brown anodised frames to replace the previous chunky white ones.
Developers Londonewcastle hope the new properties, which are being offered with 999-year leases at £375,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and £800,000 for a four-bed, will appeal to bankers working in nearby Canary Wharf.
But even though six ‘heritage’ apartments have been built to preserve the original layout and colour schemes, esteemed Hungarian architect Erno Goldfinger will be turning in his grave, according to experts.
He envisaged Balfron Tower as a Marxist utopia in which working class East-Enders could enjoy luxuries like central heating and hot running water for the first time inside “streets in the sky” that would remind them of their previous homes.
Goldfinger, whose name inspired that of the James Bond villain, lived in flat 130 for two months when it first opened in 1968 and hosted lavish champagne parties, during which his wife Ursula would make snide comments about the neighbour’s decorating skills.
His tower is today seen as a brutalist landmark, referring to the 1950s architectural style, and is Grade II listed by Historic England.
But his creation is regularly placed in the top 10 of the ugliest buildings in Britain – it ranked number six in a recent report by ParrotPrint.com, the only residential block to make the list – and few in Poplar are impressed by what he left behind following his death in 1987.
One mum-of-one, 30, who declined to give her last name or be photographed because she has an abusive ex, complains the tower creates a wind tunnel that pummels neighbouring blocks with cold air.
She says: “It’s horrible and I don’t think anyone has ever said it’s a nice building.
“It is one of the ugliest in Britain, even now it’s been done up, and it looks the same apart from new windows.
“We just had a letter to say it was finished and I’ve heard it’s expensive, which surprises me.
It’s horrible and I don’t think anyone has ever said it’s a nice building. It is one of the ugliest in Britain, even now it’s been done up
Anonymous mum, local resident
“I used to have mates that lived in the tower and it was an alright block. They had good views up there – you could see the whole of London – but I didn’t ever want to live there.
“They’d be better off building something new, honestly, as Balfron Tower has been empty for years and it attracts gangs and stuff.
“It’s kids lingering around and making music videos. I don’t have a problem with them as I’m local and everyone knows everyone, but anyone that’s new might find them intimidating.
“I had my phone robbed the other day. I was walking with my son and they snatched it and drove off. That is one of the biggest crimes around here – phone snatching.”
‘Not safe’
Poplar lies in Tower Hamlets, among the top 10 most dangerous boroughs in London.
The overall crime rate in 2022 was 100 crimes per 1,000 people, which is five per cent higher than the capital’s average.
Cara Heanu is a dog groomer at the nearby Pets Paradise on Market Square and says it’s no longer safe to use cashpoints in the area.
Cara, 28, says: “A lot of gangs hang out here and there are stabbings all the time. There’s always stuff going on in the market.
“I’ve seen police chases and there’s always muggings taking place at the post office. I wouldn’t recommend using the cash point there.
“They are trying to turn this place into a new Stratford, with new shops and all that, but I don’t think it will work because the police lost control a long time ago.”
A lot of gangs hang out here and there are stabbings all the time. There’s always stuff going on in the market
Cara Heanu, local worker
Others are more excited about the potential for gentrification.
Mum-of-two Marie Joof, 37, is one of the reported 90 per cent that back the Aberfeldy Village masterplan to bring in new shops, a park and leisure facilities.
She says: “There’s nothing for kids to do right now so putting in a new mall and cinema and everything else can only be a good thing.
“I’m happy for rich bankers to move here because it’s dead right now and we need more people and money coming in.
“If Poplar has new shops and restaurants and things to do it could, one day, be a really nice place to live.”
The Sun has reached out to Poplar HARCA and developers Londonewcastle for comment.