Anger at unfinished building work at Buckingham Place, Brighton

Scaffolding at Buckingham Place, Seven Dials, has been up for nearly 15 months, with no sign of work being completed.

Residents in a block of flats say their complaints to Brighton and Hove City Council, which owns the building, have fallen on deaf ears.

Timber, scaffolding polls, and plastic sheeting has been left strewn over the site, while residents also say windows have not been fitted properly, leaving cold air coming into their flats.

The council says that while the building work has been “complex”, the building is safe to live in, but residents are angry that the work has not been done.

Scott Ford, 46, moved in with his partner to a flat there four years ago, and said the scaffolding was put up around the building in September 2018.

He said all his neighbours want to move out, but some have now given up on trying to sell their flat because the building work outside has taken so long.

Mr Ford, a sales worker, said: “It has been a nightmare. It has got to the point where this is enough now.

“We look out through our window and all we can see are scaffolding polls and plastic sheeting.

“There is a temporary toilet in the garden, and we’ve seen drug users go in there to shoot up.

“It has been here for 14 months now. I don’t think it will be complete by Christmas.

“We previously had meetings with the council, but none of their promises have been fulfilled.”

Another resident said: “It’s absolute chaos.

“The builders haven’t even been there 70 per cent of the time. I have written to the council, but no one is listening.”

In response, the council apologised to residents and said repairs have been “extremely complex” due to “structural issues” that meant the roof had to be rebuilt in steelwork.

The authority said it “aims” to complete painting and window fitting work before the end of this year, and inspectors have visited.

“We are satisfied that it is safe for the residents living there,” the council said.