Marlin Apartments must ensure better security at Empire Square

I have been an owner in east block since 2011 and fortunately have not seen any of this before, though I do recall a Firstport email on 8 July letting resident know that anti social behaviour was unacceptable. I had also noticed a lot of shouting a few weeks ago in the courtyard which I hadn’t heard before. Clearly Firstport were aware of a problem, and Marlin should have been also - not difficult to join the dots that a pattern was developing before Sunday’s escalation? I agree with many of the comments here and there are some good suggestions as to how Marlin should be addressing this, at their cost, for residents and their guests safety. It is not acceptable for anyone to be subjected to this. I expect it is difficult to vet people, but the suggestions around enhanced security (better policing of the entrances, regular patrols) are a step forward. These things are done in hotels and although branded as serviced apartments, marlin are running a hotel - so they should do as any hotelier would to protect their guests (and by default us as residents) Let’s see their response , but I know rental properties above a certain size need to be licensed by Southwark Council (HMO) not sure about hotels THIS IS THE FIRSTPORT EMAIL MENTIONED ABOVE Dear Residents its now the Summer and everyone likes to spend time on the Balconies. However, its easy for a group gathering to turn noisy which can then offend others. Please try to keep any noise made limited to your apartment area and much quieter in the silent hours as all residents have a right to quiet enjoyment. Also please be reminded no gas heater or similar appliances or BBQs are allowed for use on balconies. Thank you for your support. J E Graham

Contrary to most of the other landlords , Merlin apartments think that they can set their own rules when it comes to on line daily Lettings ( as per Estate & Management the minimum is 3 months ) and their dedicated desk which unnecessarily interfere with First Port Empire Square concierge

Marlin must accept responsibility for this completely unacceptable occurrence. They are running a hotel, in spite of protestations to the contrary, and should provide the sort of backup that a hotel would.

Marlin must exercise due care & attention in vetting their tenants. This simply cannot, ever, be repeated.

All, thank you for continuing to sign the petition and share with concerned neighbours. Based on your feedback, I extended it to include all of Empire Square. Several people, including the Residents' Association, have been in touch with me and will be meeting to discuss next steps. Also, if you would like to stay informed as we take this forward, feel free to email me on [email protected]. -Will

Hello All, Will and I wrote to First Port on Sunday itself, and have followed up with another email yesterday, as John Graham is on holiday, but we haven't heard back yet. I think that's slightly concerning, given the seriousness of the issue. Our email is below. I am not sure if any of you have reached out to First Port, but it would be great to hear if any of you have been successful in reaching First Port?? cheers, Smriti Dear John, Olympia, We hope you are well. By this time, we are sure you have heard about the horrific incident that took place in Empire Square East around 10am this morning (Sunday, 4th August). As we are on the first floor, by the lifts and our lounge looks out on to the front courtyard, we heard terrible screams and Will ran downstairs to see what had happened. What he saw was unimaginable. A young girl, was laying on the floor in front of the ground floor lifts, her head cracked open, bleeding. Will ran back upstairs to get some towels to help stop the bleeding, and stayed with the girl until the paramedics arrived. In this time, about 7-8 young men came down the stairs, and ran out of the building. There were 3-4 other girls, some who themselves were bleeding, screaming and crying. Clearly, some of them had knives and we were scared for our own selves. Soon, there were numerous police cars and ambulances, police officers with guns, and the area was cordoned off as a crime scene. 6 hours later, the building is still cordoned off, with no access to the stairs or lifts, with police officers and DNA teams still combing the floors for evidence. This is not a scene one would expect in a secure residential building, located in central London, whose residents are primarily young professionals and families with young children. We are extremely disturbed by the events that have taken place today, and do not feel safe in our own home. And we are sure the other residents of Empire Square share our sentiments. We would like to

I am a longtime Empire Square West and Borough neighborhood resident. I am very sorry for those of you who were directly affected. I think it frightened us all. First Port did a good job a few years ago of tightening security in West Block and the same needs to happen immediately in the complex as a whole. I have heard from people throughout our neighborhood and they are concerned. I am grateful that you have all shared your experiences here. I hope that we can work together to improve the quality of life for our community.

Thank you Will and neighbors for addressing this. As much as I understand the appeal of renting out serviced real estate in our development, once we are unable to feel safe here with our families it's time to make a change. Unless Marlin is able to showcase a new method to ascertain vetting and security, I'm not interested in sharing the presence of my home with their guests.

I recognize that Marlin Apartments effectively operates a “hotel service”, and thus finds it difficult to screen all guests to guarantee that rooms won't be used for inappropriate or illicit purposes. To expect them to undertake such a vigorous screening process before providing the rooms to guests would be unreasonable. However, Marlin Apartments has a duty to ensure the safety of both its own guests and other residents of the building, which include young children and families. At present, their night-staff team is insufficient to protect the multiple buildings and entrances to ensure that their guests are following the rules and regulations. Unfortunately, this lack of night-time oversight is usually to the detriment of other long-term residents of the buildings. Creating rules, alone, is pointless unless there is a clear method of enforcement and a qualified security guard would ensure that these rules can be enforced. To protect the safety and security of our residents, at a minimum Marlin Apartments should hire a trained security guard at night times (9pm-6am each night) to oversee the East and West block and ensure that the Marlin Apartment guests are operating in accordance with their booking policies and ES association, more generally. Other hotels across London and the UK regularly have a night-time security guard to ensure that hotelpolicies are being followed and, if there is a clear violation, act to rectify this problem. As a responsible industry leader in the short-term lettings space, it would be irresponsible for Marlin Apartments to do anything less. As a result, I would kindly request that Marlin Apartments do the following: 1) Provide a clear methodology for Empire Square Residents to ensure that rules are being created and explained to guests at Marlin Apartments for each reservation 2) Provide clear evidence that security personnel are working to ensure the safety and security of residents in the building at night times 3) Ensu

Agree with all other resident comments - this is totally unacceptable. I am sure it is not the first time a flat is rented to throw parties, but this incident shows that Marlins’ business puts the residents at risk. Serious and urgent actions must be put in place to prevent similar situations from taking place ever again.

Further screening of visitors is obviously necessary. Surely the Concierge must have become aware of the numbers of people coming and going and something should have been done earlier to stop it happening at all.

Thanks for setting this up Will - very much needed and appreciated by all. Completely agree with all points that have been raised, First Port do a great job in managing security and Marlin need to be held accountable for this and without a doubt should cover all costs of clear up once investigations have been completed. Following this, they also owe it to all residents to show exactly what their rental and vetting process is and how they intend to drastically improve this. The trauma caused by this to residents also needs to be addressed, particularly those with young children - we had a 2 year old staying with us who should not be witness to such horrific occurrences.

Hi Ediba, I have just asked Olimpia today for the flats in the west block. She didn't give me the flat numbers but said floors 8-21 are residential and Marlin has most of floors 1-7. We are planning on putting the letters in the residential flats in the higher floors tonight, as yes, we agree that those residents need to be involved. Thank you! -Smriti

Thanks Will for setting this up. Marlin needs to take action.

I would like this to be applicable to Empire Square West block as well. Thank you, Ediba

This is very serious indeed. I have lived in empire square since the start. Now with a family and children this is quite worrying. I trust Marlin will treat this with the seriousness and sincerity required to reassure residents that their guests will be screened with enhanced scrutiny. Does marlin even have the permission to offer short-term holiday style let’s? I would like to see their consent to do so, from the landlord and Southwark council.

Please keep the place safe for all residents, be it guests of serviced apartments, tenants or owners of the developers.

7 years ago Featured

54 East - Despite not being here on the night of the event, coming back on Sunday to this was a real shock. Me and my Partner equally share the same views that Marlin need to cover the costs to have the 4th floor cleaned, and that they massively need to change their vetting process for tenants. As permanent residents we should feel safe.

Yesterday both myself and my wife were caught up in this. She saw things no one living in a development like this should ever have to witness and I myself had several automatic weapons pointed at me by the armed police response unit on the 4th floor, while I was desperately trying to locate my wife - heart racing, fearing the worst, with a stranger's blood on my feet. This is not a rough estate. This is not a rough part of town. This is an expensive development in a safe part of London. The people involved had travelled here from other areas and the responsibility for this incident occurring on our actual doorsteps, and the trauma it has caused some resident unfortunate enough to be caught up in it, lies as much with Marlin as it does the criminals themselves. After 7 years as residents of ESE, I regrettably think it is time for either Marlin or ourselves to vacate. Sadly, I fear it will have to be us, as I simple not trust things will improve downstairs. Great work on the petition. Keep the pressure on.

Flat 48 East - two doors down from where this happened. I was at home alone when the awful incident occurred. As of 1800 today, there was still some smears of blood on the walls in the corridor, even though the main larger spots have been cleaned. I agree with what has been mentioned already in the comments; I have definitely felt that the guests from Marlin (and my flat is flanked by Marlin apartments) have been more unsavoury and I have seen increasingly more unsociable behaviour over the last 5 years I have lived here. Additionally, in trying to get information from anyone, I called the Marlin desk to ask if she knew when I could leave due to the police cordon - not only did the receptionist say she had no idea what I was speaking of, insisted I had the wrong number, she then abruptly hung up the phone on me. Thankfully the FirstPort concierge was very helpful in this.