Tower block residents who repeatedly raised fire safety concerns about their building say they feel sidelined by their council.

The Marlowe Road estate in Walthamstow is earmarked for redevelopment by Waltham Forest Council.

Previous steering committee meetings saw residents taking an active role in decisions about the future design of the estate, but there have been none since February, with the council citing low attendance.

Despite the council claiming drop-in sessions are held every Monday morning, residents say they have heard nothing about them.

Both Lesley Pearce, who lives in the Northwood Tower in Marlowe Road, and Michelle Edwards, who also lives in Marlowe Road, regularly attended the steering groups.

Ms Edwards said she was “shut down” repeatedly during discussions and said minutes often mixed up who had said what.

Ms Edwards said: “The council must have thought, we don’t want these residents having a say on our development plans, so they shut the meetings down. We’ve heard nothing since that last meeting, nothing about the drop-in sessions.

“We regularly attended the meetings and went on behalf of our communities and passed on concerns.

“People who used to go along in person got sick of not getting anywhere and being ignored by the council.

“They’ve doctored the minutes, shut us down at the meetings and now stopped the meetings completely.”

Two years after the Grenfell Tower blaze killed 72 people, The Northwood Tower was among those included in an investigation by the Waltham Forest Echo that claimed half of the council-owned tower blocks in the borough were found to pose a “substantial” hazard in fire risk assessments.

The Fred Wigg Tower and the John Walsh Tower in Montague Road, Leytonstone were identified as the two most dangerous buildings in the borough.

Fire risks highlighted included faulty doors, cluttered corridors and damaged wiring, while older buildings have design faults which meant they do not meet modern safety standards.

Cllr Louise Mitchell, cabinet member for housing at Waltham Forest Council, said: “The council has altered the way it engages with residents on Marlowe Road estate as the original steering group had only two to three regular attendees, which is not representative of an estate of 201 residents.

“We now have drop-in sessions every Monday morning, and also once every six weeks on a Monday evening, where any resident can call in to meet relevant officers. These are in addition to the regular drop in sessions at Northwood Tower. These are publicised in newsletters to residents.”

The cabinet member added new email newsletters were going to be launched for each estate soon.

On the issue of fire safety, Cllr Mitchell said: “Waltham Forest Council is committed to providing homes that are safe for residents to live in.

“We work with residents regarding fire safety including meeting with tenant and resident associations, meetings when major works are due to take place and having information available at resident fun days and other similar events.”

She added: “If any resident has concerns about fire safety they should contact their Housing Officer immediately so the concern can be investigated and appropriate action taken.”