‘We are expecting to shortly receive a programme of works’
The Evolution Cove apartment block, Stonehouse, Plymouth, in danger of collapse(Image: William Telford)
The owner of Plymouth’s troubled Evolution Cove apartment block is aiming to temporarily prop up the building and still expects residents to be able to move back in just two weeks time.
Grey GR Limited Partnership said it is still working on a time frame of eight weeks from when the building was evacuated on March 20, as it also revealed it had known about problems with the building since last year.
The prediction is despite the building’s residents, businesses and Plymouth City Council expecting the earliest when the extent of damage to the building is known being “the end of May”.
The council has also just paid £28,000 so a shuttle bus can serve the road closure-affected Stonehouse peninsula for the next six weeks.
The authority slapped a 27-metre exclusion zone around the block on April 17 amid fears it could partially or completely collapse.
Residents displaced from the seven-storey building, which fronts onto Durnford Street, told PlymouthLive Grey GR has only paid for temporary accommodation for them until May 18 and they fear being pitched into limbo after that date.
A spokesperson for Grey GR, the property company owned by multibillion pound railway pension fund Railpen, told PlymouthLive it was hoped the building could be back propped soon. This is where temporary props are installed to hold it up.
The spokesperson said: “We understand that residents are concerned about the coming weeks, and we are still expecting that residents will be able to return to Evolution Cove within the eight week estimate given when residents were evacuated on March 20.
“We are expecting to shortly receive a programme of works for the back propping installation, and if the completion date changes, residents will be contacted as quickly as possible and alternative accommodation will continue to be provided.
“Once back propping works have completed, our structural engineers will be able to carry out further investigations and develop a remediation approach to reinforce the structural integrity of the building.
“Our focus is on ensuring this is carried out as safely and comprehensively as possible.”
Last week, PlymouthLive exclusively revealed that a consultants’ report revealed serious cracks in beams in the underground car park, with water pouring through the structure. Residents have said water has been dripping through the 18-year-old building for years.
Grey GR told PlymouthLive that it had known about problems since last year. A spokesperson said: “ We became aware of issues at the end of 2025, but at the time, structural engineers deemed the building safe for residents to live in.
“When engineers revisited the building in March, they advised immediate back propping was required. Due to the complexities of the works, this could not be done straight away and therefore advised an immediate evacuation.
“We understand the concern this caused, but residents’ safety and wellbeing is our top priority.”
Dave Jones was moved out of Evolution Cove with his fiancee Georgia the day before she gave birth to their daughter Eden, and said the family had been housed in an Airbnb with Grey GR paying for it until May 18.
He said: “We don’t know what will happen after that, we have no idea what’s going on.”
Mr Jones said the family’s belongings, including clothing and items for the baby are still in their flat, but they can’t retrieve them because of the prohibition notice placed on the building which means it is a criminal offence to enter it.
“All the baby’s clothes are in there and we had to buy more clothes for myself and Georgia,” he said.
Mr Jones is still paying rent on the one-bedroom first-floor flat, and bills such as for broadband, and now feels unhappy about ever moving back into the building.
“We feel that even if we were to go back in, it’s too unsafe,” he said. “And we’d be going back in with a baby while there is work going on.”
The Grey GR spokesperson said: “While we appreciate the frustration of being away from some belongings for so long, the building will remain locked and inaccessible until the prohibition notice is lifted.
“It is a criminal offence for anyone to try and access the building before then and we ask that residents not try.”
The spokesperson added: “While we continue to support and pay for alternative accommodation, residents will remain responsible for their household bills.
“Our property managers have reduced the services at the building and will provide support to residents trying to pause household bills.”
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