RESIDENTS forced from their homes after the Gibbs Crescent explosion said they feel they have been ‘left in limbo’ a week on.

People living in about a dozen flats near the blast site remained in temporary accommodation yesterday, with no clue about when they would be able to return.

A letter sent to displaced residents by landlord A2Dominion this morning, seen by the Oxford Mail, confirmed that flats nine, 11 and 13 will have to be knocked down following safety assessments. 

It said: "The decision has been made to demolish. We have already contacted the residents from these homes, and will continue to provide support and advice."

Last night, £1,200 had been raised through a JustGiving page to help those unable to return to their homes.

The money will be distributed by Oxford city councillor for the area Susanna Pressel, who said it demonstrated the community spirit since the explosion.

Flats three to nine were destroyed in West Oxford on Valentine’s Day, with many surrounding properties seriously damaged.

Ian Francis, who lives at No.10, has been put up by
A2Dominion in sheltered accommodation in George Moore Close in Donnington, with his partner Sammy Clark.

But Mr Francis, who is partially sighted, has had to leave assistance dog Toffee with friends as the flat is too small for him.

The 48-year-old said: “We have just been left in limbo right now, it is like we are walking around in a dream.

“I cannot bring Toffee home. You bond with these dogs so closely and he is missing us.

“You do not realise how important an assistance dog is day to day, it is hard for me to walk about and do stuff without him.

“If it will take weeks and weeks to get back into Gibbs Crescent we just want to let somebody else have our flat.”

Mr Francis said he and Ms Clark were struggling living in an area they were not familiar with, and wanted more clarity from A2Dominion on what the future had in store.

He said: “Because we are blind even if we do go back we will not be able to use the access gates.

“A2Dominion has given us £15 a day and that is meant to cover everything.

“It feels like they have given us a couple of quid to shut us up.”

Firefighters have now left Gibbs Crescent after spending the past few days gathering evidence.

Police officers remained on the scene last night but plan to hand the site over to A2Dominion shortly.

Mother-of-two Habiba Gudal, who lives in flat two, has been put up by the housing association in the Premier Inn in Oxford Business Park.

She said: “I am being told today about temporary accommodation but I do not know what will happen after that.

“I have not been able to get any of my stuff from the flat.

“It is really frustrating, I am very angry as well.

“The explosion makes me really anxious because I cannot close my eyes.

“Every time I do I hear that sound.

“It makes me anxious that we have not been told how it happened –if somebody did it why did they do it?

“I would like to see everything made clearer.”

Human remains were found under the rubble on Saturday but on Monday police said a post-mortem examination of the human remains proved inconclusive.

As a result Guido Schuette, who is believed to have been killed in the explosion, officially remains missing.

At the end of last week it emerged that police had spent a ‘significant period of time’ at Gibbs Crescent four days before the blast after a man, believed to be Mr Schuette, allegedly made threats.

Flat 13 resident Peter Wilder is living in temporary accommodation in Headington.

He said: “I have no idea what is going on.
“I have got some of my stuff back from the flat. When I went back it did not look like there was anything wrong by they are still assessing it for damage.”

Dawn Wightman, A2Dominion group housing director, said: “We are concerned to hear that some residents including Mr Francis have not been completely satisfied with the support we have given him.

“Our main priority since the explosion and fire last week at Gibbs Crescent has been to give all residents as much assistance as we possibly can.

“We have offered emergency accommodation to every resident that has needed it, and helped to arrange supplies such as emergency cash, food, toiletries and clothes.

“We met with residents on 20 February who will not be able to return to their properties due to the extent of the damage. We have been discussing permanent alternative housing with these residents.

“This did not include Mr Francis as it has not yet been decided whether his property will be safe to return to on a permanent basis. This decision will be made by our structural engineers and insurers as quickly as possible. We were, however, able to arrange for Mr Francis to collect personal items from his home yesterday.

“The temporary accommodation we offered Mr Francis was made available by Oxford City Council. Mr Francis has advised us that he and his partner are happy to remain in this accommodation. He informed us that a friend was looking after his dog until he can return home. This was not raised as an issue but we will contact him again today to see if there is anything else we can do to assist.

“We recognise that this has been an extremely difficult time for all of our residents at Gibbs Crescent. 

“We have been contacting residents on a regular basis and have now set up a temporary office on-site to help us provide on-going support to everyone affected.”

MORE than £1,000 has been raised to help people in Gibbs Crescent who are unable to return to their homes.

A JustGiving page had brought in £1,200 by last night, with the money to be distributed by Oxford City Councillor for the area Susanna Pressel. 

She said: "I have been touched by the reaction of residents who live in neighbouring streets.

"Many are offering help and some are collecting money and other items for the people who have been displaced."

Martin Lovell returned home on Friday after spending three nights away following the blast.

He was put up in accommodation owned by the Said Business School on Valentine's Day before spending two nights in Simon House.

He said he was extremely impressed by the professionalism of emergency services and A2Dominion and praised the community spirit of those who had to leave their homes.

Mr Lovell said: "Everyone has rallied around and looked out for each other, it has been great community spirit.

"The people here have all tried to comfort each other and show concern for each other and help out where they can.

"It is really moving what others have gone through.

"We all really stick together when we can."

To donate visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/westoxfordmatters-1