CityPoint Residents Brighton

24/03/2026

📣 Update: Fire Alarm Chaos: Some Answers, But Pressure Stays On

FirstPort has apologised, but residents are rightly asking how this was allowed to happen after months of ongoing issues.

We’ve made our position clear:
Residents will NOT pay for these failures. Barratt must cover all fire safety costs.

Action is now underway: full system checks, urgent fixes, and a new fire risk assessment that could introduce changes to prevent constant evacuations.

We will keep pushing until this is fixed.

23/03/2026

30+ fire call outs. Seven evacuations in one weekend.

A blind resident in fear. Children crying. Adults heading to work totally exhausted.

Moat Homes The Argus Siân Berry

20/03/2026

New alarm. 27… seventy-seven…? We’ve lost count. Another false alarm, another evacuation tonight. This ongoing disruption is unacceptable and simply not liveable for residents. When will this be resolved?

we invite you to spend a few days living under these conditions. Put your children, elderly parents, and pets to bed, only to be woken by a blaring alarm and the fear that your home is on fire. Evacuate in the middle of the night (again) only to discover it’s yet another false alarm. Then repeat it, over and over.

18/03/2026

A very accurate description of our struggles.

Residents living in a Brighton city centre development have described the "distress" caused by frequent fire alarms

13/03/2026

Almost 5 years later we still haven’t got a start date for remediation of our homes. We have Waking Watch ramping up huge costs that are being passed onto leaseholders (despite Barratt Developments’ commitment that no financial impact would be passed on) and frequent false alarms disrupting our lives and sleep and undermining our sense of safety in our own homes.

Residents are paying the price for a system that simply isn’t working: financially, emotionally and physically.

Barratt Developments needs to provide clear timelines, accountability, and action. No one should be left living like this for years on end.

10/03/2026

🚨 26 FIRE BRIGADE CALLOUTS TO CITYPOINT BRIGHTON – RESIDENTS AT BREAKING POINT🚨

Tonight residents at CityPoint in Brighton were forced to evacuate yet again after another fire alarm activation.

A Freedom of Information request to East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service shows crews were called to the building 24 times in 2025 alone due to fire alarms. Since then there have been two more call-outs this past week, including tonight – bringing the total to at least 26 incidents linked to our development.

Every alarm triggers evacuation of the building.

That means families with children, elderly residents, people coming home after a long shift, and everyone in between are repeatedly forced out of their homes and left standing outside while the alarms continue to sound.

Residents are now increasingly worried about alarm fatigue – when alarms happen so often that people may eventually assume it is another false alarm, which could be dangerous if a real emergency occurs.

The building is managed by FirstPort, who in a message to the Residents Association today suggested the the reason for the latest alarm “must have been smoking or va**ng that set it off.”

Residents strongly dispute this explanation and say the scale of the problem suggests a systemic issue with the alarm system or how it is being managed.

This situation cannot continue.

26 fire brigade call-outs to one residential development in one year is not normal. It disrupts residents, places unnecessary strain on emergency services, and raises serious questions about building safety.

Is this really what post-Grenfell building safety legislation was intended to look like?

We are calling for a proper investigation and a permanent solution.

Please share if you think this situation needs urgent attention.

The Argus BBC South East Siân Berry

08/03/2026

25+ fire service call-outs in the past year to CityPoint because of false fire alarms.

Tonight it happened again. Residents were evacuated and left standing outside because no one on site (not even the Waking Watch) had access to turn off the alarm.

Families, pets, NHS staff and elderly neighbours forced out yet again.

This is unacceptable to our residents and a needless drain on emergency services.

24/01/2026

Tenants and residents of apartments in England are facing escalating service charges, sources tell The Sentinel.

18/03/2025

Two important questions we’ve put to Moat Homes for answers. We have been promised a response this week. Stay tuned.

31/07/2024

Our letter to Moat Homes re the play ban they’ve imposed on children of our community. And their response. Not good enough Moat Homes - what is the alternative? Where are our children to play?

25/07/2024

Hey! FirstPort! Leave them kids alone…

The latest episode for us at CityPoint in Brighton is being told by FirstPort that children are not allowed to play in the pedestrianised and communal areas just where they live.

These inner-city flats were built for mixed communities including families.

We are angry: those of us with and without children, disagree. We have responded as a Residents Association.

FirstPort cares more about mysterious offshore Freeholders than for Leaseholders and people renting. Firstport’s behaviour is anti-social. And Moat Homes agrees with FirstPort and claim that small children playing outside is antisocial behaviour!

Our situation is not unique. Our advice is to set up a Residents Association and get organised. Unity is strength. Where is the regulation? And where are the local and national politicians who will confront this? Where are the investigative journalists?

Moat Homes Firstport

Notorious estate management company with the backing of their friends in Association:
- Regularly overspend on maintenance and services we need
- Carry out work poorly which creates repeat costs
- Spend on items and services residents do not need
- Barely consult us on spending
- And pass on all these costs to us via huge runaway Service Charges!

31/03/2024

This is happening all over the country. We urge Moat Homes to help us put pressure on our Managing Agent to decrease service charges that has rocketed in our development.

Service charges for shared-ownership houses have rocketed, leaving many unable to pay. We hear their stories