'I live in historic apartments featured on TV, but the lift's broken, my door's failed fire safety, and masonry's fallen down'

‘Award winning’ apartments featured heavily in a BBC TV show have been hit by lift maintenance issues, falling masonry, and fire doors failing inspections, the Local Democracy Reporting Service can reveal.

The Crusader Mill flats appeared in ‘Manctopia: The Billion Pound Property Boom’ in 2020, with Capital&Centric boss Tim Heatley showing cameras inside the 200-year-old mill as it was transformed into flats.

At the time, the developer ‘banned investors’ and ‘prioritised locals’ buying the flats when they went on sale, with a two-bedroom homes going for £299,000 when new, but they now sell for £375,000.

However, an owner-occupier inside the mill has told the LDRS they are ‘shocked’ their apartment front door failed a routine safety inspection last year.

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“It came as a big shock,” the resident, who asked to stay anonymous, said. “If mine has failed and there’s a fire, what would happen?”

The inspections were carried out by original property managers UrbanBubble in April 2024, just two months before the management of the block was taken over by Zenith. A spokesperson for Capital&Centric said ‘the residents’ committee were not happy’ with the previous property manager, prompting the switch.

The same resident added ‘both lifts have repeatedly failed’ at the block, ‘falling masonry fell into the communal garden’ prompted it to be ‘taped off’, and ‘leaseholders have not received a single verified service charge account’ since they moved-in in 2021.

The Capital&Centric spokesperson said work to replace fire doors that failed inspections is underway or scheduled, with issues stemming from ‘normal wear and tear and the