You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Barton House: council aims for residents to return next month
Residents of a Bristol tower block who were evacuated over safety concerns could be allowed to return to their homes next month.
Marvin Rees, mayor of Bristol, said today that there are plans to “support” residents to move back into Barton House by 23 February as remediation work is happening “at pace”.
However, Mr Rees said any delay in gaining access to individual flats could push back the return.
Around 400 occupants of the 98-flat block were forced to leave their homes in November after a survey found “major structural faults”. It led to Bristol Council declaring a major incident.
READ MORE
Residents were offered accommodation at a Holiday Inn in Bristol city centre, while others have reportedly been staying with family and friends.
Barton House was built in 1958 and is Bristol’s oldest tower block.
As part of works to improve the building, Bristol City Council is installing a central fire alarm system and extra fireproofing.
Following a meeting with residents today, Mr Rees said the council was moving “at pace” to make the block safe, with contractors carrying out works and others in place “prepared to begin immediately”.
He added: “We are now in a place where we can have a high level of confidence that the structure of Barton House is safer than we thought back in November, but not yet safe for residents to return.”
Meanwhile, according to local media reports today, 41 households from Barton House have signed a letter saying they do not wish to return.
The council said today that there were two main safety concerns identified with the block during initial surveys in November.
A number of structural ties connecting the floors and the walls were “potentially missing” and a concrete cover that protects the building’s metal reinforcement may have been “too thin”, the council said.
However council officers told residents today that the structural ties have now been “identified as being in place and in good order”.
The local authority also said that further investigation of the concrete cover that protects the building’s metal structure found the “thickness to be generally good throughout”.
The initial survey of three flats in the block had concluded that in the event of a fire, an explosion or a large impact, there would be a risk to the structure of the block.
The council has previously come under fire for its response so far, and was forced to deny claims last year that it attempted to move residents’ possessions from Barton House.
Residents and members of Acorn, the tenant union, claimed they were being “left in the dark” by the council’s response to the major incident.
Sign up for our asset management newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
