‘Coercive’ council compelled residents back to Barton House, Tower Blocks UK says

News12.03.2411.00 AM by James Riding

Bristol City Council has been “discriminatory and coercive” by aiming to “compel residents back” to Barton House, according to Tower Blocks UK.

Residents began returning to Barton House earlier this month (picture: Bristol City Council)

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Bristol City Council has been “discriminatory and coercive” by aiming to “compel residents back” to Barton House, according to Tower Blocks UK #UKhousing

The campaign group said it believed Bristol’s oldest tower block was “unfit for habitation” and that any resident who wished to be rehoused should be given priority in Band 1 for council rehousing of their choice.

In a statement last week, Tower Blocks UK said it had visited Barton House on 2 March to engage with residents, who had begun to return to the building after being evacuated in November 2023.

The group criticised the council’s response to the crisis, claiming there had been “poor planning and lack of consistency”, with residents reporting “differential treatment and selective engagement from council officers”.

Around 400 residents of the 98-flat, 14-storey building had been forced to leave last year after a survey found “major structural faults”. But in early 2024, Bristol City Council said that further surveys, as well as assurance from Avon Fire and Rescue Service, meant it was safe for them to go back.

Tower Blocks UK said, however, that the safety of Barton House “remains in question”. It cited a report from fire safety expert Arnold Tarling, who argued that “too much is being assumed” in the latest surveys of the building.

In a second report by Mr Tarling into Barton House dated 28 February, seen by Inside Housing, the chartered surveyor argued “a competent engineer would recommend further investigation in order to rule out any risk that could be posed”.

Some residents have voiced concerns about returning to the block. Last month, tenant Chan Osmond told Inside Housing: “We are only going back because we have to. We don’t really want to, but we’ve got no choice.”

In its statement, Tower Blocks UK alleged that one resident initiated a homelessness application but was denied relocation and told she and her children must return to the block or find alternative accommodation at their own expense.

“The day we visited, another family with three young children were being forcibly evicted from the temporary hotel accommodation,” the group added.

The council’s conduct “appears to be discriminatory and coercive, aiming to compel residents back to Barton House, threatening residents with intentional homelessness if they do not comply”, they said.

“Our stance is that Barton House is unsafe and unfit for habitation due to its inherent structural and fire safety flaws, and that any resident who wishes to be rehoused should be given priority in Band 1 for council rehousing of their choice, with their rights being safeguarded throughout the process.”

Barton House was built in the late 1950s and is a large-panel system (LPS) building, according to the council.

This was a construction method in which blocks were built using large, pre-fabricated concrete slabs.

A high-profile incident in 1968 saw Ronan Point, an LPS tower block in east London, partly collapse following a gas explosion only two months after it had opened. Four people died and 17 others were injured.

Earlier this month, it emerged that Bristol Council had been told in a surveyor’s report about structural issues at Barton House 15 months before the tower block was evacuated.

Bristol City Council said it will be responding to the letter from Tower Blocks UK in due course.