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Nine households stay in Bristol block despite fire and structural risks
Nine households have decided to stay in their property at a tower block in Bristol, despite the council declaring a major incident due to fire and structural risks.
Bristol City Council began evacuating hundreds of residents from Barton House on Tuesday evening (14 November), but an update by the city mayor has revealed the small number who have decided to stay, alongside 29 households who did not answer their doors.
Fifty-seven hotel rooms have been provided to families in need and four people stayed at the council’s rest centre at City Hall.
In a statement, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said: “We have managed to make direct contact with most Barton House residents. We are asking people to contact us with their details to let us know if they or other residents are not getting updates from us. We will then be sure to add their details.
“We are working throughout the day and evening to make contact with those households we couldn’t speak to yesterday and continue to have an ongoing dialogue with those who chose to stay inside Barton House. All other households chose to stay with friends and family.
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“Officers have made every effort to acquire and prepare emergency accommodation for residents. More rooms are becoming available by the hour with further expected to be secured by the weekend.”
Mr Rees also expressed his gratitude to those in the city who provided offers of support and accommodation to those evacuated from the 65-year-old tower block.
Building surveys on three of 98 flats in the tower block in Barton Hill, on the edge of the city centre, indicated that in the event of a fire, explosion or large impact, there was a risk to the structure of the building.
The block, completed in 1958, has recently been subject to a number of surveys to assess options for the future of the building, due to its age and method of construction.
Mr Rees explained that the surveys found an apparent lack of structural ties between the floors and the load-bearing external walls.
This is alongside a lower fire resistance of these structural elements and less concrete cover than set out in the original plans for the floors. Even if there was concrete cover as thick as set out in the original plans, Mr Rees said this would still be less than would be used in a building built today.
He added: “We are working at pace to complete further surveys now, to go deep into the structure and understand when it would be safe for residents to move back into Barton House.
“The surveys will take us some time to complete, so residents will need to be away from home while they are carried out. We are working as quickly as we can to find everyone suitable temporary accommodation.”
Bristol City Council does not believe there is any evidence to suggest the issues identified in Barton House are present elsewhere.
Mr Rees added: “We have written to the tenants of Barton House to update them on what is a fast-moving and complicated situation.
“We understand the disruption and inconvenience this has caused, but rest assured our top priority is to make sure everyone is looked after and updated as the situation unfolds.
“We are working as quickly as we can to carry out the necessary further investigations and surveys on the building to ensure we have a full understanding of the situation.”
Additional reporting today by The Bristol Cable forced the council into a denial that safety defects identified four years ago are the main cause of an evacuation at a Barton Hill tower block this week.
The surveyors’ fire safety reports obtained by the Bristol-based newspaper showed the council was warned in 2019 of problems with steel structures in the 65-year-old building that were likely breaching building regulations.
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