Bristol24/7 Woman of the Year: Steph Pike

Steph Pike has made national headlines and featured on prime time news bulletins after circumstances thrust her into the limelight earlier this year.

It’s not a place the lawyer, who is “terrified” of public speaking, is particularly comfortable. But since receiving bombshell news about the home she scrimped to buy last November, Steph has risen to the fore as a relentless campaigner in a fight for justice

It was in November last year that the 30-year-old was first given notice that her flat has serious defects and is a potential fire hazard, marking the start of a nightmare that has left her effectively trapped in a home that is unsellable and facing skyrocketing bills that could reach upwards of £70,000.

After deciding to get stuck in to fight the unfair situation that continues to affect thousands of leaseholders, Steph has taken the lead in ensuring the issue remains in the public eye. For her, it has now gone way beyond just fighting her own case.

“Even if I won the lottery so the bill would be no issue for me, I would go down to four days a week at work and spend a day a week campaigning,” says Steph.

“For me, it’s actually not about the money. Even if I could afford to pay the bill, it’s about the injustice of it all.”

An unlikely campaigner in many ways, Steph attended the climate change march when Greta Thunberg visited Bristol but never imagined she would be taking centre stage at public rallies herself.

In the last year, she has spoken on prime time news at a rally in Westminster, featured on the BBC and in several national newspapers and organised a protest on College Green to highlight the plight of the thousands affected by the cladding crisis in the face of government inaction.

“I hate public speaking, it’s like my worst fear,” admits Steph. “I’ve never really protested before. So yeah, it’s all very new.”

Bristol24/7 laid bare the scale of the crisis in August and the day before this interview, Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire once again highlighted the extent to which it is affecting thousands of leaseholders in the city.

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Read more: Bristol’s building safety crisis uncovered 

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The Labour MP revealed that of the 18 buildings in her constituency known to be eligible for building safety funds (BSF) only three have had a response, with all other applications stuck in the process, in many cases for more than a year. Of the constituents surveyed,  one in five own a part of their flat through a shared ownership scheme but face paying 100 per cent of any remediation costs.

“It’s just relentless,” states Steph. “I just feel absolutely exhausted and drained and like there’s no hope. Some new proposals were due to be announced before Christmas, but it’s days away from Christmas and we haven’t heard anything yet. This week, someone got a bill for £27,000 payable within two weeks. What kind of Christmas present is that?

“I think all the leaseholders feel exactly the same. Just that nothing has been done.”

After graduating from UWE Bristol in 2013, Steph worked up from a paralegal position to qualify as a lawyer in 2018. She moved back to her family home in Stroud to save up to buy her first home and thought her hard work and sacrifices had paid off when she moved into the flat in The Milliners building.

As it was, the dream home turned into a nightmare.

Speaking to Bristol24/7 from her flat just days before Christmas, Steph says the stress of the last year has taken its toll on her – as it has so many others caught up in the building safety crisis.

The 30-year-old recently went to the doctor with breathing difficulties that are thought to be down to the anxiety of the ongoing situation. “I just think my stress levels are so high that it kind of manifests itself through like not being able to breathe properly,” says Steph.

How does she deal with the pressures of fighting this injustice while holding down a demanding full-time job? “I normally run quite a lot,” the lawyer tells Bristol24/7, adding that she is lucky to have a supportive workplace as well as family and friends.

“That’s what I did immediately from the day I found out what the potential costs were. I just went out for a run and I just cried.”

Steph isn’t hopeful the building safety crisis will be resolved any time soon but she is going to keep fighting for justice.

“I have to keep fighting this because I can’t afford the other option [to cover the £70,00 cost of remedial work]. I want to be able to say I’ve done everything I can in my power to try and stop it from happening. I don’t even know if that will be enough, but at least I’ve tried,” she says.

If she could hope for one thing in 2022? “I just hope that the government act to protect leaseholders from all costs related to the building safety crisis.”

What would it mean to Steph and the thousands of leaseholders affected if the burden was taken off them?

“I’d cry for a long time with happiness,” says Steph, after a pause.

“I wouldn’t feel guilty for spending money. It would just mean feeling like you’re released from prison if it suddenly got lifted, just freedom.”

Main photo by Robert Browne

Read more: Emotional leaseholders speak about impact of building safety crisis at Bristol rally

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