Council unable to confirm when Barton House residents can return home

The hundreds of people displaced from their homes following the sudden evacuation of Barton House have been told they won’t be able to return before the new year.

Residents met with the mayor and council officers at City Hall on Monday to hear they will be able to move back into the tower block as surveys have suggested the serious safety issues that prompted the evacuation on November 14 are not present throughout the building as feared.

However, some essential work is needed to make the building on Marsh Lane in Barton Hill safe. With the extent of this work currently unknown, residents – the majority of whom have been staying in the Holiday Inn in the city centre – are once again left in limbo until at least the new year.

Council officers are now awaiting a final report from contractors that will make recommendations about the measures that need putting in place to enable residents’ safe return.

It is likely a new communal fire alarm system will be required in the block, which is estimated to take two months. In the meantime, the ‘waking watch’ that has been in place since May 2022 will be extended.

Meeting with residents at City Hall on Monday afternoon, mayor Marvin Rees thanked them for their patience and resilience.

“We recognise the extremely difficult month that they have had and the toll taken on individuals and families,” said Rees.

“Throughout this period, we’ve taken many steps to try and ease the challenges they face and I remain ever grateful to them for allowing us the time and space needed to support them and get on with our vital work at Barton House.

“Unfortunately, we are not in a position to confirm a return date yet, but sadly we know it will not be safe for residents to return before Christmas and the new year. Our top priority is to ensure residents’ safety.

“With the new surveys taking the time to go deeper and further into the block than previous surveys, a picture is beginning to emerge that suggests the safety measures the block was designed with are in place. This was previously in serious doubt. While this gives us hope that the building’s structure is well protected, there is still work to do to make sure the building is safe for people to live in.

“We ask residents to continue to stay away from Barton House while we undertake these essential works and the mandatory legionella testing that must be carried out.”

Barton House residents have still had to pay rent over the weeks they have been displaced from their homes – photo: Mia Vines Booth

Most of the tenants, who are still expected to pay rent, are being temporarily housed in the Holiday Inn, while others are staying with friends or family and a few have chosen to remain in Barton House.

Housing campaign group ACORN Bristol has publicly and continually criticised Bristol City Council’s handling of the situation and, on Monday, questioned why they were not invited to attend the meeting in City Hall.

In a statement to full council last week, residents said: “Throughout the whole period from the events of the evacuation onwards, our unity and solidarity has brought praise from councillors, council workers and the media alike, and this is only possible because we are a strong community.”

They concluded: “We understand that Bristol City Council are currently facing a series of tough choices over this and many issues at the moment, but we ask that if at all possible our community with in the block is cherished and preserved and not consigned to the dustbin of local history.”

Main photo: Ellie Pipe

Read next:

• Angry scenes in City Hall as protesters confront mayor
• Barton House tenants: ‘We are a strong and united community’
• ‘Overwhelming’ community response to Barton House crisis

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