‘Big gap’ before council acted on Barton House
BRISTOL City Council waited three years after the Government raised safety concerns about Barton House before commissioning a survey.
One council boss told tenants of the evacuated tower block “that was a big gap”, although the reasons for the delay remain unclear.
After large cracks appeared on similar buildings in London, the Government wrote to all councils in 2017 with large-panel system (LPS) tower blocks, including Bristol. Fears included an explosion of gas causing an LPS building to collapse, as happened in 1968 at Ronan Point.
Speaking to residents last week, one of the council’s executive directors was recorded saying that the authority only commissioned a report acting on this letter in 2020 – three years later. The results were then received in 2022, which flagged structural issues at Barton House but did not suggest evacuation.
John Smith, executive director of growth and regeneration, told residents: “There was a communication in 2017 saying that things need to be looked at. We commissioned the report in 2020. That’s a big gap, I completely understand that.”
Council bosses decided in 2022 the building did not need to be evacuated. But this report was later peerreviewed by Arup, an engineering consultancy, last year. The results of the peer review were given to council bosses in November, who then quickly ordered the evacuation.
Mr Smith added: “We got a report that raised some concerns. The team weren’t concerned about it and certainly didn’t recommend evacuation or anything like that. We then got a second report which we commissioned in September, and it was that that raised the real concerns, and we received that in November.
“That original report, the August 2022 one, wasn’t accurate. It said that these ties weren’t there, and they are. It also said that the concrete cover wasn’t thick enough, and they’ve now found that it is. We have set it all out, but I know it’s complicated and I know it’s confusing.
“Unless people aren’t in their flats, the work takes a long time to do. It’s quite intrusive work. The information that suggested we need to do an emergency evacuation only came to us in November last year.”
Acorn, the community union which represents some Barton House tenants, criticised council bosses for the delay.
They urged the mayor and cabinet member for housing services to meet with Acorn representatives and rebuild trust with residents.
A spokesman for Acorn said: “Council leaders knew about structural issues at Barton House years ago. They had loads of time to make a good evacuation plan. It’s a sign of complete incompetence and lack of care for residents that they didn’t make a proper plan, and the evacuation ended up being chaotic and traumatising for residents.
“Council leaders gambled with our lives; they didn’t even make a plan. It shows yet again the contempt they hold for the people of Bristol.”
The council was asked why the report took three years to commission after receiving the Government letter, as well as for a timeline of events leading up to the evacuation.
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: “Since the Barton House evacuation on November 14, we have been in regular communication with Barton House residents and we continue to update tenants first on any developments. Once we have received the final reports, we will share all of the reports and further information together with Barton House residents first before publishing them online.”
Barton House, a 14-storey tower block in Barton Hill, was evacuated in November last year after council bosses were told a fire in a single flat could lead to the building collapsing. Residents have been told they can return home later this month after repairs are carried out.