Residents of evacuated Bristol tower block able to return in February – council

Hundreds of residents who were evacuated from a Bristol tower block have been told they will be able to return home next month.

Around 400 people who live in Barton House in the Barton Hill area of the city were told to pack a bag of clothes and leave on November 14, following surveys which identified structural issues.

On Wednesday, residents attended a meeting with Marvin Rees, the mayor of Bristol, as well as structural engineers and representatives from Avon Fire and Rescue Service at City Hall.

Mr Rees said work was under way to secure the safety of the building, including the installation of a central fire alarm system and additional fireproofing in parts of the site.

Water testing also needs to be carried out in unoccupied flats to check for legionella bacteria.

Mr Rees said: “There are contractors in place, either carrying out these works already or prepared to begin immediately, as we continue to move at pace to make the block safe.

“The residents of individual flats are being approached to gain permission to carry out works in their properties.

“This is a vital part of how quickly we can move to complete these works and any delay in gaining access will impact on our plans to support residents to move back into Barton House by February 23.

“We are now in a place where we can have a high level of confidence that the structure of Barton House is safer than we thought back in November, but not yet safe for residents to return.”

During the meeting, residents were told of two main safety concerns which led to the evacuation of the block in November.

These were firstly that some structural ties connecting the floors and walls were potentially missing, with concrete cover that protects the building’s metal reinforcement thought to have been too thin.

However, on Wednesday, the council said that the structural ties had been identified as being in place and in “good order”.

It added that further investigation of the concrete cover found the thickness to be “generally good throughout the building”.

There was a layer of blockwork or cement in place where the cover was at its thinnest, the council said.

Engineers identified a third safety measure – steel sections in key locations – to provide support for the structure in the event of a fire or explosion.

Additional fireproofing will be installed on these steel beams in 42 flats to increase the protection for the metalwork, the council said.

It added that it was still awaiting final survey reports from engineers, which will be published once received.