Barton House: Residents evacuated from tower block fear returning over safety concerns

Barton House residents protested alongside community union Acorn on Friday

A resident evacuated from a city tower block in November said she would "rather be homeless than return to an unsafe building".

More than 400 people were told to leave Barton House in Bristol on 14 November 2023 after a major incident was declared due to safety concerns.

Residents gathered outside the tower block earlier to join a protest organised by community union Acorn.

Bristol City Council said no-one would be asked to return until it is safe.

Barton House was evacuated in November 2023, following concerns over the safety of concrete

The council said work to secure the safety of the building was expected to be completed by 23 February, which is the date people have been told they will be able to return.

But some residents say moving back in does "not feel safe at all", with about 45 households in the 98-home tower block telling the council they no longer feel comfortable living there.

Subeyda Mohammud, who has lived in the building for 10 years, said there had been a lack of communication from the council.

She added: "We feel stressed and nobody listens to us. To be honest, I don't want to come back.

"They say 'you're going to be homeless', and that we choose that ourselves.

"But I would rather be homeless than come back and be unsafe with my kids. I can't risk it."

Subeyda Mohammud said her family are "sick, tired and stressed" after living in a hotel since November

Friday's protest made its way from Barton House to City Hall where the group asked council bosses to sit down with residents and listen to their concerns.

"Whatever they bring to the table, if we don't feel safe it's their responsibility to do something about it," Ms Mohammud added.

Fatima Bashir, an Acorn representative who used to live in Barton House, was also at the protest.

"We understand the shortage of housing, and what we're saying is we will move back, but they need to fix everything first," she said.

"We asked the council to grade the building - is it green, yellow, red- where is it? They don't want to do that," added Ms Bashir.

Fatima Bashir says residents "do not feel safe" moving back into their homes

Bristol City Council has previously said surveys had shown three out of the 98 flats were structurally compromised as concrete had not been attached properly when the tower was built in 1958 and that the block had not been constructed according to design plans.

It said "essential work" had to be completed before residents could return.

Earlier in January, Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees, said: "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."

Bristol City Council has set aside £2.6m to cover accommodation costs to temporarily rehome the evacuated residents of Barton House.

The programme of safety work also includes additional fire proofing in 42 flats and a central alarm system to the entire block.