Barton House in Bristol has been evacuated due to 鈥渞isk of building collapse鈥�
Bristol City Council has evacuated 98 flats after a building survey revealed that a 15-storey block is at risk of collapse in the event of a fire, explosion or 鈥渓arge impact鈥�.
The council announced that it would be temporarily evacuating Barton House yesterday evening (14 November), which has affected the block鈥檚 400 residents.
This morning, the council鈥檚 cabinet member for housing services, Kye Dudd, told BBC Radio Bristol that a problem with 鈥渃oncrete sections and how they are tied to the supporting walls鈥� had been identified in the building survey.
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Dudd added that the block was not built to the design spec, stating 鈥渋t looks like there is an error in the construction of the building鈥�.
Barton House was constructed in 1958 and is the oldest tower block on the council estate, which is located in the east of the city.
The council鈥檚 statement added: 鈥淲e鈥檙e taking a cautious but sensible approach and asking all residents in the block to evacuate the building immediately.鈥�
It said the evacuation is a 鈥渢emporary measure鈥� so it can conduct 鈥渁 more detailed building survey to see if the results of the initial survey are the same for the rest of the building鈥�.
The council said it cannot say how long residents will be evacuated for but that they will clarify this as quickly as they can.
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