Residents who were told to leave unsafe Bristol high-rise may not return for weeks

Residents evacuated from an ageing Bristol tower block may not be able to return for weeks, after the city council confirmed major flaws in its construction 65 years ago had left it at serious risk.

- Steven Morris

About 400 people including an estimated 100 children were told to leave Barton House, the oldest of the city council's high-rises. Nine households refused to leave and 29 households could not be contacted, while the remainder stayed with friends and family or were put up in hotels and a rest centre at city hall.

Yesterday the Bristol mayor, Marvin Rees, said further surveys on the 15-storey block were needed before people could return. Asked if the building had been dangerous for 65 years, he said: "It wasn't built in line with the design specifications, so the answer by definition is yes."

Rees continued: "A survey of three out of 98 flats has indicated that the building may not have been built to the specification set out in its design. A number of issues have emerged that suggest the building's construction is sufficiently different to its blueprints that there is a material risk to the structure of the block in the event of a fire, explosion or large impact.

"This includes the apparent lack of structural ties between the floors and the load-bearing external walls.