Residents in Bristol housing block told £18m refurb project not going ahead

BBC News

6 days ago

A woman who lives in a council housing block has said she "doesn't want to go home" after residents were told a long-awaited £18m refurbishment project would not go ahead.Selma Reid, a resident at Haviland House, in St Jude's, Bristol, said her flat leaks regularly, and is among many residents unhappy with conditions in their homes.Bristol City Council has told residents that it is now unable to carry out planned internal refurbishment work because a survey had found that the building's structure required investment first and these works had not been budgeted for. Councillor Barry Parsons said he understood residents' disappointment but that safety was the council's priority.
The scheme had been due to improve conditions inside five interlinked 1960s housing blocks - Haviland House, John Cozens House, Tyndall House, Langton House and Charleton House.Hundreds of people who live in about 180 homes across the site were informed that the council would not be going ahead with the project earlier this month.
After a long campaign from residents, the council had initially agreed to spend money on insulation, roofing and communal areas in June 2024. However, structural engineering contractor, Ridge, found that although the site was safe to live in, it required work "to ensure the continued safety of the building". The council said: "These works were not budgeted for and therefore the council has made the difficult decision to not move ahead with the full proposed refurbishment plan."
Ms Reid told the BBC the council had previously "promised" to move her out of the block."They told me they were coming to refurbish my flat and they were going to move me out and refurbish it, but I haven't seen them," she said. "I used to have a leak practically every single day. I'd be in my bed at three o'clock in the morning - it's raining in my bedroom, raining in the passages, raining in the bathroom - it's raining everywhere in my flat."And what do they [the council] do? They give me £20 to turn on my humidifier."Ms Reid said she had not used her bath in more than 20 years due to the "nastiness" that comes through the tap.She added: "I don't think they [the council] care - you walk outside and the buildings look disgusting and nasty. "I come home and I don't want to come home. I want to get away from here."
Ms Reid's neighbour John Dyer has lived at Haviland House for 27 years and is also unhappy with conditions in his flat.He said: "The council cancel everything and they never do nothing. It's just a mess."
'Poor conditions'
Parsons said he was "sad" to hear residents' stories.He said: "People have been living with poor conditions in their council homes, especially some of our blocks, for many years now."I know what a blow it is for people to now hear we can't proceed."Unfortunately the structural survey we carried out as part of this work revealed that we need to invest in these blocks to make sure they are safe - that has to be our number one priority."Parsons said structural work would start "over the next few months", with inspections and repairs taking place in the coming weeks.