Evacuation of Barton House forecast to cost £3.5m

The evacuation of an unsafe tower block could cost a city council at least £3.5m.

More than 400 council tenants had to leave Barton House in Bristol on 14 November due to safety fears.

The costs for Bristol City Council are expected to significantly increase if surveys show the building remains unsafe for residents to return to.

While a few tenants are still living in Barton House, most are now staying in a Holiday Inn hotel.

The council's cabinet will hear about the costs of the evacuation in a meeting on Tuesday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Bristol City Council's emergency spending package includes a deal with Holiday Inn for hotel stays.

This will cost the council £620,000 for guest rooms, along with £614,000 for food and drink, £937,000 for security and parking, £45,600 for laundry and £10,300 for cleaning.

Vulnerable tenants who find staying in hotels "very difficult" will be placed in serviced apartments, which is expected to cost £221,800.

The Holiday Inn has been booked until the end of January.

A cabinet report said: "Further costs around home loss payments, void loss from units affected, and other compensation may also arise should a decision be required to decommission the building following further detailed analysis of the building structure."

Barton House was built in 1958 and has had "waking watch" fire marshals patrolling the building since May 2022.

With fewer residents in the building, the chances of spotting a fire early are much less so the council has said it would pay for more marshals to keep watch.

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