Entire floor of building to be demolished due to safety risks

Residents of a six-storey block of flats have been told the top floor could be completely demolished and rebuilt due to safety issues.

People living in The Milliners in Redcliffe have received a letter stating part of the building was not built to the required building regulations.

Homeowners of the flats on St Thomas Street have been “left in limbo” for years after being told in 2020 that their building has serious safety defects and is a potential fire hazard.

They have since been effectively trapped in homes that are unsellable and potentially facing bills of tens of thousands of pounds.

Bristol24/7 has approached Railpen, the parent company of The Milliners’ freeholder Grey GR Ltd, for comment.

Steph Pike, who lives in the building, is a solicitor who went on to become a prominent campaigner on the building safety crisis. She took to X, formerly Twitter, to share part of the letter.

“They have found that substantive work will be required to the 6th floor of the building, where you live,” the letter signed off by Grey GR read.

“When the building was developed, elements of the timber frame and construction were not up to the required standards for fire resistance.

“This means the “SIPS” timber frame and floor construction is non-compliant with Part B of the Building Regulations in terms of the requisite fire resistance required for buildings over 18m and will require additional remedial works.

“In laypersons terms, this part of the building was not built to the required building regulations.

It continued: “We will need to demolish and rebuild the 6* floor of the building as well as replace the façade cladding between floors 1 and 5.”

“We are sorry for the disruption this will cause, but this work is necessary to improve the safety of the building for residents.”

The sixth floor of The Milliners could be completely demolished and rebuilt due to safety issues – photo: Martin Booth

“It’s bittersweet because it’s some news finally after months of nothing but it’s so vague,” said another resident Matt, who did not wish to give his surname.

“They say at the end of the letter ‘if you have any questions during then call at the end of the month’ and we are like, ‘of course, we have questions’ – a lot of questions.

“But to have some sort of news which seems concrete makes me think they are actually probably going to do what they’re saying this time.”

Matt bought a one-bed flat in The Milliners in 2017 through the government’s Help to Buy scheme for £250,000. The 31-year-old academic has since moved out and lives in Scotland with his partner. He now rents out the apartment but he said it’s become a “devastating” financial liability because he can’t sell without losing thousands.

He added: “We left some years ago and haven’t any connections to Bristol anymore, but we can’t leave. I haven’t seen the flat in a long time because it’s painful to look at. It feels like a different time of our lives completely – just this big, terrible thing that’s lingering.”

The Grenfell Tower tragedy in June 2017 set in motion a series of events and political interventions that created the building safety crisis which has affected thousands of leaseholders across the country.

More than half of council tower blocks in Bristol have flammable polystyrene cladding, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read next:

• Bristol’s building safety crisis uncovered
• Bristol24/7 Woman of the Year: Steph Pike
• Campaigners celebrate new fire safety measures following Twinnell House fire

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