Police arrived at Barton House this morning after an earlier protest led by residents and supporters at Bristol City Hall demanding answers from the council came to an abrupt end.

Dozens of Barton House residents gathered inside Bristol City Hall to hold the council accountable for the lack of communication following their evacuation on Tuesday evening from the unsafe tower block.



Residents and members of the wider community gave their testimonies at the protest organised by Acorn, but it came to a sudden end when word was given that officials were removing the possessions of residents from Barton House.

This was confirmed as false by Bristol City Council within an hour but concerned residents had already raced back to the tower block and police had begun to arrive.

When Acorn members and Barton Hill residents arrived at Barton House they were barred entry to the office in the building where councillors were sat.

This caused tensions to rise with chants of "justice for Barton House" being repeated. "

Eventually two councillors appeared to assure residents that they would receive clear communication and to contact them if they needed any help.

Councillor Jenny Bartle said: "Basically there's been a miscommunication. Some furniture apparently has been removed and Acorn was having a protest. They were informed and now there's panic."

Bristol City Council said: "We understand rumours are circulating that officers are removing possessions from flats. "

"To clarify, we are speaking to three tenants about the need to empty their properties to conduct new surveys on the building structure that we have talked about in previous updates. "

"Those three households have kindly agreed to have their possessions put safely into storage ad this will begin shortly."

"No possessions will be removed from other flats. If any further surveys are needed in other flats, we will contact those tenants and ask for permission." "

At the morning protest evacuated residents spoke of being left in the dark by the council on the reasoning behind the evacuation, the next steps, and the terrible conditions at the hotels they had been temporarily housed in.

Their demands included an independent investigation into what happened at Barton House, and the safety of tower blocks across the city, a rehousing plan, reimbursement of November rent, compensation for residents for costs incurred from the evacuation, and mental health support for residents and childcare.

Shaban Ali, 36, a Barton House resident and Acorn member, said: "We were completely left in the dark, I didn't have a clue."

"The group chat started coming alive and rumours were flying all over the place about evacuations happening. There was a complete vacuum of information."

"Then I looked out and saw loads of people in high vis, officials from the council, fire wardens, just running around uncoordinated. There was no plan, no communication. "

"Some people got knocks on their doors, others didn't. It was absolute chaos and pandemonium in there - people screaming, crying. "

"A lot of elderly people, a lot of vulnerable people with very young children. I have two children myself and I didn't know where I was going to go."

"I waited till 1am and didn't hear anything about where to go and stay so I went to a friend's."

Residents received a letter over email from the council on Tuesday evening explaining that the building had been evacuated because of safety concerns.

Bristol City Council said residents would receive an update on Monday.

Yasmin, 30, who lives with her mother and one-year-old son at Barton house, said: "We've been in that block for over 20 years."

"My mum's a vulnerable person, I'm epileptic. Yesterday I had a seizure at the hotel. y mum had no idea where I was."

"When I have a seizure I don't know what I'm doing I can be aggressive, violent, I can wee. Anything could have happened to me."

"Our hotel room is damp, soaking wet, dirty."

"The food for children at the hotel - nothing. How can you expect children to eat curry with bones in?"

Wilfred Stewart, another Barton House resident, has been staying at a Holiday Inn in Bristol since the evacuation and said that the accommodation is dirty.

The 50-year-old lives on the 10th floor of the building and said that in terms of communication from the council he has heard "nothing"."

Protestors held placards with the names of councillors who had failed to turn up to the rally. There were frequent calls of "shame on you" every time they were mentioned."

Abdihakim Asir, a neighbour to Barton House, said: "I was there until midnight. People were still sitting waiting, not able to get a hotel. There were one-week-old babies still there at that time. "

"The whole evacuation and aftermath was not good enough. No one is taking responsibility. The mayor has said he's sorry he's not there but he's not saying who is responsible. "

"They are just leaving people to their own devices and expecting them to solve the problem."

"I know many people in that building who are struggling now in many ways. Not everyone is in a hotel, many people are staying with friends."

Yousif Ahmed, 38, a Barton House resident, said: "It has been very stressful. We were told it's not safe. I've got three kids, we were in danger. "

"We were told to go to the community centre but we went and it was full so my family had to separate. I have a six-year-old, four-year-old and the youngest is two."