An open letter signed by GP and NHS bosses across South Bristol has slated the council’s controversial ‘temporary’ housing siteImperial Apartments on Whitchurch Lane, Bristol.

Five NHS organisations have joined national homelessness charity Shelter in calling on Bristol City Council to stop sending families with children to the council’s controversial ‘temporary’ housing accommodation in South Bristol. They say the cramped and dangerous accommodation at Imperial Apartments is damaging child development, and that the huge converted office block has become a no-go area for some health professionals.

In an open letter to City Hall, the national charity said everyone currently housed at Imperial Apartments, especially the families, feel ‘trapped’ and like the place is a ‘prison’. Shelter has urged the council to provide a route out for anyone housed at Imperial Apartments in Hengrove, which was first converted from the council’s former Parkview office complex back in 2021.

People who need to be housed are sent by Bristol City Council to Imperial Apartments, which is run by national housing company Caridon. For years, families there have complained their children are living alongside other residents with drug addiction issues, mental health issues and alcohol issues.

And worse, residents have for years claimed they had been told Imperial Apartments was temporary housing, only to then find that by moving there they lose their priority place on the council’s housing waiting list so effectively get stuck there with no chance of moving out.

South Bristol MP Karin Smyth joined the calls for the council to change its policy over Imperial Apartments, and the Shelter letter has been signed by five local NHS organisations, along with a range of charities and campaign groups dealing with the housing crisis in the city. Shelter said the open letter has been written on behalf of a group of parents the charity has been supporting there.

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“Shelter has spoken to residents who have shared that when they were placed at Imperial Apartments, they were explicitly told it was temporary accommodation,” said the Shelter letter. “This was seriously misleading and has led to residents being placed into HomeChoice Band 4, with no hope of moving to suitable permanent social homes,” it added.

“Unless their circumstances change and they can make a homeless application or move up a priority banding on HomeChoice Bristol, households are now trapped in what has been described by residents as ‘a prison’. They also cannot afford to move to alternative private rental accommodation, as Bristol has some of the most expensive rents outside London.

“The building is a converted office block, and concerns continue to be raised about its poor physical condition. The restrictive physical characteristics of the accommodation, although designed under permitted development rights, mean that a lot of flats are not actually suitable for people to live in,” they added.

What are the issues at Imperial Apartments?

The hard-hitting letter from Shelter echoes much of the reporting by Bristol Live over the past four years of the issues at Imperial Apartments – both in terms of the unsuitability of the accommodation for young families, the issues with anti-social behaviour, crime and addiction, and the prospects of people being moved on, once they are housed there.

In 2022, the council carried out a review into the former Parkview office complex in Hengrove and found that, while the site is ‘suitable for many families with children’, it admitted the situation required further improvement. There are 465 units of private rented accommodation at Imperial Apartments and Bristol City Council rent out 316 of them, more than two-thirds of the total.

“High numbers of heavy internal security doors make flats inaccessible to people with mobility issues, those with limiting health conditions, as well as families with young children, shopping and prams,” the Shelter letter said.

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“According to local midwives, the small size of the flats also severely limits the space that children have to develop and grow in, especially babies who are crawling and learning to walk. This means that residents are currently trapped in highly unsuitable conditions,” it added.

“There are constant reports from residents of communal areas being littered with drug and alcohol paraphernalia, as well as vermin infestations, flats with damp and mould, and other disrepair issues. None of these are being addressed in a timely manner. Bristol City Council themselves describe having ongoing issues with Caridon, who are failing to address these problems.

“Families we have worked with have frequently reported incidents of anti-social behaviour in and around the Imperial Apartments complex. They are afraid to leave their flats after witnessing incidents of violence, harassment, racism, or other anti-social behaviour on the site.

“These concerns extend to crucial health services. And some have stopped responding to calls to go to Imperial Apartments as they are worried about the safety of their staff,” Shelter added.

“These combined issues are of grave concern to the families currently living there and would undoubtedly have negative effects on any new family that was placed there. These factors are damaging lives. Nobody should be living in such conditions, let alone families with children,” the letter added.

Who is the letter from?

The open letter to Bristol City Council has been put together by national homelessness charity Shelter, on behalf of families who live at Imperial Apartments. Other signatories include five NHS organisations, mainly who work in South Bristol and deal with families who live there.

They include Swift Primary Care Network, which runs seven GP surgeries across South Bristol, two Hartcliffe GP surgeries – Hartwood Healthcare and Hillview Medical Practice – the Knowle West Health Park, the community midwifery team for Whitchurch and Stockwood, Caring In Bristol, the Bristol Fair Renting Campaign, tenants union ACORN and Housing Matter.

What are the signatories demanding?

The list of demands from Shelter, the signatories of the letter and the families are to stop placing families at Imperial Apartments, and to place families currently living at Imperial Apartments on Band 2 on HomeChoice Bristol.

The letter also demands that the council provides clear routes for anyone housed in Imperial Apartments to move out by maintaining their position on HomeChoice Bristol, giving them a meaningful package of support to help them move into alternative suitable private rented accommodation.

What does Karin Smyth say?

Bristol Live has reported regularly for the past four years on the plight of people the council places at Imperial Apartments, and the political campaigns to improve things there. Several years ago Karin Smyth MP (Lab, Bristol South) called on the Labour-run council to find alternative accommodation for families living there, and to stop sending new families there.

“It has long been my view that Imperial Apartments is not an appropriate long term housing solution for families,” she said. “I applaud the efforts of Shelter and other campaign groups to improve the lives of those living at this development.

“I continue to make representations on behalf of constituents living in Imperial Apartments to Bristol City Council regarding social housing allocations and to Caridon, the landlord,” added Mrs Smyth, who is now a health minister in the Labour Government.

Karin Smyth MP

“A significant element of the solution to Bristol’s housing crisis is to build more council homes to rent. Like so many others, I grew up in a rented council house which provided a permanent and secure home. Following recent national government announcements of additional resources for the building of such homes, I have asked the current leadership of Bristol City Council to reconsider their decision to scrap 70 per cent of the council house building programme they inherited.

“I hope that Bristol City Council considers carefully the requests of those living at Imperial Apartments and their supporters, and responds in a positive manner.

What does Bristol City Council and Caridon say?

Bristol Live asked Bristol City Council and Caridon about the Shelter letter last week, and a response is awaited.