Trade union reps previously said the problems there were ‘gobsmacking’
Mouldy ceilings in the Sandy Park depot, pictured in 2024(Image: Bristol City Council)
Progress has been made at a council depot marred with health and safety problems but there is still a long way to go. While the roof over Sandy Park in Brislington has been fixed, council bosses fear it will leak again this winter, and wider questions over the depot’s future still linger.
The Sandy Park depot is the base for staff working at Bristol City Council who are responsible for coordinating damp repairs on council flats. The depot itself had a leaky roof and staff have themselves ironically been complaining about damp and mould and unsafe working conditions.
A year and a half ago the problems there came to a head when a trade union rep told the council’s human resources committee that office staff were sitting next to buckets with tubes leading up to the ceiling to catch rainwater. Since then, a lot of progress has been made.
Speaking to the committee today (April 28) Tom Hedges, commercial property and development lead, said: “Everything we’re doing is focusing on the safety of colleagues, visitors and contractors. The roof looks a bit rough and ready but the key is we need to make sure that it doesn’t leak.
“The roof is now not leaking as far as I know now. But no doubt come the winter, another leak will pop up at some point. That’s the just nature of when we’re talking about such a vast roof space and such a historic roof.”
A tube collecting rainwater at the Sandy Park depot, pictured in 2024(Image: Bristol City Council)
New roof lights have been installed, improving the conditions for the workshops below. And there are now ways for people in wheelchairs to leave the buildings in case of a fire, like ramps.
The Grade-II listed building was formerly a depot used by the Bristol Tram Company. In the longer term, no decision has been made about whether the depot will be kept in future. A new depot strategy will explore “rationalising” the council’s estate of 30 depots dotted around Bristol.
Labour Councillor Kye Dudd said: “To bring it up to a standard where we would be happy to say that we put our staff in that environment, it’s going to be millions of pounds of investment. It could be economically unviable to invest that level, especially at that site. So potentially a move might be more viable.”
Heating bills at the depot are also relatively high, given the lack of insulation. And despite the recent upgrades, staff based at the depot are still reportedly unhappy with conditions. The repairs follow years of complaints, and changing perceptions and reputations takes a while.
Mr Hedges added: “It’s quite difficult to change people’s views. If you went down there now and asked someone, they would probably say ‘it’s still the same’, even though we can categorically prove it’s improved in a number of ways.”