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Imperial Apartments on Whitchurch Lane, Bristol. <\/p>\nAn 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. <\/p>\n
Five NHS organisations have joined national homelessness charity Shelter in calling on Bristol City Council<\/a> to stop sending families with children to the council\u2019s controversial \u2018temporary\u2019 housing accommodation in South Bristol. They say the cramped and dangerous accommodation at Imperial Apartments is damaging child development<\/a>, and that the huge converted office block has become a no-go area for some health professionals.<\/p>\n In an open letter to City Hall, the national charity said everyone currently housed at Imperial Apartments, especially the families, feel \u2018trapped\u2019 <\/a>and like the place is a \u2018prison\u2019. Shelter has urged the council to provide a route out for anyone housed at Imperial Apartments in Hengrove<\/a>, which was first converted from the council\u2019s former Parkview office complex back in 2021.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> are living alongside other residents with drug addiction issues, mental health issues and alcohol issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n And worse, residents have for years claimed they had been told Imperial Apartments was temporary housing<\/a>, only to then find that by moving there they lose their priority place on the council\u2019s housing waiting list so effectively get stuck there with no chance of moving out.<\/p>\n South Bristol MP Karin Smyth joined the calls for the council to change its policy over Imperial Apartments<\/a>, and the Shelter letter has been signed by five local NHS<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Imperial Apartments living conditions ‘not getting better’, says resident<\/a>READ MORE: Young mums feel \u2018unsafe\u2019 at Bristol apartment block with ‘maggots and rats’<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cShelter has spoken to residents who have shared that when they were placed at Imperial Apartments, they were explicitly told it was temporary accommodation,\u201d said the Shelter letter. \u201cThis was seriously misleading and has led to residents being placed into HomeChoice Band 4, with no hope of moving to suitable permanent social homes,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless 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 \u2018a prison\u2019. They also cannot afford to move to alternative private rental accommodation, as Bristol has some of the most expensive rents outside London.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n What are the issues at Imperial Apartments?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n In 2022, the council carried out a review into the former Parkview office complex in Hengrove<\/a> and found that, while the site is ‘suitable for many families with children’<\/a>, it admitted the situation required further improvement<\/a>. There are 465 units of private rented accommodation at Imperial Apartments and Bristol City Council<\/a> rent out 316 of them, more than two-thirds of the total.<\/p>\n \u201cHigh 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,\u201d the Shelter letter said.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Life at the converted office block where residents say they\u2019ve been \u2018left to rot\u2019<\/a>READ MORE: Police continuing to be called to Imperial Apartments nearly every other day<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAccording 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,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n \u201cThere 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.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThese 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,\u201d Shelter added.<\/p>\n \u201cThese 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,\u201d the letter added.<\/p>\n Who is the letter from?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n They include Swift Primary Care Network, which runs seven GP surgeries across South Bristol, two Hartcliffe<\/a> GP surgeries – Hartwood Healthcare and Hillview Medical Practice – the Knowle<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n What are the signatories demanding?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n What does Karin Smyth say?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has long been my view that Imperial Apartments is not an appropriate long term housing solution for families,\u201d she said. \u201cI applaud the efforts of Shelter and other campaign groups to improve the lives of those living at this development.<\/p>\n
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Karin Smyth MP <\/p>\n