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Imperial Apartments on Whitchurch Lane, Bristol. (Image: Paul Gillis \/ BRISTOL LIVE)<\/p>\nA national charity and seven GP surgeries have called out conditions at the controversial apartment blockImperial Apartments on Whitchurch Lane, Bristol. (Image: Paul Gillis \/ BRISTOL LIVE)<\/p>\n
Council housing chiefs are \u2018considering their options\u2019 over the future of the controversial Imperial Apartments in South Bristol and are reviewing whether or not to continue dealing with housing provider Caridon. The news comes after an open letter penned by homelessness charity Shelter<\/a> and signed by seven local GP surgeries called out the conditions in the converted office complex, telling the council it was not fit for children to live there<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bristol City Council<\/a> has two phased contracts which refer people in need of housing to Imperial Apartments, which is currently run by London-based Caridon. The first contract ends in October this year and the second in March next year.<\/p>\n In late July, the national homelessness charity Shelter, seven local GP surgeries, people living in Imperial Apartments and tenants’ union ACORN were among the signatories to an open letter to Bristol City Council complaining of the conditions<\/a>. The letter described unsuitable conditions for children, living near other residents with drug, alcohol and mental health issues, while South Bristol midwives told the council the properties it was sending young families to were too small to allow for proper development<\/a> of babies and toddlers.<\/p>\n Bristol Live first asked Bristol City Council and Caridon about the letter on Friday, August 1, but neither responded. On the morning of Tuesday, August 5, Bristol Live reported the contents of the letter<\/a>. That week, the city council said it met with Shelter and Caridon to discuss Imperial Apartments, but it still did not respond to Bristol Live\u2019s request for an explanation.<\/p>\n Finally, this week, the council produced a statement attributed to Cllr Richard Eddy<\/a>, the vice chair of the council\u2019s homes and housing delivery committee. Cllr Eddy is the Tory councillor from Bishopsworth who last month sparked fury<\/a> for telling a council meeting that he believed a secondary school in Bristol were ‘acting like terrorists’,<\/a> and he would sooner ‘trust Hamas’ than the school’s leadership.<\/p>\n This month, Cllr Eddy and Cllr Barry Parsons (Green, Easton<\/a>) have been working together in their role as chair and vice chair of the council’s housing committee, on the issue of Imperial Apartments.<\/p>\n \u201cLast week, Councillor Parsons and I had a constructive meeting at Imperial Apartments with representatives from Caridon and Shelter, as well as senior housing officers from the council,\u201d he said this week.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Controversial Imperial Apartments is damaging children, say health chiefs<\/a>READ MORE: Disabled dad living at Imperial Apartments in South Bristol ‘suicidal’ <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe have done a great deal of work in partnership with Caridon over the last year which has resulted in significant improvements for residents.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, we are currently considering our options for when our contracts with Caridon come up for review. No decisions have been made yet, but we value input from our partners, and we\u2019ll carefully consider the letter from Shelter,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
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(Image: Paul Gillis\/Bristol Post)<\/p>\n