World War II bomb experts will be brought in to oversee the demolition of the Premier Inn near the Bearpit and the construction of Bristol’s tallest building amid fears of unexploded devices. Ordnance specialists say there is an “elevated medium risk” of German bombs from the Luftwaffe and Allied anti-aircraft projectiles being unearthed on part of the site.
A risk assessment report, submitted to the city council’s planning department, compiled on behalf of the developers who are seeking to make some changes to the scheme, says the repercussions of a detonation during excavation works are “potentially profound, both in terms of human and financial cost”. It said: “A serious risk to life and limb, damage to plant and total site shutdown during follow-up investigations are potential outcomes.
“However, if appropriate risk mitigation measures are put in place, the chances of initiating an item of UXO (unexploded ordnance) during groundworks is comparatively low.” The hotel is being demolished and replaced with a giant block of student flats called St James House which will be 28 storeys high, two storeys higher than the current tallest building in the city, Castle Park View.
There will also be an 18-storey co-living high-rise. The highest building will have 442 beds and the other 132 larger co-living units, although the developers are asking for permission to increase this to 150 by changing the internal layout.
The council’s development control committee granted planning consent for the original scheme by Olympian Homes in March. That came with a raft of conditions, including carrying out an unexploded ordnance risk assessment, which has now been submitted to the local authority.
The 74-page report by experts 1st Line Defence said: “[We have] assessed that there is an overall Medium Risk from German and anti-aircraft unexploded ordnance within the north, north-west and western sections of the site. There is an assessed Low Risk from German and anti-aircraft unexploded ordnance within the remainder of the site.
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“There is also an assessed Negligible Risk from Allied unexploded ordnance across the site. Available evidence suggests structures within and immediately bordering the site to the north, north-west and west may have sustained damage as a result of bombing.”
It said that “of concern” was a phenomenon called the J-curve effect where an unexploded bomb lands among damaged structures, moves in a different direction and then curves towards the surface, ending with its nose cone pointing up. The report said: “As a result, these sections of the site are considered to be at an elevated Medium Risk of UXO contamination and proactive risk mitigation measures are proposed within these areas.”
It said: “From June 1940 to April 1941, Bristol suffered a series of extensive air raids, with large amounts of ordnance dropped by the Luftwaffe on the region and surrounding civilian areas through carpet-bombing. Bristol was the fourth most bombed city in Britain between August 1940 and June 1941, behind only London, Liverpool, and Birmingham.
“A total of 548 raids were recorded within the County Borough of Bristol, resulting in 1,229 people killed and 3,205 injured. 3,000 homes were destroyed and thousands more damaged.”
It said the site where the Premier Inn now stands was “within close proximity” of a number of Luftwaffe targets, including the Floating Harbour, Bristol Gasworks, Albion and Wapping Dock, and the closest, the Great Mill, about 500 metres to the south. The report said: “The site location may also have been targeted as part of the general Luftwaffe bombing campaign on the civilian population.”
The report said it was estimated that 10 per cent of “high explosive” bombs dropped by World War II German aircraft failed to explode. Part of the application to vary planning conditions includes a change of wording to follow 1st Line Defence’s risk mitigation plan.
The report said this included having UXO specialists on site to support open excavations in the medium risk areas. They will monitor the works and provide an “immediate response to reports of suspicious objects or suspected items of ordnance that have been recovered by the ground workers on site”.
The experts will also give briefings to staff on the basics of identifying unexploded bombs and what to do if they encounter one.
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