People living in a block of flats built just 14 years ago have been told their homes will have to be demolished next year because of issues with the way they were built.
There are 21 homes in the Bouverie Court development, which was constructed in Easton back in 2011, and all the people living there have been told they will have to find somewhere else to live in 2026.
The housing association that rents out the 14 flats and seven terraced homes said it would be working with Bristol City Council to help them find other places to live, but legal action against the construction firm that built the development has failed because the company went bust.
That has left Elim Housing Association facing a £4 million bill for all the work that needs doing to the Bouverie Court building – something the firm can’t afford to do.
Elim, a small Bristol-based housing association run by Paul Smith, the former city council cabinet member for housing between 2016 and 2021, said it will have to demolish the buildings and sell the land instead.
The development was built on the site of a pub that was demolished in 2007. It was constructed by contractor ISG Pearce in 2011, but ten years later, a fire safety survey carried out in 2021 found an extensive number of issues with the structure and build quality at Bouverie Court and the homes on Easton Road too. “A number of interim safety measures have been in place since then to ensure the safety of the building whilst a longer-term solution was found,” a spokesperson for Elim, which inherited the building, said.
“Elim was pursuing a legal claim against ISG Pearce to recover the financial sum required to carry out the remediation works at the building. After ISG became insolvent and collapsed into legal administration in September 2024, Elim was unable to progress the claim for the estimated £4 million cost of works required at Bouverie Court.
“As a smaller Housing Association with limited funds, Elim’s Board has since made the decision that it is not financially viable to undertake the remedial works at the building,” the spokesperson added.
Paul Smith said the decision to demolish the buildings and people’s homes was a hard one to make, and it was made ‘with great regret’. “The decision to demolish our Bouverie Court homes was extremely difficult, and our primary concern is the welfare of our residents,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the inherited repairs, poor efficiency and structural issues identified at the scheme, along with the unviable potential long-term disruption for residents means we have taken the hard decision to demolish the properties after exhausting all other possible solutions.
“Elim is working closely with local authorities and other housing providers to support our residents during the transition period,” he added.
Residents were told of the news at a meeting on Saturday, and given a deadline to move out of March 2026. Elim said that, as part of any arrangement for the future sale of the land, they will ‘explore options that will prioritise future development that meets housing need in the local area’.