Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart in 1958 and went on to win the International Man Booker Prize. He was not thinking of Barton House in Bristol, also originating in 1958, when he wrote it. Nor was he thinking in general about the UK construction industry. But he may as well have been. For on that front one might be forgiven for thinking that things are indeed falling apart.
First came the Grenfell tragedy and the ensuing cladding crisis. Many words have been written on that topic and it led to the Building Safety Act 2022 (more of which later). Then from Summer 2023 there have been nationwide investigations into the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), with many buildings being declared structurally unsafe. Most recently, in mid-November 2023, Barton House a high-rise residential tower block in Bristol hit the news for reasons unrelated to fire-safety or RAAC. Potentially endemic construction problems, it seems, come in threes.
An emergency evacuation of Barton House took place due to safety concerns. A survey appears to have revealed that the concrete wall and floor slabs, of which it is almost entirely constructed, were not properly tied together. Meaning that if damage was sustained to one or two slabs in the event of, for example, a fire then the entire tower block was at risk of collapse. The problem may have existed since 1958!
Although the issues with Barton House are so far reported as being unique to this block, it was built using a Large Panel System (LPS). LPS construction was a method used predominantly between 1950 and 1970. Concerns with that system have been simmering since 1968 when Ronan Point in East London partially collapsed killing 4 occupants. There are around 575 LPS constructed tower blocks in England. The episode at Barton House is likely to trigger urgent structural surveys of these buildings.
A few thoughts from a legal perspective:
1. Under the Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act), 'relevant defects' can be subject to a Remediation Order which requires an owner or landlord to take action to remedy the defect. Risk of collapse is expressly cited in Section 120 of the Act as being a 'relevant defect'. Having said that, most LPS blocks were probably constructed outside of the 30-year relevant period under the Act. Therefore, if the defect was present from construction, these Orders will not be available.
2. In terms of potential claims against professional parties (for example to recover the costs of such remediation) again the retrospectively extended limitation period under the Defective Premises Act 1972 - 30 years - would not stretch back that far, on the assumption the defect was present from construction.
3. However, where LPS buildings have been subject to more recent condition/structural surveys which did not pick up the risk (if indeed there is a risk on a case by case basis) that could potentially be a source of claims. Similarly, if remedial works have already been undertaken but are not effective, again that could give rise to claims against the professionals involved.
Residents, construction professionals and of course lawyers will be watching the space very keenly.
…and if you want a break from the current doom and gloom Mr Achebe's book is well worth a read!
