Bristol leaseholders' lives at Orchard House on hold after legal order

Leaseholders are still stuck in a block of flats three years after securing a legal order intended to force their landlord to fix fire safety issues. A survey in 2023 found that Orchard House, a five-storey block in Brislington, Bristol, didn't meet fire safety standards, which also means leaseholders cannot sell their flats and face extra costs. Later that year, residents secured a remediation order - a new legal route introduced after Grenfell to force buildings owners to act - but the building is yet to be remediated. Freeholder Stockwood Land 2 Ltd said it "fully recognises the significant impact on leaseholders" and would start the remediation works once approved by Homes England. Steph Culpin, who lives in Orchard House, has been leading the campaign to get her building made fire safe. The legal deadline for remediation works passed in June 2024, but after Bristol City Council said it could not help enforce the remediation order, leaseholders realised they would have to spend thousands doing it themselves. Culpin said the ordeals were "grim" and "mentally draining", and compares it with having a second job. It wasn't until late 2025 that the freeholder applied for funding fro