Former youth club could be demolished next year

Labour councillors Lisa Durston and Rob Logan are calling on the council to renovate Eagle House

A former youth club could be demolished next year despite an election pledge to return the building to the community.

An evangelical church has rented Eagle House in Knowle West from Bristol City Council for the past decade and their lease expires next May.

In the run up to the local elections last year, Green candidates campaigned on ending the lease early and reopening the building as a youth centre.

The building is located on Newquay Road, near where two teenagers, Max Dixon and Mason Rist, were fatally stabbed last year.

The youth club closed in 2014 as part of wider cuts to youth services across Bristol.

A lack of youth centres has often been linked to the rising rates of knife crime, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

However, the council will likely knock down the building after the church's lease expires.

Green Councillor Tony Dyer, leader of the council, was asked about Eagle House during a member forum meeting on Tuesday.

In a written answer before the meeting, he said that vacant buildings attract anti-social behaviour and "demolition would prevent this."

Labour are calling on the council to renovate Eagle House.

The council's capital budget - spent on upgrading infrastructure like buildings, roads and bridges - has a lot of money left over this year, some of which could be used on the former youth club.

During the meeting, Labour councillor Lisa Durston, who represents Filwood, urged the council leader to commit to using some of this unspent money on renovating Eagle House.

Labour estimates this would cost £280,000, although this figure was disputed by Mr Dyer who claimed the refurbishment might be more expensive than that.

Mr Dyer said: "We need to make sure what are the costs involved, and how much it would take.

"We need to make a decision that's best long-term for the community, and that may not be simply leaving the building there until we can find the funds to bring it up to speed.

"We need to work out what the potential options could be going forward."