Bristol group to buy Stokes Croft PRSC building to 'fight gentrification'

Keith Cowling said community ownership avoided the "bureaucracy of public sector ownership" and the "value extraction of private ownership"

A new group is hoping to buy a landmark Bristol building and bring it into community ownership.

The Stokes Croft Land Trust (SCLT) aims to "fight back against gentrification in Bristol" by purchasing the People's Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC) HQ site.

Almost half of their minimum target of £272,000 was raised in just 24 hours.

SCLT director Keith Cowling said they wanted to "make the local economy sustainable".

The PRSC HQ building was bought by angel investors in 2014 who will sell it back to the group for the same price they paid

The trust is raising the money via community shares, where each investor becomes a member and can have a say on how the building is run.

"It's stewardship by an organisation that's democratic, that's open to membership to all local people, that democratically controls the use of local resources, particularly land and buildings," Mr Cowling said.

Liam Stock, general manager of the Stokes Croft-based bar and music venue The Canteen, said the project was "a great idea," but added: "It won't be anywhere near enough to stop the citywide issue. It needs rent caps and regulation from the council and the area is way too far gone in my opinion."

Mr Stock said The Canteen's rent had recently been doubled and it would be too expensive to be bought under community ownership.

"But we certainly support it, and the idea of community ownership," he added.

Charlie James, owner of the nearby Jamaica Street Stores, said as "Bristol becomes bigger and indeed more gentrified, we are, by default losing the intricate and unique cultural hubs" to what he described as "large, faceless" multi-national companies.

"If the Stokes Croft Land Trust serves to protect the culture and diversity of Stokes Croft then it has my support for sure," he added.

Mr Cowling said when the PRSC building came on to the market "we just knew we had to find a way of acquiring it"

Mr Cowling, who is also the founder of the Bristol Community Land Trust, said the area had long been "blighted by planning".

"In the last 20 years, a derelict neighbourhood has been populated by cultural industries and it became the young persons' centre of Bristol.

"The danger in situations like that is you see institutional money starting to arrive. The value local people have created gets siphoned off.

"We're trying to prevent that process of the extraction and put the building in [local people's] hands and allow them to prioritise it for local purposes."

Bristol City Council was unable to respond to the comments.

The PRSC is a community organisation that promotes "the interests" of Stokes Croft, focusing on arts, culture and the local economy

Mr Cowling said the adjacent and derelict Carriageworks and Westmoreland House had "kept the lid on the area becoming a free-for-all of property prices".

That is now being developed into 143 apartments, retail units and a marketplace that local developer PG Group says will "enhance the neighbourhoods' independent spirit".

Mr Cowling said that while the developer had worked with the local community, "it's clear that Stokes Croft is an investment opportunity".

The Stokes Croft Land Trust hopes that once it has purchased the PRSC building it will be in a good position to buy more local spaces.

People can purchase shares in the scheme until 28 February.