People's Republic of Stokes Croft building owned by community

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

A local community has raised funds and bought a building, claiming it as a "victory against gentrification".

The Stokes Croft Land Trust has bought the People's Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC) building, bringing it under community ownership.

It is the first building the trust hopes to bring under local ownership.

Keith Cowling, director of Stokes Croft Land Trust, said: "Stokes Croft will change, but we are asking: who will decide what it changes into?"

He added: "We have been aware of gentrification proceeding at pace in Stokes Croft since 2014, we watched venues and clubs get lost to redevelopment."

The Stokes Croft area has a long-standing reputation for alternative living in Bristol.

The graffiti-daubed bohemian district sees Banksy artwork Mild Mild West in pride of place above the canteen diner and the area is known for its music venues.

When Tesco announced plans to open a store on Cheltenham Road in 2011, the area saw protests turn into riots.

People living in the area opposing the store said they "did not want the place to lose its local character".

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

After watching gentrification take over parts of Stokes Croft, a group of locals decided to form the Stokes Croft Land Trust and start buying buildings to save local businesses.

"The cultural institutions of Stokes Croft are what put it on the map, it was an edgy place to be. Then rents went up," Mr Cowling said.

"We could see all that coming in 2014. We wanted to save buildings from asset strippers."

The first building the trust wanted to buy was the PRSC building, which the organisation uses as an events and art space.

"When the PRSC building got put on the market, it hadn't been used for years, it was derelict," Mr Cowling explained.

"Investors assembled on behalf of PRSC in 2014, but it has taken us over eight years to finish the sale."

The trust exchanged contracts with the building's owner in September, after its 400 members invested in the sale.

The trust plans to buy more local spaces in the future to "prioritise them for local purposes"

About the sale, the trust said: "This is a huge moment for us, and for Stokes Croft.

"With this building secured, we're now making our dream a reality: pushing back against the threat of gentrification and corporate takeover of the area, and nurturing the diverse, cultural, rebellious, independent, creative, wonderful place of Stokes Croft."

Mr Cowling said they will not stop there.

"Now, we are already starting to think about our next project. We are looking at the business community in Stokes Croft, cafes, music, arts.

"They're all tenants, they won't get anything when the speculators come.

"We want to keep the locals in the debate. People from outside take the profits elsewhere. Local people are displaced and can't come back," he said.