Charity to repay millions after Bristol Beacon revamp

Bristol Beacon's transformation saw the main hall remodelled, the cellars opened up and a new performance area built

A charity running a concert venue is set to hand over £8m of its profits to repay some taxpayer cash invested in the revamp.

Bristol City Council partly funded the transformation of the Bristol Beacon, which ended up costing more than £130m.

The Bristol Music Trust has now signed a contract to repay the council the agreed upon sum over 30 years.

If the amount cannot be repaid, the council may consider finding an alternative way of running the venue.

The Bristol Beacon, previously known as Colston Hall, closed in 2018 for refurbishments.

The £132m bill for the project included £84m from the council, instead of its initial £10m commitment, with other funders including the Heritage Lottery Fund and the West of England Combined Authority.

The council has reportedly spent more on the renovation of the venue in the past year than on new homes, expanding schools or low-carbon energy projects.

Bristol Music Trust said the repayments would come from commercial profits post re-opening, and would start in two years.

Annual payments will be made subject to the trust having reserve levels of £850k, the trust said.

The charity has been ordered to annually update Bristol City Council on its business plan and performance.

Both parties have agreed they will consider alternative operating models if the trust is unable to meet the conditions of repayment after two years.

Once the venue has stabilised after reopening, the Bristol Music Trust said it would revise its business plan to accommodate the owed sum.

The Bristol Beacon is due to reopen on 30 November.

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