News / Hamilton House
Further uncertainty hangs over future of Hamilton House
Artists and organisations who call Hamilton House home face yet more uncertainty after the building’s owners lost an appeal for permitted development.
Sustainable Britain, part of the Connolly and Callaghan (C&C) property group, admits the rejection by a government planning inspector is “a disappointing decision for the community” but has not confirmed what its next move will be.
The company says that a permitted development application to turn block C into flats would have generated the funds needed to carry out essential renovations on existing workspace and studios in the Stokes Croft building.
is needed now More than ever
C&C has previously warned that if the appeal fails, it would need to submit a full planning application to turn both blocks B and C into homes – a move that would significantly reduce the space dedicated to community use.
Read more: Revealed: Latest development plans for Hamilton House
This comes in the wake of a lengthy battle to save Hamilton House as a community hub and the decision by C&C to oust Coexist, the social enterprise that has run the studios and workspace for the last decade.
Coexist directors have stated their intention to resist the terms of the eviction, while a number of artists and former tenants have spoken out against the change in management, some choosing to leave rather than agree to the new tenancy agreement.
Read more: Coexist challenges terms of Hamilton House eviction
Plans revealed in August outlined the proposals for the redevelopment of Hamilton House. Whether block B was to be turned into flats or retained for community use rested on the outcome of the planning appeal.
Block A, facing Stokes Croft, and the Canteen would be unaffected by the plans.
Diagram showing proposed uses of Hamilton House blocks.
Aerial view of Hamilton House. Taken from display boards by Origin3 Studio architects.
Responding to the decision this week, a spokesperson for Sustainable Britain said: “This is a disappointing decision for the community, as permitted development would have enabled the minimum footprint of Hamilton House to be developed in order to generate the funds needed to renovate the community and office spaces.
“The commissioner had two main points to clarify during the appeal. The first was whether the legal use of the buildings was as offices (Class B1(a)), which had been the original reason for rejection of the application by Bristol City Council. This was decided in our favour.
“The second point was the actual use on the relevant date of May 29, 2013. This had not been raised by Bristol City Council in their initial rejection but was raised by them during the hearing.
“Unfortunately, the commissioner did not feel that the evidence we submitted for times both before and after May 29 was sufficient to prove its actual use on that date.”
The company says one option available is a new application based on additional evidence of actual use and previous cases to persuade Bristol City Council that artists should be treated as legal classification under B1(a).
The news comes in the wake of a long-running battle to save Hamilton House as a community hub
Read more: Final plea over future of Hamilton House
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