News / Hamilton House
‘It’s disappointing Hamilton House owners have disregarded the wishes of the majority’
The custodians of Hamilton House have been dealt a potentially devastating blow that they fear could see the thriving community hub turned over to profiteers.
On Thursday evening, the building’s owners Connolly and Callaghan (C&C) announced that they would not be issuing a long-term lease to Coexist, the social enterprise that has developed and managed the vibrant space since its inception in 2008.
This follows more than a year of uncertainty, fraught negotiations and the launch of a campaign to save the Stokes Croft hub.
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C&C bosses say they decided not to offer Coexist the ten-year lease due to concerns over the organisation’s “ability to successfully manage and execute its business plan” – they have given a 30 day notice period in which new managers will be sought.
They maintain that they have no wish to see Coexist leave Hamilton House, but want to “release them from the responsibility of space management so that they can focus on the community outreach that is their core value”.
Following a lengthy battle to safeguard the building for community and a rejected bid to buy it in 2016, Coexist directors see it differently.
A packed meeting in July 2017 in which the community spoke out about the future of Hamilton House
Director Danny Balla said: “It is disappointing that C&C have disregarded the wishes of the majority in the local community and the city of Bristol.
“Instead of accepting Coexist’s offer to put Hamilton House into community ownership and safeguard this extraordinary hub for community use, C&C are pushing ahead with plans to develop the building with no clear purpose or mandate.”
The news comes just a week after C&C revealed plans for development of the building – something it says is necessary to generate the revenue required for vital modernisation work.
Coexist say that as part of the strategy to increase revenues, C&C doubled the rent and was in the process of increasing it further – putting the social enterprise under “extreme pressure” amid spiralling costs and crippling uncertainty.
Despite this, the Coexist team drew up new business plans and identified a part grant-funded model to maintain the much-loved community arts space.
The building’s owners said it arrived at the decision following an independent review of the financial plans.
C&C’s Fran Connolly said: “C&C intend to work with Coexist over the next 30 days to identify the community outreach parts of Coexist and its employees that wish to stay within Hamilton House community, and where we can, agree a viable pathway to fiscal sustainability.
He added: “While I appreciate that Coexist will be disappointed by our decision, I hope they will put the interests of the licensees and community users of Hamilton House first to ensure that they are impacted as little as possible during this transition.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we feel that this is the best way of respecting the successes of the past, strengthening areas of weakness to create a sustainable community hub for the future.”
Diagram showing proposed uses of Hamilton House blocks.
The company is now inviting proposals from “interested local space management organisations” on condition that they honour and maintain the agreed community outreach parts of Hamilton House as part of their overall business plans.
Brendan Tate Wistreich, chair of the Coexist board, says the move will “turn the community work that happens at Hamilton House into a commodity that serves the interest of those who stand to profiteer from the success of the area”.
He added: “Hamilton House is a sanctuary for all those who believe in a more vibrant and cooperative society.”
Orange figurines outside Hamilton House as part of a public art protest about the artists forced to leave the building
With C&C’s application for planning still uncertain, the Coexist team have made it clear that they are still open to finding a solution that benefits C&C and genuinely empowers the community.
They will host an open community meeting at 1pm on Wednesday, September 5 in the Hamilton House events space detailing their negotiations with C&C, their business plan and taking questions on the unfolding situation.
Read more: ‘We need to secure Hamilton House for this generation’
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