Old magistrates court to be transformed after major funding boost

A £6.4million youth project that seemed doomed after a funding snub by Bristol City Council can finally go ahead after lottery chiefs stumped up more cash.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which had already granted £4.25m to charity Creative Youth Network (CYN) to transform the old magistrates court in Bridewell Street into an enterprise hub for deprived young people, has awarded a further £453,000, it announced on Thursday.

It means work can finally begin on the ambitious scheme called The Courts, with the extra money plugging about 60 per cent of the gap left when the local authority made the surprising decision to block the final £758,000 needed from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to meet the target.

That decision, announced at WECA committee in April by Bristol deputy mayor councillor Craig Cheney, was met with anger and disbelief from campaigners who claimed it was politically motivated because CYN was run for 15 years until the start of 2022 by Sandy Hore-Ruthven, the Green candidate who finished second behind Labour’s Marvin Rees in last year’s city mayoral election.

It was branded as “appalling” and “nonsensical” by Labour’s West of England metro mayor Dan Norris and came despite a letter signed by 50 influential Bristol organisations and individuals in the creative, youth and business sector urging the committee to approve the money as officers recommended.

We are so grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for this extra funding ?. It is such a milestone in our courts project. Bring on September when works begin! https://t.co/CcPfQ6sCNk

— CreativeYouthNetwork (@Creative_Youth) August 11, 2022

Cheney, standing in for Rees, told the meeting at Kingswood civic centre that although the city council was “absolutely supportive” of the project, it had already invested £100,000 in its early stages.

He said it could not justify giving so much more when other organisations were “crying out” for a fraction of the £758,000, despite the fact the cash would come from WECA, not the local authority.

The other two voting members of the committee – the leaders of South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset councils – said they would have supported the investment if it was in their areas but could not go against the wishes of the “host” authority, so no vote was taken.

Despair has now turned to joy, although the search continues to find the remaining funding needed to complete the hub, which will be worth £7.3million a year to the local economy and provide training, apprenticeships and mentoring in areas such as drama, music, film, animation, IT and games design for 500 young creatives aged 16 to 25 from disadvantaged backgrounds across the region.

The additional lottery money means work can now start to redevelop the derelict Grade II-listed building in the city centre into a community space.- photo: Rob Browne

The original Victorian courtrooms, lobby and main atrium will be fully restored to become networking and learning areas alongside a bar/café, while historic features will be retained.

Upstairs floors will be available for creative businesses to rent, with other spaces available for events such as exhibitions and performances.

CYN chief executive Mark Coates said: “We’re really grateful for this extra show of support from the Heritage Fund.

“Even though we are still having to fundraise to reach the total project cost, the additional grant money demonstrates the faith everyone has in the project and its significance for talented young people from disadvantaged communities in and around Bristol, and the region’s creative sector.

“We hope this will help trigger further investment in The Courts.

“It really is going to be an outstanding facility for the West of England, a development that does not exist anywhere else in the UK.

“The Courts, and the young people whose lives it will transform, deserve widespread support.”

National Lottery Heritage Fund regional director Stuart McLeod said: “The Courts project has been a high priority for us as not only does it restore this derelict Grade II-listed building but it also gives such a huge amount back to the people of Bristol.

“It will create a space where young people can be creative, learn a new skill and come together to support each other.”

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

Read more: In photos: Inside Bristol’s former magistrates’ court 

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