Protesters gather over council homes auction

More than a dozen former council homes have been sold at auction for £3.27m, with mayor George Ferguson promising that the money raised will be spent on securing a site for more social housing in St Paul’s, and to develop and bring forward a scheme to convert Wilder House on Wilder Street from office to residential use. 

In addition, the mayor will set up a wholly-owned Bristol City Council company to develop, build and let private rented property on a long-term basis. 

The sale on Wednesday was not without controversy, however, with campaigners gathering outside the auction to demonstrate against the sell-off of the 15 council properties as one of the homes in Avonmouth was occupied by a squatter in protest.

Although the demonstration was mostly peaceful, a small group of protesters clashed with police outside All Saints Church on Pembroke Road in Clifton where the auction was taking place, with one person being taken away by police.

Dav Khay, one of the founders of the Magpie squat in Montpelier, was protesting outside the church having been refused access to the auction, despite a group raising £200,000 to buy the property on the corner of Picton Street and Ashley Road.

“Police advised the auctioneers not to let us in,” claimed the 36-year-old tree surgeon who now lives on a narrowboat. “I think it shows fascism in the state and the control of the state.

“You can have the money but you can look a little bit wrong and that means you are not eligible to buy property even if it’s a community resource.”

The homes in Avonmouth, Cotham, Clifton and St Paul’s were being sold as part of a routine sale to get rid of old dilapidated properties and reinvest in new ones.

Bristol mayor George Ferguson has come under fire from critics including his mayoral campaign rival Marvin Rees for authorising the sale during a housing crisis.

But the mayor has promised to build at least 20 new affordable homes in St Paul’s to replace the lost stock.

And the council’s approach has been backed by some housing experts. Oona Goldsworthy, the chief executive at the United Communities housing association, told The Guardian: “It’s much more sensible to sell homes that are very expensive to repair and heat and to use this money to invest in brand new homes that can provide more useable space.

“With such a serious housing crisis in the city, and no new government funding for homes for rent, social landlords have to be creative and responsible in the way we use all our resources.”

The demonstration in Clifton came as Anthony Palmer, 26, an ex-serviceman who was previously being housed by the council, occupied one of the homes Avonmouth with his 18-month old son in protest against the sale.

He told Bristol24/7 he had made the move to the house on Richmond Terrace because he felt he was let down by the council at his previous council lodgings.

He added that he intends to stay there until the council has an adequate property to go to.

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said on Wednesday: “It would be inappropriate for us to discuss someone’s personal circumstances in the media. Our duty of care to vulnerable people and families is a priority, so any comments of this nature are taken very seriously and are always followed-up.

“We plan to proceed with the auction this evening as the inherent issues with these homes make it very hard to bring them up to the standards we aspire to for council housing in Bristol.”

Read more: Mayor pledges affordable homes in auction row