Residents open hearts for community space

Southville residents “lovebombed” a local former church in a campaign to save the building from being sold to developers.

About 80 locals stuck paper hearts with messages of support on the boarded up building on Sunday to highlight its value to the community.

Faithspace, located on Stackpool Road, is owned by the Southville Methodist Church. It was closed just over a year ago due to a diminishing congregation, forcing community groups such as local choirs and toddlers groups to find alternative venues.

Now campaigners want the building to be reopened as a community space and are calling on the church and the city council for support.

The planned sale of the building was delayed after the Southville Community Development Association secured Faithspace as an asset of community value. However, a property agent has now been appointed by the church and the building is set to go on the market at the end of January.

Jamie Darwen, a local resident and one of the organisers of the campaign, said: “We want the Methodist Church to take notice of what our community needs and wants and to ensure that this building, which generations of families have used, can stay in the community for everyone to enjoy.”

Another resident, Linda Keeys, said: “We are worried that a developer is going to get it and turn it into flats. We want to put pressure on the council and the church to keep it as a community space for groups and clubs to use.”

In a statement, the Southville Methodist Church said: “During the past decade, the support for the worshipping community declined and attempts to engage the local residents failed to boost numbers sufficiently as maintenance and running costs soared.”

Following a review of their churches across the city in 2014, the organisation decided to redeploy resources, including relocating the work of Faithspace and The Bristol Methodist Centre homeless shelter.

The new site in Lawrence Hill will provide 50 per cent more floor space and allow an increasing number of services to over 150 homeless and vulnerable people, the church said. The proceeds of the sale will support the ongoing projects of the Methodist Church in Bristol.

The campaign to keep Faithspace open has also received support from Green and Labour politicians in the area. Stephen Clarke, Green councillor for Southville, raised the issue at a council meeting on Tuesday.

He said: “We are really short of community venues in Southville. We already have a high density of housing, and more houses are planned as the population in the ward continues to increase. That’s why we need to keep the community venues we have to ensure that Southville remains the vibrant and attractive community it currently is.”

A survey conducted by Southville Labour also found overwhelming support for retaining the building for community use.

Bristol mayor George Ferguson said at a council meeting on Tuesday that he has instructed officers to work with the agents and the church over the issue.