ePetition details

By doing this, Bristol City Council has the opportunity to become a world leader in supporting community to become vibrant, thriving and self-sustaining, in-line with its own ‘Development Framework Core Strategy’ (see below).

Despite the building being put up for sale in 2016, the building owners Connolly & Callaghan (C&) have not entertained any bids to buy Hamilton House. Our request is for Bristol City Council to secure a purchase of Hamilton House, either through direct purchase from C&C or, should this not be successful, through a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).

With ownership secured, our proposal would then be for a subsequent Community Share Issue (CSI) which would enable direct community ownership, allowing profits to be reinvested back into the project and other community initiatives. With cuts to government funding and grants, this self-sustaining model enables the resources of the community to fill a widening gap in the third sector. The scale of the community has been proven to have sufficient resources to sustain this model and community ownership empowers local people to own a stake in their own future. This model has been proven to create financially and socially self-sustaining community ventures.

We believe that Coexist are best placed to facilitate this Community Share Issue having been guardians of the building for the previous 10 years. Coexist is a critically acclaimed social impact generator whose work has been studied as far afield as South Korea, Sweden and Canada. Reaching over 2.5 million people a year and collectively generating £21 million annually for the local economy, it is a flagship project for change in the City of Bristol.

By issuing a Compulsory Purchase Order for Hamilton House, Bristol City Council now has the chance to join other councils worldwide that are pioneering socially-led income generation while protecting important community spaces. This step will make Bristol truly unique in the UK - creating a living example of sustainable social investment in our cities.

FURTHER READING:

Coexist Bid to buy Hamilton House (May 2017)
https://www.hamiltonhouse.org/coexist-bid/

Save Hamilton House petition on 38 Degrees
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-hamilton-house

‘Save Hamilton House’ page on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/SaveHamHouse/

‘Bristol Development will Destroy Cultural and Community Hub’ (by Robert Booth, The Guardian, September 27th 2018)
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/27/bristol-development-will-destroy-cultural-and-community-hub

‘Hundreds March to Save Hamilton House’ (By Matty Edwards, The Bristol Cable, September 27th 2018)
Source: https://thebristolcable.org/2018/09/hundreds-march-save-hamilton-house-stokes-croft-coexist/

‘How councils can protect community hubs starting with Bristol's Hamilton House’ (by Fabian Frenzel and Armin Beverungen, The Conversation, October 25th)
Source: http://theconversation.com/how-councils-can-protect-community-hubs-starting-with-bristols-hamilton-house-105193?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1540486937

'Artist Exodus from Hamilton House as Coexist Resist Eviction' (Matty Edwards, the Bristol Cable, November 20th 2018)
Source: https://thebristolcable.org/2018/11/breaking-artist-exodus-from-hamilton-house-as-coexist-resist-eviction/

GUIDANCE ON COMPULSORY PURCHASE PROCESS AND THE CRICHEL DOWN RULES (PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2015)

Section 16: for community assets (at the request of the community or a local body), where: “Local authorities should consider all requests from third parties, but particularly voluntary and community organisations…” [216]

Source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/472851/circular1918885.pdf

BRISTOL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK CORE STRATEGY (ADOPTED JUNE 2011)

Employment Land (Policy BCS8)
The economic performance of the city will be strengthened by

Started by: SaveHamilton House (Save Hamilton House)

This ePetition ran from 30/11/2018 to 15/01/2019 and has now finished.

6017 people signed this ePetition.