By Nina Bryant, News Sub-editor
Supporters of Hamilton House in Stokes Croft assembled yesterday evening (Wednesday 26 September) to protest plans to develop the community centre into flats.
Earlier this evening, protestors gathered outside Hamilton House to challenge new plans which would remove access to affordable workspaces for hundreds of artists, outreach programmes and social enterprises.
People dressed in orange and grey and carried signposts with slogans such as, ‘artists make Stokes Croft valuable,’ ‘people before profit,’ and ‘don’t rip the heart out of Stokes Croft’. Songs, with lyrics such as 'save Hamilton House' were also sung as protestors congregated round the building in support.
Image: Nina Bryant / Epigram
Those gathered were there in support for a variety of reasons. Some worked in Stokes Croft or had friends who work for social enterprises based in Hamilton House while others joined in because they love Hamilton House and all that it offers to the community.
Ari, a representative from Coexist, a non-profit social enterprise which currently manages the space, said that they were protesting because they did not want the developers to do what every developer does and disrupt community spaces in order to make a profit. She told Epigram: 'let’s make community spaces important, let’s make them long term'.
Image: Nina Bryant / Epigram
Coexist are aiming to launch a community share offer to buy a building in Stokes Croft for community use. This aims to protect those working in the creative industry and non-profit organisations from being affected by rising rent caused by the gentrification of creative communities.
Crowds are gathering at Hamilton House in Stokes Croft before they march through Bristol. They’re angry that the building’s owners have ended the lease with its managers Coexist - a social enterprise. pic.twitter.com/BcbmT08GES
— Ellie Pitt (@ElliePittTV) 26 September 2018
Hamilton House is currently a community space managed by the non-profit social enterprise Coexist. Coexist have been running the space for 10 years and are protesting the owners’ plans to develop the building into flats.
Featured Image: Nina Bryant / Epigram
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