Building Change

WHITE HALL SOLD & CELEBRATION

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We are pleased to announce the successful sale of the White Hall to Bristol City Council. White Hall is due for demoli�on and the land will be incorporated into the Council's master plan for regenera�on in Southmead.

Bristol City Council approached us to enquire about purchasing the White Hall and the land it sits on. We had been informed, some �me prior to this, that the current White Hall building was unfit for public use. Also, that it was of ‘nonstandard construc�on,’ meaning it would not be eligible for funding to restore. A�er careful considera�on we came to the conclusion it was no longer sustainable to maintain the building, and felt pleased that releasing the land would also contribute to the regenera�on plans for Southmead.

We believe the plan is for Bristol City Council to demolish the exis�ng building and build homes in line with the master plan of Southmead's regenera�on, although of course this is now up to the Council. St Stephen's are excited at the prospect of inves�ng in the future of our church and how we serve the local community. However, we don't know what these plans will look like yet.

We know the White Hall has been an enormously important focal point for the community for decades. We know it housed the St Stephen's Community Work Project for some �me, as well as feasts, youth clubs and all sorts of wonderful community gatherings. We'd love to celebrate what the White Hall has meant to the local community. So if you have stories to share and par�cularly if you have pictures of the White Hall being used by the community, please do get in touch to share them with us.

We’ll be organising a community celebra�on of the life of the White Hall and we’d love your input, so please get in touch.

Many thanks, and God bless, Rev Jon Roberts. email: revjonroberts@gmail.com view our website: www.ststephenssouthmead.co.uk

SOUTHMEAD LIBRARY UPDATE

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We will be reloca�ng the library this summer to a new home in Southmead House, just across the road by the side of Tesco Express. This is to allow for the expansion of the supermarket Aldi.

The library service and council property colleagues are working on refurbishing the new site, ready for library designers to start their work in mid-summer.

Following our postcard engagement we received 28 responses from library users on their ideas for the final design. We hope to move in September and there will be a very short period of closure whilst all the books and computers are relocated, with lots of no�ce for residents.