‘Managing and operating a building of this nature carries significant responsibilities and risks’
Picture taken inside the former Eagle House Youth Club, by members of the Newquay Road Multi-Agency Partnership, as the leaseholders of the building were preparing to move out.(Image: Bristol Post submitted)
Community leaders in South Bristol have been given three and a half months by Bristol City Council to come up with a ‘detailed and costed delivery plan’ to save a former youth club building they want to bring back into community use.
The former Eagle House Youth Club building has been at the centre of a row between local residents and city council chiefs over its future – but now council leader Tony Dyer has written to the group of residents giving them the chance to put together a plan to take over the building’s future.
But the conditions are tough – Cllr Dyer has told the residents in the Newquay Road Multi-Agency Partnership that the building is in a poor state of disrepair, so a full strategy is required to make it useable again.
And the council says it also requires a ‘fully developed and viable business plan’ on the future use of the building – one which takes into account the imminent opening of the 224 South Bristol Youth Zone, almost a mile and a half away near the Hartcliffe Way Roundabout.
Those in the partnership are now taking time to work on a response to Cllr Dyer’s offer.
Cllr Dyer said he wanted the council to work with the local community, and support them bringing it back into community use.
“We remain committed to working positively with the community to explore a future for the former Eagle House Youth Centre,” said Cllr Dyer.
“The offer we’ve put on the table recognises the importance of the building to local people and the ambition to bring it back into use. While an independent survey has confirmed that the building is currently not safe to occupy and would need significant investment to meet required safety and legal standards, we want to ensure there is a fair and realistic opportunity for the community to bring forward proposals that could make this happen.
“We welcome the community group’s interest in developing a plan to secure funding and carry out the improvements needed.
“To support this, we have offered to fund independent business development support to help work up a strong and practical proposal. We are keen to see ideas that not only address the essential works but also show how the building could provide a sustainable and valuable space for local people, working alongside other youth provision in the area such as the new 224 Youth Zone.
The former Eagle House Youth Club, now a church, in Newquay Road, Knowle West(Image: Bristol Post/Paul Gillis)
“Our priority is to make sure any future use of the building is safe, sustainable and brings real benefits to the community. We want to work closely with local partners to explore what is possible and have set out a clear pathway for the community to develop a proposal. This is an opportunity to put forward a plan that reflects local ambition while meeting the practical requirements needed to make the building viable in the long term,” he added.
The Eagle House Youth Club was built in the 1950s next to Eagle House social club, and was one of the most famous youth clubs in South Bristol. Visited by the Duke of Edinburgh in the late 1950s, it was one of the places that forged the ‘Bristol Sound’ music genre in the 1980s.
It closed with the Coalition Government’s first wave of austerity cuts in the early 2010s, and in 2016, the council signed a 10-year lease with a controversial African church group – one which expired back in May.
For a couple of years before that lease expired, community groups in the Knowle West area, and those running the existing social club next door expressed their hope that they could get the building back into community use, and before and after the lease ran out and the building became empty last month, they challenged the council to work with them to take back control of the building.
Part of the lease terms called on the African church to hand back the building in the same condition, or pay for any repairs to make it right again, and that does not appear to be happening.
Now the council say that the cost of making the building useable again is between £280,000 and £335,000. The council has proposed a plan to demolish both the youth club and the social club building and redevelop the whole site with a mix of new housing and new community facilities.
Some of the Newquay Road Residents Association at Eagle House, as the debate over the future of the former Eagle House Youth Club develops(Image: Bristol Post)
Chair of Newquay Road multi-agency partnership, Carol Casey, told Bristol Live earlier this month that there were tradespeople within the Knowle West community ready and waiting to get to work to restore the building, and they had a plan for its future use.
In the offer made by Cllr Dyer, the local community has until the end of September to come up with a full plan on refurbishing the building, a ‘clear strategy’ on getting the building legal again, a business plan on its proposed future use, including funding strategy and long-term maintenance and life cycle costs, and ‘evidence of engagement’ with the council’s youth service on how any local community youth club would work alongside the 224 Youth Zone.
“Following inspection in July 2025, the independent Building Condition Survey concludes that, in its current state, the property is not fit for purpose or occupation and would require a comprehensive programme of refurbishment to meet modern standards and requirements,” Cllr Dyer has told the local community representatives.
“This reflects not only the overall dilapidated condition of the building, but also identified risks relating to safety, statutory compliance, and the suitability of the building for continued use,” he added.
The residents have been given until September 30 to provide evidence they will be able to take over the building and meet the conditions imposed by the council. If they can’t, then the council will look at ‘alternative options for the site – including redevelopment’.
“Managing and operating a building of this nature carries significant responsibilities and risks,” Cllr Dyer said. “The council must ensure that any future use of the site is safe, compliant with the law, and sustainable in the long term, and does not place an unreasonable burden on a community organisation.
Tony Dyer, Green leader of Bristol City Council
“There remains a significant concern that delivering and sustaining a compliant community use may prove challenging given the scale of works and associated risks. Should a viable and deliverable proposal not be received within the timescale set out above, the council will need to consider alternative options for the site, including redevelopment, in order to ensure the site is brought forward in a safe, compliant, and sustainable manner,” he added.
“The council is prepared to provide a period of time for the Multi-Agency Group to develop and submit a proposal,” he added. “However, given the issues outlined above, any proposal must clearly demonstrate that the building can be made safe, legally compliant, and financially sustainable,” he added.