“The site incredible and is perfect – We’ve had our eyes on this place for years”
Entrance to the Scadding Timber site as of 2024 – plans for 350 new homes on the site of Scadding Timber in St Judes(Image: Google)
It’s billed as the ‘Rave of the Decade’, and will be the 20th anniversary celebrations for Bristol’s most famous one-off party and rave producers.
Alfresco Disco made their name staging sold-out all-day raves at unusual and iconic locations across the city, without even announcing first who is going to be DJing or where the event is.
And on July 19, the team who have famously turned underpasses, empty warehouses, churches and a series of quirky unused buildings into huge raves, are hosting what could be their biggest event to date.
To mark their 20th birthday, the team said they are going to transform a secret location they had never been to before, close to the city centre in Bristol, for one of the biggest parties they have ever staged before.
The team are not announcing where the venue will be, but a series of teaser videos and images have revealed it to be the now closed down former timber yard of JS Scadding, on the banks of the River Frome in St Judes, between Cabot Circus car park and the permanent music and events venue Document.
Scadding Timber operated at the Crown Sawmills in Eugene Street in St Judes for 150 years, but in February announced on its website that it had ceased trading.
The site is being earmarked for a major redevelopment, with 350 new homes in blocks of ‘build-to-rent’ flats up to 19 storeys high.
Plans for that development were unveiled back in November last year, and the site is part of a wider ‘regeneration’ of the industrial part of St Judes called the ‘Frome Gateway’, which will see thousands of new homes and student accommodation built there in the next few years.
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For now, it has been secured by Alfresco Disco for a one-off transformation, and the videos and images shared by Alfresco Disco show the site is empty but still intact, and it is ‘perfect’ for a ‘British day party’.
“We are pleased to reveal a glimpse into the new city centre location we will open the gates to in July,” said a spokesperson for Alfresco Disco.
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“The site incredible and is perfect for a British day party as it has a multitude of both open air and undercover spaces that are waiting for you to explore.
“Expect a strong nod to the era that inspired the original all day parties, multiple stages, fair ground rides and dancing in lorry trailers,” they said.
“We’ve had our eyes on this place for years, it’s an incredible 200 year old disused factory next to a beautiful river in the centre of Bristol. It’s the ideal site for a daytime dance in any weather,” they added.
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