The Council has been granted the power to demolish the building ‘in the coming weeks’ and send the bill to the ownerA streetview image of the Kernow building on the corner of Mina Road and Tyne Street in St Werburgh's, Bristol, taken in May 2025. The building has been empty and derelict for almost 25 yearsA streetview image of the Kernow building on the corner of Mina Road and Tyne Street in St Werburgh’s, Bristol, taken in May 2025. The building has been empty and derelict for almost 25 years(Image: Google Maps)

An eyesore building in the St Werburghs area of Bristol is set to be demolished after more than two decades of sitting empty, with work scheduled to begin in the coming weeks. The Kernow Building, the large building on the corner of Mina Road and Tyne Street in St Werburghs, has been empty and falling apart for around 25 years.

In the 1980s and 90s, it was once the home of Kernow Audio and Sound hi-fi store, but has been left without maintenance and repair since the turn of the 21st century. BristolLive reported back in August that Bristol City Council chiefs had been granted the power to demolish the building and then send the bill to the owner who has refused to do anything with it for this time.

The court order gave new hope to local residents living around the Kernow building in St Werburghs that it will eventually be redeveloped. And in a letter to residents sent out by Bristol City Council‘s housing development surveyor on October 22, work is set to begin to finally demolish the building ‘in the coming weeks’.

The letter reads: “I am writing to advise you that Bristol City Councils Building Control Team intend to begin work to demolish the derelict structure known locally as the Kernow Building (48-54 Mina Rd). This is an urgent measure for public safety purposes and needs to begin in the coming weeks.

“You will receive another more detailed letter in due course but I must inform you that it will be necessary to temporary close Mina Rd adjacent to the derelict site for approximately four weeks. After which the road will be partially reopened it will also be necessary to close the entrance to Tyne Street via Mina Rd. An alternative entrance is available via Mogg Street.

A streetview image of the Kernow building on the corner of Mina Road and Tyne Street in St Werburgh's, Bristol, taken in May 2025. The building has been empty and derelict for almost 25 yearsA streetview image of the Kernow building on the corner of Mina Road and Tyne Street in St Werburgh’s, Bristol, taken in May 2025. The building has been empty and derelict for almost 25 years(Image: Google Maps)

“The Highways Department is currently looking at establishing a designated alternative route around Mina Rd. Bristol City Council are aware that this is short notice and the works will create an inconvenience for local residents, but owing to the ongoing deterioration of the Kernow Building it needs to act urgently in the public interest.”

BristolLive previously reported that after the roof collapsed last year, in the autumn local residents renewed their campaign to get the council to act. Bristol City Council has previously taken legal action against the building’s owner, landlord and property owner Mushtaq Ahmed, and he was fined for failing to comply with community protection notices and remedial orders, but has only erected scaffolding and has not carried out works to sort out the building.

This led to the council going to court and obtaining a demolition order, giving the council the power to demolish the building and send Mr Ahmed and his company, Gracewell Limited, the bill. It comes following what Bristol Live reported in 2023 when the council had succeeded in fresh legal action against Mr Ahmed in relation to three sites in his extensive property portfolio, including the Kernow building, as well as the former Gainsborough pub in Lockleaze, and a site in Knowle West. But he was only told to pay a little over £10,000 in fines and costs, and the Kernow building continued to deteriorate.