St Mary Redcliffe Community Facilties Review

REDCLIFFE 

COMMUNITY 

FACILITIES REVIEW 

Vivid Regeneration LLP 

February 2018

1.Background 

In summer 2017 Vivid Regeneration were commissioned by St Mary Redcliffe 

Church to undertake a piece of community development work to inform and support 

the Church’s planned development project. This major development project aims to 

bring the Church back into optimum condition and provide the best possible visitor 

experience, with enhanced access to its great artefacts and the stories they have to 

tell. 

Importantly, the Church also wants to use this project to better connect with the local 

community on its doorstep and enable people to benefit through participation in 

shaping the development, learning, volunteering, work experience, family and 

community activities. It includes plans for a Visitor Centre which is welcoming, 

accessible and meaningful for all visitors, whether local or from far afield. 

The initial scoping exercise by Vivid identified the need to strengthen the ability of 

local community organisations to work together for the benefit of Redcliffe and to 

further build residents’ capacity, skills, confidence and involvement. This is with the 

aim of both enabling good quality and sustainable engagement with the development 

project and more broadly to build resilience for all the challenges and opportunities 

the community will face over the next few years. These outcomes have been the 

focus of our work since September 2017 and this community facilities review forms 

part of that work. 

2.Purpose of the Report 

Community facilities and spaces which enable people to gather for group activities, 

social support, meetings, learning, sharing information, being creative, being 

physically active, are a vital tool in building a strong community. They can be 

instrumental in reducing social isolation, providing support for families, improving 

health and wellbeing, developing skills, improving community cohesion and 

promoting understanding and connection between different sections of the 

community. 

This review of community facilities aims to fulfil a number of purposes: 

• To provide a general overview of all the indoor community facilities for 

residents to access for meetings, learning, events, activities. This includes 

current availability, access, level of usage, and costs where available. 

• To set out details of each facility to ensure that residents and local workers 

have easy access to sufficient information to make the best use of the space 

available. This is particularly important at a time when local public sector 

support is being reduced or withdrawn all together due to cuts, and the need 

for residents to have the tools and information to organise themselves is 

stronger than ever. 

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• To make recommendations for encouraging and supporting the use of these 

facilities as appropriate, including physical and practical improvements. 

• To identify opportunities and ideas for further potential activities and uses, in 

line with the needs and aspirations of the community and to support 

community development. 

• To provide a context to inform future developments of the need for and 

viability of any further community facilities which may be provided. 

3 Need and context 

3.1 Short Profile of Redcliffe 

This review focuses on the community facilities available on or very close to the 

Redcliffe Estate which, following ward boundary changes is now part of Central Ward 

in Bristol. Central Ward represents a large area with a population of 15,000 people. It 

extends as far West as Park Street and the University of Bristol buildings, Stokes 

Croft (part) and Broadmead to the North and East, the Centre, North Redcliffe, and 

Queen Square. One of the advantages of Redcliffe’s location is that people who are 

live there are close to public transport hubs and to the wide range of social, shopping 

and cultural activities available in and around the city centre. 

However the ability of all residents to access the range of local activities and 

opportunities is varied and some are hindered by social, cultural, health and 

economic barriers from gaining the full benefit of what is on offer. Redcliffe Estate 

sits in a Lower Layer Super Output Area or LSOA, known as Redcliffe South. The 

accommodation in this part of Redcliffe is largely local authority flats, but the area is 

increasingly surrounded by privately owned or rented flats, some of which are very 

expensive, such as the new development at the General on the former hospital site. 

Because of this, and the increasing needs of people placed in social housing, 

inequalities within the local population are widening. To reverse this trend we need to 

make sure that all residents benefit from changes and developments in Redcliffe. 

The challenges faced by some residents in Redcliffe are reflected in the following 

statistics: 

• Overall Redcliffe South is ranked within the 3.3% most deprived wards in 

England, and 20 th worst performing LSOAs in Bristol 1. 

• It is in the top 1% most deprived LSOA in relation to Income Deprivation 

Affecting Children. 

1 Deprivation in Bristol 2015 The mapping of deprivation within Bristol Local Authority November 2015 

- https://www.bristol.gov.uk/statistics-census-information/deprivation 

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• It is ranked in the 5% most deprived LSOA’s in England for Employment 

Deprivation, Health Deprivation and Disability and Crime. 

• Redcliffe South LSOA is ranked in the 10% most deprived LSOA’s in relation 

to Living Environment Deprivation and Income Deprivation Affecting Older 

People. 

• the 2016/2017 Bristol Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Identified Redcliffe 

as the only area in Bristol where over 55% of children live in low income 

families - the actual figure is 66% 2. 

Although more detailed analysis would be needed to confirm the details of 

this, some of the key statistics for Central Ward as a whole are likely to be 

relevant to Redcliffe South. These include: 

• significantly higher than the city average number of adults reporting that they 

need to develop skills in English, Maths, computer and technical skills and 

employability 

• significantly lower education standards than the city average at Key Stage 2 in 

reading, writing and Maths. 

What all of this means is that there are a significant number of residents on the 

Redcliffe Estate who face daily challenges. This may be because of physical and 

mental health problems, addictions, previous trauma, overcrowded and damp 

homes, language barriers, anti-social behaviour, fear of crime, low confidence, 

poverty, domestic abuse, worklessness, boredom. 

Some families have spent a year or more in emergency accommodation all over the 

city before getting their flat or maisonette in Redcliffe. Older people are housed next 

to people with serious mental health, drug or alcohol problems, reporting that they 

constantly feel unsafe and have no peace of mind when they are at home. Parents 

talk about the stress of trying to manage boisterous children in small confined 

spaces, for example, a single mother living in a two bedroomed flat with four 

children. Some families are relatively newly arrived in the UK, having had to leave 

their homes in Somalia or Sudan, and adapt to completely new lives, dealing with 

cultural and language barriers. 

3.2 Community Assets 

This report seeks to highlight the assets Redcliffe has in terms of community 

facilities. However, Redcliffe has a great wealth of all types community assets. 

People attending a Partnership Workshop for organisations and community groups 

in Redcliffe in October 2017 said they love the following things about Redcliffe: 

2 Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) 2016-2017 Data profile of Health and Wellbeing in Bristol 

http://www.bristol.gov.uk/jsna 

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✓ Its variety 

✓ Strength of community spirit 

✓ Community groups and activities 

✓ Closeness to the city 

✓ The banana bridge 

✓ The views 

✓ Green spaces 

✓ Redcliffe Caves 

✓ Friends 

✓ The gardening group 

✓ People to talk to 

✓ Its history 

✓ The prospect of exciting new developments 

There is a strong community spirit, pride in the area, and some vibrant groups and 

organisations in Redcliffe. Partnership working between groups and organisations is 

continually developing. The workshop in October 2017 identified the following shared 

priorities for action: 

• Reducing social isolation – reaching people who struggle to connect and 

making it fun. 

• Improving the quality of life for children and young people 

• Making sure residents have a say and an ability to influence developments 

• Improving and protecting the outdoor environment and green spaces. 

Redcliffe also has a monthly Worker’s Lunch, facilitated by St Mary Redcliffe Church, 

which brings together paid workers and volunteers in local groups and organisations, 

to share information. More recently it has begun to take a more proactive role and 

explore working with an Asset Based Community Development Approach (ABCD). 

One important outcome of this has been Redcliffe Treasures, which is bringing 

residents together to identify and share the skills or ‘treasures’ which they have to 

offer within the local community to improve local quality of life. This work is ongoing 

and has already unearthed a wealth of skills, passions and opportunities. 

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RRAG – Redcliffe Residents Action Group meets monthly and enables residents to 

hear about local activities, events and trips, raise concerns or ideas, and learn about 

and influence local developments. This has been strengthened recently by the 

inclusion of Redcliffe Forum as a formal member of RRAG, reporting and advising on 

local developments. Redcliffe Forum has been established for several years, and 

also meets regularly in its own right, with the purpose of bringing forward a 

Neighbourhood Development Plan for the area, a community vision to create a 

vibrant, attractive neighbourhood which works for everyone and ensures that 

residents get the best possible outcomes from new and planned developments. 

St Mary Redcliffe Church supports a variety of community activities, including the 

Redcliffe Lunch Club, and Redcliffe Voice, the local newsletter. There are plans to 

enhance this offer and the Church is currently building local resources by recruiting a 

youth worker and a part time community development worker. 

For building focused community assets – see main report. 

3.3 Future plans 

Redcliffe Neighbourhood Development Forum (aka Redcliffe Forum) is a 

neighbourhood planning group made up of people who live and work in the area. 

It is constituted under the Localism Act as one of a growing number of community 

groups across the UK using new community planning powers to make their 

neighbourhoods better. 

Over the past five years The Forum has been developing a Neighbourhood 

Development Plan which sets out the community’s vision for how Redcliffe should 

develop over the coming years. This vision includes creating a vibrant community 

offer with shops and facilities, stable and mixed residential property, with a focus on 

family homes, reducing the size of Redcliffe Way which currently divides Redcliffe 

and limiting traffic speed, and enhancing and connecting green spaces. 

Currently there are potential plans to develop Prewett Street and as part of this, 

rebuild Faithspace as a new and enhanced community facility. In addition a pre 

planning application has been submitted to develop the former public house and 

auction room sites also on Prewett Street, with a residential block of 188 units, retail 

and commercial space and some kind of community facility on the current basketball 

court. 

St Mary Redcliffe Church also has a development project for a Visitor Centre on the 

North side of the Church. This vision for this is both to enhance the experience for all 

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visitors and enable the best possible access to and interpretation of all the Church’s 

historical artefacts, and to use the development project to address some of the 

inequality experienced by local residents in Redcliffe. 

4. Key Findings 

The following is an overview of key findings. Details of each building can be found in 

Appendix A 

4.1 Faithspace 

For many people, Faithspace acts as the main community centre for the Redcliffe 

area. It is centrally located in the neighbourhood and is run by the Methodist 

Church, providing flexible space for a wide range of both regular and one off 

community activities. It also acts as the Parish Hall for St Mary Redcliffe Church and 

the two churches jointly oversee the management of the building. As well as the 

Main Hall and the large Chapel space (now with coffee bar), there is also a small flat 

which provides a more homely space for small meetings and one to ones. 

Faithspace works in close partnership with nearby Redcliffe Children’s Centre who 

deliver activities there throughout the week. The Methodist Missioner who runs the 

Faithspace is proactive, very visible and engaged in the community and takes a 

community development approach to enabling and encouraging a wide range of 

people to use the building. Costs must be covered but there is some flexibility 

around charges. Whilst the approach is broadly inclusive, the building is explicitly a 

Methodist premises which will limit some of its uses and may deter some residents. 

The building has some access issues for disabled people but the main hall is 

completely accessible. Maintenance is ongoing. 

One of the strengths of Faithspace is the wide range of groups which use it. This 

provides cross overs and enables groups to connect more easily with others. This is 

very important in a community which often describes itself as quite fragmented. It is 

also staffed regularly so people can drop in informally and talk through ideas or find 

out information. The potential developments on Prewett Street are seen as both an 

opportunity and a threat e.g how would community services and activities be 

maintained during building, what kind of new space would be possible? 

4.2 Redcliffe Children’s Centre and Maintained Nursery School 

The Children’s Centre currently provides a Nursery School, wrap around childcare 

for under fives and parent and community learning opportunities in its site on Ship 

Lane, and other community locations, in particular Faithspace. It has a large reach 

area (much wider than Redcliffe) and 100% of families in that area are registered, 

with 72% actively participating. Bearing in mind the high level of child poverty in 

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Redcliffe this is a vital facility and relationships with families are strong. Due to 

council cuts and restructures, Redcliffe is shortly to be reduced in capacity as it 

comes under the South area, with Knowle West as the lead Children’s Centre in the 

area. This is likely to lead to reduced services at a time when need remains high. 

In order to try and mitigate the impact of this change, the Children’s Centre has 

taken a five year lease from the council on two shop units on Prewett Street. The aim 

of this is to provide more of a drop-in community facility, and it is this space which is 

most relevant for this report. There are aspirations to develop this space flexibly to 

provide advice and guidance, learning opportunities, possibly locate health visitors 

there. Further improvements are needed to maximise best use of the space, 

including a space for buggies at the back of the building. 

4.3 Arc Café, Undercroft, St Mary Redcliffe Church 

This café is run by ARA (Addiction Recovery Agency) who rent the space Mon – Fri 

8am to 3pm from St Mary Redcliffe Church on a peppercorn rent. The café provides 

opportunities for people in recovery from addictions to gain work experience as a 

volunteer, occasionally progressing to paid work. The café space is large and 

attractive, friendly and well used- mainly by local office workers, and the food is 

freshly prepared. There are significant access issues as it is down a number of steps 

and there are no accessible toilets. The inside of the café is not visible from the 

outside entrance , which means it doesn’t have that ‘kerb appeal’ which can attract 

people in, plus it can be a barrier for people who are hesitant and like to know what 

they are walking into. The hope and expectation is that these problems will be 

addressed when the café becomes part of the Church’s planned new Visitor Centre. 

Arc Café works in partnership with a number of organisations but would like to 

encourage more members of the local community to use it and to explore ways of 

using outside space in the summer to attract new people. It is also willing to let 

people use the space during café hours for one off events. Outside of café hours 

there is also considerable potential for more useage of the space for regular or one 

off events. 

4.4 St Mary Redcliffe Church 

St Mary Redcliffe Church is an Anglican Parish Church which has existed for over 

800 years and is widely recognised as one of the finest parish churches in England. 

It already attracts over 50,000 visitors a year, and, as outlined above, has 

development plans for new facilities to enhance the visitor experience and enable 

more access to and engagement with its wide range of historical artefacts and 

archives. An important role of this project for the Church is use it to benefit the local 

community on its doorstep and address some of the significant inequalities which 

residents experience. 

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Currently the Church uses Faithspace as its Parish Hall as described above, but 

there is also potential to develop community use of the spaces within the Church 

building itself to maximise what is available and encourage a wider cross section of 

the community to enter. The Church is already used for educational activities with 

local schools, and ad hoc events such as community theatre, dementia choir, and 

film shows and it hosts exhibitions – such as the recent one on Modern Slavery. It 

actively encourages children and families to take part in Church activities and has a 

Children’s Area for young children towards the back of the Church. 

The Church has identified a number of spaces which potentially could be more fully 

used including the Lady Chapel, St John’s Chapel, both transepts (the bits at each 

side), the Chatterton Room (which is up a spiral staircase and needs some 

refurbishment) the Choir Vestry, and the West End of the Church where there are 

kitchen facilities. All community use would need to be balanced with the need to 

provide people with space for quiet reflection. 

Outside, the South Church yard in particular lends itself to more community use, and 

could be better developed to enable that. For example, the idea of a semi open 

amphitheatre type structure has been suggested. 

Historically churches were in many cases used for a wide variety of community uses, 

being the largest covered space in a Parish. Today there is a renewed drive to 

develop community use, in part due to declining congregations and reduced public 

funding. A recent independent review of the sustainability of churches and cathedrals 

commissioned by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and chaired by Sir 

Bernard Taylor urged congregations to make their churches ‘vibrant hubs at the 

centre of their wider communities’. 

4.5 St Mary Redcliffe Primary School 

The primary school is located a short distance from the Redcliffe Estate, on the edge 

of Victoria Park in South Bristol. Significant numbers of children from Redcliffe attend 

the school, which is owned by the Diocese of Bristol and has recently become an 

Academy Trust. The school was built in 1885 and has all the usual access 

challenges of a Victorian building, coupled with the fact that it is located on a steeply 

sloping site with many internal and external steps. 

However, despite these access issues there is clearly potential for the school and its 

resources to be more fully used outside of school hours. Currently the school does 

not let out space to the community but is keen to explore options for that, both to 

increase connections with and support for local families and community members, 

and in order to generate much needed income. 

The school has a new head teacher who brings experience of very strong community 

use and involvement from her previous school. Some ideas to explore are around 

Saturday Schools for particular interest groups, Debt Advice and Money 

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Management support, support for parents to go online, and preparation for Universal 

Credit. 

In addition the school is interested in accessing community space in the area more 

for its activities, such as Faithspace and in linking the curriculum with community 

projects and activities, such as St Mary Redcliffe Church’s Development Project. 

4.6 St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School 

St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School is the only Church of England Voluntary Aided 

Secondary School in Bristol. It therefore has a wide intake from across the city, a firm 

Christian ethos, and an admissions policy which prioritises church applicants. Each 

year 7 intake also offers up to 16 places for pupils who live within 500 metres of the 

school and up to 4 places for those with faiths other than Christian. 

The school has a wide range of excellent quality facilities, including a sports hall, 

main hall and stage, gym, swimming pool, dance studio and all weather sports pitch. 

These are available for let in the evenings, weekends and during school holidays 

and are very efficiently managed. Most of the hirers are organisations citywide and 

the facilities are heavily used – the swimming pool, football arena and sports hall in 

particular, are highly in demand. However the swimming pool has been used over 

recent years by Redcliffe Children’s Centre and by the Redcliffe Ladies Swimming 

Group. Whilst anyone can apply to hire these spaces, the main barrier for more local 

community use is probably cost as the school needs to, as a bare minimum, cover its 

own costs in hiring out these facilities. 

However, the school does have an ongoing commitment to engaging with and 

supporting the local community, which it demonstrates through activities such as its 

annual free Christmas Party, and support for Redcliffe Lunch Club at Faithspace and 

it seems there is potential for some flexibility and negotiation in terms of community 

use of the school’s facilities. 

In addition, the premises manager at St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School is very 

willing to provide support and advice for the Primary School in exploring and 

implementing its plans for hiring out space. 

4.7 Redcliffe Estate Community Rooms 

There are three community rooms on the ground floors of the council owned blocks 

at Yeamans House, Proctor House and Waring House. They are free to hire for 

Bristol City Council tenants and bookable through the caretaking team. Relationships 

between tenants and the caretaking team are very positive. Activities such as a 

scrabble evening, meetings, footcare sessions and English and Qur’anic classes are 

held at weekends at Waring House and Proctor House. Waring House Community 

Room seems to be the most frequently used and there are some block bookings but 

all three community rooms are underused. There was a small library facility at 

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Waring House but this was also underused so the books are now being distributed 

across the estate for groups or individuals. BCC housing would like to encourage 

more use of all the community rooms. 

The rooms are maintained by Bristol City Council but help would be welcomed to 

acquire some new tables and chairs. 

4.8 Francombe House Computer Room/Colston Room 

This is a computer room with access to ten computers with Windows 10 installed. It 

was fundraised for and set up several years ago by the WUF (Waring, Underdown 

and Francombe House) tenants group, with such a strong input from one resident 

that it was named the Colston Room after him. The aim was to enable more 

residents to get online and become confident in using computers. Some activities 

have taken place in the space but use has been limited and it is currently not in use 

and funding has run out for the Broadband subscription. WUF tenants groups is 

currently very depleted and has little capacity to develop this facility but the 

remaining members are keen to see it used. 

In order to bring the facility back into use, approximately £300 per year is needed for 

Broadband, (which could be covered through hire costs) and, importantly it would 

need to be strongly promoted with some attractive activities/courses. With Universal 

Credit coming to Bristol in June 2018 and the corresponding need for more people to 

get online in order to access benefits, it is worth exploring how these computer 

facilities could play a role in supporting that. 

4.9 Tenants Resource Centre 

This is a meeting space with toilet, kitchen facilities and wifi access located on the 

Redcliffe Hill rank of shops, below Waring House. Formerly a drop-in advice centre it 

is now a citywide resource available for all Bristol City Council tenants and service 

users to book for free for meetings, workshops, events, or training. Its location on 

Redcliffe Hill means that it also provides a local community resource for Redcliffe 

residents. 

It is booked through the BCC Tenant Participation Team and requires the person 

booking (or someone in their group) to sign up as a key holder to take responsibility 

for opening and locking up. 

4.10 Other Facilities in Redcliffe 

There are other facilities available in Redcliffe which do not fit the specific definition 

of a community facility, but may be worth exploring, depending on the type of 

facility needed. 

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• Dr White’s Almshouses on Prewett Street provides accommodation for 18 

elderly residents. It has a large community room and kitchen which is mainly 

for internal use by residents but it is worth enquiring if you have an activity or 

meeting which fits with the needs or interest of the residents. http:// 

drwhitesbristol.co.uk/contact/ 

• Ship Inn – has a skittle alley available for hire. Just pop in! 

• Mercure Bristol Holland House Hotel and Spa on Redcliffe Hill has 12 meeting 

rooms (and an indoor swimming pool.) It can provide a full package of an all 

day meeting space including lunch, refreshments and equipment for from £35 

per person. In addition, whilst standard costs are aimed at businesses the 

hotel does have some flexibility and willingness to negotiate in providing 

meeting space for the local community. 

• Hilton Doubletree also has 12 conference rooms of varying sizes. The hotel 

currently provides at a reduced cost, meals for the Redcliffe Lunch Club. 

Again, room hire charges are aimed at corporate events but, the hotel is very 

willing to look at accommodating community meetings and negotiating a 

reduced cost if at all possible. Contact Nicola Beaumont TeL 01179 261823. 

5 Conclusions 

What’s Working Well 

• Redcliffe has a good range of community facilities of different types and size, 

so there are spaces to suit most kinds of activities. 

• Most of these are affordable, some are free to council tenants. 

• There are opportunities to provide creches in some facilities if funding is 

available. 

• Planned building developments, such as on Prewett Street, and the new 

facilities at St Mary Redcliffe Church, present opportunities for exciting new 

developments and increased linkages between spaces, so that residents can 

more easily move on and around different locations to suit their needs and 

interests. 

• Faithspace is well used by a wide variety of community members and groups 

and provides an opportunity for groups to network and for people to pop in 

and talk through their ideas and needs. 

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• The Asset Based Community Development work through Redcliffe Treasures is 

identifying a range of skills and passions amongst residents which offers 

opportunities to make fuller use of, or improve, existing spaces. 

• There is potential and willingness and some creative ideas from several local 

organisations both to offer additional space and facilities for the community 

and to encourage wider use of what is currently available. E.g Redcliffe 

Children’s Centre Prewett Drop in, St Mary Redcliffe Primary School and St 

Mary Redcliffe Church 

• Partnership working is good and growing, so that more joint activities can be 

developed and resources can be better shared and used. Good examples are 

the ESOL classes provided by Community Learning at Faithspace, linking 

PECO Theatre’s story telling project, and the Children’s Centre partnership 

with Faithspace. 

• Redcliffe has a strong community spirit and there are many excellent groups, 

meetings and activities taking place. 

What Could be Improved? 

• Faithspace is well used but other facilities are under used, or at least have 

additional capacity or potential. 

• Active promotion and use of some facilities is needed if they are to be fully 

used, particularly those which are not very visible. This could take a variety of 

forms, such as promotion of discounts/free tea or coffee for local residents at 

Arc Café, taster sessions and drop-ins for activities in new or underused 

venues, promotional events including outdoor ones in summer. 

• New building developments can appear to be a threat to existing community 

facilities, if new facilities are not planned and consulted on, in the context of 

the community’s existing and future needs and interests. 

• The community rooms in particular could benefit from some new furniture 

and small refurbishments to improve the welcome. 

• There is no dedicated space for young people in Redcliffe, outside of school. 

• More activities are needed for children aged 5-11. The after school club at 

Faithspace is very popular. 

• Levels of child poverty in South Redcliffe are very high and the need for 

family support is significant and ongoing, in the face of cuts and changes to 

Children’s Centre services citywide. The Children’s Centre space at Prewett 

Street would benefit from support and physical improvements to help meet 

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this need. Plus there is potential for more joint work with St Mary Redcliffe 

Primary School, Windmill Hill City Farm and other local partners to address 

family support needs around a range of issues including ESOL, money advice 

and Universal Credit. 

• Statistics and local stories tell us that social isolation is a significant problem 

for many people in Redcliffe and the use of community facilities for bringing 

people together could play a greater role in addressing this. 

• There is evidence that many adults and children in the area would benefit 

from more learning opportunities to improve basic skills so there is potential 

to explore how the use of community facilities could strengthen the local offer 

around this. 

Family activities at Tate Britain, London. 

6. Recommendations and Ideas 

1. The wide range of community spaces in Redcliffe offers opportunities to 

enable people who are less likely to get involved, to build confidence by 

starting with small scale, low key activities on their doorstep as a stepping 

stone to wider involvement. This could be linked with door knocking in the 

flats. 

2. All proposed new developments in Redcliffe should plan any new community 

facilities in the context of this report and undertake more detailed 

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community consultation to ensure a good fit with existing or other planned 

facilities, and changing needs. 

3. St Mary Redcliffe’s new Development Project (Project 450) as it evolves 

could offer activities in community rooms or at Faithspace leading to 

opportunities for involvement in larger scale projects around art, 

conservation, woodwork skills, textiles etc. 

4. St Mary Redcliffe Church’s newly appointed community worker, working 

alongside Worker’s Lunch partners and residents involved in Redcliffe 

Treasures could explore more opportunities to link ideas for projects and 

activities with appropriate community spaces to increase their profile and 

use. 

5. Increase promotion of what is available for people to use – particularly the 

small, free underused spaces -via the Redcliffe Voice, social media, websites, 

local directory (paper and online) 

6. One way of raising awareness of all the community facilities and 

opportunities in Redcliffe could be as part of a Redcliffe community ‘open 

doors’ day when people could access all the spaces with a range of different 

activities and events to encourage them in to have a look. This should 

include Arc Café which is a great facility and has potential to play more of a 

role in community life, using outdoor space, such as the Churchyard to 

attract wider use. 

7. St Mary Redcliffe’s new youth worker will be identifying the needs and 

interests of young people in Redcliffe. Some of these may benefit from a 

certain kind of local venue and in particular the potential for local young 

people to benefit from sports, dance and other facilities at St Mary Redcliffe 

and Temple School should be explored with the school. 

8. Funding opportunities and resources should be explored as appropriate 

to make improvements or develop activities, either as a one off or part of a 

larger project. For example the Children’s Centre Drop in on Prewett Street 

needs a buggy park, the Francombe House Computer Room needs some 

action, community rooms need new furniture. Some to explore are Lottery 

Awards for All, Quartet Community Foundation, Community Infrastructure 

Levy (CIL- local councillors are currently identifying potential projects) and 

Bristol Ageing Better (BAB) Community Kick-Start Fund. 

9. There is a wide range of local businesses in Redcliffe who should also be 

approached to support some of the above. 

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10. The coming of Universal Credit to Bristol will be a challenge and may provide 

an opportunity and an incentive to connect new people who need help to 

get online and increase their IT skills. Partners in South Bristol are already 

working together to explore this and Learning Communities is playing a key 

role. The Tenants Resource Centre, Francombe House Computer Room and 

St Mary Redcliffe Primary School are all potential venues for computer skills 

learning and support. 

11. St Mary Redcliffe Church is on an exciting journey towards the development 

of its new facilities. It is a great time to start encouraging new people into 

the Church itself for community activities. This could be for a simple coffee 

morning or friendship group, creative activities, classes (ESOL was 

suggested in some earlier research), a book group or something more large 

scale such as a community arts event like the one PECO theatre will be 

doing in the Church this summer. Whilst spaces within the Church itself 

present challenges for community use, there is room for creative thinking. 

Malmesbury Abbey is in its eight year of providing annual skateboarding 

events. Some ideas and inspiration at: 

http://www.malmesburyabbey.com/skate 

http://www.churchcare.co.uk/churches/open-sustainable/how-we-can-help/ 

community 

http://artspacelifespace.com/about/info/ 

https://www.circomedia.com/Pages/Category/in-community (picture below) 

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7. Specific Recommendations for Project 450- the new St Mary 

Redcliffe Developments 

As well as providing and enhanced and enriching visitor experience for all, 

Project 450 aims to work with others to improve quality of life and outcomes 

for people who live in South Redcliffe. This report has highlighted issues 

around social isolation, depression, income deprivation, child poverty, the 

need to improve skills and employability, and the social, cultural and economic 

barriers some people face in accessing activities, social networks and support. 

Below are some recommendations around how the project might contribute 

to this. 

• The development needs to have ways of enhancing community 

connectivity and resilience, crossing class and cultural divides and 

increasing opportunities for building confidence, learning, employability. 

• Pathways, both actual and virtual are important. How do people move 

between spaces to build on connection, develop confidence, try new 

activities? Eg how does the community facility/Faithspace connect with what’s 

going on in the Church spaces? We need to develop activities in a way that, 

for example, could enable someone with depression or someone who needs 

support with English, or someone who feels lonely to move from a community 

room meeting in their block to engaging with the exhibition/activities/ 

opportunities in the Church facility. Further work is needed on how changes 

to the physical environment and the nature and presentation of what is on 

offer make that more likely. 

• There are many opportunities to explore this through activities in the project 

development process, using the resources the Church has, for example the 

issues of class and culture and social justice highlighted in Hogarth’s works 

and modern day interpretations eg by Grayson Perry. 

• There can be formal and informal ways to interact with the learning 

interpretation – eg outside displays and installations which stand alone and 

are fun, free and accessible, which children may want to return to again and 

again, and or may lead people in to what is on offer inside if their interest is 

sparked and there is encouragement and easy access. 

• Recent discussions around this review have highlighted the need for more 

spontaneous encounter spaces in the Redcliffe Community.Tower blocks 

don’t easily facilitate this so ideas such as outdoor communal areas, possibly 

covered, or a market space with a variety of mixed food outlets, could be 

both an opportunity for small enterprises and/or informal meeting spaces. 

16

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Thank you to the many people in and around Redcliffe who have given up their time 

to contribute to this review. They include: 

Sharyn Ayres -Redcliffe Children’s Centre 

Neil Burwell- Bristol City Council 

Di Rowlands-RRAG 

Vera Marks- resident 

Margi Johnson- resident 

Sarah James – Faithspace 

Sue Hollister- Bristol City Council 

Tom Cooke – WUF Residents Group 

Peter Rignall- St Mary Redcliffe Church 

Del Prosser – ARC Café 

John Shackell -St Mary and Redcliffe Temple School 

Marie Thomas and Sandra Butt– St Mary Redcliffe Primary School 

All the attendees of the Redcliffe Worker’s Lunch 

17

Appendix A 

Community Buildings Audit by Building 

Faithspace Community Centre 

Name of Organisation 

Address 

Contact person 

Faithspace 

Redcliffe Methodist Centre, Prewett Street, Redcliffe, 

Bristol BS1 6PB 

Sarah James 

Contact details Tel: 0117 925 8331 

infofaithspace@gmail.com 

Year established Methodist Church 1962, extension 1975 

Ownership of building 

Building and land owned by Methodist Church but 

there is a shared agreement with St Mary Redcliffe 

Church as they put funding into the building. 

18

Legal structure 

Premises type 

Opening hours/days 

Usage- temporary or 

permanent tenants 

Facilities 

Methodist Church. There is an oversight group in 

partnership with St Mary Redcliffe which meets 

quarterly and a premises group 

Place of worship and multi purpose community 

building 

8.30 am- 10 pm, 7 days a week- flexible depending 

on need 

No tenants but have had short term license 

agreements up to one year. 

2 kitchens 

Chapel with new tea/coffee bar 

Main hall and stage 

Small flat style accommodation with a suite of 3 small 

rooms 

Parking – there are permit holders during the week 

(which provides an income) and a small additional 

amount of parking on request 

Access Information 

Current activities 

Main hall area is completely accessible, with disabled 

toilet 

There is ramp access to the Chapel 

Space for a creche 

The premises are explicitly Methodist but welcome to 

all 

Office opening hours are Monday and Wednesday 

Lots! 

Redcliffe Children’s Centre activities throughout the 

week 

Ki Aikaido 

Coffee morning Tues 

Knitting Tuesday afternoon 

Lunch Club Wednesday 

Film Club 1 st and 3 rd Wednesday PM 

Mental health support groups- various 

After School Club Thursday 

LinkAge Art Club Friday pm 

Mothers Union every 2 nd Wed pm 

Peco Theatre Thursday pm 

English Language conversation group for adults new 

to UK Monday evening 

Meditation Group 

Faithspace Christian Group 

And various one off events 

Bookable for private hire 

19

Users A very wide range of ages and ethnicity 

Partners 

Booking process 

Caretaker 

Key holder 

Charges 

Costs of running the 

building 

Maintenance/condition of 

building 

What’s working well, or not 

so well? 

Future plans and ideas 

St Mary Redcliffe Church, other organisations through 

the Worker’s Lunch 

Main partners are local people 

Telephone enquiries and then you need to come in to 

sign forms 

Sarah and Joy 

Regular groups have their own keys 

Community Rate is £12 per hour for hall or chapel 

Various depending on the group and its needs 

Commercial rate is £20 per hour 

Fuel bills are the biggest expense. Income needs to 

cover running costs 

The oversight committee deals with maintenance 

issues. There is a five yearly review on the building 

and the maintenance is planned and worked through 

over that period. This has included accessible toilets, 

replacing floors, repairing roof, repairing window. All 

is covered by the income generated. 

How you reach people always needs improvement 

but connection is growing all the time. 

People feel they can drop in. Want to build hospitality 

– installing the coffee bar in the Chapel was part of 

this. The flat is a homely space. Developments on 

Prewett Street are both an opportunity and a threat. 

Our strength is we have lots of crossovers and 

opportunities for groups to connect with others and 

build community. We are informal and provide 

opportunities to respond to people’s ideas and give 

them a start. 

It’s difficult to look very far ahead. The Prewett Street 

development is possible. There are lots of ideas but 

no tangible progress yet. We want to continue to 

build involvement, and be a hub with a Christian 

community in and around it – a go to place, where 

anyone can drop-in. 

20

Redcliffe Children’s Centre Prewett Street Drop-in 


Address 


Contact details 

Year established 



Redcliffe Children’s Centre and Maintained Nursery 

School including Prewett Street shop space. 

Spencer House, Ship Lane, Redcliffe, Bristol BS1 6RR 

Sharyn Ayres 

www.redcliffechildrenscentre.co.uk 

Tel: 0117 9030334 

Nursery School established 1960s 

Council owned main building plus the Children’s 

Centre currently has a five year lease from the 

council on 2 shop units on Prewett Street, with an 

open space behind. 

Comes under Education and Skills in the People 

Directorate in Bristol City Council. One of currently 22 

Children’s Centres in Bristol, but the model will 

change in 2018. There will be 4 lead Children Centres 

and Redcliffe will come under Knowle West. Services 

will remain in Redcliffe but there will be a reduction. 

Premises type 

Nursery plus community space and drop in shop at 

Prewett Street 

Opening hours/days Childrens Centre is open all year round 8 a.m – 

5.30pm but nursery is term time. This isn’t a general 

community facility where anyone can drop in but the 

shop premises are designed to meet that need. 

Shop is open Monday morning, Wednesday 

afternoon, Friday morning and Saturday morning 

once a month. 

21



Facilities 



Users 

No tenants at the Children’s Centre but provide space 

at no charge for relevant organisations eg Next Link, 

ACAT and collaborate with RWA for monthly family 

drawing event at Prewett Street shop. 

Children’s Centre : education and meeting rooms, 

kitchen facilities, garden, small room for counselling 

Shop: 1 big room plus kitchen, bathroom and 2 lots 

of office space. 

Very inclusive within target group which is is parents 

of under fives and their children. Disabled access in 

Centre. Shop? 

Nursery school plus extended hours to provide wrap 

around care 

Parent learning – ESOL, maths etc creches to 

support this are an issue due to funding 

Counselling, baby massage, stay and play, baby clinic 

Parents of underfives and their children. Within the 

reach area (which is much wider than just Redcliffe) 

100% of families are registered and 72% actively 

participate. 

Partners 

Booking process N/A at the moment 

Faithspace, St Mary Redcliffe Primary School, St Mary 

Redcliffe Church, ACTA, RWA, St Mary Redcliffe and 

Temple School, Bedminster Library,Community 

Learning, Windmill Hill City Farm 

Caretaker 

Key holder 

Charges 


building 


building 


so well? 

N/A 

N/A 

Voluntary contributions 

BCC cover costs 

Well maintained 

Relationships with families are working well. 

Outstanding OFSTED report. Ability to maintain 

services in the face of changes and cuts are a major 

concern 

22


Want to develop Prewett Street shop as an open 

accessible and flexible space for the next 5 years. 

Provide a drop-in, community café,. Need some more 

money for further improvements to the space. 

Continue to thrive and meet local needs. 

Connect the children with the community. 

Arc Cafe at St Mary Redcliffe Church Undercroft 

Name of Organisation Arc Café, partnership between ARA (Addiction 

Recovery Agency) and St Mary Redcliffe Church 

Address 


12, Colston Parade, Bristol BS1 6RA 

arccafe.co.uk/ 

Del Prosser 

Contact details 07917083138 

Year established 2012 

23



Premises type 




Facilities 



St Mary Redcliffe Church leases the café space to ARA 

for a peppercorn rent. 

Partnership between ARA and St Mary Redcliffe 

Church 

Café, multi purpose function/meeting space 

Café Mon- Fr 8am- 3pm 

Regular Jazz Club Wednesday evenings 

Sunday School 

Very flexible times available 

ARA is a permanent tenant for café hours 

Arc Café provides volunteers in recovery from 

addictions a wide range of education, training and 

employment opportunities. It aims to break down the 

stigma of recovery. 

Jazz Club has run for 20 years and is very popular 

Private functions are booked quite regularly 

Catering kitchen, 65 capacity café area, 2 parking 

spaces, toilets. 

Licensed only when closed to public 

Access is down steps. There is disabled toilet 

following recent refurbishment to the toilets but 

overall access is poor for anyone with mobility 

problem and inaccessible for wheelchair users. 

It is hoped this will be addressed via St Mary Redcliffe 

Church’s planned Development project. 

Café, Jazz Club, Sunday School, Choir Practice Friday 

nights, one off events, ARA do some catering for 

outside functions. 

Users 

Partners 

85% of café users are local office workers 

Builders and council workers get discount 

Golden Key holds a drop in on Wednesday mornings 

Some local residents. Barriers around physical access, 

plus the inside of the café is not visible from the 

outside which may inhibit less confident people from 

making a first visit. 

Congregation is very supportive 

St Mary Redcliffe Church, VOSCUR, Golden Key, 

Bristol Drugs Project, ARA, Connect Psychology, 

Bluenotes Jazz Club 

24


Caretaker 

Key holder 

Charges 


building 


building 


so well? 

To book activities/events during Café hours contact 

Del Prosser Tel: 079170883138 

Ouside café hours, contact St Mary Redcliffe Church 

Parish Office Tel 0117 2310060 

Or email: parish.office@stmaryredcliffe.co.uk 

Church Vergers for church bookings or Del Prosser for 

café access. 

As above 

No charge within café hours 

Outside café hours, St Mary Redcliffe Church charges 

apply- £20-£30 per hour. 

ARA contribute a fixed % of costs to St Mary Redcliffe 

Church for electrics, gas and phoneline. 

Building is in good condition – due to be painted. 

Maintenance is covered by St Mary Redcliffe Church 

with contributions from ARA as agreed. 

Relationship with St Mary Redcliffe Church is strong 

and open with regular communication. 

Would like to make more links with local residents, 

especially in the flats and strengthen links with the 

secondary school around cooking. 


See Arc Café as integrated into the new visitor 

centre, which would improve all kinds of access and 

open up new potential. 

Meanwhile, want to promote discounts more strongly 

to encourage new people in – especially local 

community. Participate in community events eg 

summer picnic or barbecue in the Church yard. 

25

St Mary Redcliffe Church 


Address 

St Mary Redcliffe Church 

12 Colston Parade, Bristol BS1 6RA 


Peter Rignall 

Contact details Tel: 0117 2310060 

Year established AD 1115 



Premises type 




Vicar and Parochial Church Council 

Church of England Parish Church, Diocese of Bristol 

Place of worship 

Various 

ARA (Addiction Recovery Agency) – open ended lease 

for Arc Café in Undercroft 

26

Facilities 



Users 

Partners 


Caretaker 

Key holder 

Charges 


building 


building 

Potential or current useable indoor community space: 

Main church, choir vestry (also used as a green room 

during events), Lady Chapel, St John’s Chapel, North 

and South Transepts (each side), additional space, 

children’s area and kitchen at West End, Chatterton 

Room upstairs needs refurbishment. Outside, the 

Churchyard could offer more opportunities for 

community use. 

Very limited disabled access and toilet facilities limited 

to a portaloo, cultural barriers for non- Christians. 

Daily access to general public. Static pews in main 

church and part of choir vestry. Need to balance 

useage for activities/groups with provision for quiet 

reflection. Booking is via Parish Office 

In addition to regular religious services, choirs, 

Sunday school and all-age services aimed at families, 

- PECO Theatre, Treefest in December, Dementia 

Choir (though generally in Faithspace), Ad hoc 

events, film showing. Community Carols in 2017 

attracted a wider range of local residents. 

Church congregation, some local community 

members, corporate use. 

Faithspace Methodist Mission, RRAG residents group, 

Dr White’s, St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, St 

Mary Redcliffe Primary School, ARA. 

Parish Office Tel: 0117231 0060 or email 

parish.office@stmaryredcliffe.co.uk 

Vergers , contact via Parish Office 

As above 

Various. Charge for hire of whole church for a full day 

is £300-£500. Undercroft £30 per hour plus 

additional charges according to requirements eg late 

lock up. Ideas and requests for useage are 

negotiable- keen to encourage new use of the space. 

Covered by Church Vestry 

An ongoing task. Grade 1 listed building. Some 

significant areas in need of improvement and 

refurbishment. 

27


so well? 


Church’s congregation is from all over Bristol, lots of 

volunteers and also wide range of visitors from 

Bristol, UK and worldwide. Facilities need to be 

improved in order to welcome people, encourage 

them to stay longer, and get the most out of their 

visit. Further work and some innovative ideas needed 

to encourage more use of the Church facilities by the 

local community. 

Major plans for the development of a new Visitor 

Centre, improved facilities for the choir and 

opportunities for the local community to benefit from 

these changes. Meanwhile the Church is keen to look 

at ways of utilising existing space more fully for wider 

community benefit and involvement and trying out 

new ideas. 

Redcliffe Estate Community Rooms 

(picture shows a tenants meeting at Waring House Community Room) 


Bristol City Council Estate Management - Community 

Rooms for Tenants 

28

Address 

C/O Estate Management, 100 Temple Street, Bristol, 

BS1 6AG 

(For ease at a local level, just call into the Caretakers 

Office, near Norton House) 


Sue Hollister (Site Co-ordinator) 


susan.hollister@bristol.gov.uk 



Bristol City Council housing stock community rooms 


Premises type 


N/A 

Tenants room 

Available any time of day if booked in the correct way 

and the activity meets all the necessary terms and 

conditions. 



Some activities have regular block bookings but there 

is capacity for further bookings 

Facilities available to all council tenants in the area. 

Facilities 

There are community rooms in the following blocks all 

on ground floor and accessible to people with 

disabilities: 

• Yeamans House – Room, Toilet and kitchen area 

• Proctor House –Room and Kitchen area. Access 

to toilets is via a connecting door to the laundry 

• Waring House – Separate kitchen area and small 

dining/meeting room. Large meeting room and 

toilet 

There is a play area and MUGA (multi-use games 

area) adjacent to Proctor House on Prewett Street 

and also by Francombe House for use by tenants and 

users of the Waring House Community Room 

29

Access Information • All rooms are ground floor and wheel chair 

accessible (no hearing loops). Toilets may not 

have benefitted from adaptations for wheel 

chair users or those with mobility difficulties. 

• Access can be during the weekday, evenings 

or weekends. There are no age restrictions 

but conditions are such that noise needs to be 

kept at a considerate level (keeping doors 

closed is advised); no alcohol can be 

consumed in the community rooms. Children’s 

parties can be held, but party organisers are 

responsible for the children. 

• There are no crèche facilities that accompany 

bookings unless arranged by those booking 

the space. 

• For tenant use only 

• Activities must be ‘not for profit’ 

30


The community rooms are currently used for: 

• Proctor and Waring Houses – English and 

Qur’anic classes are held at weekends. These 

are a block booking but will make way for other 

activities when necessary. 

• Yeamans House – KeyRing meet in the 

community room on the 4 th Tuesday of each 

month 

• Yeamans House – Gardening Group use the 

Potting Shed 

• Waring House Book Club 

Footcare sessions 

Scrabble 

Monthly Coffee Morning 

R Also held at Waring House staff/tenants meetings 

as below: 

R Repairs and Maintenance Service User Group 

meetings are held in Waring House Community Room 

on the last Thursday of each month, 10.00 – 12.00. 

All tenants welcome. 

2. Estate Management Service User Group 

meetings are held in Waring House Community Room 

on the second Tuesday of each month, 10.00 – 

12.00. All tenants welcome. 

3. 

Users 

Partners 

Bristol City Council Tenants 

BCC, tenants groups, Gardening Group, Police, 

School, Faithspace, Early Years Centre 


Caretaker 

Key holder 

Charges 

Enquiry to caretaker and then completion of booking 

form. 

Sue Hollister and team 

As above 

Tenants are currently not charged for using the 

community rooms. 

31


building 

These are currently met by BCC Estate Management 

or through the Housing Revenue Account (Rent 

Income) 


building 

Maintenance is carried out by the Repairs Team of 

BCC Estate Management and work is ordered by the 

caretaking teams 

Maintenance is carried out on request unless there is 

a scheduled refurbishment of a block and then rooms 

will be redecorated in accordance with the new 

design. 

No major repairs are required but some of the 

furniture is aging, worn or broken and needs 

replacing. Any help to acquire new tables and chairs 

would be welcomed. 


so well? 

Good relationship between caretakers and tenants. 

Rooms can sometimes be abused and noise 

nuisance reported, but overall, users are considerate 

and responsible. 

Increased use of the rooms would be welcomed as 

they are underused. 

Young people need somewhere to hang out. 

Future plans and ideas • There are no plans to convert the community 

rooms into accommodation (except the former 

doctors surgery in Canynge House). There is a 

keenness to increase the usage of all the rooms. 

• The room that once hosted the community library 

(Broughton House) may be converted into office 

space for the Caretaking Team. 

32

Computer Room, Francombe House 


Address 



WUF ( Waring, Underdown and Francombe) Tenants 

Group 

Francombe House, Commercial Road, Redcliffe BS1 

6TG 

Tom Cooke 

thomasfrithcooke44@btinternet.com 

Year established 2008 ? 



Premises type 




Facilities 

Owned by Bristol City Council, WUF owns the 

computers 

Tenants Group 

Computer Room 

Flexible – by arrangement with Tom Cooke 

Currently no usage. The room was set up by tenants 

to improve access to IT skills and has been used in 

the past by community individuals and groups. 

10 windows 10 computers, accessible toilet, kitchen 

facilities. Office space currently used by contractors 

on a temporary basis. 

33



Users 

Partners 


Caretaker 

Key holder 

Charges 


building 


building 


so well? 


Accessible for disabled people. Booking is through 

Tom Cooke or Colston Vear. This was 

formerlyadvertised in the WUF newsletter but facility 

has not been advertised recently 

Not currently active 

N/A 

Community Learning in the past. 

Via Tom and Closton 

As above 

As above 

WUF tenants free 

Other costs negotiable 

Internet costs £25 a month. Broadband subscription 

now lapsed as no funds to pay for it. 

Bristol City Council. Room is well decorated and BCC 

cover heating costs. 

Not currently working. Facility needs managing, 

promoting, funds for broadband, booking system. 

WUF Tenants Group is not strong at the moment. 

Level of need and interest is unknown. 

Remaining WUF members would like to make it 

available for the community to use and to be able to 

cover Broadband costs and maintenance. 

Could be utilised to support tenants to access 

Universal Credit which will all be online. Would be a 

good venue for a Job Club. All this would need 

resourcing and managing. 

34

St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School 


Address 

St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School 

Somerset Square, Redcliffe, Bristol, BS1 6RT 


John Shackell, Premises Manager 

Contact details Tel 0117 3772100 

Email shackellj@smrt.sch.uk 




Premises type 




Diocese of Bristol 

Voluntary Aided school 

School 

Mon- Fri 6-9 pm term time, school holidays, 

Saturdays and Sundays 8.30 am-4.30 pm 

Lots of regular bookings 

Facilities School gym, drama studio, football arena, tennis 

courts, swimming pool, sports hall, classrooms. 

35



Users 

Partners 


Caretaker 

Key holder 

Charges 

Costs of running the building 


building 


so well? 

Comply with 2010 Act regarding disability access. 

Booking system, facilities heavily in demand, 

especially swimming pool, arena and sports hall. 

Charges have to covers costs but there is room for 

negotiation. Cost can be a barrier for community 

groups. Main lets are to citywide organisations. 

Activities are generally provided by organisations 

for their own specific use i.e not open access. They 

include swimming, football, adult woodcarving, 

dance group, open university classes. 

Mainly organisations, companies, sports clubs. 

St Mary Redcliffe Primary School, St Mary Redcliffe 

Church. 

Contact school by phone 0117 3772100 to discuss 

requirements. Complete booking form. 

Premises Manager John Shackell on site and three 

other caretakers. 

As above 

Have to cover costs as a bare minimum but 

negotiation is possible. 

General classroom £20 per hour (additional 

classrooms at £11 per hour) 

Main Hall £25 per hour 

Main Hall and stage £35 per hour 

Gym £20 per hour 

Dance Studio £30 per hour 

Sports Hall £35 per hour 

Swimming Pool £40 per hour 

Tennis Court £10 per hour 

Netball £20 per hour 

All Weather Pitch £50 per hour 

All sports hire costs include changing facilities. 

Covered by school income and funding. 

Well maintained 

School facilities are in high demand by 

organisations. 

All school’s funding has to be for the education of 

its pupils but as part of that it encourages and 

enables pupils to provide support in the community 

and offer access to events and activities where 

possible e.g Christmas lunch, help at Redcliffe 

Lunch Club. 

36


Constantly maintaining and upgrading but no plans 

now for any new build. Happy to provide support 

and advice to St Mary Redcliffe Primary School 

around managing lettings 

St Mary Redcliffe Primary School 


Address 


St Mary Redcliffe Primary School 

Windmill Hill Close, Windmill Hill, Bristol BS3 4DP 

Sandra Butt , Business Manager 



Tel: 0117 353 4760 Email: sandra.b@bristolschools.uk 



Premises type 




Facilities 

Diocese of Bristol 

Academy Trust 

School 

Rentable space could be available outside school 

hours, weekends and holidays. 

None 

Kitchen, play area, classrooms, computer facilities 

main hall, small sensory room, meeting room in 

Caretaker’s House, playground. 

37



Users 

Partners 


Caretaker 

Key holder 

Charges 

Costs of running the building 


building 


so well? 

Access for disabled people is very poor due to the 

site of the school on a steep slope with 4 buildings 

and 3 external staircases. These issues would be 

prohibitively expensive to resolve on the current 

site. 

No accessible toilets but the main hall is wheelchair 

accessible. 

The meeting room in the Caretaker’s House is up 

steps. The school has recently installed additional 

handrails, yellow markings, and repaved slope, 

specialist seating and additional computing 

resources to improve accessibility. 

A creche would be possible to arrange. 

There are some after school clubs but the school 

does not currently hire out space. It is keen to 

explore the potential for this, generate income, and 

provide opportunities for the local community. 

Parents and children 

St Mary Redcliffe Church, any charities or 

organisations who support families and children. 

Would like to explore more links with Windmill Hill 

City Farm 

To be developed but would be via school office. 

Stephanie Ball 

As above 

To be confirmed 

Ongoing 

The location of the school in the park creates a 

lovely environment and beautiful views, but it is 

very difficult to resolve the building issues around 

accessibility,so options for a new location need to 

be considered. 

The school has a wide and inclusive intake from 

the local area and beyond. 

38


Very keen to explore potential and practicalities of 

hiring out space and facilities in the school outside 

of school hours where possible, and also in using 

the community spaces in the area more fully e.g 

Faithspace. Interested in opportunities to link 

school curriculum with St Mary Redcliffe Church’s 

Development project. Explore opportunities for 

providing debt and money management for 

parents. 

Bristol City Council Tenants Resource Centre 


Address 



Year established 



Premises type 


Bristol City Council 

4 Waring House, Redcliffe Hill, Redcliffe, Bristol, BS1 

6TB. 

Tenant Participation Team, Bristol City Council 

0117 352 1444 or email :tpu@bristol.gov.uk 

As above 

In 2015 the Tenants Resource Centre (TRC) stopped 

being a drop-in advice centre open to the public and 

is now a bookable meeting or training space for 

tenants and other Bristol City Council user groups. It 

is available to groups citywide but obviously is local 

and convenient for Redcliffe residents. 

Bristol City Council 

N/A 

Tenants Room 

Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 8.30 pm 



Used by BCC tenants or other BCC service user 

groups. People can book for a one off event/meeting 

or book a regular weekly slot for up to 10 weeks. 

Block bookings of consecutive days may also be 

possible. 

Facilities a meeting area, a small kitchen, tea and coffee 

making facilities, wifi, toilet 

39


Bookable by tenants and BCC service user groups. 

Booking is online, so you need internet access, and 

you also need to have a tenant rep prepared to be a 

key holder who will be responsible for opening and 

locking 

Accessible for disabled people (?) 


Users 

Partners 


Tenants meetings 

As above 

N/A 

Booking is online, following contact with Tenant 

Participation Team, Bristol City Council 

0117 352 1444 or email :tpu@bristol.gov.uk 

They will provide you with all the information you 

need. 

Caretaker None – see below 

Key holder 

Each group that wants to be able to book and open 

the TRC themselves will need to nominate a named 

key holder, who must sign up to the code of conduct 

and terms listed below. Once a completed key holder 

agreement is received by the Housing Delivery team, 

we will provide a key to the named individual. 

Housing Delivery will hold a record of key holders and 

the keys assigned to them. In the case of service 

user groups, the nominated key holder is expected to 

be the service manager, who must sign up to the key 

holder agreement in the same way that a tenant rep 

would be expected to. 

The nominated key holder will be responsible for 

opening and closing the TRC, and ensuring that the 

building is left safe and secure whenever their group 

uses it. Some groups may want to nominate two key 

holders in case one is not available on the day of their 

meeting. Key holders are expected not to let other 

members of their (or other) group(s) have their keys. 

Charges 


building 


building 

Free to tenants and BCC Service users 

Not known 

Good 

40


so well? 

Not known. 

Future plans and ideas Uncertain. 

41

St Mary Redcliffe Community Facilties Review

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