When the arts community interest company, Residence, moved in to the Milk Bar at 11 St Nicholas Street in 2009, the road was run down and many of the buildings empty. It was the reason that an astute and forward-thinking Bristol council gave the 16-strong, artist-led company, whose members include many artists who are now of national and international repute – including Action Hero, Search Party, Jo Bannon, Sylvia Rimat and Ria Hartley – a licence to occupy the building for a peppercorn rent. In return, Residence maintained the building and brought much needed allure to a neglected area. Where the artists go first, others often follow. Which they have.
St Nicholas Street is now thriving and the council is putting the lease for the Milk Bar up for tender. There’s no argument with that. The deal was never supposed to be forever. Residence has always been grateful for the council’s initiative, and it was the Residence project that has attracted so many more artists to Bristol over the last six years. All roads no longer lead automatically to London for creative types; it’s the presence of Residence in Bristol’s city centre that has been as much of a draw as established venues such as Bristol Old Vic (BOV) and the Tobacco Factory, and festivals such as In Between Time.
They are now all part of the theatre ecology of the city; threaten one part of that ecology, and you threaten the health of all of it, even the most established and well-funded. Residence has put in a bid to rent the building at the market value suggested by the council. But now they’ve been told that there have been higher bids, and that the financially hard-pressed council may feel obliged to accept one of the higher bids on the grounds that it will give local council taxpayers best value.
Arts leaders in the city, including Tom Morris and Emma Stenning of BOV and Ali Robertson of the Tobacco Factory have signed an open letter to Bristol and there is a petition here that closes on 30 January. The petition has been signed by many from the theatre industry who understand the contribution that Residence makes to the wider national theatre ecosystem.
But will a higher bid really offer the best return to local taxpayers? Will a few extra thousand pounds a year be of greater long-term value to the city than Residence, which is firmly established and brings a different kind of energy to the city centre to the generic coffee chains and businesses that are moving in. As Tom Morris has previously suggested, Bristol must see and use its creativity as an asset.
It is Residence’s very presence at the heart of the city that attracts artists and adds to Bristol’s growing reputation as a creative city. It makes a city a more exciting and attractive place to live and work, and attracts more investment and other businesses, too. If Residence finds itself having to leave St Nicholas Street, Bristol council may find that it has lost something irreplaceable and worth far more than money.
