A community space and arts centre that faced closure when the building’s owner put it up for sale have secured their future after raising an astonishing £470,000 to buy the building.
The Zion Community Space has been an important hub for people in the area since it opened more than 12 years ago in the former Zion Church building at the bottom of Bishopsworth Road in Bedminster Down.
The space is an arts hub and cafe, and has a wide range of community groups and uses, but when the building’s owner put it up for sale, they gave the team that run the space the opportunity to come up with the money and buy it before it went onto the open market.
Read next: Church volunteers 'abused' by drivers in school parking row
With a deadline just weeks and then days away, a huge fundraising effort saw people from across South Bristol buy shares in a fund that would buy the building and own it going forward, as well as a crowdfunding campaign that raised thousands.
Incredibly, a total of £230,000 was raised in a matter of a few months, with the remaining capital funded from the Government’s Community Ownership Fund.
Now, all the paperwork has gone through, and the Zion Community Space is now officially community-owned. Centre manager Emma Moore said the whole team there wanted to thank everyone who pitched in to help.
“The community was given the opportunity to buy the building so the team at Zion could continue the work of the once-derelict chapel, but now a buzzing community space, offering more than 200 activities and events each year, as well as a popular cafe,” she said.
“The community came together to crowdfund an incredible £230,000 in community shares to cover 50% of the capital and secure the building's future. But the team at Zion wanted to be fully community-owned from day one, so they were overjoyed to be awarded the remaining capital from the Government’s Community Ownership Fund meaning they didn’t need the extra financial pressure of a commercial mortgage. Zion became a fully community-owned asset on May 12, 2023,” she explained.
There are a total of 345 shareholders that bought shares in the 14-week campaign on Crowdfunder, and they now own the building outright. The campaign was also backed by Bristol City Council, Sovereign Housing, Co-operatives UK, Power to Change, Nisbet Trust & John James Bristol Foundation.
Now the future management and governance of the Zion Community Space is being sorted out. The current team is opening up applications to shareholders to become directors on the board of a community benefit society, which will hold its first AGM later this year.
The Zion Bristol story. Bristol Live has regularly highlighted and supported the amazing community effort to save Zion Bristol - here's how:
- April 26, 2022: Vital community space could be "lost forever" in Bristol without enough funding
- June 1 2022: Last push to save South Bristol's vital Zion community space
- July 4, 2022: Race against time to save much-loved South Bristol community centre
- Aug 3, 2022: Joy at Zion Bristol as community invests £230K to save under-threat arts cafe
- Dec 12, 2022: Arts centre selected to receive 'lifeline' Government funding
And because its now owned by the community, the building will be even more for the community to use. There’s a residential building at the back of the property that the team have converted into offices and smaller spaces for the community to use. “Diversifying Zion’s offer but also bringing in new revenue streams. Zion has already completed this work and these rooms are now available to hire,” said Emma. “This includes the Andy Lewis Community Room named in memory of late Zion Director Andy Lewis. Andy was passionate about Bedminster Down and its community and was an essential driving force in securing Zion’s future.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in the purchase, the Community Shareholders, the grant organisations involved, local businesses, staff, directors and everyone in Bedminster Down and the wider area who come to Zion and support us daily. We’re all really excited for the future,” she added.
Read next:
- Council injunction bans van dwellers from talking to local residents at 'High Impact' road
- European diplomats name Bristol Green's Carla as a 'future MP'
- Driver racks up almost £1,000 in Clean Air Zone fines in friend's car without realising
- Guns and knives on St Pauls Carnival T-shirt meant as anti-violence message
- Man charged with Bristol harbour Underfall Yard arson sent to crown court
To keep up-to-date with the latest South Bristol news, join our community of subscribers with my South Bristol newsletter here.
