'We need a community hub here' Residents in battle to save centre

A ‘PASSIONATE’ community in Knowle West has called on Bristol City Council’s officers to work with them to save a former youth club and return it back into the hands of the people who live around there.

- Tristan CORK

Some of the Newquay Road Residents' Association members at Eagle House, as the debate over the future of the former Eagle House Youth Club develops

But the battle over what happens next to the old Eagle House Youth Club is becoming a political football, with arguments not just about what happens next, but also about what happened ten years ago, two years ago and last month.

A petition has been launched, meetings arranged and there are fears that the council officers in charge of the community buildings in places like Knowle West are eyeing up housing development opportunities rather than doing what the local people say they want.

The row goes to the very heart of many of the issues that spark debate across Bristol - the Greens versus Labour, community against the council and even councillors against council officers, with questions being asked about who really is in charge at City Hall?

The youth club was opened on Newquay Road way back in the 1950s, when this part of the vast Knowle West estate was built. It was always popular in an area which never had much in the way of facilities and things to do.

It's a building that sits on the same site as Eagle House itself, a social club and community centre which is at the heart of life in the Newquay Road area of Knowle West.