'Ridiculous' U-turn over venue-hire hikes for community groups

COUNCIL chiefs have U-turned after increasing the charges for community groups and charities to hire a council venue for just one evening from £200 to £1,500 - after intervention from a local councillor and the Post.

- Tristan CORK

Bristol City Council brought in a corporate and wedding venue management company to take over several of the publicly owned event spaces, including M Shed, City Hall itself and the Create Centre at the Cumberland Basin.

The Post reported that local charities and groups, such as the Bristol Naturalists' Society, were told that hiring the Create Centre for its monthly meeting would now cost £25 per person, plus VAT, instead of an hourly booking fee which hiked the cost of their regular meetings from around £200 to a whopping £1,500.