Lakota's Last Stand

bristol | transport | news report Wednesday June 04, 2008 09:31 by FW - Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft

FINAL COUNCIL PLANNING MEETING TO DECIDE WHETHER THE LAKOTA NIGHT CLUB WILL BE DEMOLISHED

IMPORTANT NOTICE: FINAL COUNCIL PLANNING MEETING TO DECIDE WHETHER THE LAKOTA NIGHT CLUB WILL BE DEMOLISHED

Lakota, Bristol

TIME AND VENUE: WEDNESDAY, 11th JUNE 2PM, at the Council House.

The Lakota building is up for demolition. A development of The Lakota and the Coroner's Court is proposed (See attached images), which will mean the demolition of the former malthouse, now the Lakota, and the construction of 57 residentail units, ground floor commercial units, to include a restaurant/cafe and an element of affordable business space.

The Lakota is a former malthouse which has its origins in the 18th Century... and falls within the Stokes Croft Conservation area, and is identified as "an unlisted building of merit." 197 letters and e-mails have been received by the Council, of which 21 were in favour of demolition, the rest being against... most people citing the loss of the club... Be warned: this is not a valid reason as far as the planning is concerned...

We invite you to peruse the relevant documents, and there are many (See the two links at the bottom of the e-mail)... and would ask you to attend the meeting...

Everybody has a right to speak at this meeting for up to three minutes, to put one's point of view. In order to do this, you must contact Steve Gregory at the Council by 12 o'clock the previous day, with details of what you are going to say... Tel. 01179224357 or
e-mail steve.gregory@bristol.gov.uk

The proposed development has some merit, but we feel that, even though the Lakota building is in poor repair, and is a simple utilitarian warehouse building, there is no valid reason for its demolition. The reason that Stokes Croft is "Known as much for its individuality, culture and diversity, as for its perceived decay" is precisely because it has managed to retain an eclectic mix of historic buildings that have managed to escape the blandification of commercial re-development. It is arguable that the reason that the Lakota night club came into existence, is that the building was not locked into one specific use... Essentially it is a large box.

With developments taking place all over the City currently, we believe that it is increasingly important to retain whatever historic fabric that remains within the City Centre, and to retain buildings that offer the possibility of many different uses. By creating more accommodation, we remove these buildings and potential space from the possibility of public/creative/commercial use. In fact, we believe that to demolish the Lakota would do the City an enormous disservice, and risk setting a precedent for further re-development throughout Stokes Croft that neither 'preserves' nor 'enhances' its status as a Conservation area.

Jamaica Street Arts Studios in the centre of Stokes Croft is an old industrial building which was similarly under threat in the early 1990's. By working with English Heritage, the owners managed to keep the building alive, and it is now a flourishing Arts studio complex, and houses over 40 working artists in a refurbished historic building.

One thing is certain: If we demolish the Lakota, we cannot un-demolish it a few years later... So, if there is the slightest element of doubt, we must work to preserve it...

If you wish to speak, then please get in contact Steve Gregory Tel. 01179224357 e-mail steve.gregory@bristol.gov.uk
Or... contact us, with a view to co-ordinating our response.

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Description: DEMOLITION OF LAKOTA CLUB BUILDINGS.
Address: Lakota 6 Upper York Street Bristol BS2 8QN
Council reference: 08/00155/LC
Online Reference: Not Available
Date opened: 25/Jan/2008
Status: Current

http://e2edocs.bristol-city.gov.uk/WAM/findCaseFile.do?...55/LC

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REFURBISHMENT AND CONVERSION OF THE FORMER CORONER'S COURT TO RESIDENTIAL USE (19 UNITS) INCLUDING DEMOLITION OF LATER ADDITIONS AND EXTERNAL ALTERATIONS. DEMOLITION OF ADJOINING LAKOTA CLUB BUILDINGS AND REPLACEMENT WITH A MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING Drawings can be large files. We recommend that you click on the "thumbnail" links. The quality of the image depends on the quality of the original submission.

Address: Former Coroners Court Backfields And The Lakota Club Upper York Street Stokes Croft Bristol BS2 8JW
Council reference: 07/04779/F
Online Reference: Not Available
Date opened: 01/Nov/2007
Status: Current

http://e2edocs.bristol-city.gov.uk/WAM/findCaseFile.do?...779/F