Councillors vote against protecting Bristol’s Turbo Island as ‘town or village green’
It marks the end of a two-year battle
Councillors have voted against protecting Turbo Island as a “town or village green” marking the end of a two-year battle. They found that too much of the activity taking place on the corner on Stokes Croft and Jamaica Street was illegal, such as starting bonfires and taking drugs.
Turbo Island has long been a focal point for the community, including the many homeless people in the wider area, who can often be seen sitting and chatting there. The site also forms an icon in Stokes Croft’s identity as a countercultural and anything-goes neighbourhood.
But the legal activities that take place, like chatting, drinking cider and eating fried chicken, did not count as a proper pastime. However the landowner has said they do not intend to develop Turbo Island, but rather carry out improvements, and welcomed the decision of the committee. Approving the site as a village green would have guaranteed the public’s legal right of access.
The key legal test is whether Turbo Island has been used by lawful sports or pastimes by a significant number of people within the area for 20 years. The decision was taken by councillors on the public rights of way and greens committee on Thursday, October 1. They were informed by a thorough report by an independent barrister, known as an inspector.
The inspector, Douglas Edwards KC, suggested that they should refuse the application. This was partly because of the high prevalence of people taking drugs and committing crimes there. Another problem in the report was that homeless people often drink heavily at Turbo Island.
Benoit Bennett, one of the applicants, told the committee that “drinking to excess” was a popular pastime in the UK. He added that the location was an important gathering place for homeless people, who shouldn’t be discriminated against. While Mr Bennett is involved in the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft, his application was not submitted by the community group.
He said: “The weekend before the inquiry I spent two hours on Turbo Island with maybe 20 other people who were there for a puppet performance by an experimental puppet festival. Most of the people were sat on the ground, around the fire, and a lot of them in the ash. And then they all joined with an interactive puppet performance.”
One of the many quirks with the law around town and village greens is that much of the tests come from case law, rather than set out in statute. This means that historic examples of other village greens have a huge impact on the law as it stands now, although these examples tend to be in “wealthy Oxfordshire villages”, rather than deprived inner-city areas.
In a written statement to the committee, the applicants said: “The drinking of White Cider should not be considered less favourably to the drinking of Pimm’s or nice wine. Eating takeaway fried chicken or food distributed by a homeless charity should not be treated less favourably than eating cucumber sandwiches out of a hamper.”
Two years ago Turbo Island was bought by Out of Hand, a Bristol-based advertising company whose name is visible on many billboards across the city, including on the site. Nigel Muntz, the firm’s commercial director, warned councillors that accepting the application could lead to even more anti-social behaviour and crimes taking place. He also ruled out any development plans.
Speaking after the committee, Mr Muntz said: “We inherited this whole process when we purchased the land from the previous landowners. The applicant was triggered when the previous landowners included some development options within the documents to try and maximise the value of the land when they sold it.
“We’re not property developers, we’re a print, advertising and marketing company working with arts and cultural businesses in Bristol. We’ve got no aspirations for getting into the development game. Everyone knows Turbo Island and there are some activities that occur there which aren’t great.
“As responsible landowners we’re fully aware that those are unsustainable and things need to happen to try and reduce those or change what’s happening there. It’s not down to us to stop the bonfires. We do have some minor site maintenance to do. We’re not going to develop on it. The activities that have been happening there in the past I’m sure are going to continue.”
Since the family-owned Out of Hand purchased Turbo Island, they have used the billboards to advertise local businesses like the music venues Document and Prospect, the fast food company Oowee, and political parties have even used it. Mr Muntz added that the site was a great location to reach the local community and promote events elsewhere in Bristol.
Another point was the lack of evidence given to a public inquiry held this summer. While councillors said they often saw people spending time on Turbo Island there, which could count as a lawful pastime, not enough evidence was submitted to prove this. The committee were acting in a “quasi-judicial” way, looking at the legal tests rather than making a political decision.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Tim Kent said: “We do know that the site is heavily used, and that’s not in any doubt at all. But a proportion of that use is for illegal activities: the bonfires, the music that perhaps turns into public nuisance, drug use.
“It’s not illegal to drink there, and one person’s cider is perhaps not so different from another person’s Chardonnay in an Oxfordshire village. On occasion it has met the test, but occasional is not enough.”