Designs were produced by Architect Daniel Pacaud, which at the time caused great controversy with the Church Commissioners Advisory Board for Redundant Churches, who felt that the proposed works compromise the architectural heritage of the space.

The Church was at the time considered to be one of the finest examples of the work of Architect Thomas Rickman, who built the church between 1829-1932 with Henry Hutchinson.

Pacaud's plans for conversion, involved the installation of a dividing floor. But, despite the Church Commissioners' discontent, the build project went ahead.

The images found show this development in full flow and include pictures of a visit by politicians - including a rather young looking Kenneth Clarke - to see first hand the "Community Initiative" in progress.

Works included:

• Installing the first floor and sprung wooden floor on the ground level
• Repairing many of the windows which had been smashed over the years
• Cleaning the exterior sandstone, using a sandblasting method, to remove graffiti and pollution dirt

However, the costly process meant that many of the works proposed by Pacaud - particularly the developments of the upstairs hall spaces - were eventually abandoned.

Today, Trinity continues to renovate and develop the space to try to avoid any further compromising of the interior and realise this original vision to make a multi-functional community hub.

"Although the very fine interior of this church would be ruined by the proposals as the building now belonged to the local authority Board members felt that it would be a waste of time to try and say it by fighting a rearguard action. It was RESOLVED: That the Church Commissioners be informed that the Advisory Board regards the church of Holy Trinity, Bristol, Diocese of Bristol, as a building of considerable architectural and historic interest with a fine interior that would be entirely compromised by the present proposals for conversion to a community centre" - Church Commissioners Advisory Board for Redundant Churches, June 1987.

Jan 21-22 Arts Opportunity Theatre staged 'Black & White in Colour' in 1983. The play explored causes of the St Paul's Riots in 1980.

Join Bristol Community Health and partners on 20 October for a free day of events at the Trinity Centre, which explore how we can work together to create healthy communities.

The day starts at 10am with a look at how patients and carers have been involved in improvements to our services. We also launch our exciting new, partnership-led patient and community leadership programme, where patients are trained as leaders to support us and two local hospitals, with the aim of  shaping future health services.

From 12.30pm there is a free lunch followed by a live panel debate: Mind the gap! Should the NHS promote self-care to become more sustainable? Experts answer audience questions on whether we should encourage self-care to address the NHS deficit.

From 3pm, we invite you to share in some cake as we celebrate our organisation’s 5th birthday. Learn more about our work through a new impact report, plus a photography exhibition and short film, produced by local young people with support from Babbasa.

May 2016 Quarterly Partnership Gathering

• Are you working, volunteering or campaigning in the waste, recycling or reuse field and do you have ideas about how to deliver Bristol’s aspirations to become a zero waste city?
• Is your business or organisation striving to be more resource efficient and engaging with the circular economy?
• Are you from an organisation that is a member of the Bristol Green Capital Partnership, and would like to understand more about resources & waste, and the role you can play?

If so we need your participation and input!

The upcoming Quarterly Gathering from Bristol Green Capital Partnership offers the opportunity to identify the priorities, share ideas about how we put the commitments in to action, and to share expertise on how we can work collectively to improve the quality of life of current and future citizens.

We will be looking at the Council’s aims to significantly increase household recycling and reuse, reduce food waste and reduce waste sent to landfill as well as the role that businesses can play in reducing commercial waste and moving towards circular economy business practices.

With speakers, presentations and roundtable discussions, Bristol Green Capital Quarterly Partnership gatherings also offer a chance to hear updates from BGCP and provide a unique space to meet and share ideas with other members of the Partnership and local organisations.

Programme

09.00am Registration, refreshments & exhibition stands (in adjoining Graffiti Room)

09.30am Welcome from Jane Stephenson, Business Development Director of Resource Futures & a Director of Bristol Green Capital Partnership CIC

09.40am The Waste Strategy 2016: Aims & Aspirations – Bristol City Council

09.55am Bristol Waste Company: Delivery & future direction – Tracey Morgan, Managing Director of Bristol Waste Company

10.10am Innovation in action

• Bristol ReUse Network – Ben Moss
• Severnet – Kate Royston
• City to Sea CIC – Livvy Drake
• Geneco – Charlotte Stamper

10.30am Themed Workshops – 30 second ‘pitches’ from each table host

10.35am Themed Workshops: Part 1

There will be 12+ themed workshops which will be repeated twice so everyone will have the opportunity to attend 2 workshops. The first session will be aimed at organisations/individuals with particular expertise/interest in the workshop topic. The second session will review outputs from the first and make amends where appropriate.

The workshops will be facilitated by individuals with experience in the topics. The aims of the workshop are:

• To discuss what actions are needed to progress towards a ‘zero waste city’
• Who should lead in progressing them
• Who can act as contributors
• What will need further exploration before action can be taken

11.05am Refreshments available (in adjoining Graffiti Room)

11.10am Themed Workshops: Part 2

Everyone change tables to join a different themed workshops (table facilitators remain)

11.40am Prioritisation Exercise

Everyone invited to circulate all tables and notes, and use their 5 x stickers & post-it notes in a prioritisation exercise:

• 5 coloured stickers to prioritise actions
• post it notes – for participants to write their name/organisation to indicate where their organisation would like to help either as a leader or contributor
• 5 different coloured stickers to prioritise areas for further exploration

11.50am Chair’s observations and closing remarks

12.00pm Lunch & networking

Full list of Workshop topics:

Resilience – a 50 Year Trajectory – Sarah Toy (Bristol City Council Strategic Resilience Officer)

Sustainable resource management will be an important part of the city’s resilience strategy? What should our material world look like then?  What should our aspirations be?

Waste prevention – Livvy Drake (City to Sea CIC)

In an ideal world we would be producing less waste in the first place.  What measures can be taken at an individual and organisational level to prevent waste?  What new ones could we look at? For example: Change in design, shift from products to services, food waste reduction, reusable nappies etc.

Increasing Re-Use –  Ben Moss (Chair Bristol ReUse Network)

Re-use and the sharing economy could provide opportunities for saving carbon and material resources, and create employment, as well as saving money. How can we increase re-use? What initiatives can we put in place at home, in the community, at work, or in industry to prioritise re-use? How can Bristol demonstrate leadership on a global level?

Litter & Flytipping – Bristol City Council representative

Bristol as a whole cleared 10,472 incidents of fly tipping in 2013/14 at a cost of £541,226, whilst Incidents of fly-tipped white goods increased by 152% between 2012 and 2014. Street litter remains a perennial concern for residents of the city. How can we improve these situations, and inspire the city to address these issues?

Food Waste – Jane Stevenson (Bristol Food Network)

Bristol has recently been awarded Silver status as a Sustainable Food City. As a key contributor to both greenhouse gas emissions and residual disposal costs, Bristol aims to reduce food waste domestically, and commercially. What initiatives can we put in to place, as a city, to achieve these changes and help us go for Gold?

Supporting Community Action – Amy Hale (Resource Futures, founder member of FoodCycle Bristol)

Bristol has a strong tradition of community action on sustainability and resource management in particular – recycling collections were first established by FoE in the 1980s and the reuse agenda has been led by the community/social enterprise sector eg: repair cafes, tool libraries, food redistribution, action against litter and flytipping etc.  What support does grassroots led activity need to help it flourish?  How can this be provided and by whom?

Behaviour Change – communication & education Bethan Thomas (Head of Engagement and Communications, Resource Futures)

If Bristol is to become a ‘zero waste city’ we need to find new ways of inspiring, encouraging and enabling its citizens in homes, workplaces and institutions to change the way they manage resources. What fresh ideas can be brought to this challenge?

Residual Treatment – Mike Brown (Eunomia)

As we strive for a zero waste city, where waste is re-used or recycled, we are left with an amount of residual waste. By 2025 the Council aims for this to reduce this to around 30% of total waste produced. What processes are we using for these? How we can we ensure the most efficient systems are used? How will we ensure that the demands of residual waste do not out-weigh that of the circular economy?

Circular Economy – the Business Model – Kaye Royston (Severnnet)

What processes are being put in place within businesses to ensure the achievement of a circular economy, where all waste is seen as ‘food’ for another part of the system, and minimal amounts of waste is ‘leaked’ to residual treatment? How can businesses link with other businesses to achieve more sound business models with robust ecological and economic resilience? What best practices can we adopt?

Waste services & commercial waste in Business (tbc)

The commercial and business sector accounts for a significant amount of resources that end as residual waste. How can we address this in the city, so as minimise waste, maximise commercial recycling and re-use and reduce vehicle movements from trade waste collections?  Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have tried setting up recycling collections but have found it difficult to get traders to buy in. How can services be provided to the commercial sector that meets both the needs of businesses and the city’s environment?

High Quality Recycling – Rose Rooney (University of Bristol)

The new Mayor has stated the ambition of achieving 55% recycling of household waste by 2020 and to provide recycling facilities for all households. Recycling collections are just one part of the jigsaw – finding markets for collected materials is also important.  Reprocessors’ consistently demand clean, high quality materials in order that the recycling process is efficient.  What actions can be taken to encourage householders to use their collections correctly?

Household Waste & Recycling Centres (HWRCs) – Eric Bridgwater (Resource Futures)

Bristol has two HWRCs in Avonmouth and St Phillips. The new Mayor’s manifesto includes a new site on Hartcliffe Way.  What measures can be taken to encourage these sites to be more efficient, to accommodate re-use options and deter abuse from traders?

You are invited to join us for a lunch and networking from midday to 12.30pm – if you would like to stay for lunch, please select this option when booking your place so that we can order the correct amount of food.

5 Days Of Falling has been made possible by the Bristol Creative Seed Fund and Arts Council England.

For more information on TrashDollys, go to www.TrashDollys.com

Find out how you can get involved. We are here to help!

Find out how you can get involved with our Community Kickstart Project by joining us for an evening of discussions, live music plus a free delicious vegetarian meal cooked by chefs from Community Kitchen & friends.

Please note, this event is open to local residents and is for residents aged 18+

To reserve your place please email our Activities Coordinator Claire Goulding

Trinity Centre during the Festival of Light event in 2018 Photo Khali Ackford

This year Trinity will not be hosting our annual fireworks display.

Having run the popular free community event since 2004 this year we have decided to take a well earned break to focus on developing our Community Activities programme.

Our newly announced Community Kickstart project will launch on the Nov 3 during our very first Community Feast.

We are calling local residents who have an idea and the passion to start an activity (BS2, BS5) to join us for a hearty veggie meal (cooked by our friends at CoExist Community Kitchen) and to find out more about how to get support and small amounts of funding to get their ideas off the ground.

We also have lots of regular activities happening in our garden including Play & Learn Sessions for 0 – 5 and their carers, as well as regular volunteer work. You can always join us on the Nov 5 at our annual Heart & Soul Celebration as we welcome members, friends and supporters for an evening looking back at all the wonderful events, projects and activities that took place at Trinity in the last year.

This is a great opportunity to ask us any questions about getting involved with Trinity and how to get your own ideas or projects off the ground and out in the community.

During the celebration we will welcome resident artist Roxana Vilk who will be sharing her project 'Lullabies' and our Communities team will be running an easy drop in workshop to create bird feeders. Plus, there will be food from Pieminister who have kindly donated vegan and veggie pies.

Drop in and chat to the following partners any time between 11am and 2pm.

Locality

WECIL (The Centre of West England for Inclusive Living)

Voscur (Supporting Voluntary Action)

Citizens Advice Bristol

Groundwork

North Somerset Training

Please book your place so that they know you are coming.

If you are another organisation also interested in having a free space to talk to local people at this event, please contact hello@goodthingsfoundation.org.

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A playful and gentle dance movement class specifically designed for people living with Parkinson’s. Bring your partner or carer along to join in too. All welcome, no previous dance experience required, just a willingness to have fun!

The classes are lead by Dancers from The Original Spinners who are trained to deliver dance to people living with Parkinson’s and currently lead sessions at Southmead Hospital.

Details
Classes run every Tuesday from 10.30am – 12pm
(Dancing from 10.30am-11.30am followed by tea, coffee, biscuits and a chance to socialise)
Wear comfortable clothing and shoes.

“It makes me feel good, it gives me a workout, it has emotional content, and it requires interaction with other dancers. And all these benefits enable me to live with a little more ‘Joie de vivre’ in my life!” (Southmead class participant)

Dates when the class will not be running
24th Dec 2019
31st Dec 2019
7th April 2020
14th April 2020
26th May 2020

Bristol Caribbean Community Enterprise Group had debts of more than £100,000.

Midland Bank was the company's biggest creditor, but the Inland Revenue (who was owed £23,000) brought legal action.

Its Chairman at the time (from November 1983), Mr Richard Davis, said in Venue no.70:

"We had several months' work to do on improving the appearance of the place...it's tragic and we feel very bad about it all."

He believed they could turn their losses around but needed to overcome the drawbacks (like the gravestones outside the road widening and the state of the building) which were thought responsible for people's reluctance to use the place: "We inherited a lot of problems. It's been a long, hard slog and it seems everything's been against us."

Centre Manager, Fitzroy De Freitas was accused of stealing money and running away to Jamaica. It transpired that he was actually living at his sister's house in Clevedon, penniless, with massive loans out on his former property due to Trinity. Sadly, the rumours stuck anyway.

Nick Fyfe epitomised the indomitable spirit that led to Trinity's reopening.

Nick Fyfe joined the campaign whilst managing a full time business building skate parks across the South West.

He had for many years combined his successful business career with active involvement in local voluntary sector.

Nick brought a vast reservoir of experience and skill to the 'Save Trinity' campaign.

Former business partner, friend and Trinity colleague Matthew Hewitt describes Nick's key contribution to the campaign:

“Nick was so good at writing documents. In half an hour he could write a two page A4 document of several thousand words and it would all make sense. Nick prepared the meticulous cash flows, business plans, and letters underpinning the campaign that were edited and reworked by the core campaign group. Armed with these documents the eclectic group presented 'a professional image' to the Council. Having secured the lease the team subsequently learnt from an informal Council source that Trinity's bid was by far the most professional and the most well thought out.”

Nick's commitment to Trinity persisted after the lease was secured. Despite 'hard graft' on the skate park he committed his time and energy to supporting the organisation. Combining long demanding hours on site with managing Trinity may have damaged his health. Matt reflects:

“I didn't see that he was passing away because he was getting weaker and weaker. He'd had pneumonia not got over it and..he was just such a stunning character none even thought that he was near checking out..He worked on site, a building site right up to the day he died. I had a phone call from him an hour before he died saying “Matthew I'm gonna drive to Trinity can you take me somewhere when I get there. A day later his son phoned me and said he died about the same time he phoned me. He was just not going to give up...”

Our upstairs 'Fyfe Hall', was named such in memory of Nick Fyfe, one of the founding directors of Trinity Community Arts. A plaque on the downstairs north wall, has also been installed in memory.

Following the liquidation of the New Trinity Community Association in 2001, Bristol City Council held a tendering process for the future management of The Trinity Centre. Shifting funds away from community centres and towards 'Millennium Projects' coupled with a series of financial problems, forced Trinity to close once again in 2000, shutting its doors for what seemed to be the last time.

Enquiries were made from a variety of community and commercial developers and seven applications for new use were made. This included an application from the Avon & Somerset Constabulary to turn the building into a police training centre.

Others who submitted Expressions of Interest included: Travelling Light, the Bristol Festival of Dance, Undercover Rock (now happily housed in another converted church in St Werburghs), SARI and a Church group, as well as the 'Save Trinity' campaign.

The Save Trinity Campaign

A group of budding social-entrepreneurs launched the Save Trinity Campaign to get the Centre back into the hands of the local community. Following this, Trinity Community Arts Ltd (TCA) was officially constituted in 2002 and set out to develop plans for the Trinity Centre as a creative hub for East Bristol.

The group submitted an Expression of Interest, which outlined how they would encourage partnership with other local community and arts organisations and provide subsidised space to maximise the breadth of activities on offer. This was perhaps the most compelling case made, as, whilst other bidders represented specific communities of interest, TCA was able to provide a diverse community and cultural offer, as well as working alongside others to make full use of the space.

TCA's subsequent application for community asset transfer was successful and the group secured a short-term lease of Trinity Centre in 2003. The building was re-opened on 1 October 2004 as a community arts centre.

With a strong focus on training and outreach, TCA works with a range of community groups, arts organisations and individuals to provide a lively and varied activities and events programme for the City of Bristol.

A sale price of £25,000 is agreed for Holy Trinity to the Caribbean Community Enterprise Limited.  Payment is expected in installments.  The purchasers are also expected 'to pay a substantial part of the purchase price and to have undertaken the conversion of the existing building before embarking on the levelling out of the churchyard.'

On 21 December 1977 Order in Council was made by Church Commissioners that Holy Trinity could be appropriated for use as a community centre. This order formed the basis of a protective covenant that is still in place to safeguard its use in the present day.

About BCCE

The St Paul's 'uprisings' of 1980 awakened the desire of African-Caribbean community activists to provide ownership for young people of a centre that offered entertainment and personal development relevant to their own perceived needs. Without the hard work and dedication of this organisation, who undertook all of the early restoration and conversion work, the Centre would not be the amazing functioning community space it is today.

BCCE timeline

1977-1984 - Roots, rock and rebellion