Helen Rowe has sent us this communique.

Members may remember that the Association has been given leave by the Court to challenge by Judicial Review the City’s decision to permit the demolition of the Lakota club in Stokes Croft, the malt house of the old Bristol Brewery, classified in the City’s appraisal of the Stokes Croft as an ‘unlisted building of merit.’ In particular, and this is the main point of our challenge, we are challenging why we were not allowed to see the financial appraisal which according to the City left no viable alternative to demolition. Since this and many other such decisions hinge on viability, we think it is unfair for groups such as ours not to be able to see these appraisals and form our own view.

The judge has agreed that there is a case to be heard and we are now waiting for him to decide whether the Association should have a Protective Costs Order – this caps our financial risk and is a recognition that the case is of more general public interest. A local trust which supports the preservation of Bristol’s historic buildings and the participation in planning of groups such as ours is underwriting this challenge.

We were present at the planning meeting when permission was given for demolition. It was unfathomable that the developers refused to give information todemonstrate their thesis that the only “viable ” option for the Lakota wasdemolition… Congratulations to Helen and her group for pursuing this…