Turbo Island, a cultural landmark for Bristol, has recently been put up for auction.

Link to Rightmove

There have been attempts over the years to bring Turbo Island back into community ownership. The People's Republic of Stokes Croft have been in discussion with the current owners, and at one time they were willing to sell to them directly at the market value. The current owners are hoping that the sale brings an era of "positive use" - we believe community ownership is the answer!

PRSC - Buy Back Turbo Island (2015)

This crowdfunder is intended to begin raising funds for the purchasing of Turbo Island with the goal of transforming it into a community-owned space. This could include projects such as creating a garden and replacing the billboard with an art wall.

This fundraiser will run until the date of the auction: 16th October 2024

Follow on Instagram for project updates/ upcoming events! ➡️➡️➡️ @save.turbo.island ⬅️⬅️⬅️

Any funds raised here will be pooled with the fundraisers listed here:
https://seditionist.uk/distro/uncategorized/turbo-island/

Any other fundraisers are not confirmed to be supporting the efforts of the PRSC/SCLT. If you're running a fundraiser and would like to pool funds, please message us on Instagram or contact the PRSC

⌚️ The History ⌚️

Turbo Island exists in the footprint of a shoe factory that was destroyed during a WW2 bombing raid on Bristol in 1940. Since then it has been used as an advertising location, and in 1990 was sold to a private company.

💥 The Vision 💥

Taking Turbo Island under community ownership would mean the space could be used by the community for the community. This could potentially mean a new space in the center of Bristol for hosting events, art spaces, and a new green area.

If the space was owned by the Stokes Croft Land Trust, its usage would be democratically decided and run in a similar way to the space they already own, 17-25 Jamaica Street (People's Republic of Stokes Croft HQ).

Link to their successful fundraiser

As a community, we can create a space to be proud of!

💔 What happens if the bid is unsuccessful? 💔

While we will hopefully succeed in our mission, if our bid fails there will still be opportunity to save Turbo Island. Any money raised during this fundraiser will go to a local homelessness charity (to be decided, suggestions welcome), and we will instead focus our efforts on pressuring the council to refuse any future permits to construct private accommodation on the site.

💸 What happens if we raise more than the bid? 💸

Any excess money raised will go to the future owners for the maintenance of Turbo Island as a community asset.

❓️ What's Next? ❓️

We're taking a variety of actions to achieve our goal. Among other things, we're contacting local councillors and the current owners, documenting value that Turbo Island brings to the community, planning events to raise support and funds, considering the legal status of the land, and planning how the ownership structure will look.

If you'd like to be involved in any of these actions, look out for our next meeting on @save.turbo.island or @peoplesrepublicofstokescroft

Or send a message to either of the above accounts!

Who's running this?

My name is Oscar, I'm a local activist and have been involved with Bristol Housing Coop groups and I'm an organiser with the local StopRosebank campaign.

I'm running this fundraiser on behalf of the group that has formed around this campaign - we are a group of passionate people, meeting regularly at PRSC - if you'd like to get involved, send me a message!

Image Credit: Simon Holliday @simonholliday