It’s Never Boring in St Judes – Wick House Residents Evicted

At the end of October this year, we ran a comment piece in our St Judes section about Nimbyism in Brislington regarding the Wick House Hostel. Some residents in the area claimed to be plagued by nightmare residents and geed each other up to fever pitch with their fears.

One Brislington resident took to a Facebook community page in anger at a leaflet through her letter box which she felt inflamed the situation.

Since that letter was posted out a meeting was held organised by a scaremongering Facebook crime page and Liberal Democrat councillor for the area Jos Clark. Other representatives at the meeting included Wick House, Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol City Council.

Since that time, the owner of Wick House has decided to forget the hostel dabbling and instead, convert the building into a nursing home rendering its residents homeless. A post by Jos Clark on Facebook’s Brislington Community Page on 23/11/2017 read:

Wick House update
The owners of Wick House have decided to look at changing Wick House into a residential nursing home. They have employed a firm of consultants to look at submitting a planning application to convert the building into a Nursing Home and they would like to talk to local residents as part of a consultation process.
Wick House residents and staff have been informed about the possible change of use. Suitable accommodation for residents will have to be found and talks have begun with BCC officers who manage Homeless Accommodation.
A planning application will only be submitted when the local community have been fully consulted about the proposal, with this in mind, the consultants are planning to hold a Public Drop In Session at St Cuthbert’s Church In Brislington on 7th December from 3.30pm until 7.30pm. Please come along to look at the plans and tell the consultants what you think of the proposal.

 

According to Bristol City Council’s statistics on Homeless Trends in Bristol in March this year, there were 979 homeless people in the city in 2016/17 and 517 households living in temporary accommodation. In November last year, 74 rough sleepers were identified in the city. People who walk through Central Bristol first thing in the morning will probably count a much higher figure since then.

So those in Brislington who don’t like living near to vulnerable people have succeed in their wish. The nursing home may go ahead if residents agree and the people housed in Wick House will be making homeless applications in a city already in a housing crisis.

Despite councillor Jos Clarks repeated posts across Facebook regarding Wick House and the meeting held under her name, the Brislington Liberal Democrats deny that the community unrest that runs in conjunction with her posting has in any part been exacerbated by themselves.