From pub to hub!

We’re excited to announce that Wellspring Settlement has recently submitted a planning application to change the use of The Swan from a public house to a youth and community space, as well as offices. You can read the application here.

We spoke to lots of local people before submitting this application, and most were keen that the space should be open and useful to everyone in the community. Although The Swan used to be a popular meeting place for locals, it has struggled to make enough money to run over the last ten years, and only a few people wanted it to remain as a pub. Our vision is that this will now become a welcoming and useful hub for everyone who lives in the area.

While we’re waiting for the application, you’ll see work starting on the roof and the walls to make them watertight so the building is in good shape for the next stage of development. The outside of the building will be smartened up, but the inside will be completely transformed.

Our conversations with young people indicate that they want somewhere bright and modern to meet each other and follow their interests. The plan is that the ground floor will be open to young people after school and at weekends, and during weekdays there will be activities for other groups, many of which will be run by the Bristol Somali Resource Centre.

We’ll continue to talk to local young people about what they want, but we want the space to work for everyone so we’d love to hear from other age groups too. If you want to have your say, please drop into the reception at one of our sites for a chat, or email us at info@wsb.org.uk with your ideas.

Let’s work together to make The Swan a great addition to our community.