They are Bristol’s most famous music export - but now Massive Attack are facing an uncertain future and say they are in danger of being pushed out of the city due to gentrification.
The band’s Rob del Naja has told Bristol Live they are being evicted from their current recording studio in Bedminster by property developers - and are facing frustration in their attempts to buy their original spiritual home, the Christchurch Recording Studio in Clifton, where they made two of their iconic albums.
The sale of the studio building in Clifton has been confirmed by its owners, the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, with fears they could sell to the highest bidder - who are likely to be property developers wanting to turn the historic cultural centre into upmarket flats.
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Massive Attack are understood to be one of a range of parties interested in buying the Christchurch studio building, and are now trying to convince the Old Vic Theatre School’s bosses to put the city’s cultural heritage and artistic future ahead of making as much money as possible, by choosing them and their plans to turn it into a community-accessible music and recording studio project.
The band's proposal would not only secure a recording studio in the city for them, but would also be an accessible centre for creative arts and music in Bristol, as part of the BUG project - the Bristol United Guild, the non-profit arts sector company backed by the band and a host of other creatives in the city, including Portishead and Idles, which was launched in 2021.
However, the principal and chief executive officer of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) Fiona Francombe told Bristol Live that, while they will consider the bidders who submit offers by a deadline at the end of this month, they have a legal obligation to act in the best interests of the school as an educational charity.
The Christchurch Recording Studio could fetch more than £1.5 million and is a heritage site in a prime location in Clifton Village, which could be converted into luxury apartments. It is currently being marketed by Bristol establishment property giants JLL as a ‘characterful Grade II-listed period property’.
But it is also one of Bristol’s premier cultural heritage locations. For a couple of decades it was operated by the BBC, who turned it into a hub where many of the corporation’s radio productions and dramas were made. In the 1990s, it became a privately-owned recording studio and was used by a wide range of global bands and artists, from Van Morrison and The Fratellis to PJ Harvey and Nirvana’s producer Butch Vig.
The studios were home to Massive Attack for many years, and it was where the band recorded two of their number one albums - Mezzanine and 100th Window, as well as forming a local Bristol label called Melankolic for up and coming local artists.
In 1998 it was bought by the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and after a while, Massive Attack had to find a new recording studio base - which they found at Unit 3, on a trading estate in the heart of Bedminster.
Now, that studio forms part of the massive Bedminster Green regeneration project. Next door, a purpose-built student accommodation complex for 819 students is being built around the studio, and it currently forms part of a planning application for 339 new homes and apartments, that has been submitted by Bristol City Council’s development partner at Bedminster Green, developers Dandara.
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Like other occupiers and businesses located on council-owned premises around the Whitehouse Lane area of Bedminster Green, Massive Attack have been told the council will be selling the land from under them for the development and they have probably a year before they will have to find somewhere else to go, even though Bristol City Council’s planning committee is yet to formally award planning permission to its own ‘development partners’.
Massive Attack’s studio in Bedminster for the last 20 years or so looks certain to be demolished to make way for apartments, joining the Coach House Studios, where Portishead recorded Dummy and Massive Attack recorded Blue Lines, which has been converted into private residences.
So the imminent sale of the band’s old Christchurch Studios back in Clifton could be a welcome coincidence, but for Rob del Naja, Grant Marshall and the team, they are battling property developers again. The band are calling on Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s (BOVTS) bosses to take into account the creative and artistic part of their charitable aims, and not just the aim of selling to the highest bidder.
“We’ve spent our entire lifetimes in Bristol creating work, and have been successful in the worlds of music and art,” said Rob. “In all that time, we’ve never asked for a penny from any public body, and we aren’t asking for a penny now.
'Deeply frustrating'
“All we are seeking is a fair opportunity, at a fair price, to protect and preserve a centre of cultural excellence - with serious heritage and history across music and broadcasting – operating in Bristol as a world class recording studio, where we can also offer Bristolian musicians at any stage of their careers heavily discounted or free access to first class recording facilities,” he explained.
“If it is this difficult for artists who have been successful to secure space to create in Bristol, without those spaces being constantly eaten up by property developers, what must it be like for those artists who are just starting out, or who are in the early stages of their careers?
“We totally get the imperative for the BOVTS to do the best for their students, and we support that. But what’s frustrating is both the speed of a process that could see a significant cultural asset irreversibly shift to private/commercial use, and the opacity of this process - where despite repeatedly asking, we can’t seem to ascertain what the criteria to select the next occupier for Christchurch Studios actually is?
“It's deeply frustrating to see other UK cultural cities actively investing in art and music production facilities, because they clearly see a high value to their economies and communities, while in Bristol the reverse could happen. It's five to midnight, but there’s still a chance to keep the historic Christchurch Studios working as a world class music facility that musicians at any stage of their development can make use of,” he added.
In JLL’s brochure for the sale of Christchurch Studios, prospective buyers are told that BOVTS does not necessarily have to select the highest bidder. “The premises are to be sold by informal tender and offers are invited for the freehold. The vendors are not obliged to accept the highest offer or indeed any offer,” JLL’s brochure states.
But it also adds that the property is ideal for a range of conversion uses, if planners allow. “Subject to addressing the issues of loss of existing facility, impact on heritage assets, the subject site has good scope for conversion to a range of alternative uses,” JLL’s agent states. “The property is located in the urban area and is considered to be a sustainable location for a range of uses with good accessibility to a range of modes of transport and amenity.
"We consider that the neighbouring uses set a precedent for redevelopment of the site for living uses, including but not limited to residential private sale, PRS and/or student accommodation,” she added.
In a separate planning note, JLL is warning prospective buyers that anyone who wants to convert the building into residential or a different use may have to work with BOVTS, because councillors could object to the 'loss of a community facility'. "Based on our experience elsewhere in the City we consider that the property (and in turn BOVTS operations) may be identified as a community facility. As such, before consideration can be given to alternative uses, it will be necessary to address the ‘loss’ of the existing facility," the guidance from the agent states.
"In short, any future applicant would need to demonstrate that BOVTS have re-provided these services elsewhere – this may require co-operation between BOVTS and a purchaser in order to present robust evidence to support a future planning application," she added.
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School are selling now, with the hope that students can remain on site until 2025 at the latest. On the BOVTS website, the school states: “As part of its long-term strategy, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School has resolved to relocate its media, film and television production work.
"The first stage of this strategy will involve the sale of Christchurch Studios, the current home of the film and television department, early in 2023.
“The School intends to negotiate a leaseback of the Studios for two years until summer 2025, ensuring that it can continue to deliver world-class training to its students without disruption to their studies. The sale of the studios will release the capital needed for the School to realise the next stage of this plan,” it added.
As a registered charity, and one that is the recipient of a large amount of public funds, BOVTS has to realise its assets in the best interests of the charity - but given the school also owns other prime property in the city, those calling for the studio building to be preserved as a cultural asset for Bristol say the school can and should be able to legally decide that the best interests of culture, art and education in Bristol would be served by selling to a buyer with a project to continue keeping it open as a recording studio and artistic hub.
School's response
Bristol Live asked the theatre school’s chief executive Fiona Francombe, who until recently ran the Bottle Yard Studios in Hengrove before moving to the top job at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, what criteria would be used by the school’s bosses to assess the different bids that come in for the Christchurch Studios.
She said: “Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a registered charity and our Trustees are regulated by the Charities Commission. For any sale such as this, our Trustees have a legal responsibility to act in the best interests of the charity as they are dealing with public money.
“Once the deadline for offers has passed, JLL will prepare a report for the Trustees’ consideration, and they will then make their decision according to their legal responsibilities.
“Bristol Old Vic Theatre School students have benefitted from learning audio and screen work in Christchurch Studios for a number of years, in a building which has a rich history.
“However, to ensure that our students are well-prepared for their chosen careers in theatre, TV and film when they graduate, we need to particularly expand our screen work across our courses. We can’t undertake this growth in the current facilities at the Studios, so we have decided it is time for us to consider other options.
“We understand that there has been considerable interest in the Studios from a variety of potential buyers, with a range of possible uses for the future use of the building,” she added.
