Save The Rhubarb Tavern, Bristol

Hello everyone! Sorry for the silence the past few weeks, unfortunately we have some bad news about the campaign to save The Rhubarb Tavern. After making the target and first stretch target, raising over £45,000(!) the owner has informed us that they may be intending to renege on part of our agreement on the terms of the tenancy.

We had agreed lease terms with the owner based on them doing the necessary repairs to the building, and continuing to pursue their planning application for the development in the garden, but not the upper floors of the pub. This lease was due to be signed on the condition that we were able to raise the funds for our side of the commitment, with works due to start as soon as we reached our target. They have now decided that they are unwilling to pay for these essential repairs unless they are granted planning permission to develop in the garden, and we no longer have reassurance from them that this development will not include the upper floors of the pub.

We were prepared to take on this project if the development went ahead in the garden, although it would be a less than ideal arrangement and would deny Barton Hill of one of very few remaining green spaces, but if the upstairs floors were developed into flats then our vision for The Rhubarb would be entirely unviable.

The page is still open for donations and we’re working to find a solution that will allow us to carry out the plans we detailled there, so any further contributions are still very helpful and much appreciated. Crowdfunder have agreed to hold the funds for us until May ’24, at which point if we haven’t signed a secure lease for The Rhubarb we can easily refund everyone.

As you may know, the building has gotten in a bad state under this owner’s stewardship, who bought the pub as a going concern 5 years ago; The Rhubarb had been a working pub and community hub for the past 160 years! It’s since been left empty without security, and a leaking roof for over 3 years.

Without the essential repair works to the roof, plumbing and electrics being carried out there’s unfortunately no way we’ll be able to refurbish the pub and go ahead with this project. So we’re left in a position where it’s unclear the best way to proceed, we’re exploring various avenues and trying our best to come up with a solution, but nothing concrete has arisen yet.

What we do know is that Barton Hill, as with many areas in cities all over the country and the world, face a battle for space, with the lower classes often being overlooked and disregarded, as illustrated with the unfortunate recent events surrounding Barton House and the displacement of its residents. With the huge new Silverthorne Lane Regeneration Scheme development just next door to The Rhubarb, 8 more private residences should not take precedent over a space which could serve the needs of a whole community, as well as the wider city of Bristol. We the citizens must unfortunately fight for space and our right to exist in this city which is our home. 

The planning application closes around the 14th of December and anyone is free to pass comment on the proposed developments and change of use on the council website, which can be found here:
https://pa.bristol.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=makeComment&keyVal=R9ICANDNMCQ00
If you'd like to have your say on this, we recommend you lodge a comment before the 14th of December.

We just want to say that although this news has been incredibly upsetting for us and everyone who wants to see The Rhubarb reopen, the enthusiasm and passion for community we’ve witnessed so far just in fundraising for this project has been staggering. And despite the ability of a single self-interested party to exert their will over us through capital and the property rights entrenched in our imbalanced and unjust society, we are filled with faith in the good will and generosity of spirit of the people of this city and beyond.