Community Consultation Days

In April 2017 we announced our decision to reopen Colston Hall under a new name following our two-year, £48.8 million redevelopment.

For many years the Hall has been the lightning rod for a debate on the legacy of the slave-trader and philanthropist Edward Colston. Built 146 years after his death, Edward Colston was not a benefactor to the Hall and there is no material connection with the man or his wealth, and when we reopen it will be with a name that reflects our values as a progressive, forward-thinking and open arts organisation.

This decision is part of fulfilling our ambition to develop a new vision for the Hall, where we aim to:

bring a diverse programme of incredible artists from around the world to Bristol

nurture new home-grown talent

bring people together through music performance and opportunities for life-long learning

create everlasting memories

open our doors to everyone in the city and region

We hosted a number of community consultation days in January and February 2019 to gather feedback on how people engage with the Hall and ideas to help shape our future, including renaming.

We believe this is about more than a sign above the door. We believe that the new name should reflect a new vision for the Hall and its role in the city, and we need your help to build that vision.

The consultation days took place in the venues listed below.

These consultation days were drop-in sessions which anybody could attend with multiple ways to provide feedback.

We sought feedback on:

Our draft vision for a new Hall and what it might be called

How we should acknowledge our past in the new building

How we can engage more people and communities in the work of the Hall

Community Consultation Day Venues

Thu 31 Jan – Redland United Reformed Church, Redland

Drop-in: 9am – 8pm

Mon 4 Feb – Easton Community Centre, Easton

Drop-in: 9am – 8pm

Tue 5 Feb – Knowle West Media Centre, Knowle West

Drop-in: 9am – 8pm

Thu 7 Feb – St Paul’s Learning Centre, St Paul’s

Drop-in: 9am – 8pm

Mon 11 Feb – Greenway Centre, Southmead

Drop-in: 9am – 8pm

Following these community consultation days, we invited the city to visit us for a Discovery Day on Saturday 16 March to find out more about all aspects of the transformation, including the physical changes to the building which will make it a world-class venue as well as progress on our new vision and renaming.