Equity is demanding that Bristol City Council keep their promise to engage in real and meaningful consultation about the proposed sale of Bottle Yard Studios.
Equity officials have written to Tony Dyer, the leader of Bristol City Council, today (18 November), to remind him that Councillors promised last month to hold meaningful consultation with Equity and other unions and to bring the final decision on the Studios’ future back to elected councillors for a democratic vote.
The letter makes it clear that any meaningful consultation must include:
- A face-to-face meeting between Equity and the Council Leader to outline the union’s concerns.
- Sharing of the relevant research documents used by the Council to reach their decision.
- An opportunity to present the union’s views to the full committee at a time and in a manner that allows for a meaningful discussion ahead of any vote to progress the sale.
Background
In September 2024 Bristol City Council announced plans to sell the film studio. Bottle Yard Studios, which is currently the only UK film studio to be owned by a local authority, has hosted a wide range of film and TV productions, including Sherlock, Poldark, Hellboy, Crystal Maze, and Broadchurch.
Equity campaigned against a rushed sale of the studios and called on Councillors to pause the sale to ensure that all options are considered to protect jobs and the wider cultural sector. Over 1,000 emails were sent by Equity members and supporters to Bristol City Councillors asking for the sale to be delayed.
On 11 October Equity officials met with Alex Hearn, Director Economy of Place at Bristol City Council, to discuss the proposal. At the meeting Alex Hearn confirmed that Bottle Yard Studios makes a profit and brings a return to the council. It also became clear that many of the financial workings, reports and strategy documents have not been available to the public, and possibly even elected Councillors in the current administration.
On 14 October Bristol Councillors backed an amendment forcing Council Officers to bring back sale plans to Council for approval. The Councillors agreed that any sale could only be possible after consultation “with all relevant trade unions including those representing freelance workers”.
Equity is now calling on Bristol City Council to act in good faith and keep their promise to engage in meaningful consultation and allow transparency, scrutiny and accountability before plans to sell Bottle Yard Studios progress any further.
Full text of Letter
To: Councillor Tony Dyer
Leader, Bristol City Council
Cc:
Alex Hearn, Director, Economy of Place, Bristol City Council;
Councillor Tom Renhard;
Councillor Caroline Gooch;
Councillor John Goulandris;
Councillor Ellie King;
Councillor Heather Mack;
Councillor Abdul Malik;
Councillor Tim Rippington;
Councillor Ani Stafford-Townsend;
British Film Commission;
Dear Cllr. Dyer,
RE: Bottle Yard Studios
A month ago at the meeting of the Strategy and Resources Committee on 14th October, councillors voted to postpone a decision on the disposal of Bottle Yard Studios in order to allow more time for consultation with the relevant unions, following a concerted campaigning effort by Equity.
We are grateful to councillors (in particular) in the Green Group and Labour for listening to our concerns, and we are writing to follow up on this commitment to consult. As the union who represents the vast majority of creative workers who will find freelance work at Bottle Yard, we would appreciate real and meaningful consultation about what this proposed sale means.
What we expect from meaningful consultation would be:
A face to face meeting with you as Council Leader to outline our concerns
Sharing of the relevant research documents used by the Council to reach your decision
An opportunity to present our views to the full committee at a time and in a manner that allows for a meaningful discussion ahead of any vote to progress the sale.
We look forward to hearing from you about when and how you might be able to offer these consultation opportunities in good time ahead of any sale decision.
We look forward to your response.
Yours,
Lynda Rooke, President – Equity
John Barclay, Assistant General Secretary – Equity
Rachael Fagan, South West Councillor – Equity
Simon Curtis, South West Regional Official – Equity
