A DATE has finally been set for a long-awaited legal battle over protecting Turbo Island as a “village green”.
The public inquiry into the site in Stokes Croft will be held on June 16 and 17, with an extra day on June 18 if needed, in the St Pauls Learning Centre.
Protecting somewhere as a town or village green is a legal way of ensuring the public has access and developers can’t build anything there. While village greens are usually used for activities such as ball games and barbecues, what happens on Turbo Island is different. An update was given to the city council’s public rights of way and greens committee in January 22.
One key test will be whether the activities on Turbo Island count as “lawful pastimes”. Revellers and street drinkers often converge on the corner of Stokes Croft and Jamaica Street, starting bonfires, playing music and holding impromptu parties.
While the site is a crime hotspot, with Avon and Somerset police receiving a report of crime every other day, the anarchic nature of Turbo Island is cherished by some locals.
The barrister’s report will advise the council on next steps. Councillors will then vote on whether to protect Turbo Island as a green. This could still be challenged in the courts, if anybody unhappy with the result applies for a judicial review.
Conservative Cllr John Goulandris, chair of the greens committee, said: “The inspector will hear all the evidence, the inspector will write a report, and the report will come to PROWG [public rights of way and greens committee]. We are seeing some definite progress. I know this one has been quite slow.”
Turbo Island was bombed during the second world war. The site was left empty as constructing a building there was considered too difficult, particularly given the awkward sight lines for drivers navigating the tight corner from Jamaica Street around to Stokes Croft. In the 2000s, the site became a counter-cultural symbol.
Following years of complaints about noise and smoke, the former landowners Wildstone, an advertising company, paved over Turbo Island.
Wildstone sold the site to another advertising company, Out of Hand, in 2024. There were fears that the new owners could build something there. This prompted the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft, a community group, to apply to register it as a village green.
By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service