Westmoreland House


Westmoreland House is an abandoned building at Nos. 104–106 Stokes Croft, Bristol, next door to the Carriage Works.
The building was opened in January 1966 by Lady Westmorland which it was named after. It was built to house the headquarters of the Spastics League Club, a bonus scheme affiliated with the Spastics Society where members could receive weekly gifts. The club and headquarters closed in 1982 after they were unable to pay a £250,000 tax bill, and the building has not been legally occupied since.
Since the closure of the Spastics League Club, Westmoreland House has become increasingly derelict and a popular place for graffiti artists to display artwork. This has led to English Heritage classifying the whole Stokes Croft conservation area "at risk". The premises was bought by Comer Homes for redevelopment in 1989, but plans stalled after they were unable to agree with the city council on how to proceed. The building was planned to be redeveloped by the South West Regional Development Agency, but plans were cancelled in 2009 following budget cuts.
Since 2007, local community group People's Republic of Stokes Croft have led initiatives to envisage the redevelopment of the site as a community asset.
In 2014, the Mayor of Bristol announced Westmoreland House would be demolished, while the neighbouring Carriage Works would be spared and turned into flats as it is a Grade II* listed building. Local residents, who enjoy the diversity and anticommercial nature of Stokes Croft were unimpressed with the plans and hoped something more inspiring could be designed. Campaign material against the redevelopment was posted to the front of Westmoreland House, including a hand-painted sign on the former main entrance that reads "No to luxury flats – yes to affordable homes"
Demolition of Westmoreland House was scheduled to begin in July 2018, but delayed owing to the discover of asbestos. Demolition began on 21 November 2018.
As at March 2020, the site is still empty, rebuilding work has not begun.