Bristol Beacon is open and BEC is very proud to be part of its amazing journey
The transformation of Colston Hall into Bristol Beacon is the kind of positive story we all need right now. As the historic landmark reopens, it reflects the changing values of the city itself: from associations with the slave trade to hopes for an equal and sustainable future, with community energy playing an important role.
On 30th November the historic building reopens after five years and a £130 million refurbishment with a new hall, bar, restaurant and other features. The venue, which is run by music charity the Bristol Music Trust, is expected to host around 800 events a year, with acts including James Blunt, Orbital, and Bombay Bicycle Club.
As well as providing a boost for the local economy, the trust hopes Bristol Beacon will be the UK’s first carbon neutral music venue by 2030. Helping them reach their ambitious sustainability goals is Wilmott Dixon, the privately-owned contracting and interior fit-out group. During the refurbishment, they invited Bristol Energy Cooperative to get involved. Thanks to BEC’s community-funded approach, they were able to install 348 solar panels on the roof, transforming it from a 30kWp array to 127kWp – four times more solar than originally planned. The project will result in nearly 23 tonnes of CO2 saving.
Alasdair Donn, Head of Building Performance at Willmott Dixon said:
“Our close collaboration with Bristol Energy Coop on Bristol Beacon has driven some great outcomes – substantially increasing the future renewable energy generation from the project, supporting the sustainability and carbon reduction goals of our customers Bristol Music Trust and Bristol City Council, and showcasing the benefits of community energy investment in the city.”
Bringing community energy into the refurbishment gives the venue’s transformation from associations with a slave trader to a beacon of sustainability a huge boost.
Community energy describes renewable energy projects which are partly or fully community owned. While these can vary massively in size, each project has direct benefits to the community – through reduction in energy bills and the selling of electricity and carbon savings. Many groups, like Bristol Energy Coop, also set aside revenue for grants to support community projects.
BEC will sell the generated electricity to the music trust at a discounted rate then funnel the revenue back to its investors and into community benefit projects. In this way, enjoying a show or gig at Bristol Beacon, audiences are not only endorsing Bristol’s journey to net zero, they are also helping the grassroots projects that help many of the city’s most vulnerable.
Originally named Colston Hall after Edward Colston, the concert hall opened in 1867. It was built on the site of a former boys’ school, nearly 150 years after the death of the slave trader, whose vast fortune influenced the city for centuries – though the venue itself had no direct connection with him, financial or otherwise. In an event which rocked the country, in 2020, Black Lives Matter protesters toppled Colston’s statue, rolled it down to the harbour and into the water. The same year the building was renamed Bristol Beacon following a long consultation process with 4,000 people across the city.
“This is an opportunity for a fresh start and a chance to play our part in creating a fairer and more equal society”, the music trust said at the time. They had originally planned to change the building’s “toxic” name in 2017.
Andy O’Brien, co-founder of BEC said:
“Bristol Beacon is a shining light for dark days and Bristol Energy Cooperative is incredibly proud to be part of the story. Helping power the venue through community energy sends a very strong message about connection. The transformation of this important landmark for Bristol shows how much we can gain from working together: whether that’s through a shared goal of becoming net zero or financial support for community spaces which receive support through BEC.”
