What next for troubled community centre featured in ‘The Outlaws’?

While Stephen Merchant’s The Outlaws delighted viewers last year, residents of one Bristol suburb lived alongside the series, its cast and crew for much of 2021.

The silent star of the programme is Sea Mills Community Centre: the venue of much of the drama in the BBC comedy-thriller.

The show focuses on a group of offenders, tasked with doing up the dilapidated building as part of a community payback scheme.

But away from filming, the community centre is embroiled in a drama of its own. Built by the community in the 1950s but owned by Bristol City Council, it was blighted by financial difficulties up until it closed in 2019.

A proposed refurbishment in 2019 came to a bitter end after a damning surveyors report resulted in the funding for improvement work being withdrawn.

The work done by the film crew for The Outlaws has transformed the look of Sea Mills Community Centre  – photo: Mary Milton

A second series of The Outlaws has already finished filming and the centre has undergone a huge transformation.

The exterior walls are neatly painted in striking blue and yellow, and the surrounding area has been landscaped with seating and raised beds.

Former volunteer manager at the community centre, Lisa Dicker, calls its transformation “bittersweet” and says she couldn’t bear to watch the hit BBC show.

“The centre was handed back to the council because it was deemed unfit to be in, so the last thing I expected to see was a film crew on the site,” she said.

“I often wonder what Stephen Merchant would think if he knew the story behind the building.”

Neighbours initially feared vandals had moved into the building when filming for the BBC comedy-thriller commenced in 2021 – photo: Mary Milton

Filming for the series came as a welcome distraction for many close neighbours of the centre during the third national lockdown.

Initial fears that the building had been attacked by vandals when rubbish and graffiti first appeared in February 2021 turned to relief when locals realised it was part of a film set.

There was excitement when a camera crew arrived and Christopher Walken was spotted at Sea Mills Library.

……………………………………..

Read more: Christopher Walken: ‘Bristol is a terrific place, first time I was here there were riots’

……………………………………..

As part of the first series, a Banksy artwork, probably worth more than the entire community centre, was created specifically to be destroyed as part of the plot.

Other artworks giving locals a glimpse of how season two might develop have also appeared on the front wall of the building, only to be quickly painted over.

The final and very short-lived mural depicted the whole cast with the Suspension Bridge and balloons behind them.

……………………………………………

This Bristol24/7 content is made possible by contributions from our members. In February and March, we are on a mission to get to 1,000 supporter members. Membership is £5 a month and allows us to continue our important work bringing you the best stories in Bristol. If you enjoy reading our articles, please consider supporting us and join today.

……………………………………………

Seeing the centre now looking so neat and tidy has added to local frustration that it cannot be used by the community. But no one has seen what work may have gone on inside the building.

Some locals are tempted to believe the problems that led to its closure have been addressed, but others, like Michael Glanton, are less optimistic.

“Whilst it’s great to see the regeneration of the fictional community centre, we are still waiting to see our own community centre follow suit and become the hive of activity it historically once was,” he said.

The centre decor, since removed, gives a glimpse into what we might see in season two – photo: Mary Milton

While the centre may remain closed, some community groups in the area have benefited financially from the filming of The Outlaws.

The production team has donated funds to the groups such as Sea Mills & Coombe Dingle Climate Action Group, Sea Mills Community Initiatives and Friends of Sea Mills Library.

The Climate Action Group have already put some of those funds to good use and now have a set of litter pickers for community clean-ups.

……………………………………..

Read more: Residents use compensation from Outlaws filming to tell positive stories

……………………………………..

Bristol City Council had promised a community consultation on a new building. But it’s been delayed due to Covid-19, leaving some locals, like Janine Matthews, to fear the worse.

“I suspect the community isn’t getting the building back,” she says. “There seems to be some other filming company setting up there. Maybe it’s a good earner for Bristol City Council?”

A spokesperson from the council said: “The building is in a poor state and requires a significant amount of investment to make it suitable for public use.

“While there are currently no firm plans for the future of the site, conversations continue on proposals to bring the site back into use.”

Mary Milton is reporting on Sea Mills as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media

Main photo: Holly Wilson

Read more: Community centre moves into new multi-million pound premises 

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: