The sale of one of the largest homes in Bristol that houses people recovering from addiction, and its potential closure within months has prompted anxiety among its residents and triggered the city council to plan in advance to find alternative accommodation.
And the man in charge of housing in Bristol has called on whoever buys Wick House in Brislington to ‘consider their obligations’ to the vulnerable people who are currently living there.
Bristol Live revealed last week that Wick House, which is thought to be the city’s largest HMO, has been put up for sale for the first time in a quarter of a century, putting in doubt its future as a place which houses vulnerable people.
Wick House is a 235-year-old listed mansion in Brislington, which has had a number of uses over the past 100 years, and most recently has been run by the Selworthy House Addiction Recovery Enterprise (SHARE), which took over in 2019 and houses people who need extra support and in particular are recovering from addiction.
In the mid-2010s – when a different organisation ran it – Wick House was the centre of a series of investigations and scandals, particularly around conditions, overcrowding and the number of people who died there, issues which prompted the local MP to get involved and work on changing the law.
Now, with it up for sale for the first time in 25 years, there is real concern at City Hall at a situation where all the people living there are told they have to leave at the same time, after the building is sold.
Wick House, which has 43 bedrooms, is up for auction on March 12, and is being advertised as being sold ‘with vacant possession’, and an ‘extended 12-week completion time’. This will effectively mean a new owner could indicate they want the building to be empty, and the 12 weeks notice would be for SHARE to give notice to its residents that they will have to leave by the first week of June.
No one at Wick House has been available to talk to Bristol Live about the imminent sale this week, but at City Hall, council chiefs are concerned. Cllr Barry Parsons, the chair of Bristol City Council ’s homes and housing delivery committee, said the building’s owners have not informed them of the sale, but they were getting ready for it.
“I’m sure this news will have caused anxiety to residents of Wick House, and I would encourage any potential buyer to consider their obligations to the vulnerable people who live there,” Cllr Parsons (Green, Easton ).
“Wick House has been subject to both council and Charity Commission scrutiny for several years, and the potential need to support residents facing homelessness has been raised on a number of occasions.
“Whilst the building owners have not notified us directly regarding a sale of the building, officers are proactively planning for the possible sale at auction and considering the circumstances where a threat of homelessness is confirmed. Anyone who is threatened with homelessness should visit the council’s Citizen Service Point at 100 Temple Street, Bristol, BS1 6AG to seek advice,” he added.
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