News / Sea Mills
Suspected arson at Bristol community centre
Police are investigating after three people were seen fleeing a community centre before neighbours noticed smoke billowing from the building’s windows on Monday evening.
Three fire engines attended with police also at the scene at the Sea Mills Community Centre on Sunny Hill.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the building and the blaze was quickly extinguished.
Despite being well used, the community centre closed in 2019 due to the poor condition of the building.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the building to deal with the blaze in Sea Mills
Since closure, it has been used as a filming location for Stephen Merchant’s comedy thriller The Outlaws and by several charities for storage.
Neighbours say it has been most recently occupied by a charity which helps refugees, but that they have since left the building.
The site has increasingly become a target for antisocial behaviour, with nearby residents reporting multiple incidents of trespass and vandalism, particularly since Christmas.
In December 2025 a video was posted on TikTok under the username @urbex.exporersuk_ showing a group of young people trespassing inside the centre, including boiling a kettle and appearing to make tea.
The group claimed the site was abandoned, but it was at that time being used by a charity.
The wider Sea Mills Community Centre site has been earmarked for future development by Bristol City Council, but no decisions have been made and there is currently no published timeline for any works.
In a statement about Monday’s incident, Avon & Somerset Police said: “Nobody was injured in the incident, the building has been boarded up, and CCTV and house-to-house enquiries have been carried out while investigations continue.
“Three people, described as teenagers, were seen running from the scene in the direction of Blaise Walk at around the time of the incident.
“They have been described as follows; a white girl, with brown hair, who was wearing a red T-shirt and black trousers, a white boy who was wearing a blue jacket and a grey hooded top, and a white boy with brown hair who was wearing a white T-shirt.”
Anybody with information or relevant CCTV from around the time of the incident (about 7pm) is asked to call 101 and quote the reference 5226115234 or complete an online appeals form.
Mary Milton is reporting on Sea Mills as part of Bristol24/7’s Community Reporters programme, aiming to amplify marginalised voices and communities often overlooked by mainstream media.
This initiative is funded by our public, Better Business members and a grant from the Nisbets Trust.
All photos: Mary Milton
Read next:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
