Riot cafe to be demolished

The cafe has a reputation as a drugs haven

A notorious Bristol cafe which was at the centre of the St Pauls riots is to be demolished to make way for houses.

The Black and White cafe has a reputation as a drugs haven, and has been frequently raided by police.

But now the city council has issued a compulsory purchase order which will force the owner of the Grosvenor Street premises to sell up.

The cafe, which opened in 1971, and other houses in the terrace, will be razed to the ground and replaced by affordable homes.

It is thought the council took this latest step after discussions with the cafe's owners broke down over how much the authority and the housing association which will carry out the redevelopment were willing to pay for the property.

Knightstone Housing Association wants to build seven two-bedroomed homes on land currently occupied by the cafe and a number of other run-down buildings.

A raid on the cafe in April 1980 sparked the St Pauls race riot, the first of a series of disturbances across the country that year.