Ajax legend Bristol’s son is fighting council eviction from the family home

The son of one of Bristol’s best-known community figures has spoken out about their plight after council bosses ordered them evicted from the family home.

The Brighton Road house in the heart of St Pauls was home to Gilbert “Ajax” Watson for decades, but now, four years to the day since he died in 2020, his son Prince and the rest of the family are preparing. to try to resist Bristol City Council bailiffs due to repossess the council house on Tuesday.

Ajax died on July 19, 2020, and in the four years since, his son Prince has tried to continue living in the house where he grew up.

Read more: ‘Bristol has lost a legend’ – tributes to late-night blues bar owner

Read more: Bristol mum fights council eviction after both her parents die within three years

Ajax was one of the most famous people in St Pauls. For several years he ran the Bamboo Club, which was established by Tony and Lal Bullimore in the 1960s as a place for both Bristolians and new Caribbean Bristolians to mingle. Ajax, was also well known as the owner of the Shady Grove Cafe, which he opened in 1970, and was a pivotal figure in Bristol’s Afro-Caribbean musical communities.

For several years after his death, Prince remained in the house, but from 2023 Bristol City Council demanded it back, saying Prince did not qualify for council tenants’ rights to pass the rent on to another family member.

Prince is backed by community union ACORN, which says there is “considerable evidence” of Prince’s right to stay in the house as a council tenant.

“I never thought I’d be put in this position, a home that I grew up in, a home that means the world to the family, a home recognized by the community,” Prince said. “We know we have the community behind us, and as ACORN members, we have our union with us and demand that we not be evicted from our family home,” he added.

An ACORN spokesman said there would be a demonstration at the house on Tuesday when Prince was told the council was coming to evict him.

“Despite considerable evidence of sustained occupation by both Generation and Prince, including successful maintenance of all property taxes and charges, the council refuses to recognize the right of succession to the tenancy,” a spokesman said.

“Ajax was the original tenant of the council house for several decades, home to several generations of the Watson family, and the Prince has been claiming inheritance in the tenancy – known as succession – since Ajax’s unfortunate death in 2020.

“However, despite meeting all the criteria for succession to be granted and providing extensive evidence to support his claim, the Prince and the Watsons have faced endless obstacles from Bristol City Council,” he added .

“Refusing to accept the legitimacy of his claim, the BCC has instead engaged in an extensive campaign of misdirection, misinformation and ignoring the evidence presented, while holding Prince responsible for mandated household maintenance such as council tax for several years,” he added.

With a massive waiting list for housing, housing campaigners said Bristol City Council had tightened rules on tenancy succession, sparking a series of high-profile legal battles. Last year, Bristol Live reported on a mother in Knowle West who the council tried to evict from the home she grew up in after both her parents died. She went to court and the council insisted she take her family home but agreed to house her elsewhere in the community.

“His experience is sadly commonplace in Bristol’s black and minority communities, typical of the ongoing mistreatment of Windrush descendants across the UK and in stark contrast to the dignity that Ajax has promoted as a symbol of the Bristol community,” added the wearer. word of ACORN.

Bristol Live has asked Bristol City Council about Prince Watson’s case and is awaiting a response.