The aim is to “make the decision makers listen to us”videoHeadlineBristol charity CEO reacts to £20m funding for Hartcliffe

People in Hartcliffe are being challenged to work together to plan how to spend £20 million of Government money. It comes after a minister came to the community centre and told council chiefs very clearly that it was for the people in the community to decide where the funding should go.

But if there was any doubt about what are the biggest issues affecting the people in what is Bristol’s most southerly area, there shouldn’t be any longer.

For this week the results of a huge survey of people in Hartcliffe has finally been published, the culmination of an incredible two and a half years of work by a dedicated group of local residents, backed and supported by council officers and staff from Bristol University. And the results of the Ignite report into Hartcliffe are clear: crime, education and a lack of places to go and things to do – not just for children and young people, but for the whole community – are the biggest issues the people living there want to tackle.

The publication of the Ignite survey couldn’t have come at a better, more timely moment in Hartcliffe’s 75 year history – with this month’s pledge of Government cash. The work began in March 2023, when residents, councillors and community activists got together to work on a plan. They met fortnightly throughout 2023, 2024 and this year, and realised that if they were to develop a community plan to make improvements to their area, they needed to know what residents actually think and want.

Too many times before, change happened to the people of Hartcliffe, not with them. It’s not a coincidence that Hartcliffe regularly sees the lowest turnout in local and national elections – sometimes only one in five people bother to vote.

Volunteers drew up a survey and asked about everything – which services they use, where they go, what they are fearful of, what they think about schools, shops, transport, crime, whether they’ve got a wide circle of friends, or none at all, whether they work, are retired, or unemployed, or what kind of housing they live in and how happy they are with it.

Local residents in Hartcliffe came together to survey people in their area, for the most comprehensive snapshot of housing, transport, health, education, services and views of what is needed in Hartcliffe in the area's historyLocal residents in Hartcliffe came together to survey people in their area, for the most comprehensive snapshot of housing, transport, health, education, services and views of what is needed in Hartcliffe in the area’s history(Image: Ignite Hartcliffe)

The group describes itself as ‘residents from Hartcliffe and Withywood who have tried all the processes we are told to go through and are fed up with seeing no change as a result.’ They add: “We believe the way to make a difference is to gather the voice of the community and use it to make the decision makers listen to us. We want to ignite positive changes in our neighbourhood driven by the things that matter to this community.”

“Inspired by other parts of Bristol where communities had developed community plans, around 30 residents gathered in March 2023 to explore how Hartcliffe and Withywood could build a stronger, unified voice,” said a spokesperson for Ignite.

READ MORE: The Bristol community working hard to have its voice heardREAD MORE: Government minister tells Hartcliffe ‘you decide’ how to spend £20m

“Early discussions focused on what makes a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ community. These ideas were grouped into nine themes that shaped the survey: parks and green spaces, employment and education, housing and streets, traffic and transport, community safety, health and wellbeing, community facilities, economy, research and boundaries,” she added.

Over the course of eight months, almost 900 people sat down and filled in the survey from start to finish. While that’s by no means everyone in Hartcliffe, it’s a good percentage to provide a robust statistical analysis. One issue the team did identify and acknowledge was that young people were under-represented, given that one in seven people in Hartcliffe are aged between 16 and 24.

Communities minister Miatta Fahnbulleh MP visits Hartcliffe to talk to the community about the £20m Govt fundingCommunities minister Miatta Fahnbulleh MP visits Hartcliffe to talk to the community about the £20m Govt funding(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)

The team crunched the numbers, with the help of a data analyst from Bristol University. A big event was held at Merchants Academy – complete with local comedian Dani Johns to provide some light relief in between all the serious discussions – and the biggest snapshot of views, hopes, fears, demands and needs ever taken of the community was revealed.

‘We don’t feel safe’

The most striking and immediate finding was not particularly surprising to anyone familiar with Hartcliffe and its people, but shouldn’t be overlooked – more than half the people in Hartcliffe said they couldn’t afford to heat their homes properly. More than half said it affected their mental or physical health.

More than two-thirds said they didn’t feel safe if the went out in every area in their community, and a staggering four in five people said they didn’t feel safe to go out in the community at all times of day and night – across Bristol, more than half the people asked that question gave a different answer, that they did feel safe in their local area after dark.

READ MORE: Hartcliffe’s £20m Government cash ‘has to create a legacy’READ MORE: Hartcliffe named as a £20m ‘trailblazer’ neighbourhood in new Government project

The survey found more people in Hartcliffe said drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and vandalism were issues in the area, with more people citing the area around Morrisons as a place where they didn’t feel safe, more than any other area.

There was a lot of food for thought – and raw data – when it comes to Hartcliffe working out what to do with the promise of £2 million a year for the next ten years from the Government. A board made up of residents, volunteers, local people who work in the community and local representatives is being formed following the visit of the minister, and if they need to look at what people in Hartcliffe say they don’t have or need, the huge Ignite survey will tell them.

Almost two-thirds of people ranked ‘activities for teenagers’ as ‘poor’, and more than half said the range and number of places to socialise was ‘poor’ too. Hartcliffe has a community centre, just one pub now, and precious little else – all that for a part of Bristol that would be the equivalent of a medium-sized town.

Cllr Kerry Bailes (Lab, Hartcliffe & Withywood) has been heavily involved in a community survey on what is needed to improve Hartcliffe, which will be presented in October 2025. She is pictured here at the launch of the Pride In Place project which will decide how to invest £20m of Government money in Hartcliffe over the next ten yearsCllr Kerry Bailes (Lab, Hartcliffe & Withywood) has been heavily involved in a community survey on what is needed to improve Hartcliffe, which will be presented in October 2025. She is pictured here at the launch of the Pride In Place project which will decide how to invest £20m of Government money in Hartcliffe over the next ten years(Image: Bristol Post)

The soon-to-be formed board in Hartcliffe will be spoiled for choice if they pick one issue and concentrate the funding on that. Parks were something that people in Hartcliffe said they used well, but more than half said they regularly visited parks in other areas outside of BS13, saying they were better, with better facilities, with complaints that Hartcliffe and Withywood’s parks are a haven for anti-social behaviour, vandalism and litter.

Transport could also be justified as the focus for the £20 million – almost three-quarters of the people surveyed said they use public transport, but fewer than half said they were happy with it.