“The figures speak for themselves” says local councillor
The estates and council tower blocks of Redcliffe. Inset, local councillors Ani Townsend and Sibusiso Tshabalala(Image: Google Earth/Bristol Green Party)
A council estate just a stone’s throw away from Bristol city centre has experienced ‘years of under-investment’ from successive City Hall administrations – according to the local councillors for the area.
While areas around the city centre have seen around a million pounds of community infrastructure money from the council – paid by developers in recent years – the area of South Redcliffe, which has two huge council estates on either side of the main Redcliff Hill, has been left behind, councillors say.
With large amounts of development taking place in the city centre, nearby Bedminster, around Temple Quarter and in Redcliffe itself, developers have handed over millions of pounds in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) money to the council to improve the areas and help the existing residents cope with the extra pressures from developments.
South Redcliffe – the area north of the river and either side of Redcliff Hill – has now been granted almost a quarter of a million pounds from CIL money with allocations that the two local councillors say is the start of making up the shortfall, and marked a ‘significant step towards addressing years of underinvestment in the neighbourhood’.
READ MORE: NHS needs £3.2m from council to cope with East Bristol regenerationREAD MORE: Calls for £8m Bedminster Green council cash to go to NHS
“A review of Area 4 CIL allocations over the past five years highlights a clear imbalance in how developer contributions have been distributed,” said Cllrs Sibusiso Tshabalala and Cllr Ani Townsend, the two Central Ward councillors whose patch covers from the Bearpit to Bedminster Bridge.
“While neighbouring wards have benefited from substantial investment, with Lawrence Hill receiving over £1.2 million and Ashley more than £800,000, Central Ward has historically received just £238,491 in allocated projects over the same period.
“This latest £240,000 package effectively doubles the ward’s historic allocation in a single funding round,” they added.
The estates and council tower blocks of Redcliffe, with the Proctor Estate in the foreground, and the Francombe Estate on the left, on the other side of Redcliff Hill (Image: Google Earth)
The two projects have each received £120,000, and money is already being spent. The first was a project to transform what used to be known as the Quaker Memorial Garden, between the Coliseum pub and Redcliffe Wharf, into the ‘Sanctuary Garden’ – local residents said they felt that the word ‘Memorial’ did ‘not fully reflect its living purpose’.
“The vision is to create an open and welcoming green space accessible to everyone but especially meaningful for those who have arrived in Bristol seeking sanctuary,” said the two councillors.
“The concept was shaped through consultation with asylum seekers and refugees, who asked for a place where they could sit quietly alone or gather with friends and family, reconnect with nature, reflect on the challenges they have overcome and begin to plan for uncertain futures.
“They described a need for a space to remember, to hope, to meet, to play, to share information, to participate and ultimately to belong,” they added.
READ MORE: Plans for radical transformation of Temple Meads area in BristolREAD MORE: Bristol’s housing crisis explained in one small industrial estate
With a former hotel nearby now housing refugee families who are seeking asylum in Bristol, the open space of the gardens is valuable to them as there is little other open space in the area, said Susana Askew, the chair of the Bristol City of Sanctuary organisation, which has been involved in the project.
“Sanctuary Garden represents welcome in physical form,” she said. “Through consultation, people told us they needed somewhere to pause, to reflect and to feel part of the city.
“This garden is being shaped with them, not for them. It shows how sanctuary can be built together through community collaboration,” she added.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the long blocks of flats around St Mary Redcliffe School and Redcliff Hill, another £120,000 is being spent upgrading open spaces and play equipment for the local families living in the Proctor and Francombe estates.
The revamp will see new play equipment, all-weather surfacing and better lighting.
local councillors Ani Townsend and Sibusiso Tshabalala, with new play equipment in South Redcliffe(Image: Bristol Green Party)
“The figures speak for themselves,” said Cllr Tshabalala (Green, Central). “For years, Central Ward, particularly South Redcliffe, has trailed behind neighbouring areas in securing infrastructure investment.
“While other wards have seen over a million pounds directed into community projects, our residents have received a fraction of that figure.
“This £240,000 is about fairness. As a council tenant myself, I understand how residents experience the contrast between city centre growth and the reality on their estates. This is not just about benches or play equipment, it is about equity and ensuring Redcliffe receives its fair share of the city’s development,” he added.
Cllr Townsend pledged that South Redcliffe would not be left further behind, as a £4 billion regeneration project to build new homes and workplaces next to the two estates, around Temple Meads station, at Temple Quarter.
Urban decay in South Redcliffe – this former pub, the Bell at Redcliffe, and next door venue has been derelict for years(Image: Google Earth/Bristol Green Party)
“We cannot allow billions to be invested in Temple Quarter while the historic estates next door remain underfunded,” Cllr Townsend (Green, Central) said.
“By securing this CIL funding now, we are strengthening Redcliffe’s social infrastructure so it grows alongside new development. Whether it is Sanctuary Garden or improved play spaces on our estates, regeneration must benefit existing residents first,” they added.