Lawrence Weston has been something of an island on the edge of Bristol ever since it was established as a housing estate during the post-war construction boom. Today, the feeling of a community not entirely of, but not completely separate, from the city endures.
With many local jobs and amenities having long-since disappeared, the lack of viable transport links between Lawrence Weston and the city centre is hurting residents, according to local Labour councillor Don Alexander.
“It’s not uncommon for an area at the edge of a city where population density is low to find that poor connectivity to the centre is one of the drivers of deprivation,” he said.
“The city centre has opportunities for education, training and employment but to access those it’s a long bus ride even if it’s not a particularly long distance. Public transport routes and the development of infrastructure need to recognise the link between poor connectivity and deprivation.
Cllr Don Alexander, who represents Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston.(Image: Bristol Design)
“The ‘market’ approach to public transport prevalent in this country since the 1980s has entrenched this situation because it’s excluded local government from the management of public transport but I hope that with the current Government’s recognition of the importance of public transport we can work with the WECA Mayor to improve this.”
The need for better transport is only going to increase as the population of Lawrence Weston grows. A large amount of housing has been built in the area in recent years, due to the relative abundance of available land, with more planned.
Mark Pepper, head of local advocacy group Ambition Lawrence Weston, said the lack of transport and the decline in local amenities was particularly impactful on younger people.
Locals in Lawrence Weston say the area has suffered a decline in services over the years(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc)
“When this place was built there used to be everything you needed here – electrical shops, clothes shops, food shops, all the facilities and amenities, but they’ve all gone,” he said.
“The local college even closed down, and kids who want to learn a trade at 16 have to get two buses to South Bristol. That’s four buses – up to four hours out of their day – and then people wonder why the kids don’t stick with college and are signing on.”
Lawrence Weston resident Mark Pepper, the development manager of Ambition Lawrence Weston(Image: Ambition Lawrence Weston)
Young people in Lawrence Weston have some of the worst living conditions anywhere in the city. One in four children live in low-income families, as of last year, up from one in five at the start of the decade.
Over one third (36.6%) of children in the ward of Lawrence Weston and Avonmouth are eligible for free school meals while the area also ranks in the highest tier in Bristol for the number of people between the age of 16 and 24 who report poor mental health, are not in education employment or training (NEET) or who have committed or been the victims of violent crime.
That makes the decision to demolish the area’s youth centre, to make way for even more housing, particularly hard to take for Mr Pepper. He has launched a petition to save the centre, and used the recently-approved cycling hub as an example of change he didn’t think would be beneficial to people in the local community.
“A lot of local people are quite outraged with recent events, especially with the family cycling centre having been given planning permission, that facility’s not going to be accessible to young people,” he said. “So they were even more concerned when we found out the news that they’re planning to demolish the Youth Centre, basically, given the stark data sets that we’ve got for young people and the massive need we’ve got here.
The Ridingleaze row of shops(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc)
“So residents sort of put some pressure on us to do what we can, and they asked us to set up a petition to try and encourage the local authority, WECA, and our local MP to come together and try and realise the reopening of the Youth Centre is so desperately needed.”
Ambition has delivered a series of wins for the area, from installing the country’s largest community-owned wind turbine to setting up a community commuter bus to take people to the jobs in Avonmouth when First Bus declined to do so and trying to hold the city council to its promise to create a local lettings policy that sees half the new affordable homes go to people with Lawrence Weston connections.
Strolling up to the main parade of shops, Ridingleaze, Robert Lake says he loves his tight-knit community..
“I’ve lived here since I was ten and I’m 77 now, although for about four years I lived in Shire but I came back,” he said.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes, all the pubs have gone from here now, but I still play skittles. Obviously I love it here, I would have moved away otherwise.
“What I love is the community. I come up here every day and I’ll see people I know all the time. My children and grandchildren live close by, and this is my home.”
Lawrence Weston resident Robert Lake(Image: Bristol Post)
The variety of the shops – the proliferation of vape shops, convenience stores and fast food places – vexxed Stefan Cerajewski, who is 74 and has lived in Lawrence Weston all his life.
“The thing about living here is that you’ve got to go somewhere else to get decent shops,” he said, looking up and down Ridingleaze.
“We’ve got a Lidl now, but the one thing I’d love is an Iceland. I wouldn’t even know where the nearest one to here is.
“You’ve got to think about what local people want, and it’s not this row of takeaways, barbers, convenience stores – they put shops in here we don’t really need,” he added.
One thing Lawrence Weston does have is lots of green space. Its moor is one of the few remaining fragments of marshland which used to stretch all the way from Blaise Castle to Avonmouth, and the Newlands Rhine waterway is home to a thriving population of water voles – Britain’s most endangered mammal.
Ellis Lawrence, who moved to the area six years ago after 17 years living elsewhere in the city, said she loved the nature on her doorstep.
“I’ve lived all over Bristol, and what I love here is the fact we’re surrounded by nature, by greenery – my house is close to woodland, and I go to see friends who live in the inner city and it’s just street after street after street and I couldn’t live like that,” she said.
Lawrence Weston resident Ellis Lawrence(Image: Bristol Post)
Lawrence Weston’s Community Farm embraces that closeness with nature, offering a free space for children and families to come and learn about animals. A working farm, it also sells its own produce.
Ian Fielder, who has worked at the farm for 19 years, said it was more popular than ever.
The last time we counted was decades ago, and it was 20,000 then a year, it’s probably double that now. So we do get a big footfall, especially during summer holidays, it’s usually rammed with 200 to 300 people a day sort of thing coming in through the doors and it’s improved a lot recently.”
Ian Fielder
Mr Fielder said the one thing he thought was really lacking in Lawrence Weston was a space for adults to socialise.
“I’m not suggesting everybody needs to go to a pub, but there needs to be somewhere for adults to chat to other adults,” he said.
“If you want to have a family meal, there’s nowhere in Lawrence Western you can go… there’s nowhere tangible (for) adults to go and have a drink and socialise, yeah, and that’s, that’s a shame.”
The last pub in the area, the Giant Goram, closed down in 2019. A planning application is currently in the works which could see the pub being restored.
Despite the area’s challenges, Mr Pepper said he was proud to live in Lawrence Weston.
“I wouldn’t live anywhere else,” he said. “There’s a fantastic sense of community here, we’ve got the green space but there’s a lot of deprivation too, but also some great community resources as well – and everything we’ve got we’ve worked to get ourselves – and we’ve got a lot of things going for us.
“But Lawrence Weston isn’t part of Bristol, it doesn’t feel like part of Bristol and people here don’t think it is – it’s its own place.”