Riot in Bristol: Uneasy calm returns to Stokes Croft

Pictures by Jonathan Taphouse
Taphouse Photography

An uneasy calm returned to the scene of riots in Bristol yesterday with residents and local traders fearful of more violence over the bank holiday weekend.

As local people in the Stokes Croft area took it upon themselves to clear up the damage after a night of violence, there was anger at the heavy-handed tactics used by police, some of whom had been armed with guns.

A dozen police officers remained at the scene and, in a bizarre twist following the scenes from the night before, squatters were having a party on the roof of the council-owned building that had been raided just 12 hours before.

While few of the hundreds of people who walked past and took pictures of the smashed Tesco Express store on a sun-drenched Cheltenham Road condoned the violence, most believed it had been inevitable.

Similar scenes had been witnessed a year ago when protesters against Tesco taking over the site of a former comedy club in the bohemian, cultural quarter of the city were forcibly evicted by bailiffs with the help of police.

When the store finally opened last Friday, those same protesters had camped outside the store offering free fruit, vegetables and cake to people passing by, in an attempt to persuade people to boycott the store.

Some were living in the squat, known as ‘Telepathic Heights’, and as police in about a dozen riot vans turned up on Thursday night to raid the building — on a warm, Easter weekend evening, with people drinking in the many bars and cafes along the street, the latent frustration boiled over.

Gus Hoyt, the Green Party candidate for Ashley ward which includes the site of the Tesco store, said he had been terrified as the violence escalated, adding that the scenes reminded people of the riots in nearby St Pauls in the 1980s.

“I’m exhausted and disillusioned about what went on. There’s generally a positive attitude today, but people are scared about what will happen this weekend. People who remember the 1980s can’t believe this is happening again and lessons have not been learned.

“I had been cycling home and saw one of the policemen carrying a pistol. I asked him if it was a gun and he looked at me, shaking his head, and said ‘Of course it is, where have you been, mate?’

“The impression is that this was inevitable. More than 90% of people in the area who were asked whether they wanted the new Tesco said no, and they were completely ignored. I don’t condone violence in any way, but it was obvious this was going to turn ugly.”

Avon and Somerset police said their actions had been “fully justified” as they arrested four offenders who represented “a very real threat to the local community”. But Jonathan Taphouse, a photographer who lives nearby, added police seemed to be struggling to keep control of the situation.

“Police in riot vans from Wales turned up and it seemed that they didn’t understand the politics of the area. Pushing the crowd in towards St Pauls didn’t look to be the most intelligent thing to do.

“Police forcing protesters down nearby streets trying to defuse the scene achieved the opposite, and just ended up agitating the situation. More residents were woken up and alerted to what was going on, and this timed with the local pubs kicking out just added to the masses.

“I can’t help but feel that with better timing, and being more sensitive to local culture the night’s events could have gone very differently.

“A lack of sensitivity seems to be the key issue as the majority of people locally have made it very clear to the the council that they didn’t want a Tesco here.”

Almost all shops and cafes in Stokes Croft were open as normal yesterday. Only one other store, apart from the Tesco Express, had been left untouched. An estate agent’s sign had been put through the window of Fred Baker Cycles, next door to the Tesco — although reports suggested those who had attempted to smash other traders’ windows had been stopped by residents on the streets themselves.

But there was a fear that the violence in the area, which has been regenerated in recent years, and is now home to some of the best restaurants and music venues in the city, would impact on their business.

One waitress at The Social cafe, three doors down from Tesco, explained: “It’s such a shame because everyone who comes in here tells us how much they love the area and how up-and-coming it is.

“We get a lot of mums and babies come in here, and I just feel that after last night people will start becoming intimidated by the area again.

“I feel it’s undone the hard work lots of people have put in to the area.”