News / South Bristol
New £20m for Bristol area welcomed
A £20m boost for a Bristol area has been welcomed by councillors who admitted that “we need to do so much more”.
The government has given Hartcliffe and Withywood the money as part of its Pride in Place Programme to spend on local priorities.
Over the next ten years, a board of local people will choose how to spend the funding.
The area is one of 169 across the UK included in the programme, which is Labour’s successor to the previous Conservative government’s Levelling Up agenda, helping left-behind communities.
The funding was formally accepted by Bristol City Council’s strategy and resources policy committee on Tuesday.
But Labour councillors said much more work was needed to help places like Hartcliffe, such as creating more jobs there and providing better transport links.
Labour councillor Kelvin Blake said: “There is still something systemic about what we need to do, in terms of linking up places like Hartcliffe, Knowle West, Avonmouth and others to really good quality jobs.
“This investment is fantastic and a real opportunity for Hartcliffe to do some interesting things.
“Labour governments have a history in providing good amounts of money to these communities.
“What we perhaps still need to do is push the case for us as a city to offer really good quality jobs for these communities, regardless of gifts that we get from the government.
“It’s very beneficial and fantastic, but we need to do so much more in terms of our economy and these jobs.”
Labour ran the council from 2016 until 2024, under the former mayor Marvin Rees.
The party has also been running the West of England Combined Authority since 2021, which plays a key role in public transport, but has faced criticism for a lack of action on improving bus services.
In April, Paul Smith was chosen to chair the board.
A former Labour councillor and cabinet member, he now runs Elim Housing and originally grew up in Hartcliffe.
The board will prepare a plan for how to spend the cash, which will be sent to the government in November for approval.
The money cannot be used to replace funding already identified for local council projects.
Green councillor Tony Dyer, leader of the council and chair of the strategy committee, said: “I’m from Hartcliffe, and I was born and grew up in the area.
“The decisions on this have to be driven by the local community.
“It’s a brilliant opportunity for Hartcliffe and the wider area, which is among the one per cent most deprived areas in the country, not just in the city.
“We should acknowledge that this money is coming from a Labour government.
“We should also acknowledge the neglect in Hartcliffe has not just suddenly happened overnight.
“It’s something that has been going on for many decades and Hartcliffe has been let down by multiple governments of all colours.
“We should have been getting money like this a lot longer ago.”
The money could be spent on community buildings, for example, or setting up a social enterprise, or fixing up local high streets.
This autumn the M1 Metrobus route will be extended into Hartcliffe, alongside a new two-way segregated bike path as well, which should make getting into the city centre and beyond much easier.
Main photo: Alex Seabrook
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