Ward profiles 2021: Hotwells & Harbourside – ‘An amazing gateway to Bristol’

A grand day out in Bristol does not have to leave the area contained within Hotwells & Harbourside ward.

Even Morph’s beginnings can be traced back to Hotwells, with an early Aardman HQ located in a house on Hotwell Road for the Oscar winners now based in nearby Spike Island.

Start the day with breakfast at Lockside followed by a visit to Underfall Yard, head out on the water for some stand-up paddleboarding with SUP Bristol before steering your board to the Harbour Inlet for lunch at Spoke & Stringer or Broken Dock.

Underfall Yard has one of the most picturesque terraces in Bristol – photo: Martin Booth

Walk around the Floating Harbour (don’t forget to visit Brunel’s Buttery for a pitstop), look out across the city from the top of the Cabot Tower, spend the afternoon in We The Curious or at the SS Great Britain, and have dinner in Chai Shai bringing in drinks from the Bag of Nails pub almost next door.

After watching the sun set over the docks, catch a film at the Watershed, and then enjoy some beers at the Grain Barge, and cocktails at Loose Cannon and Hyde & Co.

Chai Shai – one of Bristol’s best Indian restaurants – has a poster for Henry Palmer, Labour candidate for Hotwells & Harbourside ward, in its window – photo: Martin Booth

Like many of Bristol’s wards, the name of Hotwells & Harbourside is a slight misnomer.

This ward encompasses much of Hotwells (although not the excellent Hotwells Primary School) and much of the area around the Floating Harbour, taking in Spike Island but not Wapping Wharf.

But it also stretches up Park Street and Jacob’s Wells Road, taking in College Green and Brandon Hill, and up to Berkeley Square – officially one of Bristol’s most expensive addresses.

Violence in recent ‘kill the bill’ protests has taken place in the ward, with police dispersing protesters from Collage Green in March and having a stand-off for several hours on Deanery Road before protesters were chased down St George’s Road by police horses towards the Jacob’s Wells Road roundabout.

St George’s Road – photo: Martin Booth

The largest outdoor space in Hotwells is the Cumberland Piazza, criss-crossed by the roads that make up the elevated Cumberland Basin road system.

It is at the heart of one of the biggest current issues within the ward and one which might rumble on for years to come.

The Western Harbour scheme would see the area around the Cumberland Basin redeveloped as a new “city quarter”, but the plans have been met with fierce opposition by many local residents, with mayor Marvin Rees attending a meeting of concerned local residents at Trinity Church in January 2020.

Bristol City Council’s Western Harbour plans are centred around the Cumberland Basin – photo: Martin Booth

Anna Haydock-Wilson of Hotwells & Cliftonwood Community Association has for several years been helping to bring more green space into the Cumberland Piazza, as well as organising arts activities and more facilities for young people.

She said: We’ve held several community events over the years, inviting ideas and myself and other local artists have transformed the space into an environment people enjoy. During lockdown I had people coming up to me telling me ‘it’s been a lifeline for me and my children’.

“I’m hoping that the place-shaping initiative from Bristol City Council is a genuine attempt to engage with the expertise of local people as well as disadvantaged communities city-wide, and respect and build upon our unique and precious environment and respect that locals are the ones who will be most impacted from development pressures, as they were with metrobus.

“I would like to see Hotwells retain its diverse community, through social housing opportunities within the bonded warehouse developments and any new development proposals, and for citizens of Bristol to feel welcome and engage with the rich social history of this amazing gateway to the city.”

There are many splashes of colour in the Cumberland Piazza – photo: Martin Booth

Linked to the city council’s Western Harbour plans are new flood defences for Bristol, with funding approved by cabinet in March including £2.5m of investment into infrastructure and historic assets around the Floating Harbour and the New Cut.

Part of the Chocolate Path collapsed into the New Cut in early 2020 but the path itself has been shut for more than three years due to serious subsidence.

The Cumberland Road stabilisation project will also hopefully enable the Chocolate Path and historic railway line running adjacent to it to reopen to the public by summer 2022.

The Chocolate Path acquired its name because its surface resembles a giant bar of chocolate – photo: Martin Booth

Used by fewer people than the Chocolate Path but just as frustrating to see closed is the Mardyke Steps (officially known as Church Path Steps), which link Hotwell Road with Cliftonwood.

The route has been closed since December 2019 due to the partial collapse of a retaining wall, with the steps now deemed unsafe for public use.

Council officers have informed the owner of the wall that it is the owner’s responsibility to pay to fix the problem, but the steps remain blocked off and overgrown.

The Mardyke Steps start next to the Mardyke pub – photo: Martin Booth

For Hotwells & Harbourside’s Labour candidate, Henry Palmer, whose poster is on display in Chai Shai, “the area is wonderful”.

After campaigning for the past year, Palmer said that the Western Harbour development is a key local concern.

He said: “I commit to ensuring that the Suspension Bridge view and other heritage sites aren’t blocked, and further that the history is central to the development…

“I commit to building as much affordable and social housing as possible, providing the communities are mixed with some private accommodation for diversity of tenure.

“I also commit to ensuring the building of a needed community centre, a school and a good range of shops.”

Many local residents feel priced out of the Harbourside Pavilion, which was meant to be a community space – photo: Martin Booth

Hotwells & Harbourside only elects one councillor, with long-serving Lib Dem Mark Wright standing down in May.

Former Bristol West MP Stephen Williams was due to contest the seat but is now seeking election as West of England metro mayor, with Alex Hartley the Lib Dem candidate for the ward.

“Across the ward, there are a series of issues affecting local residents,” said Hartley. “In the flats along the harbourside, local residents are living through the nightmare that is the cladding scandal, and are in need of as much support as possible.

“I worked with Cllr Mark Wright to pass a motion in December calling on Bristol City Council to back the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign and provide more resources and training for councillors and residents in affected areas.

“At the other end of the ward, local residents are angry and frustrated over the mayor’s plans for Cumberland Basin. Time and again the local community has been ignored in favour of the pursuit of ‘transformation’. I am working hard to represent the views of local residents, and will be a champion for the local green space.”

Old Dock Cottages were built in 1831 for the Bristol Docks Company – photo: Martin Booth

Green Party candidate Heulwen Flower’s main goal is to create safer streets for all. “This means that we need lower speed limits, lower emission levels and streets that are safely accessible without fear of street harassment.

“To do this, I hope to prioritise active transport (meaning that building works such as the Mardyke Steps and the Chocolate Path will not remain building works for so long in future); make Hotwell Road have a 20mph speed limit; and improve awareness and visibility on key walking routes.

“Hotwells & Harbourside is one of the focal points for visitors in the city. It is important that we maintain it as a desirable location – and also ensure that it is safe to visit.”

Fencing was still in place around the Harbour Inlet on April 10 to prevent too many people gathering – photo: Martin Booth

Chairman of South West Conservatives, Julian Ellacott, only confirmed his candidacy for the ward on the deadline day for submissions.

So what will he do to make Hotwells & Harbourside a better place? “First, by being a locally based and committed ward councillor – giving help to those in the community who need it. Having been a councillor before, I know that this is the way a councillor can have most impact on the ward.

“Second, by ensuring that the ward is effectively represented at City Hall, using my experience to put forward the views of the community in the right way to get their voices heard.”

He said that one of the main issues in the ward is the Western Harbour project, “plans which were developed behind closed doors by the current mayor then dumped on the ward. This needs to go back to square one and be reworked, involving residents and councillors”.

Main photo: Martin Booth

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