News / Obituaries
Tributes paid to community champion Mike Primarolo
Many in Bristol who knew him will have been saddened to hear of the recent passing of Mike Primarolo, and countless others will have had reason to be grateful for his many contributions to our city.
Mike, who has died aged 74 after a long and difficult struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease, was the inspirational dynamo behind the development of Windmill Hill City Farm in the 1970s – still one of the country’s most successful urban green projects.
While continuing to play an active role there, Mike went on to establish the UK-wide National Federation of City Farms – initially in his own house, but later in the distinctive Green House on Hereford Street in Bedminster.
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He then went further still, engaging with projects across the continent and co-founding the European Federation of City Farms of which he would eventually become general secretary.
All of these things were possible thanks to Mike’s tireless energy, creative imagination and commitment to pragmatic problem solving – always in the cause of community development and the empowerment of marginalised communities.
Mike Primarolo (centre) making a presentation at Windmill Hill City Farm
It was very much his vision that first saw the potential for an innovative community resource in an abandoned Bedminster car scrap yard, bringing a diversity of volunteers together to create Windmill Hill City Farm, play centre and community gardens as a green breathing space.
His capacity to find funding was legendary, but also his inspiration in getting things done ‘on the cheap’ to maximise what could be achieved. Both those qualities ensured that Windmill Hill City Farm was able to flourish and grow throughout the difficult economic times of the 1980s.
Warm tributes have been paid to Mike Primarolo
Tributes have been paid by friends and colleagues to Mike’s passion and sense of humour as well as his capacity to think up surprising solutions to apparent problems – such as turning an ugly pile of fly-tipped rubbish on a farm site into a mountain for the goats to clamber up.
He could also be challenging, however, and was once described as “a real socialist” on the basis that “he was equally rude to everyone” – not least if you disagreed with his ideas.
Another colleague summed it up: “He had a point of view – and that was that!”
That said, his forthright doggedness was also a considerable and necessary asset in overcoming bureaucratic obstacles that would have stumped the more faint-hearted.
And it famously stood him in good stead when he and a handful of others stormed into a local National Front meeting and tore down the banners and posters before making a hasty getaway.
Mike in the 1990s with his son Sam and daughter Cara
Mike is survived by a son Luke from his first marriage to former Bristol South MP, Dawn (now baroness) Primarolo, and a son Sam and daughter Cara from his second marriage to Bridget Primarolo.
He leaves a considerable legacy of well-regarded writing on themes of community action and organisation as well as sustainable and urban farming and, of course, a thriving community hub for south Bristol in the Windmill Hill City Farm.
All photos: Primarolo family
Read next:
- Windmill Hill City Farm Community veg box scheme returns
- The impact of coronavirus on the city’s farms
- New Bristol peer calls for elected House of Lords
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