‘Lockleaze retains that strong community spirit and pride’

When the original Lockleaze estate was developed in the years immediately after the Second World War, it was a time of hope and of determination to build for new generations. The prevailing national and local feeling was that, after a lengthy period of isolation, fear and uncertainty, people could finally relax a little, come back together and be optimistic for a better future.

That is, we think, close to how it feels now as life beyond the Covid-19 pandemic begins to look graspable. In the 1940s it was ‘Purdown Percy’, the anti-aircraft gun emplacement in what is now Stoke Park, which was going to protect us. In 2021, it is the expertise of the scientists and medics who have developed the vaccines to tackle a pernicious virus, which will keep us safe.

Lockleaze ward covers a wide area from Muller Road in the south across to Filton Avenue, and up to the border with South Gloucestershire at Cheswick Village. The biggest area is Stoke Park, which is a green treasure on Lockleaze’s doorstep, but it is the Lockleaze estate which lies at the heart of the ward.

This was built in the late 1940s as a model of new council housing. The houses were well-spaced, had indoor bathrooms, sufficient bedrooms for growing families, and good-sized gardens where people could relax as well as cultivating fruit and vegetables. Gainsborough Square would be a marketplace where shoppers could meet as well as buy. The idea was to build communities for ordinary people, with decent modern housing, schools, public services for all, and access to open space on the doorstep.

Lockleaze became a safe and pleasant place to live; and we are always struck by how successive generations describe how happy they were growing up on the estate. Many never moved away, and why would they?

Lockleaze borders Stoke Park, a ‘green treasure’ for locals to use. Photo by Jess Connett

In more recent years, Lockleaze has become a more diverse community, with residents from many backgrounds. It has also experienced economic and social difficulties as the availability of skilled, well-paid jobs has diminished; with some areas showing high levels of deprivation compared to other parts of Bristol and a slightly lower life expectancy than wealthier wards. During the last decade, the city council has also faced significant cuts to its funding. Increased demand for spending on social care, which now takes up a very large proportion of its budget, also leaves less money to spend on other services.

For those in precarious jobs or with extra caring responsibilities, Covid-19 has been a challenge. But Lockleaze retains that strong community spirit and pride. There is a determination to make sure that older people are properly cared for, and that families and children have somewhere affordable and decent to live and an education that equips them for the future.

Now there is a chance to build a future that draws on that spirit of optimism and belief in progress that shaped the years after 1945. We already have a brand-new secondary school rapidly going up on Romney Avenue, which has taken its first cohort of pupils. We have significant numbers of badly-needed new housing coming in locations across Lockleaze, and we have new cash to restore Stoke Park and make it accessible to all.

We also have excellent community facilities, such as the Hub on Gainsborough Square, run by our own Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust. And there is a strong Children’s Centre network, co-ordinated from Filton Avenue Nursery School.

And we have the Vench adventure playground, which has kept support for young people going throughout the pandemic; North Bristol Advice Centre providing advice and assistance to those in crisis; the National Food Service cooking and serving hot meals every day for anyone in need; the transformed Old Library on Muller Road. These all rely on amazing teams of volunteers.

Lockleaze Hub, run by Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust, offers support services and puts on events. Photo by Jess Connett

Of course, there is a lot more still to do. For example, the derelict pub that blights Gainsborough Square has taken much too long to tackle because of a lack of strong enough legal powers. We need better shops and facilities in the area – and better public transport. And, unlike the 1940s, there is a shortage of decent, well-paid employment, with too many people having to rely on zero-hours contracts and poorly paid work. Making sure that all communities benefit from Bristol’s economic success must be a priority.

There are always different views on the design details of new developments. It can also be easy to assume there are simple solutions to problems, or to emphasis the negative when new ideas are put forward. In these challenging times we need to build communities, just as we did in the 1940s. As we plan for the future we should avoid new developments which divide people physically and socially, rather than bringing them together.

Because Lockleaze has such an active community of people who care about each other and their neighbourhood, we know that it will become an even better place to live and that the networks of volunteers and organisations that have sustained it through the pandemic will continue to flourish. We have been proud to serve as councillors for Lockleaze and to have done our bit to help it to thrive.

Estella Tincknell and Gill Kirk have been Labour councillors for Lockleaze for the past eight years.

Main image of Gainsborough Square by Jess Connett

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