'Culture of non-transparency' over FOIs at Bristol City Council
Campaigners have criticised a "culture of non-transparency" at a city council, amid a lack of improvement in answering information requests on time.
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I've written about all kinds of topics, including politics, housing, transport, health and social care and the environment.
Bristol carers 'need support' with poverty, isolation, and health
Carers facing financial hardship and isolation in Bristol are in urgent need of better support, a report featuring the testimonies of hundreds of people has found.
The local groups trying to buy Brum back
Bartley Green Library is a tiny little thing; a compact, unassuming Edwardian red-brick structure, that looks more like an outbuilding than a beloved community asset. And yet, it’s become one of several key fronts local groups across Birmingham are fighting a mostly unreported battle on.
How Bristol put a lid on temporary accommodation costs amid homelessness crisis
Councils are piloting ways to tackle the cost of housing a record number of homeless families while we wait for a new strategy from the government.
Secretive and rushed: inside the fire sales flogging £1bn of Brum’s public assets
Today, Matty Edwards is inside the auction rooms where Birmingham’s public assets are quietly being sold off to help meet a £1bn bill. But concerns are being raised about the process.
One woman's battle against council bailiffs
Bristol City Council claims to have an ‘ethical’ debt collection policy, but has sent bailiffs to thousands of vulnerable residents’ doors. After pressure from ACORN, the council has finally committed to investigate.
Squalid conditions remain at housing block despite council action - The Bristol Cable
Residents of a Clifton block of flats have rallied against persistent damp and mould and another rent increase. But now some are facing eviction threats from their London landlords.
The social housing tenants left traumatised by decades of neglect
Bristol City Council is one of many local authorities with thousands of tenants in mouldy flats and a £2.2bn black hole in housing budgets is expected by 2028, reports Matty Edwards
The Cable reveals how Bristol developers are dodging their duties
The Cable has uncovered a brazen attempt by prolific property developers to escape building affordable housing, at a time when the city is still falling well short of its own targets.
Explained: What do council funding reforms mean for Bristol? - The Bristol Cable
The Labour government has promised to ‘fix the foundations’ of council funding after years of austerity left local authorities up and down the country at risk of financial ruin.
Dad Matters: Bristol parenting support project faces uncertain future
Dad Matters, set up in 2024, has been supporting men across Bristol to navigate the tricky challenges of early fatherhood – but the council is now working out if it can continue funding the service.
East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood opposition mounts
“The first week, it took me 17 minutes for someone to let me out of my road. There was a queue of nine cars trying to get onto Church Road.”
St George resident Kay Jones is one of 30 or so locals at a meeting at Cafe Conscious, in Barton Hill – part of a campaign to stop the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, a trial scheme restricting through-traffic.
“My family feels further away,” says Kay, who juggles multiple jobs along with looking after kids, and has to commute as far as Filton an...
St George resident Kay Jones is one of 30 or so locals at a meeting at Cafe Conscious, in Barton Hill – part of a campaign to stop the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, a trial scheme restricting through-traffic.
“My family feels further away,” says Kay, who juggles multiple jobs along with looking after kids, and has to commute as far as Filton an...
The Debrief – did Bristol City Council really boot out bailiffs?
For a full transcript of this week’s episode on the council’s use of bailiffs, click here.
Way back in 2018, the Cable launched a campaign calling for Bristol City Council to stop using bailiffs to collect council tax.
Reporting by Adam Cantrell-Corn, one of this organisation’s founders, had revealed how this practice was – because the use of debt collection agencies incurs extra costs – pushing people further into debt.
That’s before we even stop to consider the intimidating experience...
Way back in 2018, the Cable launched a campaign calling for Bristol City Council to stop using bailiffs to collect council tax.
Reporting by Adam Cantrell-Corn, one of this organisation’s founders, had revealed how this practice was – because the use of debt collection agencies incurs extra costs – pushing people further into debt.
That’s before we even stop to consider the intimidating experience...
Council still sending in bailiffs despite ‘ethical approach’ promise
Jack Scott moved to Bishopsworth in 2019 before leaving Bristol in 2021. But years later, he would have to deal with intimidating phone calls from bailiffs for council tax he thought he’d paid, as he spiralled further into debt.
Jack is one of thousands who have had council tax arrears sent to bailiffs by Bristol City Council in the last two years.
That’s despite a 2018 pledge by the local authority to stop using bailiffs to collect unpaid council tax, after a Cable campaign exposed how...
Jack is one of thousands who have had council tax arrears sent to bailiffs by Bristol City Council in the last two years.
That’s despite a 2018 pledge by the local authority to stop using bailiffs to collect unpaid council tax, after a Cable campaign exposed how...
Leaseholders want the system to be abolished, so what will Labour change?
“This was supposed to be my first safe, comfortable home. Growing up, I lived in extreme poverty in homes that had collapsing roofs, floors and ceilings… I have fought tooth and nail to be able to afford my own home, I’m now reliving my childhood nightmare once again.”
This was an email I received from a Bristol leaseholder after I’d written an article about residents of Orchard House in Brislington who were ‘abandoned’ by the owner of their building.
Sarah*, who wanted to remain anonymous...
This was an email I received from a Bristol leaseholder after I’d written an article about residents of Orchard House in Brislington who were ‘abandoned’ by the owner of their building.
Sarah*, who wanted to remain anonymous...
Historic Bristol general election result: First Green MP, Tory wipeout
Bristol has elected its first ever Green MP amid a Tory wipeout on the city’s fringes as part of an historic Labour landslide in Thursday’s general election.
Carla Denyer, the Green Party’s co-leader, achieved a huge swing from Labour in Bristol Central, which was more than enough to unseat sitting MP Thangam Debbonaire. In the culmination of a hard-fought race between Labour and the Greens that attracted national headlines during the campaign, Denyer declared in her victory speech: “Bristol...
Carla Denyer, the Green Party’s co-leader, achieved a huge swing from Labour in Bristol Central, which was more than enough to unseat sitting MP Thangam Debbonaire. In the culmination of a hard-fought race between Labour and the Greens that attracted national headlines during the campaign, Denyer declared in her victory speech: “Bristol...
Bristol general election results: the Debrief
Just like across the rest of the UK, 4 July produced a historic night (or perhaps more correctly, historic ungodly hours of the morning) when it came to Bristol general election results.
In the race the national media were all over, Carla Denyer became the city’s first Green MP, taking the seat from nine-year incumbent Thangam Debbonaire in a huge swing from Labour.
But elsewhere, the red tide that washed over the UK overwhelmed the outer reaches of the wider Bristol area, sweeping away Tor...
In the race the national media were all over, Carla Denyer became the city’s first Green MP, taking the seat from nine-year incumbent Thangam Debbonaire in a huge swing from Labour.
But elsewhere, the red tide that washed over the UK overwhelmed the outer reaches of the wider Bristol area, sweeping away Tor...
Building owner ‘abandons’ leaseholders in unsafe block of flats
“The mental stress of it is crazy because of money, and you feel trapped and in an unsafe building, it’s a horrible feeling,” says Steph Culpin, a leaseholder at Brislington’s Orchard House. “And to know that they are fully aware that it’s unsafe but have done nothing to rectify it.”
Steph has lived in the five-storey block of 54 flats on Stockwood Road since 2018. It is three years since serious fire safety defects were identified at the building, a former office block.
Yet despite refor...
Steph has lived in the five-storey block of 54 flats on Stockwood Road since 2018. It is three years since serious fire safety defects were identified at the building, a former office block.
Yet despite refor...
Greens surge secures historic victory at Bristol council elections - The Bristol Cable
The Green Party have secured a historic victory in Bristol’s local elections, falling just short of taking overall control of the council.
After eight years of Labour being in power under mayor Marvin Rees, the Greens will be the largest party under the new committee system where councillors pick a leader and make decisions on committees.
The big political shake-up saw the Greens take 34 seats across Bristol – 10 more than at the last election in 2021 – while Labour ended up on 21. On a...
After eight years of Labour being in power under mayor Marvin Rees, the Greens will be the largest party under the new committee system where councillors pick a leader and make decisions on committees.
The big political shake-up saw the Greens take 34 seats across Bristol – 10 more than at the last election in 2021 – while Labour ended up on 21. On a...
Explained: WTF are Bristol's local elections all about?
On 2 May, Bristol goes to the polls. But what are we actually voting for – and why should you even care?
Later this year, it’s the big one – a general election will likely bring a change of government. But before that, we’ve got local elections in Bristol, where we’ll be voting for 70 councillors to represent us and run the city.
Unlike last time in 2021, we won’t be electing a mayor to run the show, because we – or at least the 28% of citizens who felt strongly enough to turn out – voted...
Later this year, it’s the big one – a general election will likely bring a change of government. But before that, we’ve got local elections in Bristol, where we’ll be voting for 70 councillors to represent us and run the city.
Unlike last time in 2021, we won’t be electing a mayor to run the show, because we – or at least the 28% of citizens who felt strongly enough to turn out – voted...
Rogue trader slapped with criminal order by Bristol court
In the summer of 2022, a group of customers who’d banded together after being scammed by a mysterious Bristol carpentry business delivered a detailed dossier of evidence to the police.
They were pleased with what they’d uncovered. They’d linked it all back to one man, Lewis Thomas. But only now, after more than 18 months – and many more cases – the rogue trader has finally faced real consequences.
Thomas would offer jobs such as installing loft ladders and insulation, communicate with cus...
They were pleased with what they’d uncovered. They’d linked it all back to one man, Lewis Thomas. But only now, after more than 18 months – and many more cases – the rogue trader has finally faced real consequences.
Thomas would offer jobs such as installing loft ladders and insulation, communicate with cus...
Bristol’s Clean Air Zone isn't popular, but data says it’s working
“It’s all a load of absolute bollocks in my view and a blatant tax on the poor, many of us who can’t afford to buy an electric or newer vehicle to drive through the centre.”
This is the view of Riona, who lives in Easton and has to cross the city in her diesel van for her landscaping business. Because of Bristol’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which was introduced in November 2022, she now spends more time on the road, wiggling through residential areas to avoid the zone.
Her impassioned view is...
This is the view of Riona, who lives in Easton and has to cross the city in her diesel van for her landscaping business. Because of Bristol’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which was introduced in November 2022, she now spends more time on the road, wiggling through residential areas to avoid the zone.
Her impassioned view is...
Bailiffs chasing Bristol council tax debts despite city's pledge
Bristol City Council referred more than 2,000 outstanding council tax debts to enforcement agencies in the last six months, the Cable can reveal, despite a promised new ‘ethical’ approach to debt collection.
In 2018, the local authority committed to ending the use of bailiffs to collect unpaid council tax, after a Cable campaign that exposed how the cruel practice pushed vulnerable people further into debt.
The council was lauded for its commitment to a new ‘ethical’ approach, which made...
In 2018, the local authority committed to ending the use of bailiffs to collect unpaid council tax, after a Cable campaign that exposed how the cruel practice pushed vulnerable people further into debt.
The council was lauded for its commitment to a new ‘ethical’ approach, which made...
Listen: Bristol prepares for its first liveable neighbourhood
The Cable has been speaking to residents of east Bristol on the eve of the city’s first so-called ‘liveable neighbourhood’ coming into effect. The trial scheme will stop cars driving through the area along certain roads in an attempt to reduce air pollution, and make the area of narrow residential streets safer for walking and cycling.
Similar schemes have been brought in up and down the country, but they have also sparked a backlash as part of a so-called ‘war on motorists’, a narrative now...
Similar schemes have been brought in up and down the country, but they have also sparked a backlash as part of a so-called ‘war on motorists’, a narrative now...
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