Bedminster

Just South of the river you will find busy and bustling Bedminster, Southville and Windmill Hill, a lively area of Bristol. Historically, this is a working class area of the city with rich history. There are big changes which are already in motion for the area, including an estimated increase in population of around 44% in the next 10 years as industrial land makes way for urban housing. There is a real sense of community here which is going from strength to strength, and an awareness of some of the challenges that change brings including community cohesion and gentrification. Here we tell some of the stories about what the people of Bedminster and Southville have been doing to build a stronger, more connected community.

Disabled People Asset Mapping Their Community

Jen, Laura, Vince and Harry are residents from the local area, who were connected together by Lynn Parfitt, Community Development Practitioner, for Bedminster and formed the BS3 Disabled People's Voice group. In February 2023, the group planned and facilitated an asset mapping workshop, attended by local disabled people at the ACTA Centre in Bedminster. They focused on exploring their postcode (BS3) assets, and what it is like to live as a disabled person here.

Jen tells her story: "I am a disability champion and live in Bedminster. Getting around Bedminster with objects all over the pavement is tricky for me as I walk with 2 sticks. After meeting virtually a few times, our group decided we wanted to meet in person. We choose ACTA centre because it is fully accessible and local. We wanted to hold an event to map what residents consider to be our local assets. Access to places is a big thing for me and others in our group. So we mapped the area using red, amber and green dots. We placed these on venues and shops. Green for fully accessible and red for non-accessible place. The challenge we faced is that to some people, a place may be accessible, small step for example, but for others in wheelchairs this would be red. Each persons view on what is accessible varied.

Lynn said " We mapped out the different Community Assets together including people. It became very clear that by doing this, that that disabled access is so important. You could have assets like buildings in the community but if you cannot get in, and if there is no hearing loop, no quiet area regarding neurodiversity, then this is a barrier."

A local artist, Sam Church attended on the day to capture in cartoon, what was being discussed, here we see his excellent interpretation of the array of conversations that were had on the day.

Laura spoke about her experience of the day:

"Our group wanted to make people aware that there are issues with access around here, at our event people came with a wide range of disabilities, from physical to mental health. We talked about how we can make things better, what steps we can take to move forward."

When asked if Laura had learnt anything from hosting the event she said: "I feel I learnt how to communicate better, it was great to listen to what others are experiencing and nice to feel that you’re not the only one feeling a certain way. I loved networking with other groups so we can hopefully work together to make beneficial changes in the area."   

We asked Jen what's next for the BS3 Disabled People's Voice Group, she said: "Now, we are keen now to link up with other organisations like Action Greater Bedminster, Bristol Women's Voice, Bristol Disability Equalities Forum. We will feeding into the BS3 Beyond 2025 which all about future development, to make a difference that are meaningful to us."

BS3 COMMUNITY CONNECTOR - BEDMINSTER

In early 2022, Bristol City Council were approached by NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG to work on a project which involved introducing and shaping the role of a Community Connector, based in South Bristol. Lynn Parfitt was asked to lead on this from the Community Development team.

Leanne Purton was appointed as Community Connector in the area. Based within BS3 Community Development, her role was to work with communities and reach those most vulnerable to loneliness and isolation. By working with residents to build a sense of community and neighbourliness, the role is to empower people to make new connections in the community. Taking up opportunities to look after their own mental health and well being,

Leanne hit the ground running, supported by Community Development Practitioner, Lynn Parfitt. Leanne said “It was great working with Lynn, she was a brilliant support. I really enjoyed the Asset Based Community Development training; it was a new way of working for me and there was a lot to learn and takeaway into my connector’s role."

Leanne shares how she began her connector journey, “By starting some regular events, I was able to get an understanding of the areas I would be working in, establishing the priorities and interests of the residents.”

Leanne said: “I believe that that connection is integral to people’s wellbeing, which in turn has a positive effect to mental and physical health. Many people we have worked with have felt disenfranchised and lacking in clear routes to help and information. By making connections within the community, we are able to strengthen people’s own skills and knowledge, with the aim of empowering them to have better outcomes.”

When asked about her experience as a Community Connector, Leanne said: “The Asset Based Community Development approach has been integral to how I have built this role, and even thought it can sometimes feel impossible and challenging. It feels like the most sustainable way forward for our communities when thinking about people and their communities. One of the difficulties has been lack of trust and connection, it’s been a long process to build trust with people, so they feel able to disclose to us priorities in their lives, and areas where they may need support. Through passion and consistency, we have been able to foster these relationships, and have started to see people coming together in a new way."

Leanne's reflection: "I have learned not to underestimate the assets that already exist in our communities, and that people we work with already have a wealth of skills, knowledge and information, and passion to share it with their neighbourhood. It has been so vital to realise that community building needs extensive time and patience and enthusiasm. Giving people our time is one of the most valuable assets we have as individuals.”

Nordic Walking

Jen, a local activist in Bedminster and disability champion has been involved in a lot of community action over the past few years, Jen tells us her story about setting up a Nordic Walking group in the local area. "I’m Jenny Brooks, a disabled person living in BS3. I’m a disability champion and chair of BS3 Disabled People’s Voice. I have severe rheumatoid arthritis which means I use two walking sticks and can’t walk very far."

In 2022, Jen applied for funding to develop herself as a Community Champion with support from BCC Community Development Team. Jen said,

" I had been part of a research project run by University of West of England and Bristol Royal Infirmary rheumatology, investigating if Nordic walking was helpful to people with inflammatory arthritis."

I was reluctant at first as I have severe rheumatoid arthritis and walk slowly with two sticks. I had to give up work some years earlier and was rather isolated and shy of meeting with a group. I was surprised that it really helped my physical and mental wellbeing so I really wanted to share this experience with others like me."

"I wanted to show that you don’t have to be super fit or have a lot of money to exercise."

Jens application was successful, and with support from the ACTA Centre, Jen set out planning how she would organise and advertise the Nordic Walking sessions.

"I applied for a grant which we didn’t get, and then another which we did. The grant enables us to have a qualified instructor with experience in teaching disabled people and to pay for necessary expenses. This means we can offer the sessions (and a cup of tea or coffee per participant) for free." As part of the funding opportunity Jen became a volunteer as our Disabled Champion for the area.

Unfortunately, shortly after Jen received the grant, her health became challenging and so she had to put the start date back a year. "Having to postpone the start date because of my health issues was difficult but we kept the idea alive and we got started in the end."

In 2024, Jen set out planning the sessions, she designed a poster and advertised the sessions around Bedminster. "I approached the instructor from the sessions I had attended at the Downs previously, and she was very supportive of the idea and willing to run some of the sessions herself."

"We started our sessions in April 2024. We have several regular participants and some who come along as and when. Everyone is really enjoying the sessions, it’s great to get some fresh air and exercise and no-one has to do more than they feel comfortable with as we can always sit down for a rest. After the session we have a cuppa and a chat back at ACTA Centre. It’s a really sociable activity, we’ve made new friends and are improving our physical and mental health without feeling pressured to do more than our capabilities allow."

When asked about Jen's reflections of the project and what she has learnt, Jen said:

"To begin with, I had no real idea how to get started, where to apply for grants or how to approach people like ACTA Centre and Compass Point school to use the playing field. Lynn in the BCC Community Development Team really supported me around all of this. I really don’t think the idea would have got off the ground without Lynn's encouragement and support in making the grant applications, especially after we didn’t get the first one."

"I learnt the value of support from someone like Lynn. I had the seed of an idea and she helped me to make it a reality. I learnt that even though I had to retire from my job in 2015 I can still have a role in my community. I learnt that there is room for projects like this in my local area and that people want to participate as long as you can provide them with the facilities they need. I learnt that local organisations are more approachable than I thought and they want to be involved in projects that benefit all types of people."

When asked what advice Jen would give to anyone else thinking of starting a project, Jen said:

"I would say start by talking to people in local groups, this all came from my going to a chat about Safer Streets. You will need support, but people and organisations are often willing to help. You need to believe in yourself, no matter who you are and what challenges you have. Things won’t always work out first time, but don’t give up."

Welcome to Bedminster

In 2023, Bristol City Council commissioned Many Minds - a Bristol Based Mental Health Charity, who use forum theatre in all their work. Forum Theatre is participatory approach to theatre where the audience gets involved in finding solutions to local problems. We also worked in partnership with Breathing fire another fantastic theatre company who helped co facilitate the sessions. We delivered 12 creative sessions at Windmill Hill City Farm, which bought together a group of local residents.

This is where the journey began in creating a performance for and by the people of Bedminster.

Many Minds said "Our aim is to put people who identify with experiences of mental ill-health in the driver’s seat as a way to break down stigma and trigger generosity and equality."

Over 30 people attended St Philip St Chapel in Bedminster to watch the performance, called 'Welcome to Bedminster.'

A local resident Louisa said "My husband Robert was starting on his road to recovery after a serious decline in his mental health. After seeing the flyer for the performance group we we both decided to give it a go. We came to the group, myself as a carer, along with my husband. I liked that it was really open and not only discussing mental health, but also community building for everyone, that really attracted us and kept us coming back. We experienced an enormous sense of belonging and acceptance within the group which we were looking for. The group came together as strangers, all from living in the local area, both new and born and bred. We grew to become lovely friends as we entrusted the group, part of this was our telling our story and encouraging others to tell theirs. We got support from everyone in the cast of local people and professionals. After the performance, my husband has got his confidence back, he stands tall and is driving again now. This is a huge step and as made a huge difference to me as a carer, we feel like we belong again."

BS3 resident, Marcus told us how he got involved in the project "Lynn Parfitt from the Council came along to my choir and invited anyone who was there to attend an acting group. I was anxious and nervous in the beginning but I persevered and kept coming with Pete, a friend of mine. The whole experience was like a bolt out of the blue. Drama propelled my confidence and drove me forward. I am now trying new things - I started going to the amateur dramatics at the ACTA centre - I love it - amateur dramatics is now my thing."

Omar was part of the group and said "I've loved my time with the group. I enjoyed the process of us developing the production and learned a massive amount by performing in it. My scenes with everyone felt very special because they all had a tinge of truth to them, it helped a lot that we had a shared history with the area as well, regardless of where we originate and the lives we've lived. Everyone was brilliant. Overall I am so glad I found the group online, having lived in Bristol for a long time, I haven't made myself very aware of all the activities going on around me, especially how lively the Windmill Hill city farm is. Thank you so much to all involved."

Valerie and Ruth from Breathing Fire said "While being part of the project, we saw group members' levels of physical and mental health improve throughout the 12 weeks. We feel it gave individuals confidence to try something new. And confidence to form friendships. That they could perform in front of strangers. The 12 Mondays gave some participants focus & drive. Gave people an opportunity to share their experiences & be listened to."

Terry Black watched the performance and called it "an amazing and thought provoking performance which reached across many issues affecting the Bedminster community." he continued "There was so much content explored taken from the lived experience of the actors. They really highlighted how local people and their communities can problem solve and find solutions to challenging issues and we mustn’t ever forget that.”

BS3 Beyond 2025

With increasing pressure on communities to provide accommodation for its residents, and new residents the BS3 Community wanted to explore how it can have voice? This is their story.

With a projected population increase of around 44% within BS3 in the next 10-20 years, a much-needed detailed look to the future and its opportunities as well as threats has been raised in local discussions. BS3 beyond 2025 set out to help empower local people to have agency in shaping the future in BS3.

‘BS3 Beyond 2025’ was designed by Action Greater Bedminster, to give residents "agency in shaping their own future in BS3, to consider local people’s hopes and fears from across the three wards of Southville, Bedminster and Windmill Hill, and consider how communities can respond."

From May 2023, AGB has hosted a series of events, discussions and workshops, on a range of topics, with local councillors and parliamentary representatives, business', local community heads and experts.

The events were held at various locations around the BS3 postcode, encouraging as many people to get involved as possible. Hundreds of people came along to these events, sharing their thoughts on the future of our local area. These were also collected by a questionnaire, the results of which will be shared in the BS3 Beyond 2025 report.

The conversations formed an important part of Action Greater Bedminster’s work in civic engagement, ensuring that they raised awareness about the changes that are upcoming in the area. They offered opportunities for consultation between the local community and other stakeholders, and offered the tools and knowledge to empower people to get involved in change by recognising their assets and by being not afraid to claim the space and have a voice.

Lynn Parfitt said "This project was so important for people to raise their concerns and think about the future of their community and their role within that. Action Greater Bedminster really championed the voice of the community. When Stef and Ellie came to me and we discussed the idea, I encouraged them to have as many different conversations as possible in different parts of the community instead of holding a one off, big event. This has resulted into having a far richer set of voices added into the mix, that covered many different subjects, from access to Health, Childcare and Education needs. This involved included identifying assets already available and looking at what's missing. It also allows them to build on and use idea's from previous work such as work we did around the regeneration framework for Whitehouse Street."

For the full BS3 Beyond 2025 report and up to date news please visit Action Greater Bedminster:  Home - Action Greater Bedminster 

Innovative Bedminster - Leading the Way

Over the past 4 years, Bedminster has been involved in new, cutting edge, innovative projects which have tried, tested and influenced new ways of working. Among these has been the Whitehouse Street Regeneration Framework, Safer Streets project and the Beyond BS3 2025 project.

Whitehouse Street Regeneration Framework - Since early 2021, BCC worked with  Action Greater Bedminster , a community partnership group who work to improve Bedminster and Southville, to find out what local people want for the area.

Bedminster is changing with three large new developments called Bedminster Green, Whitehouse Street and Meade Street. The first community consultation around Bedminster Green didn't go well so the regeneration team wanted to do something innovative and work more closely with the community. As part of this process the community created a Community Manifesto which gathered ideas and opinions from the local community through engagement sessions and set out what local people would like to see happen and what is important in the area. This project had local people, developers, regeneration and community development teams working in coproduction with Action Greater Bedminster from the very beginning . This was an innovative approach which saw the voices of local people amplified when it came to influencing plans for the area. To read more about the Whitehouse Street Project please see the following links:

 Whitehouse Street Regeneration Planning Story 

 Whitehouse Street News Story 

 Whitehouse Street Community Manifesto 

Safer Streets

In 2022, Bristol City Council was awarded funding called “Safer Streets” from the Home Office to make improvements to crime and anti-social behaviour, and two areas of South Bristol which were Bedminster and Hartcliffe. We wanted to make sure that local people were involved from the outset, we wanted to fund locally led projects wanted local people to decide who should receive the funding.

As part of this funding, a group of local residents came together to co-design a project that would encourage community action and build a more connected community. We saw a group of local residents flourish as they became the Safer Streets Bedminster Organising Group. They worked together to design the Safer Streets project from the very start. They made decisions on everything from deciding the application criteria to designing posters. They organised a Participatory budgeting event where over 80 local people came and voted for the locally ran projects that they'd like to receive the funding.

For the full story, and wonderful stories of the local people who were successful in receiving funding, please visit:  Safer Streets - Bedminster 

Lynn's Reflections Working Alongside the Community of Bedminster

I feel very privileged to be a small part of peoples story in the Greater Bedminster area. I am totally amazed at local peoples dedication, care and commitments to other people who live here. You can tell by the stories, there is a passion for community life and those rich assets that are in the community, whether these are people or groups or organisations like Action Greater Bedminster. All the individual people involved in these projects have showed bravery and innovation and creativity and not been afraid of claiming the space and get those voice heard. Articulate what people want, need and can lead with there skills and talents.

I am so impressed when the going gets tough or there are delays, individuals keep on going and dig deep, keep going. Thank you to Jen ( Nordic walking, BS3 Disability Group) Laura and Harry, Stef, Ellie (both from Action Greater Bedminster) Ange, (Northfield House Community Garden) Catherine (Grassroots Communities) Leanne (BS3 Communities). Thank you to organisations like the ACTA centre and all the staff there who have been amazing at being so supportive and flexible to many of these projects with a can do attitude. Windmill city Farm have been really supportive. Philip street Chapel have been really lovely in supporting Safer Streets with there space, welcoming to the community actors who preformed the play "Welcome to Bedminster."

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