Is the heart of Bristol, UK dying?

Welcome back to Turdtowns the extra nugget. We did a special feature on Broadmead Bristol this week. This used to be a really good shopping area for the south west. But since last year they started a clean air zone and people avoid shopping in Broadmead now. I visited to see what the effects of this zone is half a year later. It seems lots of shops have closed and they are determined to turn it all into flats.

[Turdtowns]

Next week Turdtowns returns. But as always let me know where we should visit!

[grobknoblin]

so basically the entire UK is now just a student let?

[janeclark]

I worked in Bristol for 11 years. The real problem with the place is the very high cost of housing. I was simply priced out.

[scarletttonkin]

I was born in Bristol and left for London at 17.
Broadmead in the late 70s earlier 80s was amazing for shopping as a teenager.
There was so much choice.
Clifton was a very good area for shopping too.
We were thinking of moving to Bristol but it's just ridiculously expensive now.
My poor old home Town!

[roberthoward]

My uncle moved to Bristol (from Manchester) in the early 60s. This caused us to be regular visitors to the city and what a fantastic time we had in (and in the area of) that great city. From grimey M/chester to Bristol it was like a different world.... But, over the years I've seen how Bristol has gone downhill and even my relatives down there have all moved out.

[xqp]

I went to see a friend of a friend's band in Bristol back in March. Was delayed because a neighbour was in hospital, so I spent approx 3 hours there and missed half the set. SatNav got me lost because of all the roadworks and after the gig I had to walk my friend back to her hotel because of all the druggies she encountered on the way to the gig. I was booked into a different hotel but decided it was quicker to drive home than navigate the roadworks. Shortly after my "visit" I got a letter saying I'd strayed through a "bus gate", whatever that is, and was going to be fined for doing so. Don't know what a bus gate is, didn't see any signs. Or buses. Pic shows my car on an empty road. Appleal failed because it's my "personal choice" to use SatNav, like it's wierd thing to do when driving in a city for the first time. Then I got a ULEZ fine, which is nonsense because my car is Euro 6. But the database they use doesn't have my car's registration in it. They don't even know what car it is, so "unknown make/model" means non-compliant and more fines. I appealed again, citing several websites, including the manufacturer and a forum posting which explained that the emissions were so low that a bug on the DVLA site prevented the figure being entered because it was rounded down to zero. Nope, not good enough. I have to get a letter from the DVLA saying my car is compliant. They could look this up in seconds. So, went to see a band, was late so missed half the set, got lost on the way, friend accosted by druggies, (I saw a couple but they didn't approach) and hit with £120-£300 in fines. Will I go again? Will I fuck.

[dukeofengland]

Bristol just emulates what the whole of Britain is like.

[hannah-jtud]

I’m an American actor and last year I did a 10 month tour of a musical in the UK. We moved to a different city every week. And Bristol, perhaps oddly, was one of my favorites places throughout the whole experience! Like I thought it was one of the places that I’d move to. But then again I don’t really care much for high streets, it had plenty of nice coffee shops and a good enough theatre scene with Bristol Old Vic there

[chiganuggoo]

I work in Bristol City Centre. Have done for 22 years, I've seen the decline, under falsely declared 'progress' as 'development'. It's heartbreaking, I consider myself an honorary Bristolian, I love everything about the area and it's history (I'm a railway fan, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and all that for those that don't know.). Your video has hit the nail on the head, sadly. Get in your car travel 35 odd miles up the M5 to Gloucester to see how to REALLY finish off a City. That place is DONE.

[Mrsencible]

Visited Bristol this weekend and got stung by the clean air charge. Stayed at a Premier inn that recommended parking at Broadmead NCP but didn’t mention the clean air zone. I stayed one night and had to pay £19 for the parking and £18 in clean air charges. Sadly I won’t be visiting Bristol again due to feeling ripped off.

[thecornedbeefcouncil]

I’m a Bristolian who has lived here my whole life and you’re spot on with everything in this video. The local council are destroying this City.

[juliejeavons]

My experience of Bristol is the walk from Temple Meads to the office in Queens Square or spending time in Clifton (also for work). I took my daughter on one visit. She enjoyed visiting the museums, bookshops and sitting in one of the parks reading. If you’re not into shopping it’s not as bad as you make out.

[fluffyfour]

Councils always seem to apply restrictions which end up killing their towns. I remember when I was studying in Sheffield, Meadowhall (big shopping centre) had recently opened - free parking, all the shops you could want including Savacentre supermarket, just as the council put in City Centre parking charges, one-ways and pedestrian areas. For people without a car, they could get to town but all the shops had closed for lack of custom!

[Danbotology]

The Galleries has sadly been a ghost town for years. But it always looks clean and well maintained! It’s like walking through a huge conservatory.

[Elansol]

Town centres are doomed because the council say (first hand knowledge) look at the 300k we made this year in parking charges and fines, ignoring the 2 or 3 million they lost in business tax for the businesses closing down because people do not want to pay parking or be fined. So they up the parking charges to try and offset the loss (when they figure it out) and it becomes a vicious circle.

[jblack]

The shopping part has certainly has changed, I remember before Cabot opened you would rarely see a closed down shop. If you go to the centre now to see the dormant fountains you will notice thousands of students, go there after 10pm and its drunk people and seagulls fighting over half eaten chicken. The bus lane/congestion charge signage is terrible as mentioned and it’s not even worth trying to appeal. I see no reason to go into the city (especially as my clubbing days are over), there are so many nice pubs and restaurants in the towns away from the centre so there’s no need to want to go there.

[mennymennitto]

I worked in Bristol 23 years ago when I first arrived in Britain. I come from a similar size city in Northern Italy Brescia. I have been there for a conference 5 years ago but being on the outskirt I didn't realise the change you have shown in this video. Sad and depressing, the place is unrecognisable, and I truly feel for the many nice people I have met and worked with. Bad administration is one thing BUT 15 millions (did I get it right?) spent on surveys it's downright criminal

[jakubwyszynski]

I live in Bristol CC. It is very much how you describe it and it smells. Broadmead is stuck in the late 90s - early 00s. It REALLY is a stinky turd. Only to add - pedestrian infrastructure is in staggering state of decay all over the city. I feel really sorry for people with disabilities having to use Bristol pavements every day! There is very little investment in public infrastructure for the city of 500, 000 people it feels like a crime on humanity! 100m of cycle path near Old Town took 2 years now to be completed, it's absurd (still not ready to use). I recently visited my city of Poznan in Poland. I was in shock, how it changes! It really makes you realise how stuck and lazy Bristol council is and how city lacks a decent public transport network too.

[tommysmith]

Let's be honest: the UK in general is in decline. Yes, there might still be some beacons of hope around - but that hope will be snatched away from us. Now, as far as I see the problem of derelict town centres, the first nails in the coffin were the retail parks. In theory, they were a great idea but they sucked the life out of town centres, replacing retail shops with ever more cafes, bars, restaurants, betting shops, and replacing shoppers with chavs and homeless people. And once those nails had been hammered in, town centres were always going to be on a downward spiral to oblivion. So, how do we bring back life to town centres? Well, it seems that we deter shoppers by having no-car zones, poor public transport and allowing the homeless and the chavs to thrive in the city centres.

[monicachidgey]

Constructing Cribbs Causeway was the first nail in the coffin of Broadmead.