Despite sitting on the border with South Gloucestershire and flanked by the affluent Henleaze and Westbury on Trym, the suburb of Southmead is home to the most deprived Bristol districts north of the River Avon. For people that don’t know the area, its reputation sets it apart from its neighbours and is reinforced by government statistics for employment, education, health, crime and income, that all place Southmead in the worst 10 per cent of areas in England.
But when Bristol Live headed to Southmead in 2020 during Covid restrictions, residents painted a much more nuanced portrait of what it’s really like to live and work in the area, going beyond notoriety and numbers. We returned recently to see how things have progressed since then and found a community that was forthcoming and clear-eyed in its criticisms. But also staunchly proud and spirited, ready to take on the challenge of redevelopment to improve where they live.
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Not that Southmead is an area that’s a stranger to change and reinvention. This is a suburb that sweeping, large-scale building projects have long characterised. The first Southmead Estate was begun in 1924 but expanded in the 1930s with 1,500 houses, built to rehouse people displaced by inner-city slum clearances. After the Second World War, 1,100 houses were built, with the two developments still known locally as the ‘new estate’ and the ‘old estate’.
The district is also home to Southmead Hospital, first established in 1924 as Southmead Infirmary, the base of one of the biggest employers in the area, North Bristol NHS Tust. Today, the sprawling 60-acre site offers 900 beds and boasts centres of excellence for neurosurgery, renal and orthopaedics, as well as some of Europe's most modern healthcare facilities.
Although two years isn’t a huge amount of time, an awful lot has changed for residents of Southmead since the easing of Covid restrictions. A community-led plan to redevelop the centre of Southmead received the council's backing in 2021 with £7m in funding to revamp the Arnside shopping area and Glencoyne Square. The multi-faceted plans promised 300 new homes, a new community centre to house the health centre and library, and improved public spaces.
While many of these projects are still in progress, the construction around the Arnside has recently been completed, with new planting, wider walkways, benches and repaving, and according to many of the people that we spoke to, not a moment too soon.
Guiseppe has owned his business on Arnside, the bustling BS10 barbers, for nearly 12 years and lives nearby, having relocated to the area from South Bristol. He thinks that of all the changes Southmead has undergone in that time, the recent rejuvenation of the central shopping precinct is the most significant, but not without some drawbacks.
“It does look nice, it’s cleaner, it’s fresher, and we see a lot more of the council coming to maintain the plants. It’s quite good that they have the bigger walkways, I’ll be honest - they put a bike track, but people don’t use that.”
He says passing trade hasn’t returned to its pre-Covid level and that having restricted access for so long because of building work resulted in a loss of custom. He also suspects that although there is now more parking available, its location further away from the central area means fewer people regularly walk past.
Asked if he’s concerned about more disruption from the forthcoming housing projects, Guiseppe said, “Will it be a nightmare when they start? Yes, but I think it will help all the businesses around here." Besides increasing footfall, Guiseppe thinks it’s good that more people will be moving to Southmead. “It’s easier to get a bad reputation than a good one,” he said, “But the whole twelve years I’ve been here, I’ve never had a problem. I love it, that’s why I moved here. The people are all very friendly.”
Round the corner, we caught up with business owner Mudi Elnagar, who we spoke to in 2020, at one of two barbers he runs in the city. He opened this shop in 2019 and feels the length of time it took to complete the Arnside works made it difficult to entice customers back into shops after Covid restrictions were lifted.
Speaking about the visual improvement of the upgrades, Mudi said: “I don’t see any major impact for the amount of money spent. The old paving just needed a wash and a clean.”
He thinks the area needs better maintenance and upkeep as well as funding for schools and activities for children. “The best thing about Southmead,” Mudi said, “is the hospital, it’s the heart of Bristol, and it must receive more investment money.”
Mudi, who is originally from Egypt, is equally vocal about the positive aspects of Southmead and thinks the influx of people from the new housing development will be a good thing. “A lot of people act like we’re rough, but we’re not. Southmead has become a multicultural area, I enjoy it, and I think it’s healthy,” he said
”There are a lot of people with good value here, doctors and nurses. It’s very mixed, some people are very wealthy, and some people aren’t, like everywhere, but it's not the area's fault.
“I’ve been here 20 years, and I will never feel I’m British, but really in my heart, I feel I am Bristolian. I’m proud about it; I’m upset about it, it makes me mad, it makes me happy. And I love it; I love this city.”
At the Pegasus pub, a lively lunchtime crowd were more enthusiastic about the changes to Arnside. “They're accommodating more for old people,” said Mike Gardiner, who has lived in Southmead all his life except for five years spent in the army. “The mobility scooter paths, the ramps, and you can see the bike park out here -” Mike gestured outside to a rank of mobility scooters making full use of bicycle parking - “It was an inconvenience; it did take so long, and this is just the beginning of the next phase, but it’s good, it’s regeneration. Get it going!”
Mike also thinks there have been improvements in facilities for younger people, mentioning The Ranch play area that TV’s Nick Knowles revitalised in late 2021. “It’s nice for families to take their kids down there, and it’s all enclosed, it’s safe, and it’s well used; they have everything there, 5-a-side, swings, slides, everything. They do private functions - it’s great.”
Regarding the new housing developments nearby, his younger brother Bob was apprehensive. ”My concern is when they build all these houses, are there enough facilities? We have lots of shops, but it's still a lot of people coming to the area.” Both the brothers spoke about how difficult it is to see a doctor and the lack of any NHS dentists taking new patients, as well as their disappointment that the new health centre is no longer on the cards.
Councillor Brenda Massey for Southmead explained that, unfortunately, the NHS funding now won’t be available to cover the costs. “It’s a real shame," Brenda said, "We were hoping to have the library and health centre co-terminus so they stay open longer, but unfortunately, that looks like it’s not going to happen. It would have been a huge advantage, but the NHS hasn’t got the funding, and the council can’t underwrite it.”
Mike Murch, the chair of the regeneration group, echoed that sentiment. “It’s a pity, but we will overcome that. The library is still very much part of the plan and, hopefully, will become an integral part of the community and actually be open longer hours with upgraded services.”
Although he feels that he might be biased, Mike views the improvements as having changed the character of the shopping area for the better and that the feedback he’s received is overwhelmingly positive. He also explained that 18 month's overall delay, while unfortunate, was unavoidable in part because of material shortages but also because some of the improvements made went unseen below the surface to create a sustainable drainage system that not only waters the local plant life but also mitigates against flooding.
Beyond the physical changes, Mike also sees the way the community has come together to participate in the planning as having an impact on the area, encouraging other development projects and wider consultation. “I’ve been around Southmead most of my life, and the community is such a strong body of people, and the success of Southmead is a shining example to the rest of the country.”
Brenda also expressed that the process of collaborating on Southmead's redevelopment scheme spoke to the area's spirit and the residents' determination to improve their district. She said, "I'm really proud to be one of the councillors representing Southmead; there are so many people who have lived there their whole lives. I know it had a bad reputation a few years ago, but it's quite different now, and once you get to know the people, they are what they say they are, Meaders through and through."
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