Tree Protectors Victorious After Council Drops Tree-Felling Plans
Campaigners in Ashley Down are celebrating after Bristol City Council U-turns over the decision to fell a 120-year old Holm Oak tree on Ashley Down Road. The Council ordered the felling after the insurers of a nearby house reported that the tree’s roots were causing subsidence of the building’s foundations. However, in a video released on Facebook today (May 12th), Mayor Marvin Rees said that … Continue reading Tree Protectors Victorious After Council Drops Tree-Felling Plans
Update on Squatters at 39-40 High Street
Read the original article here. A county court judge has granted Bristol City Council a possession order for the premises at 39-40 High Street, which is currently occupied by squatters. Upon request from the occupants of the building, the Council agreed to suspend the possession order until May 26th, giving the occupants a chance to vacate the building before evictions begin. The hearing today (May … Continue reading Update on Squatters at 39-40 High Street
Bristol Demo Shows Solidarity With Colombian Protesters
A poignant demonstration was held on College Green on Sunday, May 9th, to show solidarity with protesters in Colombia. The demonstration, organized by trade union coalition Justice for Colombia and Colombian community groups in Bristol, coincided with similar demonstrations in Exeter and Brighton, and followed others in London over the last two weeks. Organisers hope that the demonstrations will raise awareness about the situation in … Continue reading Bristol Demo Shows Solidarity With Colombian Protesters
Postponement of Eviction Hearing Welcomed by Squatters
Squatters occupying the empty building 39-40 High Street have avoided eviction after a hearing at Bristol County Court on Friday, May 5th, was relisted. Bristol City Council, who own the building, had applied for a possession order, which would enable them to begin eviction proceedings. However, due to papers being submitted incorrectly by the council, the court relisted the hearing for Wednesday, May 12th. The … Continue reading Postponement of Eviction Hearing Welcomed by Squatters
Interview: Robyn Hambrook on Clowning and Activism
When you hear the word “clown”, the first thing to come to mind is maybe a circus, or a children’s birthday party, or perhaps even a villain in a horror film. But, as Robyn Hambrook, a performer, director and clown, explains, there’s more to clowning than unicycles and balloon animals, with clowns historically playing an important social, political, and cultural role by speaking truth to … Continue reading Interview: Robyn Hambrook on Clowning and Activism
Heavy-Handed Policing at May Day Kill The Bill Protest
Saturday’s Kill The Bill protest ended with a show of force from Avon & Somerset Police. After the main Kill The Bill protest, Bristol’s thirteenth, had ended on College Green at around 21:30, a small group of around 50 protesters marched back through the centre and to a squatted building on High Street. Here they stood in the road and outside the squatted building, which … Continue reading Heavy-Handed Policing at May Day Kill The Bill Protest
Residents Campaign for Social Justice on the Streets of Bishopston and St Andrews
In Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the alien Ford arrives on Earth and supposes cars to be the dominant species. A visit to Bishopston and St Andrews makes one sympathize with Ford’s misunderstanding. To experience vibrant Gloucester Road, verdant St Andrews Park, or vistas of Bristol from Ashley Down on foot is to experience oneself scurrying between cars parked on double yellow lines, … Continue reading Residents Campaign for Social Justice on the Streets of Bishopston and St Andrews
‘Hit Them Where it Hurts’: inside the Largest Student Rent Strike in Recent History
Students at the University of Bristol (UoB) are staging one of the largest rent strikes in recent history with over £1m being withheld from the university. The strike, driven by students’ desire for a fair deal, and for recognition of their concerns, has won significant concessions from UoB and shows the power collective action can command. Is this the beginning of a new wave of … Continue reading ‘Hit Them Where it Hurts’: inside the Largest Student Rent Strike in Recent History
Pink Paint and People’s Assemblies: meet the council candidate bringing activism to city hall
On February 15th, Rachel Lunnon was arrested for throwing pink paint onto City Hall. On May 6th she could return to the seat of Bristolian democracy, only this time as an elected councillor. Standing for election in her local ward of Windmill Hill, Rachel would be the first councillor in Bristol from “anti-political” Burning Pink, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion. From her insistence that she … Continue reading Pink Paint and People’s Assemblies: meet the council candidate bringing activism to city hall
Kill the Bill Movement Debates Relationship With Police
A pause on College Green during the Kill The Bill protest on Saturday, April 17th, gave demonstrators the opportunity to discuss their emerging movement’s relationship with the police. The nine Kill The Bill protests that have now taken place in Bristol have brought together individuals and groups from a diversity of backgrounds in resistance against the government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Yesterday’s … Continue reading Kill the Bill Movement Debates Relationship With Police