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Area in Focus

The Cable wants to tell more stories from different parts of Bristol. That’s why, every three months we’re getting out into a new area, listening to locals and telling stories that matter.

A bright yellow bus parked on the street with its door open. A building with scaffolding is in the background

Area in Focus

When a lifeline bus route was axed in Avonmouth, the local community stepped in

After First Bus made cuts to services in 2024, local organisations came together to ensure a replacement was delivered. But when it comes to public transport, should the community be in the driving seat?

‘South Bristol loses again’: new race to save athletics track

South Bristol’s new youth centre is technically in Knowle West. Can it deliver for kids from Hartcliffe too?

Exterior view of the Giant Goram pub with significant roof damage. A 'For Sale' sign is displayed in front of the building, with a parked car nearby.

Area in Focus

They built a huge wind turbine, but can they bring Lawrence Weston’s last pub back from the dead?

The Giant Goram closed five years ago and is a sorry state after being repeatedly broken into. What would it take for a campaigning group of residents to return it to viability?

youth bus opening ceremony, several young people gathered around two adults who are about to cut a read ribbon all in front of a colourful bus.

Area in Focus

Somewhere safe: how a modest cash boost could have a big impact on youth services in Kingswood

Area in Focus

The car park kickabouts tackling anti-social behaviour in Hartcliffe

Listen: Area in Focus – will Rees‑Mogg lose to Norris in North East Somerset and Hanham?

Across the Bristol area, people are deciding how they will cast their ballots on 4 July. With polls finding many Conservatives in previously safe areas are vulnerable to losing their seats, is Jacob Rees-Mogg a goner?

Listen: Area in Focus – the fight for the St Paul’s dentist’s

In February, hundreds of people queued up on Ashley Road for several days to register for NHS dentistry, as the local practice reopened. In this episode, we tell the story of the campaigners who fought to ensure their neighbourhood did not lose a vital health service.

How St Paul’s residents fought to make the Malcolm X Centre a space for the community

The Malcolm X Centre on Ashley Road is one of Bristol’s most well-known and treasured community venues. What’s less well remembered is the struggle local people went through to lay the foundations for that status.

Listen: Kingswood locals care about everything but a ‘meaningless’ by-election

In this episode of our Area in Focus series, we explore how the border town’s high street is struggling and, thanks to boundary changes, it’s facing a political identity crisis

St Paul’s, through the eyes of the reverend patrolling for peace

For years, the Reverend Dawnecia Palmer – a United Nations Peacemaker – has worked on Bristol's inner-city streets. After a recent spate of stabbings rocked St Paul's, she's praying for an end to the 'pandemic of the blade'.

Clifton eyesore may undergo partial ‘community buyout’

After a decade of failed attempts to redevelop the former WH Smith building on Clifton Down Road, the owner is now in talks with local residents interested in buying back part of the site.

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