‘I can do action’: cafe owner who organised tower block evacuation response aiming to be councillor
When she heard Barton House was being evacuated in November, Cafe Conscious owner Deniece Dixon got to work helping families who had become homeless. Two months on, she explains why she’s set her sights on City Hall
Listen: Inside Bristol’s ‘murder factory’ arms facility, with the activists on trial for occupying it
Palestine Action activists are on trial for smashing into an Elbit factory that ships weapons technologies to Israel. But at the heart of this case is the history and tragedy of Israel’s operations in Gaza, and how Bristol’s facility plays a role in the death and destruction.
Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Ruth Pitter on the role of the charity sector, pioneering Black theatre and her recent MBE
Neil chats to Ruth, a daughter of the Windrush generation, on her decades of work with Bristol's voluntary and community groups, how that's changed as public services have been cut – and whether she feels conflicted about receiving an honour associated with empire.
‘You needed young people’: how one man nurtured a community on an east Bristol allotment site
Tenants of Bristol’s sought-after allotments are pushing back hard on council proposals to hike fees. But back in the 1980s, plots in Eastville at Royate Hill were unloved and at risk – until Mike Feingold took custody of the land.
Bristol’s Clean Air Zone is not exactly winning people over – but the data says it’s working
A new report shows air pollution has reduced both inside and outside the zone a year after it came into force. But many feel poorer people are being punished while traffic is just being rerouted around the city.
A home for the ‘Hypochondriac, Mad and Distracted’: remembering the ‘madhouses’ of Fishponds
For more than 100 years, a family firm profited handsomely from running mental health facilities in Fishponds – sometimes using shocking and bizarre practices. A new book uncovers the startling history of ‘Mason’s Madhouse’.
‘Stealth closures’ of libraries leave casual staff facing hardship and city with fewer warm spaces
Dozens of temporary library closures have been announced since the council abruptly cut casual workers' shifts in November. With the council under huge financial stress, there are renewed fears for the future of the service.
