Bristol City Council Archives - The Bristol Cable

Bristol Council questioned over social media ‘spying’

Councillors are asking whether the “surveillance”, which they say was “covert”, needed authorisation.

Local Democracy Reporter

Council approves major new development plans in Lawrence Hill

Local Democracy Reporter

£17 million could be wiped off value of Bristol Energy

Local Democracy Reporter

Watch: Lessons from lockdown - how can Bristol battle air pollution?

As traffic on Bristol’s streets returns to normal following lockdown, air pollution levels have returned to illegal levels. What can we do about it?

Patch de Salis

£37.7 million later: Council announces sale of debt-ridden Bristol Energy

Council will have to make spending cuts, as cost of Covid-19 passes £100 million

Local Democracy Reporter

'More work to do' on institutional racism at Bristol City Council

The council has been tackling the problem following a damning review into the death of Bijan Ebrahimi and complaints of racial discrimination by council staff.

Local Democracy Reporter

Bristol Energy inquiry blocked by Labour councillors

There will be no independent inquiry into why Bristol City Council continued to pump millions of pounds into debt-ridden firm Bristol Energy.

Local Democracy Reporter

Councillors say City Hall officers ‘unduly influenced’ by reporting direct to Mayor

Councillor Clive Stevens says he cannot always trust what officers say because they are ‘fearful of pressure from their boss’.

Opinion

Analysis: How £35 million of public money was ‘lost' to Bristol Energy

Old Sparky, Private Eye’s energy specialist, dissects what went so wrong for Bristol’s energy company in this long read special

Old Sparky

Council owned Bristol Energy put up for sale amid controversy

Opposition councillors are demanding a full inquiry into loss-making Bristol Energy after the city council put it up for sale.

Coronavirus in Bristol

Mayor Rees calls for Government bailout to plug £82m blackhole

Mayor Marvin Rees is pleading with the Government for an NHS-style bailout for local authorities as he warned it will take Bristol years to recover from the coronavirus.

Coronavirus in Bristol

Temporary coronavirus mortuary to open as council prepares for 'worst case scenario'

The new mortuary will increase Bristol City Council's capacity to deal with deceased people by two-thirds.

Councillors give themselves a pay rise

Bristol city councillors have awarded themselves a pay hike costing council tax payers an extra £180,000 a year while freezing the salaries of top officers....

Features

Deputy Mayor wants pilot for safe consumption room in new drug strategy

More consultation is needed and city needs to work out how to fund it, but Asher Craig says it could be one way to reduce drug deaths, as a mock safe consumption room was on display last week.

Matty Edwards

Final Bristol tower block with Grenfell-like cladding to have it removed

Final Bristol tower bloc with Grenfell-like cladding to have it removed

Experiment in democracy, as council to pilot citizens' assemblies

Bristolians could be gathered to make decisions on issues such as the climate crisis.

Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter and Matty Edwards

Edition 21

What's the council ever done for us?

Everyone loves to have a good moan about the council. But they still provide vital public services. Here’s a few.

Alex Turner

Bristol Council votes to ban diesel cars from city centre

All privately owned diesel vehicles will be banned from the city centre between 7am and 3pm from March 2021.

Local Democracy Reporter

Features

Good money after bad? Bristol Energy’s spiralling losses

Market conditions have been killing off small private energy suppliers up and down the country. Bristol Energy is by no means immune and keeps on tapping council tax payers for more money in the wake of huge losses – so is it time the council-owned firm was wound up?

Old Sparky

After delays, council releases plan to clean up toxic air

A thousand plus pages of documents have received mixed reactions and raised uncertainties as to whether it will be implementable

Lorna Stephenson

'I have never experienced such intense stress': Social workers on the strain of cuts

Soaring workloads and the impact of austerity can make a tough job unbearable, say children’s social workers

Alex Turner

Government piles pressure on mayor over dirty air

A Clean Air Zone that includes charging private cars must be considered, said Therese Coffey MP.

Lorna Stephenson