Up Our Street Autumn 2019

UP OUR STREET
Meet the Place makers...
The Place Makers are
part of our lottery
funded project to tackle
loneliness and isolation
in neighbourhoods. They will be
working for Up Our Street one
day a week for the next two years.
Here they are in their own words...
Leila
I have lived in St. Judes for
the last eight years. When
I think about my work as a
placemaker, I imagine circles
of belonging- my home, my
street, my neighbourhood, my
city. I feel lucky to have made
deep connections to my friends
in the St Judes neighborhood.
I love sharing food with my
Kurdish neighbours, or driving
my other neighbour to the
garden centre for a day trip.
I have experienced first-hand
the difference it can make to
nurture relationships with the
people we share our immediate
environment with.
I hope I can use my experience
in working with community
groups such as the Cube
Cinema and Bristol Cooperative
Gym to help our
neighbourhood become more
inclusive.
I am currently mapping
everything already happening
in St Judes, and talking to
residents in order to shape my
role over the next two years.
There is so much going on
here - from the independent
restaurants and cafes along
Stapleton Road, to the green
ribbon of the Frome; from the
parks by the tower blocks; the
leisure centre to Trinity. There is
no reason for anyone to be left
out.
leila@upourstreet.org.uk
Debbie
My area is Newtown, where I
live and work. I would love to
put Newtown on the map!
Being part of the team at
Up Our Street is a great
opportunity to connect
communities together. I have
lived in Newtown for the past
17 years and have found that
the area has a great community
spirit.
Many of the residents of
Newtown do feel that the area
has been neglected for a long
time, and that it’s time for
some TLC.
We’re planning to do some
litter picking, coffee mornings,
and social events for some
of the older residents of
Newtown. I’m looking forward
to working in partnership with
other organisations like the
Trinity Centre and Lawrence Hill
Health Centre.
I’m happy that Newtown
residents will finally get
their voices heard and get
something done. Watch this
space!
debbie@upourstreet.org.uk
Melissa
I am an ex nurse and have lived
and worked in various and
diverse communities. I have
had links with The Dings for
seven years and lived here for
almost three years. During that
time I have experienced firsthand
the wonderful nucleus of
warmth and community spirit
from fellow residents.
My aim would be to extend this
welcome throughout the whole
area, which has expanded
hugely in recent years with the
addition of several modern
apartment blocks. Once
crowned the best community
in the UK, due to this
expansion, it has largely lost
that sense of inclusiveness it
once had. At its core, however,
is a culture of caring and
support for residents, whatever
their background or ethnicity.
I believe in kindness before
creed or colour, and want to
work alongside all residents,
young and old, to make The
Dings an even better place to
live.
melissa@upourstreet.org.uk
Hear more from the Place Makers in the Up Our Street podcast at bit.ly/UOSJuly
The cost of cash
A recent University of Bristol report
has confirmed what local residents
have been saying for some time – it’s
getting harder to take cash out for free
in our neighbourhood. There are many
cash machines in the area, but around
80% now charge a fee to take money
out.
Easton resident Debra was so
concerned that she has set up a
campaign group called BS5 Against Cash
Machine Charges. The Facebook group has
over 80 members, and some of them met faceto-face
this summer to discuss the issue with
Councillor Afzal Shah and some of the University
researchers.
“We are moving away from cash as a society, but
there are still people who rely on it” says Debra.
“For example older people, those who can’t get a
debit card due to historic debt problems. We risk
making people even more excluded.”
Part of the university research involved detailed
mapping of cash machines across Bristol, and
shows that the communities who are most
likely to depend on cash, have fewer free cash
machines. In fact, Clifton has many more free
cash machines than Easton and Lawrence Hill. As
Debra says “It’s part of the repercussions of not
having a bank in our area – banks used to look
after the cash machine infrastructure but now
they are mostly run by third party businesses.”
The group is setting up a meeting later in August
with representatives from the banks and WECA
(West of England Combined Authority) to push
for change. They are also investigating whether
free to use cash machines could be installed in
community buildings.
Where can you still get cash with no charge?
Redfield Post Office
104-106 Church Road
open 6am to 10pm Monday to Saturday
(6am to 6pm on Sundays)
Stapleton Road Post Office
68 Stapleton Road
open 9am to 10pm every day
(until 11pm Friday and Saturday)
Lawrence Hill Post Office
192 Lawrence Hill
open 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday
(9am to 1pm on Saturday)
You can check locations of all cash machines
(free and fee-paying) at www.link.com
Exploring the Arts
Up Our Street is working with Bristol arts organisations
to launch the ‘Exploring the Arts’ residents group in
September. This project will bring together a diverse
group of residents from Easton and Lawrence Hill
who are curious about experiencing more arts and
culture in Bristol. Participants will have opportunities
to attend events for free and help shape
future programmes to make them more
welcoming and relevant to a wider
audience. Transport costs can be covered.
We will also be hosting a special womenonly
workshop with international artist
Kameela Rasheed (pictured) on Tuesday
8 October from 9am to 3pm at Easton
Community Centre. Want to find out
more? Contact pat@upourstreet.org.uk
4 Up Our Street Autumn 2019 www.upourstreet.org.uk www.upourstreet.org.uk
Up Our Street Autumn 2019 5
HAVE YOUR SAY
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