It has a reputation throughout the city of Bristol, the lowest house prices in the city and some parts are among the statistically most deprived in Bristol.
But now the residents of Hillfields, the corner of BS16 that even those who live there say ‘feels forgotten’ are launching a fightback - and it’s one that sends shivers down the spine of council officers, politicians, landlords and lettings agencies across Bristol.
The community union ACORN is launching a local action group in Hillfields. The group’s organisers who live locally are holding a meeting next week to start it up and are appealing to everyone in Hillfields to come along and get involved.
Hillfields: Life in the neighbourhood with Bristol's cheapest properties
The union is perhaps best known for its work campaigning on bad housing, against slum landlords and letting agencies. Members in trouble, being evicted, or suffering from housing issues from terrible damp to bizarre polystyrene balls appearing out of the walls, can summon a large number of other members in their distinctive red t-shirts to lobby and harangue those in positions of power.
In recent months, ACORN in Bristol has expanded its attention to people in council properties, as well as launching community groups in specific areas where there might be different priorities and issues that local people want addressing. In Lockleaze, for example, the ACORN group of local residents there have been lobbying hard on the state of the roads, and the issue of speeding motorists and rat-runs, while ACORN’s Bedminster group has targeted letting agencies encouraging rent hikes.
In Hillfields, things will be different again. The estate is still largely council-owned, with homes dating back 100 years - it was one of the first council estates built in Bristol, and those living there say they often feel forgotten. Back in 2019, to mark the centenary of the first house being built on the Hillfields estate, one grandmother said despite its reputation, the community was friendly and tight-knit, with a well-used park. “It's very good, we always come here,” she said. “It feels safe, and lots of families come, it's always well used,” she added.
In May this year, new statistics showed that Hillfields had some of the lowest property prices in Bristol, with one family home selling for just £130,000 earlier this year. People in Hillfields said they often felt left to one side. Katie Hanchard-Goodwin, the senior manager of the community hub in the area, said it was likely that housing is so cheap because there is not as much investment in Hillfields as there is in other areas of Bristol.
"It's cheap but there's a reason it's cheap. It's a deprived area, there's not a lot of resources up here. It's forgotten in a lot of things, much like Hartcliffe. We've got a library that a lot of people don't even know is there, people regularly say I didn't know it was here," she told Bristol Live.
The 45-year-old said that while there is much to be positive about in the area, and it is a diverse place with a strong sense of community, she doesn't feel like there has been enough investment in it, which may have kept house prices low. And at the same time, she says that many people perhaps don't even realise that Hillfields exists.
"There's no reason to come here probably unless you live here. The community centre and the library serve the community but there's nothing here to come to. You don't have a supermarket, a doctor's surgery. You might go along the main road just to cut through to Cossham Hospital but you won't come here unless there was a reason,” she added.
Now, ACORN said they were keen to get to work on the specific issues people in Hillfields feel are important. Recently, one council tenant told how she spent six years trying to get the council to sort out the mystery of why her home was so cold - despite having the heating on full blast - but within a couple of weeks of joining ACORN and her fellow members getting on the case, the council agreed to a full programme of works to properly insulate her home and deal with the kind of building issues that afflict many 100-year-old council homes there.
The launch meeting is taking place at the Community Hub in Hillfields Park, and already members in the area have a list of possible things the union can get stuck into - bad lighting in the streets and parks, dog poo, litter and difficult-to-access community services, for example.
One local resident, Sam, joined ACORN last month. “Safety, litter, social improvements - working together we can do things we wouldn’t be able to get done alone,” he said.
Vicky is another member of the group and lives near Lodge Causeway. She’s already been involved in supporting another member to win repairs from the council. “I joined ACORN to meet people from the local area and discuss what we could do to help change things for the better,” she said.
The launch meeting will be held at the community hub off Thicket Avenue, on Thursday, November 24 from 6.30pm - all are welcome to attend, including children.
“We’re excited to get started in Hillfields,” said a spokesperson for ACORN. “We’ve won campaigns in similar sized groups this year, including lights in a local park in Tottenham, litter collection in Leeds, and asbestos removal in Bradford. I’d encourage anyone who is interested to join ACORN and come to our launch.”
Read next:
- Life in Hillfields - the oldest council estate in Bristol
- Hillfields: Life in the neighbourhood with Bristol's cheapest properties
- Mystery cold spot in woman's house could be solved after six years
- Thousands of polystyrene balls blow into woman's flat every day
- Bristol mum forced naked out of home in 'distressing' eviction
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