BERATE

For those who don’t live in South Bristol, the blog title stands for the very impressive “Bedminster Residents against Tesco Expansion into Ashton Gate” group. Tesco has submitted a planning application for a 24-hour superstore development at Ashton Gate and lots of us vehemently oppose the proposal and fear that, if permitted, lots of our local stores would be forced to close. It’s been estimated that the store would generate 5 million car trips a year - equivalent of roughly 7 weeks traffic on the M5! Today, local residents formed a human juggernaut and walked down North Street and most of the local shops displayed large “Closing Down” signs to highlight the damaging impacts that a new superstore would have on the local community.

It was a hugely impressive demonstration and yet another reason why I love living in Southville.
Photo: part of the human juggernaut in North Street today.