There are no council houses on the luxurious ‘Harbourside’

IHAVE surprisingly found myself agreeing with Bristol mayor Marvin Rees, who recently told the parliamentary culture select committee that the toppling of the Edward Colston statue was not “all about the Colston statue”, but was also about lack of affordable housing, gentrification and social exclusion.

His use of the word ‘gentrification’ is ironic, for it has largely been the left-wing bias of Bristol City Council, who have acquiesced to planning consents for the wealthy interlopers whose building projects have destroyed much of the innercity. A prime example which I would claim is synonymous with the continuing dearth of traditional council housing was that of the ‘gentrification’ of Bristol’s docks!

During my youth Bristol’s ‘docks’ were the epitome of a ‘working’ city (well before the dubious delights of the ethereal internet!) before containerisation sounded the death knell for literally generations of dockers.

Bristol City Council could have used the entire dockside area for social housing which might just have been to the benefit of redundant dockers. However, they opted for the ‘gentrification’ of the entire area and the luxurious ‘ Harbourside’ was created.

To my knowledge there are no council houses there. In my opinion BCC attempted to replicate Spain’s Benidorm with housing/ apartments for the wealthy on the site of the dockside graveyard which truly represented Bristol.

Furthermore Mr Rees, your crocodile tears about social housing are all too evident from the Bristol Post’s report: ‘Paradise lost: Car park and homes approved in double blow for elderly’ (October 6).

There is to be a multi-storey car park in Bedminster’s Little Paradise area to the social detriment of elderly/vulnerable residents housed in nearby sheltered accommodation.

Moreover, Mr Rees commented that: “In Bristol we’ve now set up a history commission chaired by Prof Tim Cole from the University of Bristol.”

I’m not a professor Mr Rees, merely an elderly man who can see that such a commission will have very little left to study if you and other continue to destroy Bristol in the name of what? Progress?

So Mr Rees you will excuse me if I consider your remarks about social housing/gentrification to be a load of politicised popularist waffle!

R L Smith Knowle