Hartcliffe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hartcliffe' is a district of Bristol, England. It is a council estate on the southern edges of the city next to Withywood, on the northern slopes of Dundry Hill. Construction started in 1952 after the compulsory purchase of a number of pre-existing farms. A small shopping area was built (Symes Avenue), and the first church (St Andrew) opened in 1956.
Imperial Tobacco once had offices and a factory in Hartcliffe. These are now empty, and the subject of redevelopment opportunities.
Hartcliffe and Withywood Community Partnership (HWCP) was formed by local residents in 1998 to help support the regeneration and renewal of the area.
In 1992 there was a riot in Hartcliffe after two alleged bike thieves were killed in a chase with a police patrol car. The disturbance lasted for 3 days.
Hartcliffe has a poor reputation with people in bristol due to high levels of poverty and crime.
The name is from the Saxon Here Cliff.
Schools within Hartcliffe include Teyfant Community School and Hartcliffe Engineering College.
Symes Avenue is the District Shopping Centre serving the outer estates of Hartcliffe and Withywood with a total population of around 20,000 people. The estates, built in the 1950's and 1960's, have long been identified as suffering a multitude of different problems which characterise a deprived and socially excluded community.
It is widely acknowledged that Symes Avenue has been in continual decline since the early 1990's and is now a key regeneration site. It is generally regarded as one of Bristol's most visually depressing areas. At the present time only 10 of the 34 retail units are occupied. The principal reason for this would appear to be the changing nature of shopping patterns in South Bristol, and particularly the emergence of the superstore as the preferred choice of shopping format for many people.
Repeated problems of vandalism and crime (particularly burglary and theft) have continued to create difficult trading conditions for businesses and an unpleasant environment for shoppers. The maisonettes above the shops are all now derelict/vandalised and in an extremely poor state of repair. It is generally considered that their refurbishment would not be commercially viable.
