Tag: Bristol City Council

It’s sad, but right, to say goodbye to the Grosvenor Hotel

Derelitct Grasvenor Hotel in Bristol behind cordons

A version of this post first appeared in Bristol 24/7’s Your Say section on 24 April. Thanks to them for taking these thoughts about a hot topic for the city.

Like many things in Bristol, there are mixed opinions online about news that the once grand (but now derelict) Grosvenor Hotel is to be demolished.

Bristol247 followed Bristol mayor Marvin Rees’ announcement that demolition will happen after years of wrangling, asking: should [the hotel] have been saved?

As owner of a small business based across the road from the building, who has worked in the area since 2010, I felt moved to respond to that question.

Continue reading “It’s sad, but right, to say goodbye to the Grosvenor Hotel” →

Businesses unite to respond to COVID-19

Businesses in the West of England face a challenge like no other as the national response to the COVID-19 outbreak has taken hold.

Employers across the region have moved quickly to adjust to new measures whilst dealing with a flurry of information and guidance from government about what to do and how to access business support. Concerns about the pressure on the NHS and public bodies combines with anxiety about how businesses can continue trading as the economy is placed into temporary hibernation.

As director of a small and growing business in Bristol, the most striking thing about this crisis for me is that everyone is impacted. Whatever sector we are in, we are indeed all in this together.

The principles of collaboration and working together have never been more important than they are now.

Continue reading “Businesses unite to respond to COVID-19” →

Talking about our devolution: what people told us about the deal

With all that’s happened since June, it’s easy to forget that there’s a big decision ahead about how the West of England runs its affairs.

The devolution deal for ‘greater Bristol’ won’t set most people’s pulses racing. But ask those who live and work here what’s important to them and many will say housing, transport, education, jobs or a combination of the above. As it happens, the West of England’s deal is geared towards addressing all of these issues.

On the table is £1bn to invest over 30 years in housing, transport and skills. Post #EUref, when ‘taking back control’ swayed views about our country’s future, handing responsibility for these issues to local areas seems an obvious step.

It’s probably worth five minutes’ of everyone’s time in the scheme of things.

Continue reading “Talking about our devolution: what people told us about the deal” →

No predictions, just 3 hopes for 2016

If you’ve read any posts, columns and opinions about 2015, it would be easy to think that last year was a bad one.

Columnisrs have negative tendencies, but it seems that there’s plenty to trouble us. Terrorism, austerity, economic under-performance, migration, Europe and runaway house prices all point to a bad year.

I’ve also had many conversations about ‘leadership failure’ over many of these issues. It seems that people have had enough of being soft-soaped. This was demonstrated in Jeremy Corbyn’s extraordinary victory over the ‘Westminster elite’ in the Labour leadership campaign. It was also expressed in nastier ways through trolling and threats dealt out on social media.

Opinion formers have an appetite for predictions at this time of year. After so many people called the big events wrong in 2015, it’s daft to attempt it for the coming year.

I want to be optimistic and set out some hopes for 2016. Some relate to national issues, others are more local and there’s a personal one too. All are important to me and, if they happen, it should be a good year.

Continue reading “No predictions, just 3 hopes for 2016” →