The Bishopston and Ashley Down Labour Party is the Branch Labour Party for the Bishopston and Ashley Down Ward within Bristol City Council. We hold regular meetings and events for members; if you’re a member or supporter and would like to find out more click here to go to the contact us page.

Approximately two thirds of the ward lies to the east of Gloucester Road (A38) and runs up to Muller Road ( one side)/Concorde Way; the northern boundary is Filton Avenue to the Gloucester Road junction. The southern boundaries of this section are Sommerville Road/Sefton Park Road ( one side). This is a relatively densely populated part of the ward with only one small recreation ground below Muller House. This section of the ward has the busy Ashley Down Road dissecting it.

The other third of the ward lies to the west of Gloucester Road. Longmead Avenue is the most south westerly road within ward boundaries to its junction with Kellaway Avenue. The north western boundary continues along Kellaway Avenue to its junction with Wellington Hill, which joins Gloucester Road. This third of the ward includes Horfield Prison and extensive open space  including Horfield Common with its Ardagh Centre- run by a community  body. As a result this section of the ward is less densely populated than the eastern section.

This section also includes a polling district – B1AA- which in the Bristol North West Constituency.

Population

(B&AD) had an estimated population of 13,300 at 2020, it had a slightly higher proportion of its population in the 16-24 and 25-39 age groups than the city overall but it is not significantly different. It is one of the least deprived wards in the City and in Bristol West (2019) with one of the lowest percentage of children living in low income families.

The ethnicity of the B&AD population was not significantly different to the City average.(2011)

Quality of Life and Local Services (2020/21)

Residents were significantly better satisfied with such things as libraries, general waste and recycling services , leisure facilities and services ,children’s activities, the quality of parks and open spaces and the way Bristol Council ran things than the City average The percentage of people who exercise and play sport were significantly above the City average. Residents used their local shopping street at least once a week, again higher than the City average partially reflecting the variety of facilities on Gloucester Road.

Reports of crime per 1000 population are below the City average and B&AD residents had significantly better results on anti-social behaviour and feeling safer outdoors after dark than the City average.

Overall 91% of the B&AD population were satisfied with their local area, a significantly better result than the city average.

Education

The ward has two primary schools with 2 form entry, Ashley Down Primary and Brunel Field Primary, both part of the Ashley Down Schools Federation, and a City of Bristol Further Education College site on Ashley Down Road.

The attainment of school pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 across eight subjects was significantly better than the City average ( 2019) , it also had significantly less pupils  taking free school meals  (2021).

Health and Social Care ( 2020-21)

The Gloucester Road Medical Centre is the only GP practice in the ward. 90% of residents said they were in good health, similar to the City average. Both the male and female population had a significantly better life expectancy- 81.4 and 84.9 respectively- than the City average. But B&AD residents had a significantly  higher risk of alcohol related health problems compared to the City average. There was a significantly lower proportion of people 65 + years old receiving community social care in B&AD compared to the City average, about half the City rate

Housing (2011)

There are a higher proportion of owner occupied properties in B&AD, 65.8%, compared to the City average of 54.8% and a significantly lower proportion of social housing 3.9% against the City’s 20.3%; private and other rented were not significantly different.. There was a significantly higher proportion of terraced housing in B&AD compared to the City average and a lower proportion of detached and semi-detached housing. Average persons per household were not significantly different from the City average-2.5 and 2.3 respectively.

Traffic and Transport

92% of the sampled population said traffic congestion is a problem locally and 88% think air quality and traffic pollution is a problem locally –these are significantly worse results than the City average. 95% were concerned about climate change a higher percentage than the City average. (2020-21)

This is probably the result of two busy B roads forming boundaries to the ward,  Muller Road and Kellaway Avenue, and the Gloucester Road and Ashley Down Road  dissecting the ward in a north-south direction and consequent rat running through residential areas to get between them. The ward is also home to two major professional sports grounds – the Gloucestershire County Cricket Ground at Nevil Road and Bristol Rovers at Filton Avenue. These add to traffic pollution and parking congestion on streets that are already full of parked cars.

But B&AD had a significantly higher number of households that own at least one car or van than the City average- 50% at 2011. 31% of households had two or more vehicles compared to 26.9% City average. Overall B&AD households had one of the highest numbers of average cars per household of any ward in the City at 1.20 compared to the City average of 1.04 in 2011.

This isn’t easy to understand since the area is close to Bristol central area facilities and Gloucester Road shopping, 64 % were satisfied with the local bus service, and 48 % road a bicycle at least once a week.

Footnote: 25% of journeys in Britain in 2020 were under one mile so there is much to be done to reduce extraneous traffic and make the roads in the B&AD ward safer for walking and cycling.

Data Sources: Bristol City Council  Bishopston and Ashley Ward Profile December 2021

Date of information included in text

Am I in Bristol West or Bristol North West? Part of Bishopston and Ashley Down Ward is within the Bristol North West Constituency, with the rest being in Bristol West. Click here to view the map of the ward on Bristol City Council’s website. If you live in the area marked BIAA then you’re in Bristol North West, otherwise you’re in Bristol West.