Mayor Robert Jones has demanded an apology from South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) Chairman Ian Knight, who has singled out Bradley Stoke as a example of poor town planning.
The put-down was reported in yesterday’s Bristol Evening Post, in a article about the proposed £2.5 billion Ashton Park development in South Bristol.
The article quotes Mr Knight as saying:
“… there is every reason for politicians and the public to be very demanding about what is in this [Ashton Park] scheme. No one wants to see a Bradley Stoke Mark Two.”
The Evening Post adds that Bradley Stoke “was a byword for all that went wrong with estate development in the 1980s” – a sentiment echoed in planning policy researcher Steve Melia’s case study “The Town with no Heart“.
Cllr Jones has hit back saying:
“Bradley Stoke is a fantastic place to live with a strong community, If I were building a new town I’d be happy if it was just half as good to live in as here.”
“Mr Knight’s comments show that he is living in the past and he owes the residents of Bradley Stoke an apology.”
Bradley Stoke was recently ranked in the top ten “best value” places to live in the UK by Channel Five’s Property List programme.
A recent police survey rated the town a low crime area, with a crime rate lower than all its immediate neighbours.