The Bearpit Improvement Group (BIG)
consists of a team of volunteers with various skills (including architecture,
urban design, horticulture, planning, financial management, arts and play) who
have formed a community interest company to transform the “Bearpit” (the sunken
area at St James Barton roundabout, Bristol) into a space that is welcoming,
safe, diverse and inclusive. The BIG is working towards these aims in
collaboration with Bristol City Council, which has designated the site a “Community
Action Zone”.
In the ditch that is St James Barton
roundabout, Bristol, lies a creative community built from nothing. Having a
reputation for the place to pick up drugs and get in to punch ups, the local
neighbourhood took it upon themselves to turn it around. My dad showed me this gem, undetectable from the road above.
Today, The Bear Pit has installed
numerous positive themes through the help of BIG;
Communications // free WiFi is available
at the Bear Pit
Greenery // Hundreds of bulbs have been
planted. The BIG arranged for local organizations and companies (including the
Soil Association, Oxfam and the Avon Organics Group) to “adopt” hexagonal
planters on the site. Flowers, fruit and vegetables are now being grown in
these planters.
Play // A permanent outdoor table tennis
table has been installed.
Trading // The BIG has arranged for
selected independent traders to operate on the site. Currently there is a daily
fruit stall, coffee cart and gourmet sausage grill. On Saturdays this expands
into a market with additional food outlets and craft stalls.
During my visit to the Bearpit there
were a number of buskers, fruit and veg stalls and visitors enjoying the
Bearpit Social café and grill. Aswell as large, bright pieces of graffiti
artwork, adding vibrancy to an otherwise concrete, stagnant roundabout.
Creative community at it’s best.
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