‘A dagger into the heart of Bristol’

50 years after the first section of the M32 opened, communities living alongside the motorway are pressing for noise and pollution controls and are still struggling to bring together their spilt communities.

The M32 may be only four and a half miles long but from the outset it was divisive.

The motorway cut a brutal path through farm and park land, destroyed hundreds of houses in its path, and created a lasting legacy of pollution and noise for the communities living and working alongside it.

Bridge Farm before and during the construction of the M32 in 1971. The farm house can still be seen from the M32 (Bristol Records Office and Martin Pilger)

Construction on the M32 began in the mid-60s but it took more than a decade for the motorway to fully open.

The first section was opened in 1966 and linked the M4 with Frenchay. The section linking Frenchay through to Horfield and Eastville opened in July 1970 but it wasn’t until 1975 that the final section through to the city centre opened. 

A BBC report from the time described the M32 as a “dagger thrust into the heart of the city”.

“The motorway will wind through open country west of Frenchay and through some of the lovely fields around Stoke Park.”

It grimly warned that there would be “even more dramatic changes when the road hits the built-up areas”.

Artists impression of Junction 2 of the M32 (Bristol Records Office)

Indeed, the bulldozer razed areas of Easton, St Paul’s and Eastville with scant regard for the communities in its path.

With their own home in the path of the motorway, Martyn Trowbridge’s family were amongst the hundreds evicted in the name of progress.

Traditional communities living in and around Eastville and St Paul were split by the M32. Napier Street was in the path of the new motorway (Bristol Records Office)

“They all had to move out from Twinnell Street for the road scheme,” Martyn said.

“From what I remember, you were just told when your house was going to be compulsory purchased, you were allocated new housing in Southmead or Hartcliffe and expected to move on.” 

Construction of the Parkway section of M32 November 1972 Photo: Paul Willis

Historian Harry McPhillimy said at the time that “there was not much good to say locally about its construction”. 

Residents found their lives disrupted for years during the building because of the “nightmare” decision to construct its three sections one at a time. 

McPhillimy said people left living with the motorway saw the quality of their lives “sacrificed for an easy commute into Bristol”. 

The destruction of the houses and environment is shown clearly in two videos showing the construction of the M32 which were filmed between 1968-1971 by the Stoke Park Institute.

The colour footage shows The Dower House, the emptying of the original Duchess’ lake, the demolition of the 13 arches in Eastville and the opening of the Patchway stretch of the motorway in 1971

The new library and community housing on former wasteland at Junction 3 of the M32

The traditionally close communities of Eastville, Easton and St Paul’s were ripped apart by the road. The area, particularly around what became Junction 3, quickly degenerated and gang crime soared. 

“Parts became neglected and unsafe, particularly for those living alongside the M32 corridor” said Sue Cohen, chair of the Junction 3 Community Interest Company, which is working to bring the communities back together.

She added that many residents suffered loneliness and poor health as they became increasingly cut-off and frightened to go out.

The famous 13 arches of the Stapleton viaduct were destroyed during the construction of the motorway (Bristol Records Office)

The divisions were so stark that it was cited as one of the reasons why Bristol didn’t win the 2008 European City of Culture crown. Jeremy Isaacs, chairman of the judging panel, said at the time that they felt that the M32 was “creating a concrete divide” between communities. 

Indeed the M32 casts its long shadow over the ward of Eastville councillor Mahmadur Khan. Balancing the needs of his community against wider city transport issues is tricky. 

“We do really need it and it continues to serve Bristol well,” he says.

However, he is clear that the motorway is struggling to cope: “It’s especially bad in peak times, with double the amount of road needed to deal with all the traffic, although this would be impossible to actually accomplish.”

On the front line are the residents of Eastville, St Paul’s and Easton. 

Last year they handed in a 1,500-strong petition calling for action claiming they were “noticing noise more than ever” and it “was impossible to sit outside in the summer”.

Among the proposals are a noise barrier and resurfacing but, after suffering for half a century, residents are sceptical that any improvements will happen. “We wish it had never been built,” said one.