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Reminiscing about Totterdown’s tragic history
Totterdown Road, just south of Bath Road, is associated with a poignant part of Bristol’s history.
The 1970s saw the devastating clearance of 600 houses and thousands of people evicted from their homes, due to a tragic mistake in city planning.
The council’s failed plan to to build an outer circuit road that would have run through numerous suburban areas ultimately led to a community being torn apart – with friends, neighbours and families moved to different areas of Bristol.
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Evidently, the disaster remains felt among residents and those who experienced the event that took place over 40 years ago.
“Totterdown is still a traumatised area,” says local resident Jeremy Routledge. “Shock waves are still felt after what happened.”
Jeremy stressed the importance of how Bristol needs to “look forward and learn from the mistakes of its past”.
The Totterdown Road Project hopes to explain why the ‘Middle’ Totterdown clearances in the 1970s were allowed to happen.
A team research session as part of the Totterdown Road Project
At a recent event, Jeremy and his team promised to “enlighten those who attended with a raw depiction of the disaster, with an array of short performances based on the history and stories of those who lived in the centre of Totterdown” – honouring the people who used to live here by telling their stories.
Working with playwright Mike Akers to write the scripts and Bristol University lecturer Dr Erika Hanna, Jeremy was also initially inspired by Kate Pollard’s book, Totterdown Uprising: A Story of Endurance and Survival to put his idea of performance pieces together.
Jeremy added: “The events that took place on Totterdown Road is a sobering reminder of what happens when the council do not work cooperatively with the community.”
For more information about the Totterdown Road Project, visit www.facebook.com/theroadproject
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