Blog 5 – October 2025

Love Stapleton Road

This months blog is about the Love Stapleton Road meetings hosted over the last year at ECFC. With reflections from Sarah Matthews and Penny Gray.

About a year ago, Police Support Office Sarah Westlake came to ECFC asking for a regular hire of our Worship Space for a Police led Community meeting. Her new Superintendent wanted to lead an ongoing consultation with the community to work out ways to solve some long running sores along Stapleton Road.

It has been fascinating to watch the positive evolution and development. From early meetings of angry community raised voices. Initially heard up front by a panel of police officers who were joined over the weeks by growing involvement from Bristol City Council colleagues.

This has slowly morphed into a more functional working partnership of council, police and community. Many people from ECFC have keenly supported this monthly, recently bi-monthly meeting, including our Associate Minister Sarah Matthews who has been present since the start. Sarah reflected on the meetings for this blog:

Q: What inspired you from the meetings?

“I am inspired by the community spirit and resilience of East Bristol residents.” 

Q: What has changed because of the meetings?

“There is no other community meeting I have been to with such a diversity of people of all faiths and none, all ages and backgrounds. At the start the meetings were unsurprisingly quite hostile towards the authorities and those in power. This area of Bristol has been neglected for many years. Gradually though as relationships form and trust has been built, I have seen a change in the atmosphere at these meetings. They are now buzzing and voices are listened to and respected. Many people come to every meeting and there is feedback on developments, new ideas and actions created, there is a sense of purpose and togetherness now.”

Thanks Sarah for being ever present on behalf of ECFC to assist the Community, Council and Police this difficult but rewarding process. The still noisy but more collaborative meetings now include dedicated time for interest groups to use break-out spaces around the building – where all ages trying to find solutions to the myriads of problems the local community faces.

And arising out of this meeting we’ve seen other spin-off meetings using ECFC as a venue:

·         Stapleton Road Children and Young Peoples Steering group

·         Belmont Street Residents Group

·         Womens’ walking group

As with so much that we deliver, ECFC has only been able to support the community by hosting this meeting through our ECFC people generously making themselves available monthly on Thursday evenings to open-up the building, help set-up tables/chairs and engage and welcome the people coming through our doors – thank you to many people who have helped in this way! It is appreciated and we and the community are beginning to see the fruits of everyone’s’ efforts. And we at ECFC are building wider and deeper connections with the community.

Prayer

Penny Gray has also been consistently involved in these meetings, as well as over a much longer term facilitating cross-Church ‘Prayer for Easton’ meetings. Penny reflects:

“In early 2024 I remember us praying for community led solutions rather than ‘police and council should fix things’. The things that feel most effective currently are those initiated by local people: Fox Watch (on Fox Rd), Women’s walking group, Belmont St group (aided by Communities department rep). I’m involved with the Women’s group, and also the Businesses group as ECFC rep, when able. I’ve loved the opportunity to get to know more people locally, who live or work on Stapleton Road. There’s a diversity of people with a lot of passion and I’ve learnt a lot.” 

Penny sees identifiable changes for good directly resulting from the meetings:

“The shift to collaboration in January this year has been due to the BCC Communities department being involved helping to facilitate local people. That’s made big difference. The police and council are making real efforts to put resources into Stapleton Rd Community including money from various sources.”  

On the whole these have been uplifting meetings, sometimes loud and uncomfortable but hugely positive and effective all at the same time. We will continue on this journey with our community. We will continue to pray as the community gathers at ECFC with such numbers and effectiveness.