Does Bristol City Council have an 'Understanding Disability'?

Tony 'I'm maybe not sure but don't really know' Dyer is interviewed about the adequacy of the EBLN consultation process

Helen

May 23, 2025

The stuff of which BCC believes more liveable lives are made.

A few days ago, Tony Dyer, Green Party leader of Bristol City Council, was interviewed on the Bristol Cable podcast ‘Bristol Unpacked’. Amongst other matters, he was quizzed on the East Bristol ‘Liveable Neighbourhood’ (timestamp 23:30). When asked by Neil Maggs whether he could have ‘handled it better’, particularly the ‘consultation’, Tony admitted that this was ‘a very good question’.

Having inherited the policy from the previous Labour administration, the Green Party apparently, according to Tony, didn’t really know much about the consultation when they started to implement the scheme back in the autumn. With hindsight, he said, they should have ‘maybe’ reviewed it first before they cracked on. He continued, in staccato tones,

Given what’s happened, we probably need to look back and make sure that the engagement that took place was adequate for the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, so I think that’s something that’s being discussed now.

Yes, he thinks it’s being discussed now. He himself apparently remembered discussing it with the ironic combination of Dan Norris (former WECA mayor and man who could potentially be convicted for serious crimes) and the Police and Crime Commissioner. They talked about what they

can do to look back and just make sure the engagement took place [sic] was the right type of engagement. Our transport teams say they are confident it is, but I think there may be a need just to double-check that just to make sure.

The chosen leader of the council of the fifth biggest UK city isn’t quite sure and thinks there may be a need to double-check. Logically, for him there may also not be such a need. He doesn’t really know. His transport teams do know there isn’t a need, but he doesn’t. Maybe he needs to check somehow. Just to make sure his transport teams are right.

Neil wondered if there might be a problem with people having changes made to their communities without being able to have much of a say in them, carefully quizzing the very confused council leader further on the maybe-not-so-sureness of the adequacy of the consultation. Tony responded that he wasn’t sure how broad the community against the scheme in Barton Hill is, or how broad the support for it in St George. Apparently the council just ‘don’t know’ and ‘need to find out’.

Read the full article in Helen's substack (you can view it as either free or paying subscriber)