Ten years on from the Bradford riots, Ravenscliffe estate has experienced positive effects, according to one community worker.
On July 7 2001, some of the biggest riots in Britain swept through the city of Bradford, partly as a result of mounting ethnic and cultural tensions.
Disturbances started in Centenary Square; a riot ensued and proceeded up to Manningham.
But a series of smaller scale riots were sparked in other areas of Bradford, including the Ravenscliffe estate.
Ian Kenning works at the Gateway Centre in Ravenscliffe and spoke candidly to BCB News about the effects of the riots on the community there afterwards. He said:
‘The overriding emotion for most of the people that I worked with on a day to day basis was fear. People were scared about what was going to happen next, and there were lots of rumours.
It was quite edgy for a bit but then what it did do, from my point of view, as a community development worker, was that when we tried to organise public meetings about what do next people actually decided to come out and get involved.
People realised the stakes were high and they wanted to take control of their neighbourhood, rather than be influenced by ‘dark influences’ from outside, or wait for the council to solve all their problems.”
The Gateway Community Centre was built in 2004 by the Ravenscliffe Community Association, and Kenning thinks it’s played a big part in bringing together different cultural communities in Bradford.
Extended Kenning interview by BCB News
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