While Bristol has more affluent areas such as Clifton, pictured, Jane Ghosh points out that the city also has several of the most deprived communities in the UK. Photograph: Andrew Michael/Alamy
Letters: It's a myth that Bristol is the UK's coolest city
This myth, sustained by privileged alumni of Bristol University who barely ever stepped out of Clifton and its leafy surrounds, masks the city's deprivation problems, says Jane Ghosh
The renaming of the SS Great Britain as Bristol Dockyards is not exactly exciting (Brunel's SS Great Britain site drops historical name in 'cool' rebrand, 11 June), but what continually annoys me as a native and resident Bristolian is the persistence of the myth that this is "the UK's coolest city".
Bristol has several of the most deprived communities in the UK, a massive inequality problem, the biggest homelessness and van-dweller problem outside London, and a massive issue with litter and fly-tipping. Added to which we have no decent public transport, only hugely expensive buses, so the roads are gridlocked daily.
This myth is perpetuated by the privileged alumni of Bristol University, now prominent in the media, who barely ever stepped out of Clifton and its leafy surrounds and are in total ignorance of the vast former council estates that are huge centres of deprivation.
Please change the tune, and we may then get some government input to improve this two-tier city.
Jane Ghosh
Bristol
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