Protest to take place in Bristol city centre next week
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A significant protest is due to take place in Bristol city centre from Monday 15 July which is scheduled to last for five days.
It’s part of action being taken by protestors with Extinction Rebellion in cities across the United Kingdom.
The protest has the potential to cause disruption to those who work, live and visit the city and we’ve been liaising with organisers and working with our partner agencies, including Bristol City Council, over the past couple of weeks. The protestors have indicated their activities will be focussed around the Bristol Bridge area, which may result in the bridge being closed.
Every effort will be made to balance people’s rights to protest alongside the need to keep disruption to a minimum. We have long-standing and well-established plans to enable us to do this.
Area Commander Chief Inspector Mark Runacres said: “We’re proactively engaging with the protestors, local businesses and the wider community to ensure people are being kept informed of any developments that may impact on their daily lives.
“Due to the potential scale of the protest and the impact it may have, we’ve had to cancel officers’ rest days to make sure we have sufficient resources in place over the five days.
“Any unplanned and lengthy road closure could impact on the ability of emergency services to respond to incidents and we and our partners are factoring this into our plans so we can continue to keep the public safe.
“Public safety will always be our main priority and we operate a zero-tolerance approach to any form of anti-social behaviour and disorder. Officers will be robust in dealing with anyone who engages in this kind of behaviour.”