HCCA News Winter 2014

8/13/2019 HCCA News Winter 2014

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H o t w e l l s &

C l i f t o n w o o dN e w s w i n t e r 2 0 1 4

published by Hotwells & Cliftonwood Community Association

in this edition:

The Bluffers Guide to residents parking zones p11

Help us decide priorities for Piazza improvements p10

Harbourhead group tackles Metrobus p8


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editorial

After 11 years as an A4 newsletterwe feel the time is right to refresh theformat of Hotwells News. It maylook more like The Pigeon and otherimitations but our magazine bringsyou more news specific to ourneighbourhood, the opinions of lo-cal people and we hope more enter-tainment value.

Our criteria for deciding what to pub-lish are that it has to be relevant topeople living or working in ourneighbourhood and impartial contentneeds to dominate; not advertorialsupporting commercial promotion.You will never see the pages and pagesof bland advertising features that otherlocal magazines find it necessary topublish.

We hope that every page has a storyyou might want to read and themagazine will help people to partici-pate in the life of the area and feel partof the strong community that we havehere.

Apart from freshening up the layout,the A5 format aims to make the papermore letterbox-friendly for our squadof volunteer deliverers. It also helps usto keep printing costs to a minimum.Smaller pages make it more adaptable;we can increase or reduce the size of anissue more easily in response to de-mand.

Hotwells News is largely paid for by theadvertising but all the production workis done by volunteers. If you are inter-ested in helping out with layout or

writing or have a good idea for afeature or regular column that youthink might interest other readersthen please let us know. Above all,Hotwells News aims to be your paper

but we can only achieve that if you letus know what it should be covering.

Ray Smith

Welcome to the newlook Hotwells News

How to Contact us:Hotwells & CliftonwoodCommunity Association

c/o Southernhay House,Southernhay, Bristol BS8 4TL

tel: 0117 [email protected] www.hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk Management CommitteeDennis Gornall (Chair)Brenda McLennan (Treasurer)Ray Smith CommunicationsMike Timmins Open spacesHelena Kowalski

Anna WilsonGill Loats (Hotwells News advertising)

researching news stories can be challengingwork your editor (centre) covering the GreenDays Out event last year.


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community news

Amidst ever-fiercer budget cuts and theloss of skilled staff we have become in-creasingly concerned that our (nowfully-funded) plan to plant more treeson Cumberland Piazza will be thwartedfor a third successive year, simply be-cause TreeBristol no longer has the ca-pacity to administer the project. How-ever we were reassured by the appear-ance of a new recruit to the Councilteam, who has been handed the project.There are many details still to be sortedout but we have been assisted by localenvironmental consultants The Land-mark Practice in putting together a tech-nical proposal and hope this will speedup progress in spite of the now verytight timescale.

Ray Smith

Some 40 people attended our AGM inNovember and enjoyed watching anedited version of a fifty year old docu-mentary about a young couple settlingin this area. There was much to reflecton from the film, including of course

how much the area has improved. How-ever, we know that there is always morethat can be done and this is of coursethe principal reason for the CommunityAssociation.

We have held 4 very different openmeetings in the last year. At the first weheard about Mr Singhs plans for RedPizza after his application for an ex-

tended licence, and also a very compre-hensive talk about trees in our area fromexpert, Richard Bland. Our second meet-ing was open house to view initial plans

for the RPZ (more about this conten-tious subject on page 6). Then in July wehad a walkabout at the Underfall Yardand heard about their plans for the fu-ture and in September, in conjunctionwith the Transition Group we showedthe film Transition 2. We shall continueto hold public meetings next year sokeep a look out in the magazine and onour notice boards. We also held a muchsmaller hustings meeting in April forprospective ward Councillors.

We offered thanks to Rosemary Stib-bons who finished working for us inMarch at the same time as we closed theoffice in Charles Place. Rosemary hadcontributed to the CA in many waysover many years and most recently asour admin assistant. We wish her all thebest with all her various activities Southof the river.

We have seen the fantastic refurbish-ment of the Charles Place Play Park andnow we can look forward to somechanges on the Piazza this winter. In

October the Neighbourhood Committeeapproved our application for Section106 monies (details on page 10).

Dennis Gornall

Community Associationannual meeting

Treeplanting plans hinge onCouncil staffing

2013 proved a good year for Hotwells toddlerswith the refurbishment of Charles Place play-ground.


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Near hysteria accompanied the suddenfailure of the Plimsoll Bridge to swing just before Christmas; mainly because ithappened just before the rush hour.The traffic mayhem, which quickly ex-tended to every corner of the City onlyserved to remind us of the critical roleplayed by a 50 year old piece of engi-neering. The media reporting seemedto forget that the Cumberland BasinBridges system does offer a backup viathe Junction Lock Bridge but at peakhours, even this can be overwhelmed.Hard to imagine that before the PlimsollBridge was built, there was also no M5bridge and all traffic to and from theSouth West managed with just anarrow 2 lane crossing.

According to a BCC spokesman someminor components in the operatinggear need to be replaced. The compo-nents are currently being manufacturedand, once delivered, will be installed

and tested as quickly as possible Mean-while tall masted ships, including theKaskelot are stuck in the harbour.

The drama continued into January withan unprecedented (but not unantici-pated level of flooding arising fromoverflowing rivers, coinciding withSpring tides and a storm surge. ThePortway and chocolate block path be-came impassable. A temporary floodbarrier protected Avon Crescent. Con-sequently, no houses were flooded and

residents appreciated the concern ofthe local community and the manyflood tourists as you can see in AnnaWilsons entertaining time-lapse videoof the event at:

http://vimeo.com/83317423

Another unusual sight was water pour-ing from the river into the harbour at

Junction Lock.

Bridge failures & floods Hotwells in the headlines

Plimsoll bridge jammed for the 4th time in its life.Imagine if this had happened just before theHarbour Festival!

the flood barrier erected to protect AvonCrescent (picture Anna Wilson)

anybody know why the stop gates at JunctionLock were made higher than the lock chamber?


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A group of local skaters, parents andcommunity activists in Hotwells are joining forces with a similar group inAshton to discuss how we can turnlong held desires for a local skatepark into an action plan.

For many years weve been talking tokids in Hotwells about what they wouldlike to see happen under the flyover inthe Cumberland Piazza. They alwayssuggest facilities for skateboards, scoot-

ers and bikes and sometimes rollercoasters and beaches! (editors com-ment: and why not?)

Kai (13) uses Oldfield Rd car park be-cause It's the best place to skate roundhere, it's got a smooth surface and it'sthe only place we don't get kicked outof'.

Space at Cumberland Piazza, alreadyidentified in the masterplan for the site,could be used to create a basic wheelspark for younger children. The appear-ance of improvised skating obstacles ona section of the Festival Way path byWhite City Allotments demonstrates the

need for this kind of amenity.In spite of the crudeness of

the DIY equipment, there never seemsto be a shortage of users, but this isalso a busy pedestrian and cycle routeleading to possible conflicts betweenthe different users.

The nearby pump track that provides acircular course for bikes was developeda couple of years ago and also seemsvery popular.

However, not far away on the Ashtonside but still adjacent to the FestivalWay path is a larger space, entirely cov-ered by flyover, that seems to offermuch better potential for a more ambi-

teenagersNew wheels park group seeks support

Festival Way potential conflict betweenskaters, walkers and cyclists

possible location for a skate park nearFestival Way


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tious wheels park.

A meeting in the Rose of Denmark justbefore Christmas attended by about10 people, looked at two possible de-velopments. A smaller multi-functionspace at Cumberland Piazza withsome skate equipment but also poten-tial as an enclosed area for ball games,while the space on the Ashton side ofthe river could be developed into amore adventurous skate space for olderHotwells (and Ashton/Bedminster)teenagers.The key starting point for any wheelspark is a smooth surface so the projectgroup is looking at the feasibility oflaying tarmac surfaces both on the Pi-azza and under the flyover near FestivalWay. Ramps and obstacles could thenbe added progressively as furtherfinance becomes available. HCCA is alsoapplying for BCC funding to run anevent to coincide with

Bristols Biggest Bike Ride in June. ThePortway will be closed so its an idealtime to get people playing on wheels in

the Cumberland Piazza. Well be doingsome more art too and hope to runsome music and graffiti workshops.

If you have any opinion about these(very tentative) ideas or want to getinvolved in any aspect of the projectplease contact:[email protected]

There will be a chance to discuss theproject at a meeting on Feb 19th (seeDiary).

comparing the Cumberland Basin fly-over at Ashton meadows (left) withLondons Westway (below)demonstrates how eyesore flyoverspaces can find a creative new use


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Microsoft Page 8METROBUSMETROBUS Please make our streets SAFE

The Harbodrafted a C submitted itlocal enviro

The Frameadopted by

The Metrobus planning application hasnow been submitted. They propose tomake Avon Crescent a one-way sharedspace but without crossings or safe spacefor its passengers, and the large and in-creasing numbers of cyclists, runners andpedestrians that need to use this street.

Metrobuss own analysis suggests thattheir plans will result in more traffic speed-ing round Avon Crescent than at present.Nobody locally thinks this offers a crediblesolution.

Members of local group - Harbourheadscontinues to seek dialogue with theMayor, Council planners and the Metrobus

team.Author of the HCCA Traffic Strategy, Rich-ard Walker, said:

We have tried to engage positively by put-ting forward a plan that offers a better fit forMetrobus, a credible SAFE space in ourstreets for everyone & enables developmentworth millions to the Council. What we havedone is supported by planning policies and precisely what it says in the places &principles parts of the Mayors Vision forBristol. We just hope that the Mayor and theCouncil will have a constructive dialoguewith us about the huge changes they need tomake to our environment.

Local views, plans and the Community Transport Development FramewTo sign the on-line petition go to - http://epetitions.bristol.gov.uk/epetitio


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ead group made up of people living in the Avon Crescent neighbourhood havemunity Transport Development Framework for the Hotwells end of Spike Island &Bristol City Council. It shows how best to fit Metrobus (& other schemes) into ourent, re-routing through traffic onto under-used (parallel) main roads.

k is consistent with the wider Hotwells Traffic Strategy which has already beenCity Council.

k can be viewed at http://harboursidewalk.info/ore/community/petition/2536


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Following a successful application forSection 106 funds to the Clifton &

Cabot Neighbourhood Partnership wenow have a further 21,000 allocatedto the Cumberland Piazza project.This is money contributed by develop-ers for local infrastructure improve-ments as a planning condition for newdevelopments.

We would also like to thank all the peo-ple whoresponded toour tree plant-ing appeal.Together withan earlier prom-ise of 5000from the Clifton& CabotNeighbourhood

Partnership'Wellbeing'fund we have atotal of around 30,000 available.

Most of this (but we don't yet know ex-actly how much) will be needed for treeplanting (see page 4 for details of pro-gress with this) but we hope there willbe some funds available for other workproposed in our Masterplan for the site.This could include things like:

renewing the temporary planterswith more permanent structures andplanting these with a mixture of per-ennials as well as annuals to reducethe maintenance needed.

improving the signage on the site.Currently the 'legible city' signpostsend abruptly at the Ashton SwingBridge.

Installing some interpretation panelsto describe the history of the site and

nearby Hotwells and the EntranceLocks.

providing more and better publicseating.

paying for quantity surveys for someof the planned landscape works sowe can submit costed estimates tofunding trusts and charities that

might supportthis kind of work.

funding somepermanent publicart in the space.

Now seems agood time for

everyone with aninterest in thePiazza to meet

and discuss some of these possibilitiesand also hear from the new Wheels ParkGroup (see page 6) If you would like tocontribute to the Piazza improvementproject, or simply want to find outwhats going on,

Come along to the Young Bristolmeeting room (opposite the Mardyke pub on the dockside on Wed. Feb.19th at 19:30

If you are unable to attend then email:[email protected] oruse the twitter account @hotwellsgdo toraise an issue. Do this before the 19thand well make sure your view is fed in atthe meeting.

Ray Smith

cumberland piazza

Help us decide priorities for Piazza Improvements

pic. Anna Wilson


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Love it or hate it, an RPZ is coming to streets near you very soon,so here is the essence of what you need to know:

Times . Permit and Pay and Display times are to be 9am to 7pm Monday toSaturday in all residential areas. There are some variations on main roads.

Residents Permits : Residents may apply for up to three permits per year.The first permit will cost0 for vehicle emission band A vehicles24 for vehicle emission band B vehicles48 for vehicle emission bands C to K vehicles72 for vehicle emission bands L to M vehiclesThe second permit costs 96 and the third 192

Visitor Permits : Residents can apply for up to 60 visitor permits free and afurther 60 permits at 1 each.

Essential Visitor Permits : for where a resident has identified care needs.s/he may apply for one free permit per year for use by their essential visitor.

Other Permits : There are other permits for businesses, Customer Permits,Medical Permits for registered healthcare providers, Traders Permits etc. Fordetails refer to the Council web site:

http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/transport-and-streets/residents-parking-schemes

Pay and Display . Charges for Pay and Display and mixed use parkingplaces will be free for the first 30 minutes. Charges will otherwise be 1 for upto an hour, 2 for up to 2 hours, 3 for up to 3 hours. This will be the maxi-mum stay in most residential streets, however, the maximum stay in DowryPlace, Little Caroline Place and Oldfield Rd will be 4 hours for 4. Motorcy-cles are exempt from charges.

Disabled Parking Places . These places, almost certainly now marked inadvisory white and outside the house of a Blue Badge holder will becomeenforceable.

Following the recent statutory consultation, the relevant Traffic Orders will bedrawn up before line markings and signage goes up and residents receiveinformation about applying for permits.

Review . we have been promised a further consultation on the scheme after ithas been in operation for at least 6 months to see if any adjustments need tobe made that could make it work better. The CA will work with our Councillorsand BCC officers to try and facilitate these consultations when they happen.

if you have further questions you can view the definitive map at:www.bristol.gov.uk/page/transport-and-streets/cliftonwood-and-hotwells-ch

The bluffers guide to residents parking


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The storms andflooding over theChristmas periodprovided a timelyreminder of the im-portance of devel-oping resilient localcommunities, ableto deal with theshocks produced byclimate change.

We are fortunate thatBristol is a leader in this area, and has

been selected as one of the pioneeringcities to join the "Rockefeller 100 Resil-ient Cities Network". Bristol will nowhave a senior post to lead ResiliencePlanning for Bristol and the South West,This builds on previous work includingBristol Green Capital and "Transition"projects.

One way to build a resilient local econ-

omy of course is to deal with local busi-nesses using the Bristol Pound. CouncilTax payment by electronic "standingorder" from Bristol Pound accounts willsoon be possible. You can open youraccount and keep up with developmentsvia bristolpound.org .

The Bristol Energy Co-operative and theBristol Power Co-operative, who haveinstalled PV on a number of communitybuildings in Bristol, and offered attrac-tive returns to investors, are releasingsecond share offerings. Triodos Bank,near College Green, also offers opportu-nities for investing in projects that willprovide a social as well as a financial re-turn.

Finally, we have to mention the ambi-tions of some politicians and fuel compa-nies who want to extract gas from UK

shale deposits, bypumping waterdown to force thegas out (fracking).This is guaranteedto contribute toglobal warming,and carries a risk ofcontaminating wa-ter supplies. Thereare plans to drill inthe Bristol area and

you can raise a legal objection viawrongmove.org. If you want to learnmore, or discuss any of this, join the localTransition mailing list([email protected] ) or come toone of the "Lion" meetings.

green light

Allotments available

The City Council has sent us the fol-lowing reminder:

Many people are under the impres-sion that waiting lists for Allotmentsare very long but this is simply not thecase in most areas. Applications canbe made via the allotments websitewww.bristol.gov.uk/allotments

or paper applications can be obtainedfrom this office. In addition , we are stillkeen to encourage local groups to

take on beds or create new ones inparks and open spaces, or even Hous-ing grassed areas around flats etc. togrow fruit and vegetables. If any ofyour groups are interested in such ascheme, please can you put them intouch with me

Steve Clampin, Allotments Manager

Parks Horticultural Services, 1st Floor,Brunel House, St Georges Rd, BS1 5UY ,tel: 0117 9223737.


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Hotwells, Clifton & Clifton-wood Local History SocietyThe next of these very popular eventswill feature Bristol transport historianPeter Davey whose talk is entitledAround Bristol by Horse Tram

Entry 4 which includes a glass of wineor soft drink. Doors open at 7pm for7.30 start.

Wed. March 12th at Create Centre,Smeaton Road.

The Toy SaleHotwells Primary school will be hostinga second hand toy sale on April 26thbetween 11:00-13:00. to sell your chil-dren's unwanted toys and make moneyfor you and the school at the same time.

Sellers will price and label all their itemsand deliver them to the school hall at a

set time and date. Sellers receive 75% ofthe sale price. The school will receive theother 25%. All unsold items are return-able to the seller at the end of the ses-sion. Any uncollected items will be do-nated to charity ( Children's Hospice

South West). This sale is open to anyone and not just families associated withthe school (no baby equipment please)1 entry for all adults, children go free.

For further information about volunteer-ing or to sign up to sell your waresplease email us at

[email protected] .

Luise Holder

events

Hotwells Panto hammershome the horrorThis years show might be calledBeauty and the Beast but dont befooled. The cast is led by Dr Franken-stein, so expect a surfeit of inappropri-ately located body parts and fiendishexperiments. If its good taste and sen-timentality you want then go to theHippodrome. Here in Horrowellia, wetake a trip to the dark side......

The Hotwells Panto is at Hope Chapel, Mar 5th-8th, tickets 9, 7 conc., 5 child. Availablefrom Feb 1st from Tobacco Factory Box Office tel: 0117 9020344 or, in person from Reces-sion, 8 Jacobs Wells Rd. Thur-Sat, 11:30-18:00.

forget the Wizardry of lastyear...

Day Centre for older peopleThursdays 10:30 to 15:30

Transport to and from the Centre

A warm and friendly atmosphereHome cooked meal

Exercises and entertainmentTel 0117 983 8878

or just call inHoly Trinity Church Hall, Clifton Vale


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events

DIARY when what whereTue Jan28th

19:00-21:00

Cabot & Clifton Neighbourhood Part-nership meeting

The Pavilion, HannoverQuay, Harbourside

Mon Feb10th

19:00-20:00

Clifton Neighbourhood Forum t.b.c

Sat Feb 15th 19:45 The Ligeti Quartet in concertadmission free; retiring collection

Holy Trinity Church, CliftonVale

Wed Feb19th

19:30 Cumberland Piazza meetingdevelopment priorities for 2014

Young Bristol, MardykeWharf

Thu Feb27th

19:00 Transition Hotwells & Cliftonwoodmeeting

Lion Pub, Church Lane

Wed Mar5th-Sat 8th

19:30 Hotwells PantomimeBeauty and the Beast

Hope Chapel, Hope ChapelHill

Wed Mar12th

19:00for19:30

Hotwells, Clifton & Cliftonwood LocalHistory Society

Create Centre,Smeaton Road

Tue Mar25th

19:00-21:00

Cabot & Clifton Neighbourhood Part-nership meeting

The Pavilion, HannoverQuay, Harbourside

Sun Mar30th

10:30 Mothering Sunday service Holy Trinity Church, CliftonVale

Sun Apr20th

10:30 Easter Sunday service Holy Trinity Church, CliftonVale

Sat Apr 26th 11:00-13:00

The Toy Sale1 entry per adult

Hotwells Primary School, Albemarle Row

Could you foster or adopt a child? Many people would like to adopt or foster a child but don't bother applying because they as-sume they may not be eligible. However, youd be amazed at the diversity of people in Bristolwho can adopt or foster for Bristol City Council.

Due to increased numbers of children in care, we are urgently looking for more foster carers andadopters. Fostering is caring for someone elses child in your own home whereas adoption is a wayof providing a new permanent family for children who cannot be brought up by their own family mem-bers.

We welcome applicants from all walks of life, you dont need to be married, own your own home or

be under 40 to adopt or foster. Bristol City Council would love to hear from you and our friendly teamare happy to answer any questions you may have. Above all dont rule yourself out!

To find out more contact us on 0117 353 4200 or visit www.bristol.gov.uk/fostering


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Dowry Chiropractic Clinic

3 Dowry Place

Hotwells, Bristol BS8 4QL

come and see one of our BCA & GCCregistered Chiropractors, specialising in:

Back Pain

Muscle and joint pain

Neck and shoulder pain

Sports injuries

Migraines

Arthritis support

Headaches

Hip/knee/ankle/footproblems

Treatments include: spinal & extremitymanipulation, mobilisation, remedial massage,dry needling and posture & lifestyle advice.

Yoga Yoga Yoga Yogaprovides time for stillness in

a busy world

Gentle Class

Thursdays from Jan 9th,

10.15-11.45 Clifton Library,Princess Victoria Street

Call Em Sawday to book0117-9738213 or

07833751235


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J H THOMPSONJ H THOMPSONJ H THOMPSONJ H THOMPSONBA (Hons) DO MRO

REGISTERED OSTEOPATH

39 Oldfield RoadHotwellsBRISTOLBS8 4QQ

Tel: (0117) 927 2100

till 4pm

Documents

HCCA News Winter 2014