Kingsdown Conservation Group

On Tuesday the 2^nd March, at 7.00 p.m. there is a Neighbourhood Forum for the Cabot and Clifton Neighbourhood Partnership at the Pavilion Harbourside.

The Council has divided Bristol into 14 Neighbourhood Partnerships. Kingsdown is part of the Cabot, Clifton and Clifton East Wards Neighbourhood Partnership; that is 27,000 people.

In April this year, the Council says that it will devolve £11m to the 16 Neighbourhood Partnerships to give local people more say in how their money is spent.

The principal idea is to give residents a greater say in their area in how thee Council delivers its services in their area. The Council hopes that it will benefit from local knowledge to meet local needs more effectively and effectively.

Some councils have had Neighbourhood Partnerships for years. Leeds has 10 year’s experience, Bradford 20 and Newcastle, over 30.

The Neighbourhood Partnership’s councillors will decide how to spend the Partnership’s share of the devolved budget, informed by the local community.

Phase 1 of the devolved services includes budgets for highway maintenance, street cleaning and mini-recycling sites, small traffic schemes, parks and green spaces and a sum for projects specific to the Partnership.

The March meeting will be chaired by Councillor Barbara Janke; our two ward councillors, Mark Wright and Alex Woodman will be there.

Thursday the 18^th March, is the date of Kingsdown Conservation Group’s annual general meeting. It will start at 7.30 p.m. in the upper room in the Ark, Cotham Road South. The committee will distribute AGM notices nearer the date.

The next committee meeting will be on Thursday the 4th March. If you wish to meet the committee or bring any matters to their attention, please contact the secretary@kingsdown.org.uk.

Many of you know that there are a lot of photos on our Flickr site, which you can reach via the link on the right, or by following this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingsdown/ They’ve been very popular, and Flickr has recorded over 30,000 individual ‘views’. However, the collection is a bit limited, because photos have to be emailed in to us.

To get round this, and make it easier for people to contribute, we also set up a Flickr group, to which anyone with a Flickr account, free or paid, can contribute freely. It’s at

http://www.flickr.com/groups/kingsdownconservationgroup/

Now that more people in the area have accounts, can I ask them to join the group and look through their photos for those that could be of interest to others?

Thanks to Penny Leaver Green for the suggestion, and for the photos she has recently put in the group photo pool.

Hospital business

Bedford Hill steps – the reinstatement of the steps will soon be complete and the site fence removed. The street light on the steps works again.

Southwell Street - around the car park entrance various road safety measures have appeared – a white paint path – notices that block the south pavement – a siren. KCG is pursuing a reply from the Council to our questions about UHB’s right to block the road with a barrier and the north pavement with parked vehicles.

Horfield Road – UHB showed the committee its plans to develop a row of houses on the site of the garden that it abandoned and boarded up. The committee have told UHB that in its view the size and the design of the proposed houses is suitable for our conservation area. The Council are following up KCG‘s complaint about the unsightly hoardings, which went up in April 2007 and damage the area.

BRI redevelopment/helipad

UHB anticipates that it will make four planning applications:

January – to modify the Maudlin Street entrance to enable the later work.

April – the Terrell Street Wards and Helipad.

April – the Children’s Hospital extension, and

April 2010 – re-cladding the Maudlin Street elevation of the QE Building.

The Terrell Street Wards development

UHB has outline planning permission to develop new wards in Terrell Street. The proposed block will be 2 / 3 floors taller than the outline permission. UHB’ says that it needs to extra space to replace the King Edward Building wards and to close Bristol General Hospital. The contractor’s temporary buildings will use the car park beside the Oncology Building, which will lose 30 car parking places, during the construction period. UHB hopes to open the Terrell Street wards in late 2014.

The Upper Maudlin Street elevation of the Queen Elizabeth building

UHB is committed to reface the QE Building. It will publish its plans in the Spring.

The next committee meeting will be on Tuesday the 2nd February. If you wish to meet the committee or bring any matters to their attention, please contact the secretary@Kingsdown.org.uk.

Yet again, Santa Claus picked Kingsdown for the first stop on his world-wide present-delivery round because there were no naughty children in the area. In defiance of all health and safety rules, he landed on the roof of 12, Kingsdown Parade with a large sledge and a full team of reindeer. After listening to the traditional carols, sung by a crowd of fairly merry local residents, he lowered his sack of presents before flying back off to Lapland.

Mr Claus said “I’ve been coming here for 25 years now, and all that time people have been telling me there will soon be a Residents’ Parking Scheme but nothing seems to happen so I just stick the sledge on the roof and hope for the best. Maye next year……?”. Don’t count on it, Santa.

More photos of the carol-singing here

Thanks to Annie Yerbury for the following:

I have just walked home passing Senate House.  To my surprise I found a small Farmers Market on the pavement outside of Senate House and the University Gym, selling wonderful cheese, meat, preserves, pies etc

I had no idea this existed.

It takes place on the second Tuesday of every month from 9.30 till 2pm ish.  It has been running for all of this year without any publicity, the market sellers would really appreciate some more custom.  As it is so near I do hope we can all pop along and help to keep them busy.

I bought some wonderful goat’s cheese and can’t wait to eat it!

Happy Christmas to everyone
Annie Yerbury

Vicky Wright from St Matthew’s writes to us as follows:

Get Creative this Christmas!

Saturday 12th December – drop in between 9.30-12.30

Craft Activities and Festive Refreshments

Take home inspiration and whatever you make!

Adults £5  Children £2

Vicky Wright
Community Minister
stmatthews-bristol.org.uk

vicky.wright@bristol.anglican.org
07760 166113

University Hospitals Bristol

KCG has written to UHB and to the Planning Department about its concerns

Bedford Steps (They join Horfield Road to Terrell Street)

The Closure Order is expired. UHB must reopen the Steps and make good the damage that its contractors caused when they lifted the paved footpath. The 2 metre tall security fence onto Horfield Road must be removed.

Horfield Road barrier

In April 2007, UHB fenced off the garden that it had maintained for 20 years. UHB closed the garden because it wants to sell the site for development. The barriers, after two and half years, are to all intents permanent. UHB has new plans for the site but KCG wants the barrier removed because they degrade the street.

Southwell Street

UHB blocks the Street with a barrier and chain, which forces pedestrians and cyclists through the narrow gap at the side next to the car park exit. The hospital car park entrance so narrows the south pavement that pedestrians prefer to walk in the road. At times the Street is full of pedestrians. KCG has asked the City:

1. Can UHB block the whole of one pavement with parked cars?

2. Has UHB legal authority to block Southwell Street?

3. If UHB can block the street, shouldn’t it install retractable columns? The barriers (there are two) are ugly, they degrade the street and spoil the appearance of the splendidly remodelled Boiler House.

Alfred Hill

Congratulations to UHB for installing traditional, box-type lamp posts at the bottom of Alfred Hill above the new steps into Cottage Place.

Congratulations to Bristol Water for restoring the setts so neatly after the replacement of the water main.

The next committee meeting will be on Tuesday the 5^th January. If you wish to meet the committee or bring any matters to their attention, please contact the secretary@Kingsdown.org.uk.

The Moving Story of Kingsdown is now a book! There is a copy in the pub (the Kingsdown Wine Vaults opposite the noticeboard) if you want to have a look and you can buy one if you’re quick.

If there are none left in the pub you can buy one online.