Kingsdown Conservation Group

There’s a new Kingsdown book just out by local authors Penny Mellor and Mary Wright. At £16.99 for 128 pages with 60 colour illustrations it sounds a snip, and you can get it from the publishers – www.phillimore.co.uk or from Amazon

Penny and Mary will be signing copies at Borders on Tues 13th Oct from 6 to 630.

Here’s an extract from the blurb: Kingsdown was built as Bristol’s first planned suburb in the 18th century. At the time it was well known locally as the site of an important Civil War fortification and appreciated as an airy, green space just beyond the crowded medieval city. The land had once belonged to the Benedictine Priory of St James but Henry VIII’s Dissolution resulted in the fragmentation of land ownership. The consequent sale of lands to wealthy entrepreneurs in the 16th and 17th centuries provides the first documented description of Kingsdown.

Crucial battles for Bristol were fought on the heights of Kingsdown during the English Civil War and a related love story still survives in local folklore. The Georgian suburb which appeared during Bristol’s golden age became increasingly fashionable, but the economic collapse that followed the outbreak of war with France at the end of the century led to the financial ruin of many of the investors and developers who were building Kingsdown. The Victorian and Edwardian periods were a time of consolidation, sanitary improvements and growing urbanisation, as Kingsdown was incorporated into the City of Bristol. Improved transport links and the attractions of the outer suburbs drew residents away from the inner areas and Kingsdown’s social status slowly declined, its physical fabric subsequently deteriorating.

A lack of maintenance, coupled with Second World War damage and the post-war zoning of the Kingsdown slopes for hospital expansion and municipal housing, resulted in the 1950s clearance of those houses deemed to be unfit. Passionate protests accompanied their destruction and are recalled in this lively illustrated account of a fascinating and singular area. The story ends on a positive note by celebrating the survival of the streets on the hilltop. The area’s architectural qualities are the subject of growing appreciation and a vibrant community makes the care for Kingsdown’s unique heritage a priority.

You can now watch a short film made by former Kingsdown residents Carmel King and Lucia Ashmore – see it online, or download it, at www.vimeo.com/5651373

And …. it’s being shown at Homegrown itself tomorrow (Saturday)

Have a look at the link over on the right or click here for more details of this Saturday’s events.

The Heart Institute
The official opening will be on the 12th October.  The Institute is nominated for three better Health Care Awards – for the building – for its internal design and for its art work.

Alfred Hill
Apart from the installation of three new lighting columns, this work is complete.

Woodland walk
The planting scheme, which will include wild flower seeds, will be carried out in the next few weeks.  There will be plants on the earth banks at the bottom of Alfred Hill.  KCG has asked UHB to tidy the entrance at Marlborough Hill car park.

Bedford Hill steps
Temporary timber treads will replace the steps.  UHB wants to divert the right of way lower down the hill when the new Terrell Street wards are complete in 2013.

Residents’ Parking Scheme – still nothing new to report.

Lamp posts
Because the Lighting Department won’t answer Kingsdown Conservation Group emails, it has asked Councillor Alex Woodman to support its proposals to review lamp post design in Conservation Areas.

9, Kingsdown Parade
The Planners support KCG’s request to make the developer finish the street frontage of the ground floor and to comply with the conditions of his planning permission.

The Boiler House Southwell Street
Well done UHB for the boiler house (No. 40) improvements.  But, what about the scruffy appearance of the Southwell Street, which lets No. 40 down?  UHB says that it will ask Western Power Developments to remedy the scars in Southwell Street caused when they installed the high voltage electrical infrastructure.

KCG has asked UHB to replace the tatty cross bar and chain, which also let No. 40 down.  KCG has asked UHB to install the bollard system in Southwell Street that it has installed in Cottage Place.  The barrier crowds large numbers of pedestrians and cyclists close to the car park entrance, which is dangerous because drivers often drive out too quickly.

Radio-pharmacy
UHB still waits for the Planning Department’s response to its application to extend its temporary planning permission.
King David Hotel is landmark building.  The Sea Horse is an unlisted building of merit. They both need serious external maintenance.  KCG asked UHB to clean and repair them.

University Biological Sciences and Mathematics buildings
The University has not yet decided to move to the next stage of the construction of these buildings.  The University must complete a construction contract before it can demolish the standing buildings.

Hawthorns
The University has postponed the redevelopment of the Hawthorns and all subsequent phases of its Masterplan.  The University maintains its aspiration to redevelop the Drama Department but this too is postponed.

Public Art
On the 5th October, as part of its commitment to public art the University will unveil a sculpture by Jeppe Hein in Royal Fort House gardens.

Signs signs signs
KCG asks the Bristol University and UHB to declutter and to rationalise their signage.  There are eight separate signs at the bottom of Marlborough Hill.  There are 11 at the Royal Fort entrance.  Can you read and remember them all, at the same time?  It would be nice to see the end of “sign writer’s archaic” language.

Clarence Place
The Planning Department has supported KCG’s request to Somerfield not to use Clarence Place as a service area.  The unauthorised street advertising is removed and the delivery trolleys are now (mainly) inside the shop.

Graffiti removal
Notify Waste Services & Street Scene Department by telephone as soon as a graffiti attack happens – tel. 922 2100.  Ask for a reference number for your call.  Electronic requests for the Bristol Clean and Green Team to remove graffiti can be down loaded from the Council website at     of from the KCG website at www.kingsdown.org.uk.  Nigel Tasker at Alfred Harris keeps paper graffiti application forms and freepost envelopes.

A reminder that on Saturday 26th September the third Kingsdown Homegrown will take place, in and around St Matthew’s Church.
This weekend should be a busy time as there are plenty of competitions to excite the old and young; from the traditional gardening and cookery catagories to the ‘Wish You Were Here’ postcard competition.
We also hope to see a lot more people, especially children, joining in the Fancy Dress Parade, with our MP Stephen Williams giving out badges and treats to all entrants.
Tickets for the Evening Party and Raffle tickets should be on sale by the weekend. If you need tickets please contact ruthrimmer@yahoo.co.uk; jenhb@blueyonder.co.uk; insideout73@blueyonder.co.uk.

As previously agreed, Beck Marsh from the Alcohol Service has been in touch again (thanks for remembering, Beck), as follows:

——————

Dear all

During the planning process for the Alcohol Service’s relocation to to Colston Fort, it was agreed that we would continue to meet with local residents on a regular basis. It is hoped that six-monthly meetings will enable issues to be discussed and any problems to be addressed at an early stage. We would, of course, welcome communication at any time.

The first of these meetings is scheduled for Wednesday October 21st, from 6-8pm, on the ground floor of Colston Fort. Please pass on this information to anyone who might be interested in coming along.

I would be grateful if you could confirm your attendance at this meeting, and suggest any items for the agenda, to me by Wednesday 14th October.

The Colston Fort address is:

Bristol Specialist Drug and Alcohol Service
1 Colston Fort
Montague Place
Kingsdown
Bristol
BS6 5UB

Looking forward to seeing you in October,

Kind regards

Beck Marsh

email address here