Kingsdown Conservation Group

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MINUTES OF 2008 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
March 31st, 2008

7.30 p.m. Monday the 10th March 2008 at the Ark, Cotham Road South.

The meeting approved the agenda and appointed Tony Kerr as chair for the evening. 40 residents attended. Apologies were received for their absence from David and Penny Mellor, Carolyn Harman and Paul and Lorna Robinson.

Minutes of the 2007 general meeting were approved.

The report of the past year
The report summarised last year’s business and was circulated at the meeting and it can also be found on the Kingsdown Conservation Group’s website. The report was adopted. Next year will be very active because the University and the Hospital will continue to pursue their development plans. Peter Ferne was thanked for his continued help in running the website. The Committee thanked the 20 residents who responded to Andy King’s questionnaire about UBHT’s redevelopment proposals for its surplus land. It is vital, whenever the Committee meets third parties that it can demonstrate that it has significant local support.

The treasurer’s report
The treasurer’s report
Pauline Allen presented the Group’s accounts for the year, which showed a reserve of £6,593 split between the general fund of £3,928 and £2,665 in the “Spring Hill Restoration Fund”. During the year there was a surplus of £222.75 of income over expenditure. KCG had contributed £340 towards the fees of Richard Pedlar, who prepared a conservation architect’s report to support KCG’s objections to the proposal to build eight four-floor houses on the Somerset Street display gardens. The developer subsequently withdrew the planning application. The meeting thanked David Mellor for his professional assistance that he gave free of charge

The meeting resolved to spend £160 to restore a traditional box lantern on the cast iron lamp post at the bottom of Spring Hill. In response to members’ questions, the Committee confirmed that it planned to replace the fallen tree in the garden at the corner of St. Matthews Road. The meeting thanked Stephen and Jean Macfarlane for grinding out the stump of the old tree. The Committee will investigate whether a working lamp can be installed in the lamp holder above the Kingsdown Parade entrance to Montague Green. Since our report last year, a tree on the north side of Kingsdown Parade and the trees around Prior’s Hill Flats have been replaced. The report was adopted. The meeting thanked Pauline for her work. The Committee welcomes any ideas to invest the reserves to enhance Kingsdown.

Please check to ensure that you pay £5 and not the former £3 subscription.

Membership
Bridget Parker presented the Membership report. Seven newly arrived residents joined KCG last year. Please encourage more residents to join KCG. The more members we have, the more we are listened to. Membership forms can be downloaded from the website or paper copies obtained from Malcolm and Bridget Parker at 43 Kingsdown Parade. The meeting thanked Bridget and Malcolm for their work. They agreed to continue as membership secretaries.

The 2008/09 committee
The Committee appealed for new members. Charles Grant volunteered to rejoin the Committee and the current members agreed to stand again. Next year’s committee was elected unanimously. It will be: Pauline Allen (treasurer), John Frenkel (minutes), Charles Grant, Tony Kerr, Nick Kidwell, Andy King, Jeremy Newick (Conservation Advisory Panel representative), Helen Phillips (secretary), Ottilie Shorcott, Nigel Tasker and Mary Wright. Committee Members’ contact details appear on the website.
The committee emphasise that any member who wishes to come to a committee meeting is most welcome. If you think that you would like to become a Committee member, invite yourself as an observer to a Committee Meeting. The Group needs more committee members to share the work.
Tell us your views on local developments and what we should be doing. Please contact the secretary at secretary@kingsdown.org.uk, or use the ‘contact us’ link on the website.

After the formal meeting, Mary Wright spoke about “The greatest aesthete of them all”. She gave a tour d’horizon of the life of the Bristol architect, E W Godwin. In his personal life he was a friend to James Whistler and Oscar Wilde and the father of Ellen Terry’s two children. His architectural practice brought him international recognition. All aspects of design interested him. He designed fabrics, tiles, wallpaper and furniture. In his corporate life he reformed the Bristol Society of Architects.

Mary spoke forcibly about our City’s neglect of Godwin. In his lifetime, he won the City Council’s architectural competition to build new Law Courts but the City gave the contract to its own surveyor. There was a national scandal. Godwin moved to London. Today, Godwin’s pioneering Carriage Works in Stokes Croft stands ruined and neglected by its owners and the City Council. In contrast, Northampton has restored Godwin’s town hall and renamed its Council chamber, “The Godwin Room”. Godwin’s furniture is displayed at the V & A and has appeared in international furniture exhibitions. In 1947, Godwin’s daughter made a bequest of 14 pieces of his furniture to Bristol City Museum. The Museum has exhibited the furniture once, in 1976 after which, it has remained in store. The Museum has no current plans to display it.

If you share Mary’s anger at the City’s treatment of the Godwin bequest please write to press for Godwin’s furniture to be permanently exhibited. Kate Brindley is the Director of Museums – Kate.Brindley@Bristol.gov.uk or Bristol Museums and Art Gallery, Queen’s Road, BS8 1RL. Councillor Rosalie Walker is the Cabinet Member for Health and Leisure – Rosalie.Walker@Bristol.gov.uk or The Council House College Green BS1 5TR.
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Annual Report 2007

This is a short account of what the Committee and other members have been doing in the past year on behalf of the Group.

1. MEMBERS AND COMMITTEE
There are currently around 100 members. The Committee consists of:

Pauline Allen (Treasurer) – John Frenkel - Tony Kerr - Nick Kidwell - Andy King - Jeremy Newick - Helen Phillips (Secretary) – Ottilie Shorcott - Nigel Tasker – Mary Wright.

Our Membership Secretaries are Bridget & Malcolm Parker.

We meet each month to look at planning applications, likely future developments and relevant Council policies. Whoever hosts the meeting also chairs the discussion. We are all indebted to our Secretary, who organis es the correspondence and administration of the Group, and to John Frenkel, who takes minutes and prepares the monthly summaries. These are posted on the website, which is now our main means of communication, visited by 260 people (’Absolute unique visitors’) each month, twice as many as a year ago. We still only have 30 people on our email circulation, though, so please join via the website, or give us your email address, to be informed once or twice a month when the site is updated.

As usual, our business in 2007 has ranged from small but important local matters to attempts to influence city-wide policies and programmes which affect Kingsdown.

2. KINGSDOWN
We study each application, either at the planning department or online via the Council’s website. We don’t usually comment on the minority which are well-designed and comply fully with the Council’s policies and the Conservation Group’s aims, but many schemes are for intensive or unsuitable development, such as converting shops and houses into multiple occupation or putting blocks of flats on gardens. We talk to neighbours and other interested parties, then decide whether to comment.

Some developers don’t even bother to apply for permission - they just start work and then claim ignorance if they’re challenged. We alert the Council, and ask them to take action, which usually requires a lot of reminders, and doesn’t always work even then. This year:

We secured the reinstatement of an illegally demolished garden wall in Ninetree Hill, and made the developer get planning permission, which produced an improved plan for the site.

We have for many years been urging the Council to improve Spring Hill and Montague Hill. Now they’ve repaired the barriers, we propose to spend £160 to reinstate the c19 box lantern between King Square and Dove Street, if approved by the AGM. We continue to press for reinstatement of granite setts.

On two occasions, together with many others, we objected to proposals to build a block of flats in the back gardens of Somerset Street houses (towards Dove Street). The density of dwellings/acre in Kingsdown is already at the level required by Government policy and we will continue to oppose further ‘infill’.

We have objected to several other proposals to demolish garden walls in Kingsdown Parade, replace traditional tiles with concrete ones, and otherwise harm the character of the area.

We have worked with the Council to develop their Conservation Area Character Appraisal, and are pleased that the officers have been receptive and well-informed. Nevertheless, we have had to complain about the unfortunate omission of the Management Plan that is specified in English Heritage’s guidance. There’s little point highlighting Kingsdown’s good features unless we know how they will be preserved and enhanced. We have been told that the Council does now intend to remedy this.

On Montague Green we tidied up the borders and cleared away saplings; one valiant member dug up the clump of pampas grass beside the steps. At Prior’s Hill flats, several younger members and others planted seven trees under the guidance of Council specialists.

3. NEIGHBOURING AREAS

We also study and comment on nearby applications and activities that affect Kingsdown:

a) The Hospital. We welcome UBHT’s efforts to be a better neighbour, in particularly by telling us in advance about their proposals for developing several local sites for housing. We realise that they want to get as much money as possible for the sites they own, but we feel their current ideas go too far and would lead to overdevelopment. We hope to see revised proposals that we can support, but if not then we will have to object formally. Many thanks to the 20 people who commented on our draft response to UBHT – all supported our views, and several made important points that were incorporated in the final version. It is very helpful to know that we really are representing member’s views accurately.

b) The University. We commented on the masterplan last year, and have kept up the pressure to either stick to it or produce improvements. Our press release about the dreadful plans for the Biological Sciences building on St Michael’s Hill led to an Evening Post article and a Radio Bristol interview, and subsequent meetings with the University Authorities have been relatively encouraging. They do now seem to be listening, and we will shortly be walking round the University with them and their landscape architects to discuss the enhancement of what the authorities call the ‘external realm’ (streets, spaces between buildings and other public spaces). We are pleased that the plans for a tall sail-like ‘landmark building’ on Tyndall Avenue have been dropped.

c) Stokes Croft. We contributed to the Council’s Conservation Area Appraisal to ensure a focus on heritage issues and balance the ideas for the area to be just a graffiti free-for-all or a ‘gateway’ for the new Broadmead. We drew attention to the unauthorised internal and external changes being made to this historic Full Moon, but the Council accepted, and then approved, a retrospective planning application. We have objected to the plans to demolish the Lakota Club and Coroner’s court, as these are important parts of the local heritage which link to the City Baptist Church , currently being refurbished with Lottery funding. We also objected to the scale and design of the plans to develop the upper floors of the DFS building.

d) Others:

St James’ Priory. We contributed to discussions about redeveloping the North Aisle and East Front, arguing that the building should continue to look like a church.

Together with many others locally, we successfully objected to the plans to replace Royal Park Garage, Oxford St. and to two attempts to put a large communication mast on Cotham Road (we asked, but haven’t been told, why the huge hospital chimney can’t be used instead).

We didn’t object to UBHT’s plans to alter their boiler house but we did ask for a condition requiring them to tidy up the site.

4. INFLUENCING WIDER POLICIES
We try to influence the City Council and to contribute to the development of better local policies:

Neighbourhood Planning Network. We contributed to this important local network, which exchanges information and ideas between community and amenity groups so that they can learn from each other and have more influence. Through them, we also objected to the Council’s Core Strategy Preferred Options for the city’s whole future development, and are now helping to set out an alternative view to the official ‘concentrate development only in South Bristol’ approach. The Network has also had a big input to the Council’s much-improved policy on community involvement in planning.

Parking. KCG decided some years ago not to take a position on the Council’s plans, as our membership was divided on the matter. The Council has decided on a scheme for the whole City Centre area, including Kingsdown, which will in time cover adjoining areas such as Redland. No decision has yet been taken on the timetable, nor which (two) areas are to be selected as pilots.
tk/8 Mar 2008

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MINUTES OF 2007 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
(You can also download these minutes as a Word version -
AGM 2007 Minutes)
Date of meeting – 7.30 p.m. on Thursday the 15th March 2007 at the Ark, Cotham Road South.

John Frenkel chaired the meeting that 38 residents attended. We were pleased to welcome members of the Dove Street Action Group. Andy King sent his apologies for absence due to his attendance at the meeting between the Bristol Communities Planning Network and the City Council to discuss the new Statement of Community Involvement.

Minutes of the 2006 general meeting were approved
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The report of the past year – Tony Kerr produced a four page summary of the last year’s business, which was circulated at the meeting and posted on www.kingsdown.org.uk. John Frenkel has paper copies of the report at 23 Somerset Street. The report was adopted. The meeting thanked Tony for his work.

The treasurer’s report - Pauline Allen presented the Group’s accounts for the year, which show a surplus of £428 and total assets of £6,370. There followed a discussion about the part of the surplus hypothecated to the Spring Hill Restoration Fund. Tony Kerr said that the money was originally raised because the City Council lifted KCG’s hopes of match money for this project. Nothing then happened. KCG’s funds were far short of the cost of any significant improvement. Another use for the reserve is to fund tree planting. The City Council says that it will replace the missing tree on the north side of Kingsdown Parade. Last year the City replaced the dead trees outside Prior’s Hill Fort but the new trees died. The Group is again in conversation with the City to plant new trees on this important corner. Other proposals are to replace the dead cherry trees on the west side of Spring Hill, just below Dove Street and/or a replacement barrier at the junction of Spring Hill and Somerset Street. Do you have any proposals to use this fund to enhance the conservation area? The report was adopted. The meeting thanked Pauline for her work.

Membership. The committee posted leaflets to Kingsdown residents last autumn to recruit more members. The leaflet contained Penny Mellor’s “Brief History of Kingsdown”, which includes a number of attractive line drawings. If you care about Kingsdown, join the group. It only costs £5. The more members we have, the more we are listened to.

· Look at the website so you know what’s going on.
· Give the secretary your email address so that you can receive the monthly email update.
· Offer your skills, time, and knowledge – as much or as little as you like. All you need to be is interested in the area.
· Tell us your views on local developments and what we should be doing.
The secretary’s email address is - secretary@kingsdown.org.uk.

The 2007/08 committee
Pauline Allen (treasurer), John Frenkel (minutes), Tony Kerr, Nick Kidwell, Andy King, Jeremy Newick (Conservation Advisory Panel representative), Helen Phillips (secretary), Nigel Tasker and Mary Wright retired and offered themselves for re-election. The meeting unanimously re-elected the committee. Bridget and Malcolm Parker did not offer themselves for re-election. The meeting thanked them for their work. They agreed to continue as membership secretaries. Committee Members’ details appear on the KCG website, www.kingsdown.org.uk.

The committee emphasise that any member who wishes to come to a committee meeting is welcome. The Group needs more committee members to share the work.

The formal meeting then closed to be followed by Mike Hooper’s talk on “Broadmead, Before the Shops”. Mike’s photographic archive was truly astonishing. He started with aerial views of the Broadmead area taken shortly after the blitz. He then brought us down to earth with an east west and then a north south walk through the area. The photographs caused conflicting impressions. Parts of the area appeared almost irredeemable slummy but, many fine buildings survived the blitz only to be demolished in the name of improvement. It is sad to think that the improvements, however misguided, were carried out with the best of intentions. Mike’s book “Broadmead”, one of the Images of England series, is published by Tempus Publishing Limited www.tempus-publishing.com.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2006-7

This is a short account of what the Committee and other members have been doing in the past year on behalf of the Group.

1. MEMBERS AND COMMITTEE
There are currently 95 paid-up members, eight of whom joined during the year. The Committee consists of:

Pauline Allen (Treasurer) – John Frenkel - Richard Guise - Tony Kerr - Nick Kidwell - Andy King - Jeremy Newick - Bridget Parker - Malcolm Parker - Helen Phillips (Secretary) - Nigel Tasker – Mary Wright

We meet each month to look at planning applications, likely future developments and relevant Council policies. Whoever hosts the meeting also chairs the discussion. We are all indebted to our Secretary, who organises the correspondence and administration of the Group, and to John Frenkel, who takes minutes and prepares summaries of all our meetings.

2. ACTIVITIES: HOW WE WORK AND WHAT WE DO
We looked at 61 different items in 2006, ranging from relatively minor matters such as replacing dead trees, to more significant developments such as mobile phone masts, illegal attempts to alter buildings without permission, an application to build 14 flats in the garden of a Grade II listed house, and several major developments outside the official boundaries of the area.

a). Kingsdown
We pick out from the Council’s weekly list of planning applications all those in Kingsdown. Committee members then study each application (including its drawings), either at the planning department or online via the Council’s website.

A few proposals are well-designed and comply fully with the Council’s policies and the Conservation Group’s aims, so we don’t always need to comment officially on them. Many schemes, though, involve intensive or unsuitable development, such as converting shops and houses into multiple occupation or putting blocks of flats on gardens. We talk to neighbours and other interested parties, then decide whether to comment and what to say.

Some developers don’t even bother to apply for permission - they just start work illegally and then claim ignorance if they’re challenged. We alert the Council, and ask them to take action. This usually succeeds in the short term, but we then need to keep pressing as the planning section is short of staff (and, apparently, the will to follow up effectively – perhaps because Government targets encourage quick decisions, rather than good ones). Even when the Council stands firm developers can usually appeal, though the public can’t – that’s the law.

Even relatively minor issues can take up a great deal of time. It can take weeks of correspondence just to find out who owns a piece of land and whether they will allow us to plant a tree on it.

b). Proposals in neighbouring areas.
As we are surrounded by major development sites, we also study and comment on applications and activities that will have an effect on Kingsdown.

· Sadly, and despite a very well-attended public meeting with senior staff from the BRI, we had very little influence on the plans, and several listed buildings were destroyed. The Cardiothoracic Centre is now under construction, with other developments to follow. We were pleased, however, that Bristol City Council agreed with local residents that the temporary traffic arrangements on Marlborough Hill had been badly implemented by the contractors; the dangerous and confusing signs have now been replaced.

· We commented on the University’s masterplan, and continue to attend consultation workshops and events in the hope of modifying the current plans, which would, in effect, create a campus of teaching and research facilities, and the students’ union, round Tyndall Avenue. Present residential buildings and the current Students’ Union building (by Alec French & Partners, 1965) would be demolished or decommissioned. The models and drawings displayed so far show a stylistically derivative high rise replacing the Arts and Social Sciences building. We are, of course, also concerned about the design of the spaces between buildings, in particular the Royal Fort park and gardens, which still have some of the features designed by Repton in the 18th century. We have also been involved in the University’s new Good Neighbour initiative, designed to improve relations with local residents.

· Stokes Croft Appraisal. There has been a spate of planning applications in Stokes Croft recently, and more can be expected under the ongoing Townscape Heritage Initiative. A Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £0.5 million, matched by City Council funding, will enable some historic buildings to be restored. We have contributed suggestions to the Council for the appraisal and management plan being prepared to support a further funding bid.

· The Full Moon. In response to a complaint about unauthorised work on this listed building, the Council issued a ‘stop notice’. The new owners claimed to be unaware of the particular quality of the building, but submitted a listed building application (on which a decision is awaited). We objected to the lack of information in the proposals, emphasised the architectural and historic importance of the premises, and urged the Council to take whatever action is needed to preserve the Full Moon’s fabric and character.

· Westmoreland House Site, including Godwin’s Carriageworks (Listed Grade II*). These empty buildings have blighted the area for 27yrs., and in August the City Council decided to start compulsory purchase proceedings if it failed to purchase the site by negotiation. The owners responded by applying for permission to demolish the 1960s building and replace it with multi-storey flats and some commercial units. They proposed a theatre, with flats above, in the Carriageworks. 94 of the total 200 flats would be single-bedroom, and we objected to this over-intensive use of the site, as well as to the height, massing and design of the buildings.

· Hamilton House (former Finance House). The owners consulted on plans for a 5-floor ‘mixed use’ redevelopment (85% housing, 15% retail/office). The option of demolishing the 1970s building was rejected as uneconomic. We feel that the design is undistinguished, too high, and adds yet more small flats in the area. No application has yet been registered.

· Dovercourt (former VW dealer, Cheltenham Rd). Linden Homes has obtained planning consent for 129 flats (106 of which are 1 or 2-bed) on this site, with some commercial units. The early c19 house behind the showroom will be retained and some trees will be planted on the Cheltenham Rd frontage. The applicants modified the original plans, but KCG remains dissatisfied with the massing, the relationship with existing buildings the inward emphasis of the development, and blank car park grills on the Bath stone frontage.

· St Michael’s Hill. In the context of two recent planning applications, we are arguing for the removal of parking from the forecourts of buildings on the west side, by the café.

c). Influencing wider policies
We try to influence the City Council and to contribute to the development of better local policies:

· St Paul’s Supplementary Planning Document. KCG commented on this draft Council policy, suggesting that if yet more small housing units are allowed, it will exacerbate the present imbalance (almost half the accommodation in the area is single-person). It will also fundamentally undermine the Council’s own policy of creating balanced and sustainable communities in the city centre. We stressed the need for the planning policy to be firmer, and applied consistently.

· Conservation Advisory Panel. Jeremy Newick continues to represent us on this City Council body, so is able to argue for Kingsdown’s interests, both on particular local decisions and on broader policy issues, as well as learning about matters that will concern us in the future.

· Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan. The Council is now obliged to replace the current Conservation Area Enhancement Statements, which apply to its 36 conservation areas, with updated documents in a modern format. We have prepared a lot of material to submit, but due to lack of resources the Council will not begin work on Kingsdown until next year.

· Statement of Community Involvement. We supported the Civic Society’s very successful challenge to the Council’s weak and jargon-heavy Statement. The Independent Planning Inspector who examined the document at a public hearing concluded that it was ‘unsound’. We are participating in the work of producing a new version, under the auspices of the Civic Society and the new Bristol Neighbourhood Planning Network, which brings together many of the 20 to 30 local planning groups which were concerned about the Statement.

· Shops. Is the loss of local shops inevitable? The Group has resisted applications for Change of Use on three local shops: One of these was successful. Johnsons was lost at Appeal. Now we await the Inspector’s decision on the Laundrette (May). However the great thing is to use the shops that we have more and the supermarkets less!

d). Other
· Website and communications. Our redesigned site at www.kingsdown.org.uk was accessed by 130 people in February, 60% of whom were visiting for the first time. Over half come via a search engine (mainly Google), but 40% come direct (suggesting that they know what they are looking for). We update the site two or three times each month with a summary of the most recent Committee meeting, and other news. These are also posted on the noticeboard by no.11 Kingsdown Parade and sent to our email circulation list and to several other local groups and the Civic Society. The Photo Gallery now has nearly 600 pictures and we welcome further contributions, particularly those of historic interest.

· Wheelie bins. Last September residents organised a public meeting (attended by one of our Councillors, Mark Wright) to discuss the City’s new waste collection service. We all supported the aim of recycling more, reducing litter and improving our streets, but this time last year Kingsdown didn’t have a problem and now it’s Bin City. Bins were given to all households, even those with nowhere to store them. Now the pavements are blocked with wheelie and compost bins and black bags, to say nothing of all the unsightly and unhygenic rubbish spilling out. The Head of Environmental Services has written “We are now in the process of highlighting particular areas within Kingsdown, starting with Kingsdown Parade. We will work with the residents to find a solution which suits all parties, culminating in an agreed approach. Once that agreement is in place, this will enable us to take enforcement action (if necessary) against breaches of the agreement.” If you find that your wheelie bin is more of a nuisance than a convenience, Environmental Services (tel: 0117 922 3838) will take it back and let you use plastic bags instead.

3. HOW YOU CAN HELP:

· If you care about Kingsdown, join the group. It only costs £5, but the more members we have, the more we are listened to.
· Look at the website and sign up for the email update so you know what’s going on. · Offer your skills, time, and knowledge – as much or as little as you like. All you need to be is interested in the area.
· Tell us your views on local developments and what we should be doing.

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MINUTES OF 2006 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Date of meeting – 8.00 p.m. on Thursday 24th March 2006 at the Ark, Cotham Road South.

About 30 residents attended the meeting that Nigel Tasker chaired.

There were no apologies for absence.

Minutes of the 2005 general meeting were approved.

The report of the past year – The Committee thanked Tony Kerr for producing a summary of the last year’s business. Jeremy Newick corrected a reference to himself. He was not a member of Conservation Advisory Panel in own right but a representative of KCG. The report was adopted.

Matters arising

Stephen McFarlane – said how disappointed he was with the outcome of the City Council’s consultation on Community Involvement. He supported the Civic Society’s excellent response. KCG’s endorsement of that advice encouraged him. English Heritage has issued a new consultation advice which can be downloaded.

Nigel Tasker said that the City Council approached the problem defensively. It first instructed consultant and then consultated. Because their proposals had become concrete the City Council treated any response as hostile.

Tony Kerr said that the Civic Society will pursue its views. It hopes that the examination of the City Council’s statement by the ODPM will not be by correspondence but at a meeting.

Tony Kerr drew members’ attention to the KCG website – and to Ukplanning.com, website where drawings for all Bristol planning applications can be found.

Heather Frenkel said that KCG had a publicity problem. The website said continuously that it was under reconstruction. It did not say what the group is doing. Compared to the CHIS and Redland and Cotham websites, which are far more proactive, it looked a two bit organisation. She said that a better website would give better publicity and more residents would attend the meeting. KCG needed more members to access greater expert resources. An active website was the way to do it. KCG should produce leaflets to make residents aware of website.

Tony Kerr said that Pete Ferne had produced a new format for the site, to which material from the old site is now being transferred. .

A resident who lives in Somerset Street West End said that she did not receive notification of meeting. By accident she saw the notice in KCG box.

Tony Kerr said that the door to door distribution had runout of leaflets, so some properties in multiple occupation received only one or two. The Committee proposed two more public notice boards.

The Report of the past year was accepted.

Annual Accounts The Treasurers report was adopted. All members bar one, pay by standing order.

Stephen McFarlane asked how KCG proposed to use its funds to restore Spring Hill.

Nigel Tasker (?) said that the money was originally raised because the City Council lifted KCG’s hopes of match funding (?) money for this project. Nothing then happened. KCG’s funds were far short of the cost of any significant improvement.

The meeting discussed the proposal to re-erect railings around Fremantle Green. This was not a KCG issue. Richard Harrad said that the proposed railings caused health and safety issues. The compromise was to erect an iron gateway. This had met general satisfaction.

Helen Phillips had been very active about re-planting the dead cherry trees outside Priors Hill Flats. Suddenly two new saplings were planted. The question was asked; if KCG saved money on planning trees at Priors Hill, could it not plant trees on Spring Hill, just below Dove Street? There are vacant spaces whether other dead cherries were cut down.

Stephen McFarlane proposed that some of the fund could be spent on producing a draft Kingsdown Conservation Area Appraisal. Bristol City Council is frightened of any local initiative. In Leeds the Headingley Conservation Area took the initiative. They drafted their own Planning Proposal, which Leeds City Council took over to become their model. Jeremy Newick said that it was time and human resources that were critical, not money.

The meeting then referred to some of the issues of principle to be considered in the local planning framework. The new legislation requires the City Council to re-consider the boundaries of each Conservation area. Should High Kingsdown join the Conservation Area? Should Kingsdown be incorporated into a neighbouring Conservation Area?

There is a strong argument that any Conservation Group requires a critical mass through a website. KCG must have access to enough expert resources and advice to produce and keep up to date an attractive website and gather specialist advice on a consultancy basis to respond for example, to the City Council’s Statement of Community Involvement consultation and to produce an Area Appraisal Statement.

There was concern that KCG should not dilute its sense of purpose. Larger, neighbouring groups had problems of internal communication. It was probably better to combine with other groups for specific purposes. The Civic Society is trying to bring together likeminded organisations. KCG has acted effectively. It had drummed up 30 letters to the City Council on the launderette planning application and 100 letters about Johnsons. It is a group capable of marshalling local support.

The Committee repeated the invitation to all members to come to any meeting to offer their expertise and opinions – for example on the BRIplans and elevations (displayed at the meeting) for the cardiothoracic unit shortly to be built on Cottage Place.

All members present agreed to twist the arms of two friends to join KCG.

Election of Officers and Committee

Charles Grant, Peter Ferne, Mike McKee and Richard Harrod do not offer themselves for re-election to the Committee. They were thanked for their contributions to date.

No-one has come forward in the last few years to act as chairman, so, by convention, the person who hosts each meeting also acts as chairman.

Pauline Allen was re-elected the Treasurer.

Helen Phillips was re-elected secretary.

Malcolm and Bridget Parker were re-elected membership secretaries.

Tony Kerr, Nick Kidwell, Andy King, Jeremy Newick and Nigel Tasker were re- elected committee members and John Frenkel and Mary Wright were elected.

The formal meeting then closed. It was followed by Mary Wright’s paper on Stokes Croft, which she illustrated with slides. This was a truly witty, opinionated, scholarly presentation of living local history. She demonstrated how the past must inform and mould our current visual, social and economic development. She was warmly thanked for a most entertaining and informative talk.

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Annual Report 2005-6