Kingsdown Conservation Group

On the 10th October some of Kingsdown Conservation Group’s committee attended the University’s meeting to publicise the progress of its Masterplan.

The University’s Landscape Consultant presented its Urban Realm Framework Document. The Masterplan requires the University to improve the appearance of the land between buildings and to upgrade local roads. It proposes to convert Tyndall’s Avenue, University Walk and Woodland Road into routes where vehicles share the space with pedestrians in a restricted speed zone.

Stakeholders challenged the University’s continued use of the word “precinct”. The University denied a wish to claim ownership of the area and would like to find an alternative word to describe the area. The plans preserve the public’s rights of way and will not impede traffic. The plans will improve the University’s outward facing appearance and the surrounding public space.

The University’s Architect presented the designs for phase 1 of the former Children’s Hospital site. The Biological and Life Sciences Department (BLSD) and the Mathematics Department will each occupy a new building. The University is preparing planning applications. There will be a public exhibition in Senate House of the proposed buildings soon.
Stakeholders were dismayed at the appearance of the BLSD to be seen from St. Michael’s Hill. It will be a five-storey office building, which will run down the slope of the hill. These were some of the criticisms:

* The height of the new building will dominate the domestic scale of its neighbours. The size of the building is determined by the University’s accommodation needs and standards and not by any consideration of the architectural context of the site, which stands in a Conservation Area.

* There are no architectural features to break up or give vitality to the long side of building whose main entrance will be in Tyndall’s Avenue. The building will be aggressively horizontal. It will make an unfortunate pair with the brutal design of St. Michael’s Hospital on the other side of St. Michael’s Hill.

* There was great concern that the view of Royal Fort, seen from Kingsdown Parade, should not be compromised.

No questions were asked about the Maths building, which will have a human scale. It is an interesting circular design set within a courtyard.

Finally, the Bursar outlined the plans to improve the front gardens of the Arts Departments, which are housed in Woodland Road villas. The University wishes to restore the landscape of the front gardens so that they appear to be the gardens of individual houses. In the process the overgrowth of trees and shrubs will be cut back.

If you have concerns about the hoardings around the former garden at the top of Horfield Road please send them to the secretary@kingsdown.org.uk

Next Meeting of the committee – is on Tuesday 13th November 2007.

Councillors Mark Wright and Alex Woodman attended the meeting as observers following their re-election and election. The committee welcomed their attendance and their continued interest in the conservation area.
Somerset Street gardens
Planning application no. 07/02347/F seeks permission to build 8 four story houses in the historic gardens that face 23 – 26 Somerset Street. To oppose the application a number of residents have joined an informal group called the Friends of Kingsdown Gardens. Their leaflets describe what is proposed. They are attached to lamp posts. In KCG’s view the proposed development would fail to enhance or conserve the conservation area. It would turn Somerset Street into a dark canyon and blight it. Kingsdown is very built up and has little open space. These gardens have been enjoyed by everyone who has walked down Somerset Street over the last 200 years.
If you want to stop this development write now – every letter makes a difference. Tell the planners why you object to the application. Time is short! Planners will decide after 11th July 2007. Remember to quote its reference number – 07/02347/F. Write to the Central Area Planning Team, Brunel House, Bristol BS1 5UY or email to mailto:customerservices.ptsd@bristol.gov.uk or log your objection in the Public Access to Planning webpage.
Trees
The recent gale split the tree, which stood at the junction of Clevedon Terrace and St Matthews. It had to be felled. Does anyone know who owns this triangle of land? KCG plans to replace the tree.
St. James Priory
Members of KCG’s committee visited the Church. The church has a second north aisle, constructed in the 19th century on the site of the former cloister’s south path. The two aisles are divided by a temporary wall to separate the newer aisle from the Church. There is calamitous damp. It is proposed to redevelop the 19th century extension and to build at the east end to provide meeting rooms, residential accommodation above and a café at the east end. KCG supports the initiative to secure this ancient Church’s future maintenance but has these concerns. Should the 19th century columns that divide the old and new north aisles remain inside the Church or be incorporated into the new accommodation? How can the new construction at the east end be stepped back to preserve for pedestrians the view the ecclesiastical aspect of the east end of the Church?
Lamp posts
The City Council say that they are in the course of replacing/repairing and painting the barriers at the top and bottom of Spring Hill. KCG and City’s lighting street section are now discussing how the two 19th century cast iron lamp posts at the bottom and in the middle of Spring Hill can be made to look as good as the traditional post at the top in Somerset Street, which KCG paid for.
Next Meeting of the committee – is on Thursday the 9th August. If anyone has a matter of concern about Kingsdown to raise, please email the secretary at secretary@kingsdown.org.uk

The wider picture

St Paul’s - did you see the picture of a proposed Bristol Gherkin published in the Evening Post on the 15th May? What do you think of a high rise “Bristol gateway building” near to the M32 in St. Pauls? You can find particulars on the developer’s website at http://www.onedoveland.co.uk.

Stokes Croft
Westmoreland House Recently, the City Council sponsored a meeting to publicise its plans to redevelop for this long-derelict eyesore. The City is still talking to the buildings’ owners but is also planning a compulsory purchase order. The City wrote a planning brief and then selected two developers. At the meeting Crosby Homes and Opal Developments presented their proposals. They had different approaches. One included the Koomba Arts Project the other did not. Crosby Homes proposed 82 residential units, which included family houses and two retail units. The street frontages were not lively. Car parking was less than one space per unit. Opal proposed to build 130 flats with amenity space and to retain the listed house in Ashley Road. Our representative found the Opal scheme to be more visually attractive.

Lakota Club and the former Coroner’s Court – the developer has withdrawn proposals to demolish the Lakota Club and to redevelop the whole triangular island site that includes a former Methodist Primary School, which was last used as the Bristol Coroner’s Court.
80 Stokes Croft. There is a welcome application to replace an undistinguished 1970s office building. The development will be primarily residential with some business units. KCG has expressed its concerns about the Stokes Croft façade, whose design, in our view, is inadequate. The proposed all glass façade would dominate its neighbours, which are built from traditional materials. It would an uncompromisingly outshine its neighbours in the context of a conservation area.
St. James’s - St James’s Priory is on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register. It has the offer of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to identify repairs and to develop a scheme to produce income to keep the fabric in repair. There are plans to convert the north isle into rooms for conferences, concerts, education and therapy. It is also proposed to install a café at the east end and build residential accommodation in the upper floor.
Bus station –there is an existing planning permission to construct student and key worker accommodation on the site between the bus station and the Premier Travel Inn. The developer has applied to increase the number of units from 323 to 362 beds. KCG objects to the increase the height. The approved building already overbears its neighbour, St. James’s Priory. Plans filed with planning application can be viewed at the Bristol City Council’s Public Access for Planning website at http://tinyurl.com/2znru4 or on – www.UKPlanning.com - search by name of city and street.
Next Meeting of the committee is at – 8.00 p.m. on Thursday the 28th June – at 27 Fremantle Road. If anyone has a matter of concern about Kingsdown to raise, please email the secretary at secretary@kingsdown.org.uk

Here are the notes of the recent meeting between local residents and the construction team from Laing O’Rourke

BRI residents’ meeting 3rd April 07

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
.
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 £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.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. This will be held on Thursday 15th March 2007 in the upper room of the Ark, Cotham Road South. The rooms will be open from 7.00 p.m. There will be wine available and you are invited to an informal opportunity to meet other Kingsdown residents and the committee. The meeting will start at 7.30 p.m. Many of you will remember Mary Wright’s very successful lecture last year on the development of Stokes Croft. This year, after the formal meeting there will be a talk by Mike Hooper, a local historian who has made a special study of Broadmead. Mike calls his illustrated lecture, “Broadmead before the shops”.

AGM business

(i) Would you like to be a new committee member? You would attend the monthly meeting and sometimes do a little work between meetings. If you wish to propose yourself or someone you know as a committee member, please contact the secretary, Helen Phillips, as soon as possible at 73 Kingsdown Parade
(ii) Will anyone volunteer to organise and manage KCG’S website?
(iii) Do you want KCG to email a copy of this summary to you each month? If you do, please send your email address to insideout73@blueyonder.co.uk

143/5 St. Michael’s Hill
The owner of these properties has applied for planning permission to develop the upper floors for residential purposes. KCG has written to the Planning Department to say that it wishes any planning consent to ensure that the new front door should maintain the symmetry of the building’s façade and to impose a planning condition to prevent cars parking on the pavement in front of the building. You can make your views known to the planners on line at tinyurl.com/2znru4 quoting application number 06/05370.

Wheelie bins
This is not strictly a KCG matter but it concerns us all. In response to continued complaints about bins left on the pavement between collections and the permanent storage of bins next to the pavement, the City’s Waste Services say: “Our investigations will focus on those households keeping bins on the pavements on non collection days, and we will also be giving any other appropriate advice/guidance for storage of items as fits each situation.” This message does not answer the question of what to do about bins kept next to the pavement whose contents frequently spill and make the area squalid and unhygienic. For some residents a wheelie bin is probably more of a nuisance than a convenience and would prefer to see it withdrawn and to revert to bag collection. This time last year Kingsdown didn’t have a problem, now it looks like Bin City. This conflicts with the City’s policies published in last September. “Shaping Bristol over the next 20 years” said: “We need improvement: to the physical fabric and infrastructure in our streets: to minimise unsightly clutter: to tackle graffiti, vandalism, letter and dereliction…”
Please report waste management problems to Waste Services on Tel 922 3240 and ask them to confirm that your call has been logged. This minute has been copied to the local councillors and to the Acting Waste Services and Streetscene Manager.

Stokes Croft
The City Council has received a planning application to redevelop the triangular piece of land that includes the former Coroner’s Court (originally a Methodist Infant School) and the former Lakota Club. The developer wishes to demolish the former club building because he says that it is in bad condition. KCG believes that the structural report, filed with the application does not support the developer’s reason to demolish. KCG has written to object to the demolition of the former club, which has a good street façade. It supports the development in principle but objects to the demolition of the club, which it believes should be incorporated into the residential development.

The owners of 4/10 Stokes Croft, which has recently been used as a nightclub have applied to demolish the building and to redevelop it with a commercial use on the ground floor with 12 apartments for multi-occupation by students of the second to fifth floors. KCG supports the development of this building but has objected to the design of the street facade because it believes that the design is of insufficient quality. It fails to enhance the Stokes Croft conservation area.

Website
If you would like to manage the Kingsdown Conservation Group website would you please contact the secretary, Helen Phillips at insideout73@blueyonder.co.uk.

AGM
This will be held in the first half of March the notice will be posted on this board. Would you like to volunteer to be on the Kingsdown Conservation Group committee? If so, please contact the secretary, Helen Phillips at insideout73@blueyonder.co.uk.

Westmoreland House/The Carriage Works
The City Council has decided to implement a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on Westmoreland House, the derelict eyesore on the corner of Stokes Croft and Ashley Road. The buildings have been left empty for more than two decades. The Cabinet was warned that the process would not be quick and that even if all goes to plan, it could be two years before development starts on site. Kuumba, the African Caribbean Arts venue also hopes to relocate to the listed Carriage Works part of the site. In response to the City Council CPO the buildings’ owners have applied for permission to build 200 housing units and a theatre on the site. KCG has objected to the planning application because the proposal would over-develop the site. The buildings are out of scale and the architectural design must be better quality.

Stokes Croft
A Bristol City Council bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for money to repair run-down buildings in Stokes Croft has been successful at the first stage. Stokes Croft has had £500,000 allocated towards repair of its Georgian-style buildings. Funding awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund will be matched by funding from the Council.

34, Cotham Road South
The lauderette’s owner has appealed against the City’s refusal the permit the whole of the building to be converted to residential use. KCG wishes to see a commercial use retained on the ground floor. The parade remains intact as a secondary shopping area. Kingsdown is an area with an increasing population. We do not accept that it is not possible to find a retail use for this property. It is important that the area maintains its shops both now and in the future.

Gardens at the back of numbers 26 and 27 Somerset Street
The application to build 14 single bedroom studio flats has been refused

Next meeting is on Thursday 18th January