Kingsdown Conservation Group

KCG members may recall that we have not taken a formal view for or against the RPZ, because there was no clear consensus among our membership when the Council last published detailed proposals three years ago.

However, it is now very much a hot topic again, and we are grateful to Roger Mortimer of the Redland and Cotham Amenities Society, who has kindly given us permission to make available his recent short paper. In it he sets out some of the key questions that need to be answered before residents can take an informed view about whether the proposed RPZ will be of benefit. Download the paper as a Word document here.

Our Police Beat Manager Martin Durbin has sent us the following short update on the recent PACT meeting held at St Matthews church. (NB PACT stands for Partners and Community Together):

Twenty two residents turned up, two local councillors (Dr Wright /Mr Woodman) a chief inspector, Dermot MEEHAN who is the Beat Team insp, two sergeants, one of whom was Mark ALDERTON (B/T sergeant) numerous beat managers,and PCSO’s.

1. General parking problems in the Cotham area.
2. Students, noise rubbish,parking problems.
3. Cotham school, problems with students leaving around 3pm.
4. Ashley House Bail hostel, problems with residents in the area, the hostel itself.

Martin’s contact details are under ‘Useful Contacts’ over on the right.

Our notes this time focuse on Planning applications, as there are a lot of significant ones at present.

The gardens of 26-27 Somerset Street the applicant’s appeal against the City’s refusal to permit development of a block of 8 studio flats has been dismissed.

UBHT has applied to undertake a major residential development at 6 Kingsdown Parade - No. 08/01771/F, see details on the City Council’s website. Development is clearly acceptable but the Committee say that the proposals over develop the site and the architectural detail of the facades is unsympathetic to the character of the Conservation Area. Your views matter, and you can respond online.

The King Charles - King’s Square Avenue – No. 08/01241/F – response period is closed. The Committee has objected to this application to demolish most of the pub and to replace it with an unsympathetic block of studio flats. There are excellent examples of sympathetically regenerated buildings nearby.

The Joker on the Green. The Planning Committee has refused the application to retain this sculpture. The applicant says that she intends to appeal.

University
You may remember the KCG objected to the University’s proposals for Phase 1 of the development of its Masterplan, last year. As a result of advice from the Planning Department the University revised its plans. Go to Senate House before the 30th April to view the exhibition of the revised proposals and give your views. The Committee believe that the revised proposals are better than the first plan but don’t go far enough to meet our objections. The main points are
(i)The redesigned Biological Sciences Building on St. Michaels’ Hill is still too high. The Masterplan describes three blocks each of four floors. The proposal is to build a 5-floor lower and middle block and a 6-floor upper block at the Tyndall Avenue end.

(ii)The Maths block is one floor lower and its roof is reduced. There is no mock up photograph to show the effect of the block on the strategic view of the Physics Tower from Kingsdown Parade where it stops the view. Views into and out of Kingsdown are under threat from development.

147a St. Michaels’ Hill – No. 08/01241/F – closing date of public response – 30 April.
There is a new application to convert most of the building to residential use. The Committee do not object to the whole of application but only to certain aspects (i) to the extent of the extent of the loss of employment space (ii) to the continued use of the forecourt for parking, and (iii) to the installation of a bin store on the forecourt.

KCG looks for new members to serve on the committee. If you would like to attend a committee meeting to see what we do, please leave a message on the website.

Next Meeting of the committee – is on Tuesday the 20th May. Please email the secretary at secretary@kingsdown.org.uk about any matter of concern on the subject of Kingsdown.

See this Evening Post article for news of how KCG and others have made the University scale down its grandiose plans to something closer to its own Council-adopted Masterplan….
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144913&command=displayContent&sourceNode=144913&contentPK=20406083&folderPk=83726

Saved for the time being by the Planning Inspector, who agreed a year ago with Bristol City Council’s refusal of permission to convert into flats. Kingsdown Conservation Group and others opposed the application, and we are delighted that the Inspector agreed. She said’ “… the proposed change of use would be unacceptably harmful to the vitality and viability of the local shopping parade….”

Planning applications
The appeal against the refusal to permit the conversion of the ground floor of the launderette at 1-3 Cotham Road South to residential use was refused some time ago.

07/04779/F - a further application to demolish the Lakota Club in Stokes Croft and to construct a block of flats. KCG opposes the demolition of the Club. It does not oppose the conversion of the building and the neighbouring former Coroner’s Court into residential use. It believes that the conversion could be more sympathetic and requires more work

08/01241/F - an application to build six single bedroom flats at the former King Charles public house in Kings Square Avenue. KCG does not object to the change of use. The construction of two more floors on top of the existing three floors we consider to be is unacceptable.
These planning applications can be seen on the City Council’s planning website http://tinyurl.com/2znru4 where you can file your comments.

AGM
The minutes of the AGM, which was held at the Ark in Cotham Road South on 10th March are now on the website

UBHT
KCG has recently met with UBHT, their contractors, and council traffic officers, to discuss hospital developments. The Council will shortly be consulting on traffic arrangements for Marlborough Hill. They hope to retain the present traffic flows, but with improvements to increase safety and discourage illegal downhill traffic.

When the Heart Institute is completed next February Cottage Place will reopen to pedestrians (and fire engines) The landscaping includes reinstatement of the woodland path and the steps up to Horfield Road. UBHT plans to extend Alfred Parade through planned new buildings to connect with Terrell Street, creating a one-way system for hospital deliveries, without the need for goods vehicles to reverse onto Marlborough Hill.

UBHT has instructed its architects to apply for planning permission to develop four sites – (i) four 4-storey town houses on Kingsdown Parade on the old ambulance maintenance site near the chip shop. (ii) a block of flats on Horfield Road, on the boarded up garden site. (iii) Four houses in the gardens of Rose Cottage at Somerset Street West End. KCG believes these proposals overdevelop these sites. (iv) Four houses in the garden of Somerset House in Alfred Hill. The hospital do not yet seem to have made any significant changes in the light of numerous comments from KCG and local residents, so we may have to oppose the formal applications.

KCG looks for new members to serve on the committee. If you would like to attend a committee meeting to see what we do, please leave a message on the website.

Next Meeting of the committee – is on Tuesday 22nd April. Please email the secretary at secretary@kingsdown.org.uk about any matter of concern on the subject of Kingsdown.

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.

Well, at least no-one’s suggesting a 14-storey block now (as far as we know, anyway).

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