A CITY councillor is calling for a change in the law to stop the Society of Merchant Venturers being involved in management of The Downs.
Rob Bryher, who was elected as a Green Party councillor for Easton in May, was given a place on the Downs Committee, which is made up of councillors and Merchant Venturers, but he has now resigned.
He has set up an online petition calling for the repeal of the 1861 Act of Parliament that led to the joint arrangements for overseeing the open space.
He said: “My resignation came from the realisation that the influence of the Society of Merchant Venturers on Bristol’s public life was too entrenched, not limited to this committee alone, but stemming from the Clifton and Durdham Downs (Bristol) Act of 1861. A piece of legislation that continues to give them undue power and influence.”
Cllr Bryher said the Act “perpetuates the formal power of wealthy business elites over our shared public spaces”.
“Our public spaces belong to us all, not to business elites supported by outdated legislation. It’s high time we dismantled this institutional power handed down by an ancient law. The power to decide on how our public spaces are managed should be returned to those who truly use them – the wonderful, diverse residents of Bristol,” he said.
The management of the Downs was the subject of a consultation less than three years ago. People were asked whether the Act of 1861 should be repealed. An overwhelming majority of the 931 people who took part in the survey said it should not.
Responding to Cllr Bryer, the SMV pointed out that the Merchant Venturers owned much of The Downs and it was only thanks to the 1861 Act that the site was open to the public.
A spokeswoman said: “The Downs Committee was created by the Downs Act to ensure that the two landowners would work together as guardians of the Downs, to manage and protect the land so that it could be used for recreation by the people of Bristol forever.
“Members of SMV have volunteered their time and expertise for more than 160 years to uphold this commitment.”