News from your Green Party Clifton councillors Paula O’Rourke and Jerome Thomas
Hello from Paula and Jerome,
During the pre-election period, the Council can make no major decisions and all meetings stop to allow for political campaigning. This means, however, that once the election is over, all meetings start up with a vengeance, so your councillors have been busy in the last couple of weeks. Days and evenings which had been spent out knocking on doors have been swapped for days and evenings attending meetings. We rather enjoyed the former but also endure the latter, as that is the life of the local councillor.
Despite the call to be in City Hall, we have been out and about quite a bit – mostly sorting out waste issues – but also looking at street safety and trying to ensure that the changes that are afoot will benefit Clifton. It is these changes that we want to concentrate on this month.
CHANGES TO TWO MAJOR CLIFTON SITES – ONE LOVED, ONE LOATHED
Bristol Zoo Gardens site
Having taken almost a year, the section 106 agreement is now agreed. This is the legal document which enforces the conditions put on the approval when it was granted by the Development Control Committee. Getting this agreed has been a long process, as there are lots of conditions and the planners wanted to ensure that it was rigorous. Having spoken to the Head of Planning, we are assured that the department, although generally overstretched, has given this application the detailed attention it deserves.
The issuing of the section 106 means a future developer implementing the scheme must ensure:
• 20% of the housing on site is affordable (30 homes for social rent and 10 for first time buyers).
• Free public access to the gardens is maintained 365 days of the year between 8am and 5pm or 7pm, depending on the time of year.
• The iconic entrance building is re-purposed to become a Conservation Hub, opened to the public with community rooms and a café.
Prior to the application being submitted we argued hard for the Zoo Trustees to apply for a ‘right of way’ through the garden but we could not persuade the Director to do that. However, we believe that the s106 gives security to the public that the gardens will be kept open for the hours listed, as this can only be changed by going back to the planners and opening a public consultation – so nothing can be done ‘behind closed doors’.
There is a six-week period now when there could be an application for Judicial Review (JR). A JR could only be applied for on the basis of incorrect procedure and we believe that the process has been very thorough and correct and (while we are not lawyers) we feel that there is little expectation of a JR succeeding.
When the Zoo first announced its intention to close, Paula put in long hours in meetings with the Our World consortium who hoped to use the site for a very innovative and creative purpose, but sadly, the idea did not develop into a serious bid. The Zoo Trustees were determined to get the best value for the land to allow them to continue their conservation work and develop their alternative site, so selling the land with planning permission was their choice and it made any alternative use unviable.
Like many, we are sad to see the Zoo gone, but we cannot continue to hope that it will return and must accept that there will be homes on the garden site. On the positive side, the gardens, which were previously only accessible for those paying to go to the Zoo, will now be open to the public. There will be four entry/exit points, which will encourage pedestrians walking to the Downs to use the gardens as their route. There will also be an education centre and an environmental hub and café in the historic entryway building, which will offer public amenity of value.
Clifton on Ice/WH Smith site
We have very recently been notified that THAT Group have sold the site in Clifton village to a Brighton-based developer. They are called Spear Development Ltd. Our research has revealed that they are a reasonably small development company, which gives us hope that they are not in the market for land-banking. We have been assured that they intend to actively progress the development of the site and are considering using the same planning approval, for the mixed-use development. However, we hope to soon meet the developer in person and will have more first-hand information soon.
Paula O’Rourke: cllr.paula.orourke@bristol.gov.uk
Jerome Thomas: cllr.jerome.thomas@bristol.gov.uk
News from your Green Party Redland councillors Martin Fodor and Fi Hance
Local Area Committees
We’re sorry to say that we’re still awaiting news of the nine new Area Committees. The outgoing council agreed that nine new groups of wards will be formed to allocated developer funds offered to communities. They will also ensure more direct input into council decisions on many local services and issues like road safety and parking.
To date the staffing and meetings for these committees hasn’t been made clear. While funds are limited in our neighbourhood as there’s less new development there are still projects we know are needed.
The excessive delays to the Cranbrook Road crossing have been disappointing. We’ve heard that highway officers have been appointed after the previous team left. This has caused yet more delays to finalising the details and finding a contractor. This has been affecting many schemes across the city and we’re sorry for the fitful progress. We’re hoping this can be built in the next few months.
Council presses new government to tackle austerity
Bristol City Council passed a Green motion in July committing them to write to the new Labour government asking for a sustained uplift to local authority funding. This is urgently needed to cover shortfalls in adult social care, education and other key services,
Martin Fodor: cllr.martin.fodor@bristol.gov.uk
Fi Hance: cllr.fi.hance@bristol.gov.uk