Out and About in Brislington

Out and about in Brislington West with Jos and Andrew

Get a Postal Vote:

Time is fast running out to get a postal vote. It’s by far the easiest and safest way to vote in this May’s local elections. Use our handy link and get your postal vote set up today. If you don’t have a printer, get in touch and we’ll get an application form to you. https://www.libdems.org.uk/postal-vote?fbclid=IwAR3yyTTYE2OhLyyeTfE6iKODDQfpGAlw0vRI0ySZxXRUudLJABSDk-89GLc

Brislington Green Trail:

We were part of the Brislington Green Trail bid back in 2018, which saw an award of around £35,000 for several groups across Greater Brislington to undertake a variety of environmental initiatives. These included the wooden planters on Sandy Park Road, new signage and trails at Arnos Vale Cemetery and holy well restoration work in the Nightingale Valley. These projects have helped to enhance and improve our existing green spaces and urban areas but we would like to see more, such as the creation of pocket parks and of course, the Brislington Greenway. Brislington potentially faces a huge amount of new development in the near future so access to green spaces is vital. In celebration of our green spaces and the work of the volunteers who have helped to protect and promote them, we have set up a new Facebook group, Brislington Green Trail: https:// www.facebook.com/groups/14930786808888 74/?ref=share

Sparke Evans Footbridge:

At Full Council recently, we asked the mayor the following question about the sorry state of Sparke Evans Footbridge:

‘The elegant Sparke Evans footbridge near the Paintworks development in Brislington West was recently added to the Bristol Local List as an important heritage asset. Unfortunately, the beautiful latticework railings have become badly corroded and are quite jagged and sharp in places and so are potentially dangerous and also at risk of falling into the river below. Repairs need to be carried out soon. However, it would be a travesty if the railings were replaced with unattractive sheet metal panels, which would also be an invitation to local graffiti artists to grab their spray cans! Therefore, I’d like to ask the Mayor if he can give local residents a date for when this repair work will be carried out and an assurance that the repairs will be done in a sympathetic manner in order to protect the beautiful character of the bridge?’

We’d like to thank the mayor for his comprehensive response. While he was unable to say when repairs would be carried out, he confirmed that any repairs would be in keeping with the architectural style of the bridge, which was a fear that some local residents had expressed to us. Here is the mayor’s response:

‘A detailed Principal Inspection was undertaken on this footbridge structure in July 2020, so we possess a full condition report as to the overall state of this footbridge and are aware of the issues you raise.

We’re looking for additional new funding and we are exploring other funding streams to refurbish this footbridge along with other identified bridge structures which span the New Cut River within the City. A full Report paper on this particular footbridge (along with others), will be presented to Cabinet in the summer 2021, explaining the current position and also looking for available funding streams to undertake the recommended works required to refurbish this footbridge along with the others identified. In the meantime, the Council inspects this footbridge on a regular basis and will undertake any necessary safety critical repairs as and when this is required. Please be assured that this footbridge remains safe for public use and that the Council is now looking to find the necessary funding and will explore all available avenues for this required funding to undertake these necessary refurbishment works. We cannot at this stage give any specific dates as to when this footbridge will be refurbished, but the intention would be to refurbish this footbridge back to its original architectural style.’

A New Path for Arnos Court Park:

The Friends of Arnos Court Park have submitted a bid for Community Infrastructure Levy funding for a new path from the gateway to Arnos Court Cemetery down the hill to the existing path at the bottom corner of the woodland. A new path will help people more easily access this uppermost section of the park and prevent the grassy slopes from getting so muddy in the wintertime. The Friends group we set up last year now has almost 400 members. Why not join today: https://www.facebook.com/groups/71870847 5350789/?ref=share

Bollards!

Late last year there was a road traffic accident on the corner of Whitby Road and Bloomfield Road near Sainsbury’s, which destroyed one of the concrete bollards designed to prevent traffic from using Bloomfield Road as a cut through. This was reported to the council and a plastic barrier was put there as a temporary measure but this is being moved on a daily basis and drivers are regularly using this as a short cut, which is illegal and a danger to pedestrians and cyclists. We’ve been pestering the council to reinstate the concrete barrier for some time and I’m pleased to say the council has finally responded and a new, permanent bollard should be in place shortly.

Potholes Reported:

Two large potholes recently appeared at the junction of Bath Road and West Town Lane. We reported them to Highways & Traffic, who informed us these particular holes were the responsibility of Bristol Water. They have now been contacted and repairs should be undertaken shortly. We have also reported the poor state of the Sandy Park/Wick Road junction. If you know any other problem areas, let us know, preferably with a photo and we will report them for you.

Community Litter Pick:

We’ve been organising community litter picks for years, so Lockdown was particularly frustrating as we were unable to meet up and clean up! However, we are now allowed to meet again and so we have our first community litter pick of 2021 on 10 April, 10am at the King’s Road entrance to Arnos Court Park. We will provide litter pickers and bags but please bring your own gloves and hand sanitizer. Please register your interest as we need to be very careful with numbers.

Polling Station Change:

Voters who normally go to the Bristol School for the Performing Arts (The White Hart) in Brislington Village to vote should be aware it is no longer available. Therefore, the polling station has moved to Holymead Juniors on Wick Road, accommodated in the Lower Hall. The school will remain open to pupils on polling day. Special measures will be put in place to ensure everyone’s safety at polling stations on 6 May.

Keeping in touch:

We believe in keeping residents up to date on important local issues and publish a quarterly newsletters, ‘Focus on Brislington West’. We also have a digital version and if you would like to receive it, please register using this link: http://www.bristollibdems.org/ efocus.

By Jos Clark, Liberal Democrat Councillor (Brislington West) Email: cllr.jos.clark@bristol.gov.uk Mobile: 07584 370429 & Andrew Varney, Liberal Democrat Councillor Candidate (Brislington West) Email: andyvarney@ hotmail.com Mobile: 07544 667968

A Bristol landlord has been handed penalties totalling nearly £8,000 after being found guilty of operating an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO) following an investigation by the city’s Private Housing team. Mohammed Omar Ahmed, of Wells Road, Knowle, was given a £5,000 fine and more than £2,800 in additional costs at Bristol Magistrates Court last Friday (26 March), after failing to license a property he was responsible for in Fishponds Road between January 2018 and March 2019. Mr Omar Ahmed told the council that he was moving into the property with the two remaining tenants as a resident landlord in November 2017, at which point he was reminded of the requirement to apply for a property licence under the authority’s Eastville and St George West Licensing scheme if that situation changed. Fifteen months later, the Private Housing Team received a complaint from a tenant about dangerous and unpleasant living conditions in the property, while a site visit by officers from the Rogue Landlord Unit in February 2019 confirmed that the property was in an extremely poor condition and appeared to be midway through major building works, that included the removal of the boiler which had left the tenant without heating and hot water. Neither Mr Omar Ahmed nor a member of his family were living there, meaning the property required a licence by law. Due to the condition of the property, council officers helped the existing tenant to find alternative accommodation and the house remains vacant.

The council will now pursue formal action to reclaim the Housing Benefit paid back for the period the property was unlicensed. To check if your property needs a licence or find out more on council’s proposals for further property licensing schemes, see the Bristol City Council website. Tom Gilchrist, of Bristol City Council’s Private Housing and Accessible Homes team, said: “This case highlights why property licensing is a useful tool, requiring landlords to license private rented accommodation to help resolve issues of poor housing standards and property management. 28 “Most landlords provide quality rented accommodation and a good service to their tenants, but a significant number of HMOs are poorly managed and as the private rented sector continues to grow, it is vital that we continue to take steps to help vulnerable tenants and ensure that everyone in the city has access to decent housing.”

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