southbristolvoice March 2018 No. 29
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Barking mad: Dog ban is not legal in park, council admits THERE is no legal authority to ban dogs from running around a school playing field in Bedminster, it has emerged. The South Street playing fields are used by the neighbouring Compass Point school during the day. At other times the gates are open for anyone else to enjoy the open space. The gates at either end have signs, put up by Bristol city council, saying No Dogs. But the Voice has learned that this ban has no legal authority – meaning that, in theory, dog owners could exercise their dogs there without facing a penalty. This is because South Street playing fields has been included on the list of areas exempted from Bristol’s Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). The land is owned jointly, part by the
South Street playing fields: A council sign says No Dogs, but it has no legal effect. ‘We encourage dog walkers to respect the school playing fields’, says the council
council and part by the school. If a park or open space is on the list, it means dog owners can let their dogs exercise there off the lead. Next to the playing fields is a
fenced-off area known as the Bark Park, which is mostly used by dog owners. And next to that is a gated children’s playground, where dogs are banned. But putting the South Street playing fields on the dogsallowed list appears to be a mistake – and has horrified some locals. The council confirmed the bizarre situation, saying: “Legally people can walk their dogs in this entire area without risk of a fine, but we encourage dog walkers to respect the school playing fields.” Local resident John Ginster, Continued on page 4
• Bedminster’s best true tales Page 4 • Let’s have a ‘Build Off’ for the homeless Page 5 SPECIAL REPORT
• High rises, Green Belt homes and more for BS3 Pages 14-15
• Squalor of a BS3 crack house Page 17 • We CAN save the swings! Page 18
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IN
March 2018
southbristolvoice
2 Paul Breeden Editor & publisher 07811 766072 paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk Ruth Drury Sales executive 07590 527664 sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk Editorial team: Beccy Golding, Alex Morss, Martin Powell & The Wicked Witch. Deliveries: Greg Champion
Intro
TOO MANY HURDLES IF THE council really thinks that Residents Parking Schemes are an effective way of managing our roadspace, it had better come up with a better method for introducing them. When Marvin Rees was elected mayor in 2016, he said no RPS schemes would be introduced unless there was convincing local backing. Fair enough. But it turns out that meeting council guidance to decide whether enough residents do want parking restrictions looks pretty well impossible. Councillors ae supposed to provide convincing proof that a majority of residents in an area
You can find South Bristol Voice on Facebook and Twitter facebook.com/ southbristolvoice Twitter: @sbristolvoice Next month’s deadline for editorial and advertising is March 14th want an RPS. But they mustn’t ask directly, “Do you want an RPS or not?” That sounds crazy, but the council apparently doesn’t want this “informal” consultation confused with a referendum. In fact, councillors are supposed to undertake two stages of consultation, gathering opinions and informing residents of all the costs and benefits of RPS. This could take over a year, councillors are warned. If a need for RPS is proved, – and funding can be found – two further stages of consultation by council officials will follow. The final stage, issuing and consulting on a traffic regulation order, or TRO, can take 18 months. Not a quick fix, then.
How do I get in touch with ... My MP? Karin Smyth MP By email: karin.smyth.mp@ parliament.uk By post: Karin Smyth MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA By phone: 0117 953 3575 In person: A surgery will be held on Friday March 2, 16 and 30. Call 0117 953 3575 for an appointment. My councillor? By post: (all councillors) Brunel House, St George’s Road, Bristol BS1 5UY USEFUL NUMBERS Bristol City Council www.bristol.gov.uk 0117 922 2000 Waste, roads 0117 922 2100 Pest control and dog wardens 0117 922 2500 Council tax 0117 922 2900 Housing benefit 0117 922 2300 Social services 0117 922 2900
Celia Phipps Labour, Bedminster By phone: 07469 413312 By email: Cllr.celia.phipps@bristol.gov.uk Mark Bradshaw Labour, Bedminster. By email: Cllr.mark. bradshaw@bristol.gov.uk By phone: 0117 353 3160 Stephen Clarke Green, Southville By email: Cllr.stephen.clarke@ bristol.gov.uk Charlie Bolton Green, Southville By phone: 07884 736111 By email: Cllr.charlie.bolton@bristol.gov.uk Police Inquiries 101 Emergency 999 Fire Emergency 999 Inquiries 0117 926 2061 NEIGHBOURHOOD MEETINGS Details of meetings by Action Greater Bedminster at • greaterbedminster.org.uk
EDITOR’S NOTE: South Bristol Voice is independent. We cannot take responsibility for content or accuracy of adverts, and it is advertisers’ responsibility to conform to all relevant legislation. We strive to conform to the NUJ Code of Conduct for journalists: • nuj.org.uk/about/nuj-code Feedback is welcomed: call editor Paul Breeden on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk. All stories and pictures are copyright of South Bristol Voice (unless otherwise stated) and may not be reproduced without permission in this or any other plane of the multiverse. South Bristol Voice Ltd | 18 Lilymead Avenue, Bristol BS4 2BX
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RESIDENTS of Ashton Vale are getting increasingly angry at the continued danger from HGVs using South Liberty Lane – even though a relief road opened almost a year ago to ease the pressure. The new access to the South Bristol Link was supposed to reduce the number of lorries using Winterstoke Road, and passing the residential part of Ashton Vale. But the biggest local haulier, Freightliner, is still allowing HGVs to drive over the narrow railway bridge past local homes. Frieghtliner and other firms have asked for highway improvements to allow their lorries to use the link road. South Bristol MP Karin Smyth has asked the city council to review safety on the whole road. She told the Voice that she has been waiting since October for a full response from Freightliner on how it will address residents’ concerns.
n HELP clean up Ashton Vale at Ashton Vale Together’s next Walkabout and Litter Pick on Thursday March 8. Meet at the end of Swiss Road on South Liberty Lane at 10am. The next committee meeting is on Tuesday March 13, from 7-8.30pm at Ashton Vale Community Centre in the side room. All welcome.
Visit our new look branch today at 165 East Street, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 4EJ
HE RE TO GE T
n NEWS Ashton Vale anger over HGV danger
n BS3 HELPING Others group hears from Home-Start Bristol and the opportunities they have to offer support to struggling families with children on Tuesday March 6. The speaker on March 20 is from the Alzheimer Café. Meetings are at the Tobacco Factory cafe/bar each Tuesday at 10.15am.
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March 2018
n GBOPF – otherwise known as Greater Bedminster Old People’s Forum – is on Wednesday March 7 at Monica Wills House, West Street. Starting at 10am, the group will hold its AGM followed by a quiz and a talk by Joanne Bocko, cyber project officer from Avon and Somerset police. To find out more email gtrbedminster olderpeoplesforum@gmail.com or call 0117 353 3042.
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No quick fixes for BS3 parking woes RPS zones won’t be extended by much, and new zones would take years RESIDENTS in Bedminster and Southville are telling their councillors that a shortage of parking space is making life more and more difficult – but there are no solutions in sight. Southville has two Green councillors and Bedminster two Labour members – and all of them are hearing increasing cries of frustration from residents. In Bedminster and Southville, there are increasing calls to extend the two resident parking schemes (RPS) to more streets. But the council has so far refused to extend the zones, except for a proposal to add two roads off North Street to the Bedminster East zone. The Southville scheme is being extended to operate on Saturdays from 9-5pm. But a request from Cllrs Charlie Bolton and Stephen Clarke to include streets south of North Street, including Friezewood Road, Carrington Road, Truro Road, Balfour Road, St Francis Road and part of Raleigh Road, has been refused. “We have been told many times of commuters parking for the day and unloading bicycles from the back of cars, and
camper vans being left unmoved on streets for weeks and months. The situation has caused real distress to many of those living in these streets,” the two Greens said, in a letter delivered to 400 homes in the above-named roads. The only way to extend resident parking permits across Bedminster and Southville seems to be to create new parking zones entirely. But councillors have been told to hold lengthy consultation and make sure that there is a consensus among local people before proposing a new zone. Cllr Bolton has called the process “unworkable”, and it is clear it would take years. Bolton and Clarke admit they are unsure what to do next, but they want to hear residents’ views. In Bedminster, Cllrs Phipps and Bradshaw are calling on council transport officials to consult local people. There is a general parking problem quite apart from the issues on matchdays, they say. “Increased enforcement might go some way to reclaiming the pavements from irresponsible parking but this remains a complex problem, based on high car use,” the Labour councillors say in their Voice column. “Clearly, parking and traffic are massively polarising issues but we are getting more people saying to us ‘enough is enough’.” • Intro: Page 2 • Your councillors: Page 35
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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
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n NEWS Dog ban fiasco Continued from page 1 whose wife, Andrea BeckerGinster, is chair of governor at Compass Point primary school, said: “This is a playing field where children play and run around. We need it to be totally dog free.” He said children can catch serious infections if they come into contact with dog poo, including toxocara canis, which can cause blindness. The council says it is reviewing all the areas on its PSPO list. But despite a series of queries from the Voice which spanned more than two weeks and involved four council officials, the council would not acknowledge that the South Street designation was a mistake, or would be rectified. Any changes to the PSPO list would need consultation, the council said. It said regulations affecting South Street had been in force since 2007 and did not appear to have been an issue.
Barn dance FANCY a twirl? There’s a barn dance at St Aldhelm’s Church in Chessel Street, Bedminster on Saturday March 17, featuring the Bridgwater Country Dance Band. It’s from 7.30-10.30pm and admission is £8 for adults and £6 for children. A family ticket is £25. The price includes a ploughman’s supper, but please bring your own drinks. Tickets are on sale at Lion Stores in North Street, and at St Aldhelm’s Church on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 10-11.30am. Or ring Carol on 0117 9025 236.
March 2018
n NEWS
A jaunt through the seamy side of Bedminster history
WHAT was Bedminster’s role in the biggest bullion robbery in Britain? How did a lion come to be on show in the back yard of a North Street pub? Why did a woman who pretended to be a princess end her working life wading barefoot in the River Malago? These are all excellent questions for a pub quiz – but you’ll only find the complete answers if you join Blood and Butchery in Bedminster, Sheila Hannon’s walking tour through some of BS3’s less respectable corners of history. South Bristol Voice went along on one of the tours, which take place every Tuesday evening, starting at the Rope Walk pub on Bedminster Parade. It was a brutal evening from the start, as Sheila, dressed in a steampunk hat, marshalled her ambulant audience to hear the tale of Alfred Dauncey, an errand boy who, in 1849, allowed himself to get caught up in a fight with four other youths just outside the pub next to the river. Alfred was only 14, but for some reason he was packing a pistol in his pocket. When the fight got rough he pulled it and fired, hitting 19-year old William Braund through the windpipe and killing him. Dauncey fled, but several people had seen him, and he was soon captured. On trial for murder, he could
Mauled to death: A lion in a menagerie, like the one on the right, killed a man in Bedminster, Sheila reveals on her tour expect to have been hanged, but perhaps because of his age he was sentenced to transportation for 10 years. He was sent to Tasmania, where it appears he only served three years before being released. But did the 17-year-old Dauncey (sometimes spelled Dancey) choose to return to England? Did he ever see Bedminster again? No one knows, and Sheila Hannon would love to know if any of his relatives or anyone else has news of what happened to him. Sheila then led us on a gripping jaunt through the Bedminster underworld, stopping at the Steam Crane, the Mason’s Arms and the Hen & Chicken (there was no shortage of refreshment). There is simply too much
March 2018
history to relate here. But even lifelong BS3 residents will learn something new. Join the tour and you’ll hear how a Bedminster bank was used to launder money from the Brinks Mat bullion robbery – taking in so much cash that it had to hire extra staff. You’ll hear about the man acquitted of a Bedminster shooting who was later found encased in concrete under a nearby house. You will learn how a supposedly docile lion in a travelling menagerie in the yard of the Steam Crane was provoked by a clueless handler in 1827 – and mauled him to death. Blood and Butchery tours start every Tuesday until May 15 at 7pm. Tickets are £10 but book quickly: many dates are sold out. • showofstrength.org.uk
southbristolvoice
Who’s up for a ‘Build Off’ to make homeless shelters? BRIGHT idea is following bright idea at Help Bristol’s Homeless, the charity building places to live for homeless people in old shipping containers from a site in Malago Road in Bedminster. After building five container homes, HBH is hoping to move to a more permanent site nearby, off Spring Street. An appeal for help from tradespeople such as builders, electricians, plumbers and decorators in converting the council-owned warehouse brought an immediate response from several companies. Dozens of traders have helped hone the process of turning a bare metal shell into a cosy, home down to just a few days. Now Jasper Thompson, the North Street restaurateur who runs the project, is trying to make the work into a competitive sport. He already has an offer of a team of workers from Bristol City supporters, including City fan and builder Gary Cleverley, and there’s hope of a Bristol Rugby team too. But hopes of a Bristol Rovers team have so far come to nothing – perhaps not surprising in the City heartland of South Bristol. Jasper says he’s disappointed but is appealing for any groups who want to take part in a Build Off competition to get in touch.
Place to sleep: The double decker
Meanwhile, another wild idea is taking off – turning a doubledecker bus, which has already seen a lifetime of work on Bristol streets, into a temporary bunkhouse. Thanks to First Bus, Smartgraphics, Yadda, RBJ Flooring and several other firms, the bus is now smart in its new livery and the inside is being converted into a place to sleep and eat for up to 12 people. The aim is to find the bus a secure site in the centre of Bristol. Facebook: Help Bristol’s Homeless
HOME FOR THE NIGHT A FUNDRAISING event in aid of HBH’s bus project is being held at the Thunderbolt on Bath Road, Totterdown on Friday March 2. Starting at 6.30pm, it features Storm Force 10, a singing group led by Fr Steve Hawkins of Holy Nativity church in Totterdown, plus other groups. Tickets £5 from Fr Steve: email fr.stevenhawkins@googlemail.
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Bowling again
SPRING is round the corner, which means Greville Smyth community bowls club is gearing up for the new season starting on April 1. As it’s on Easter Sunday, the opening event is called Bonnets and Bowls. Summer hours are: Saturday bowls 12.30-5pm; Sunday bowls
3-5pm; Monday bowls 3-6pm, ping-pong 6.15-9pm; Wednesday bowls 6pm-dusk, ping-pong 6.15-9pm; Thursday bowls 6pm-dusk; Friday Golden Memories with Bristol Sport 12-3pm, ping-pong 6.15-9pm. More news in future issues, including the club’s 100th anniversary party on June 16. • gscbc.org.uk
Landlords may have to get a licence to rent out a home SHARED homes that are rented out in parts of South Bristol could be licensed in a drive to raise standards. Bristol city council is consulting on proposals to licence landlords who rent out houses or flats to three or more people who aren’t related, and who share facilities like kitchens or bathrooms. Larger homes, known as HMOs or houses in multiple occupation, are already licensed. The new rule would cover
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Southville ward and Windmill Hill ward, as well as 10 other wards near the city centre. The council says licensing in Easton has been successful in driving up standards. Landlords would have to pay a fee for a five-year licence and could be forced to make improvements to their homes. To have your say on the idea, fill in the online survey, email private.housing@bristol.gov.uk or call 0117 922 2066. • bristol.gov.uk/licensingscheme
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March 2018
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n NEWS
Bristol arena ‘a shambles’ Gym plan for old gallery THE FORMER Grant Bradley art gallery in Bedminster Parade – which closed last year – could be converted into a large fitness centre. Plans have been submitted for a business called The Gym, able to hold 126 people training at once. The building was once Bedminster’s ornate public library, built in 1914. The new plan involves inserting mezzanine floors, but to avoid damaging the character of the building, it has been scaled down from a capacity of up to 140 people. It would employ 16 or 17 full-time staff, and could have a
SOUTH Bristol looks increasingly unlikely to benefit from the jobs and investment that would be brought by siting the Bristol arena at Temple Meads. Despite calls from South Bristol politicians for the plan to be kept on the table, signs are growing that the arena will be built at the Brabazon hangar in Filton. YTL, the Malaysian firm which owns Wessex Water, has offered to build the arena in Filton without public money. Mayor Marvin Rees has ordered a review into which option is best and a decision is
expected in April. When quizzed about the Arena Island site on a visit to Windmill Hill last month, the mayor said it could be used for a conference centre or five-star hotel. Meanwhile, Cardiff unveiled plans for a second arena for the Welsh capital – a 15,000 seat venue to be started in two years. Property consultant Tim Davies, head of South West and Wales for Colliers International, said the Cardiff decision exposed the “shambles” in Bristol “where there is still no arena after over a decade of inertia and lack of decision.”
Most people support 20mph zones: survey
Lower speed limit is saving Bristol lives and money, says UWE study
A REVIEW will start in the spring into whether any of Bristol’s 20mph speed limits need to be changed, after an academic study found the lower limits have been a success. A report by the University of the West of England found that speeds on 100 roads surveyed reduced by an average of 2.7 mph to between 19mph and 26mph. UWE says the changes, made in 2014 and 2015, have prevented 4.53 fatalities, 11.3 serious injuries and 159.3 slight injuries each year. The accidents avoided contribute to an estimated saving of £15 million a year. This is five times more than the one-off cost of the new restrictions of £2.8m. Walking and cycling across Bristol has increased, both
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among children travelling to school and commuting. The introduction of 20mph speed limits in Bristol offers a model for other towns and cities, say the UWE researchers. Cllr Mhairi Threlfall, Bristol city council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “The results from this report are a positive indication that lower speeds are making it safer to get around in
Bristol. What we need to establish is where 20mph appears to be working and where it may not be as effective.” The change enjoys majority support according to YouGov surveys – 62 per cent for residential roads and 72 per cent for busy streets. Strangely, many Bristolians think that 20mph limits aren’t supported by a majority of the city, even though
total membership of 2,500 gym-goers. • A HOUSE at 3 Southville Place has been given planning permission to convert from six bedrooms in two flats to a seven-bedroom HMO (house in multiple occupation). Six people objected, but planners said there should be little more noise or nuisance from one extra bedroom. As an HMO, the house would fall under strict regulation, they said, adding: “It is considered that the proposed dwelling would provide a satisfactory living environment for its occupants.” the polls show otherwise. There is also a widespread feeling that the new limits are not enforced by police, or observed by other drivers. Almost 40 per cent thought there were too many 20mph streets. Overall, in the Inner South zone, which includes South Bristol, only 12 per cent of residents feel drivers have cut their speed on local main roads. Across the rest of the city, only 19-25 per cent think speeds have reduced on main roads. However, between 77 and 88 per cent back the lower limit in their own road. Councillors will lead an eight-week review of 20mph zones in their areas. Any changes to speed limits would take several months. Cllr Jon Wellington told the Voice he would “strongly oppose” the removal of any 20mph zones in his ward. • 20splenty.org/bristol_20mph_ analysis
HOW CAN I TELL IF MY PET IS OVERWEIGHT?
IXTY per cent of UK vets say that obesity is the biggest health and welfare concern, according to research carried out by the British Veterinary Association in 2016. In addition to putting your pet on the weighing scales, we use body condition as an indicator of healthy weight. Explained simply, this involves checking for waist definition, palpable ribs and an abdominal tuck. Why not have a go at checking your pet’s body condition. Does your pet have a visible waist? Can
you easily feel their ribs when you run your fingers over them? Ribs should not be clearly visible but they should be easy to feel and have minimal fat covering them. The waist should be easily observed when viewed from above and the abdomen tucked up when viewed from the side. If the waist is not visible, the abdomen is rounded and ribs are difficult to palpate (feel) under the skin, your pet is highly likely to be overweight. On the other hand, if your pet’s ribs are clearly visible and their abdomen highly tucked,
your pet could be underweight. Your pet’s weight can have a significant effect on their health and quality of life. In fact, obesity can lead to a number of serious health issues and significantly reduce lifespan. Therefore, understanding your pet’s ideal weight and body condition could improve their quality of life and keep them with you for longer. It is worth asking a member of your veterinary team to show you how to check your pet’s body condition. Once you know what to look for it is easy to keep an eye on
March 2018
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March 2018
n NEWS
March 2018
southbristolvoice
n NEWS Alzheimer café
Memories of Bedminster THE MEMORIES of Bedminster group meets every Monday at 1.30pm at the South Bristol Centre, Churchlands Road. Anyone aged 55+ can expect a warm welcome, with speakers and chat about the good ol’ days in Bedminster. Talks include: Chris Norrish on Exmoor Red Deer, March 5; Jo Killick, RNIB and Talking Books, March 12; Don Townshed on Don the Whistler, March 19; and Alan Stealey on Historic Gardens of Bristol on March 26. Details from Lew Pedler on 07754 434 905. n OVER 55s struggling with technology can join a Social and Computer Café where they can get free help (and coffee) with computers, tablets and mobiles. No need to book; sessions on March 2 and 16 at the Tobacco Factory in The Snug from 10.15am-12.15pm, and on March 12 and 26 at Mezzaluna café on West Street from 1.15-3.15pm.
ANYONE with an interest in supporting people with Alzheimer’s is invited to help out at South Bristol’s Alzheimers Café. Held
monthly at Monica Wills House in Bedminster, it is a gathering for people with dementia and their families, friends and carers. There are talks, refreshments and music. The volunteers
greet café guests, act as friendly hosts at café tables, and staff an information stall. The next event is from 2-4pm on March 26. To find out more email Wendy. Hodsdon@stmonicatrust.org.uk
Hundreds of opportunities for South Bristol jobseekers HUNDREDS of young job seekers from across South Bristol and beyond are expected to attend a jobs and apprenticeship fair arranged with the support of MP Karin Smyth. South Bristol Skills Academy in Hengrove will open its doors from 12 noon-5.30pm on Thursday March 8. Employers present will include Kier Construction, Bristol Airport, Greene King, Marriott Hotels and Bristol Water among others. “Improving prospects for young people living in my
constituency is one of my key priorities,” said Karin. “Quality apprenticeships mean you can earn while you learn. They can open up new opportunities.” Apprenticeships are available to people aged 16 or older with a minimum of 5 GCSEs. They combine paid work with training and last between one and five years. They offer a minimum apprenticeship wage of £3.70 an hour to those under the age of 20 and National Minimum Wage for older apprentices (between £5.90 and £7.83 depending on age).
The Labour MP first organised a jobs fair in 2017. It attracted 30 exhibitors and over 400 young people, many of whom went on to undertake apprenticeships. “My apprenticeship gave me the inspiration I need for a great career,” said apprentice Casey Abrams, from City of Bristol College. “I feel motivated to train to become a business administration assessor so that I can help others achieve their aspirations, just like I did.” • Your MP: Page 46
North Street adds to its ethical choices with two new stores NOW OPEN Hugo’s is in full swing! Nearly all of our fresh fruit and vegetables are local and organic. Hugo’s also stocks plenty of cheeses including local halloumi and feta!
Bread, coffee, milk, eggs, fresh pasta and plenty more.
The core ethos here is Organic and Local so please come down for a coffee and a chat and pick up some seasonal specialities.
73 North Street, Bedminster BS3 1ES
www.hugosgreengrocer.co.uk
TWO NEW food stores are giving shoppers in Bedminster more options to buy food with less waste and that’s travelled as little as possible. Hugo’s Greengrocers at 73 North Street opened with a party on February 8. The shop is the culmination of a dream for owner Hugo Sapsed, and was set up with the help of crowdfunding. Hugo aims to stock fruit and veg grown, as far as possible, within 15 miles of Bristol. It’s a deli as well as a greengrocer, stocking West Country cheese and fresh pasta, and serving coffee. A little way up North Street at No 12, Stacey Fordham and her friend Lidia Losada are about to open Bristol’s first “zero waste” shop. Called Zero Green, they expect to open on March 10. The aim is to sell food without plastic packaging, and with as little waste as possible. The idea is that shoppers bring their own containers, whether that’s bags, jars or bottles, or buy sustainable ones
Zero Green, the first Zero Waste Shop in Bristol is getting ready to open its doors soon!
Fresh in: Hugo aims to sell produce grown within 15 miles of Bristol whereever possible in the shop. They will stock food such as pasta, rice, wholefoods, groceries and cleaning products. Even the shop itself is recycled – with the help of family members, they have been making shelves and food dispensers out of wood from the Bristol Wood Recycling Project.
Bring your own containers or get them from us to buy your daily essentials in bulk, such as cereals, spices, nuts, legumes, coffee, tea, washing liquids, vinegar, oil, etc. You can buy as little or as much as you wish
Come and visit us at 12 North Street BS3 1HT Open 10am-6pm Mon-Sat
www.zerogreenbristol.co.uk
hola@zerogreenbristol.co.uk
To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
9
LIBRARIES, CUTBACKS
Council tax set to rise 5%; no extra hike for richest LABOUR councillors brushed aside rival budget plans from their Lib Dem and Tory opponents on February 20 – but accepted a handful of Green ideas. The ruling Labour group voted through most of its £34.5 million of savings, along with a five per cent increase in council tax – almost the maximum allowed without a referendum of the city’s voters. Earlier calls from the Green party (and Labour’s left-wing Momentum faction) for a hike in council tax for the biggest homes were not debated. Labour voted in Sunday parking charges and cuts to
funding for PCSOs and social care. The savings, which include a freeze on senior officer pay, are less headline-grabbing than last year’s library and parks cuts. The Green ideas accepted are to spend £800,000 on two children’s homes, fund a review of student accommodation and
A SKEWED SYSTEM MOST political parties blame Government grant cuts for the huge deficit faced by Bristol. But the council tax system itself is skewed. If Bristol agrees a five per cent rise, the council tax bill for an average Band D property in the
charge developers more for licensing skips and scaffolding. The Lib Dems claimed they could invest an extra £6m in libraries, £6m in primary schools and £1.9m in social care by axing £50m in council borrowing which they say is unneeded. The Conservatives wanted to city would rise by £77 to £1,876. Yet in affluent Westminster – where the council rakes in huge amounts in business rates – even the wealthiest citizens don’t pay this much. The top Band H council tax in Westminster is £1,376 – for a property worth millions of pounds.
impose council tax on all working households, cut £810,000 from the public relations budget and close the city’s office in Brussels, saving £151,000. With £5m from council tax, cuts to libraries and parks could be halted, it claimed. Last year, Labour group Momentum wanted council tax doubled for owners of the most valuable Band H properties. This would hike their council tax bill from £3,600 to £10,800. Mayor Marvin Rees does not favour a referendum on council tax rises, perhaps calculating it would be hard to win, as affluent voters are the most likely to turn out in local polls.
Library cuts: Is the council considering all the options to save more branches? THE FUTURE of Bristol’s library network is in the balance with the council’s Labour leadership denying that any decision has been made which effectively condemns 17 of the 27 libraries. Cuts proposed last year to shut all but 10 libraries are on hold and a review, intended to save as many branches a possible, is due to report some time in the spring. The city’s Lib Dems claim Labour is not considering all the options. They want the council to look at spreading its library staff throughout the branch network, with volunteers to support them. This could save most of the libraries, they say. Lib Dem leader Gary Hopkins claimed that the council is only seriously considering a different plan – to keep all the staff in the 10 saved branches, and look at using volunteers in the rest. This won’t work in areas such as Marksbury Road – one of the libraries at threat – where few volunteers are likely to come
Marksbury Road: Under threat forward, he said. In affluent areas, enough volunteers may come forward to run libraries on their own, but at Marksbury Road there is “not a chance – it would close,” he said. “We are saying, you have to have the professional staff using the volunteers in a wider network and you can keep a lot more open,” said Cllr Hopkins, who represents Knowle. Another Lib Dem councillor, Arthur Negus, who has led the party’s fight for the libraries, was excluded from a meeting with
savings plan put forward last government advisers who were year. Bedminster and probably briefing council leaders on new Knowle and Hartcliffe would be ways of running the libraries. saved, but Marksbury Road, Deputy mayor Asher Craig Stockwood, Wick Road, Filwood, said the review is looking at Bishopsworth, and Whitchurch options including an in-house branches would probably close. council-managed structure, Sarah Murch, chair of the shared community ownership Friends of Marksbury Road models and third party provision. library, said: “We have put our “Alongside this review the trust in the mayor and his fellow council is also using this time to councillors to look after our public conduct its own investigation assets. Once they are out of public into supporting a ‘core’ service control, they are lost forever. with wider library provision “As to whether volunteers across the city such as communitycould be used to prop up the run libraries, libraries run by service, we need the views of volunteers or shared or colibrary staff on this. They are the located services with city partners. The results of these experts on how a library works, reviews are not expected until and management and councillors spring 2018,” she told the Voice. should listen to their advice. Cllr Craig would not say if the “We urge the council to resist Lib Dem claim – that the review political pressure to close libraries, is only looking at using paid staff turn them into alternative PROPERTY MAINTENANCE in 10 libraries – was correct. “No business models or hand them to decisions have been reached and the community. Our free access to INTERIOR & EXTERIOR PAINTING we continue to explore a range of books, information and computers FENCING • is PATIOS • LANDSCAPING options,” she said. in danger of being taken away Most of South Bristol’s to save a relatively small LOG STORESforever • GUTTERING • FASCIAS libraries would close under the amount of money.”
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March 2018
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n NEWS
PARKS UPDATE
March 2018
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Could a new foundation help pay for and protect parks after £3m cutbacks?
Rollo’s smaller flats plan is still attracting objections
VOLUNTEERS and fundraisers look likely to have a much greater role in keeping Bristol’s parks flourishing after the latest round of council cuts. Plans to hold more events in parks, add more cafés and paid-for attractions and increase parking charges will be too little to plug a gap of £3 million a year in the parks budget. One idea that looks likely to fall by the wayside, however, is advertising in parks. Officials had proposed sponsored adverts on council-owned open spaces. But there was huge opposition to the idea in a public consultation which ended in January, and a source indicated to the Voice that the plan could be dropped. Advertising might have raised only £50,000 a year – a drop in
Land ‘should be probed for contamination’
WHAT IS A PARK FOUNDATION? THE OUTLINE described by Bristol Parks Forum: A Parks Foundation would be an independent body with charitable status and a board of trustees. Funds would be raised through public donations (including legacies) but also by seeking corporate support accessing social responsibility budgets. In addition the Foundation would set up a trading arm to manage and run activities in parks, such as cafés, the ocean compared to the £3m a year the council has to save. Deputy mayor Asher Craig told the Voice last year that she was looking into passing control
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with the profits being passed to the charity. Public engagement would be a key priority and the Foundation would work with Park Groups;
other organisations and businesses to encourage and facilitate volunteering in parks. Funds raised could be for specific projects or to raise maintenance standards above those that could be achieved by relying solely on the reduced budgets available from BCC. The Foundation would not take on ownership or management of the parks, they would remain with BCC. It would carry out activities that are outside BCC’s current role and would seek to employ a small number of paid staff supported by volunteers.
of Bristol’s parks to a charitable trust. She was talking to the National Trust, she said, and was exploring whether a trust could attract funds in a way that the council could not. Now the Bristol Parks Forum, the influential body which unites parks volunteers all over the city, has revealed that it is backing a watered-down version of this idea. Instead of passing ownership of parks to a new charity, it wants to see a Parks Foundation set up. This would cost £195,000 to set up and would work closely with the Parks Forum. The council would still own and maintain all of Bristol’s parks, but the foundation would raise money to pay for improvements and for higher standards of maintenance.
Cllr Craig told the Voice she supported the plan. “I am very much aware of the great value that parks bring to people,” she said. “The council has been working alongside the Parks Forum, friends groups and other key stakeholders to find creative ways to support the management and protection of our parks and green spaces. I welcome and fully support the proposal to establish a Parks Foundation for Bristol which will provide a means to raise money, hold funds for park benefit, hold assets and be a deposit for bequests as well as acting as an administrator for parks grants.” The council may also apply for part of a £2m fund called Rethinking Parks, funded by Lottery money.
Bristol’s parks: change is coming
OBJECTIONS are continuing to pile up for the first planning application to be submitted for Bedminster Green – Rollo Homes’ scheme for 183 one-and two-bedroom flats. Rollo has removed one storey from its earlier 10-storey plan to help protect views for people living on Windmill Hill. Neighbours continue to object, however, along with several official bodies. Altogether 161 objections had been made to the revised plan, most of them by people living in Bedminster or Windmill Hill. A further three comments gave neutral views.
The council’s landscape team said impacts would be reduced if another floor was taken off the nine-storey blocks. “This would reduce the looming presence of the proposed buildings … and preserve views of the horizon from the Windmill Hill viewpoints. An opportunity seems to have been missed to add to the neighbourhood rather than dominate it,” the landscape official stated. Environmental officials objected too, pointing out that Rollo has not done a thorough check of the site to see if it is contaminated. The plot on Malago Road was the site of the Pring & St Hill steelworks, and parts of it were used to store chemicals. An ‘intrusive investigation’ is needed, and “without such a report the
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applicants do not know if the scheme is economically viable as there is no knowledge of how much (if required) remediation will cost,” said the council’s contaminated land environmental protection team. The police commented that the plan makes no mention of the security standard for the new blocks, or how the buildings will reduce the impact or fear of crime. Meanwhile, residents made scores of objections, mainly citing the scale of the plans. One resident of Malago Road said: “The proposed buildings are much too high and will completely overlook the gardens, houses and flats on the opposite side of Malago Road, not allowing any privacy. A development more in the scale of four to five storeys would be much
BEDMINSTER GREEN
Revised plan: Nine storeys, not 10, but it still dominates the neighbourhood, say objectors more appropriate to the area.” Steve Sayers, chief executive of Windmill Hill City Farm, also fielded an objection, saying that Bedminster Green needs “a neighbourhood, not a series of tower blocks.” A spokesperson for Rollo Homes said an initial report on contamination had found low levels of oil or other chemicals. A more detailed test will be made, but Rollo does not want to disrupt the Help Bristol’s Homeless charity, which is using the site with permission, by doing that yet.
Set in the heart of Bedminster, stylish one and two bedroom apartments offer all the advantages of independent living with a vibrant community scene. From the panoramic roof garden vistas, to delicious dining, discover why the St Monica Trust offers the very best in retirement living. To find out more or book a place on an open day call 0177 919 4267.
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To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
www.stmonicatrust.org.uk/villages/monica-wills-house Registered Charity 202151
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
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March 2018
March 2018
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n NEWS
Bristol’s cider shop is best in nation – again
Helping children meet their missing parent when families split up
THE BEST cider shop in the UK – and probably the whole world – is in Bristol, and is owned by a Totterdown resident. Pete Snowman is celebrating along with his staff after the Bristol Cider Shop was named Independent Cider Retailer of the Year 2018 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. It’s the second time the team have lifted the trophy – at first, in 2015, for their original shop at Christmas Steps, and now for a new store at Wapping Wharf. Owner Pete Snowman was handed the award at London’s Dorchester Hotel by Martin Green, editor of Drinks Retailing News. Pete said “We’re really chuffed. There’s loads of competition for the awards so we didn’t expect to win again. It’s really nice to be recognised for all the hard work we’ve put into the new shop.”
WINDMILL HILL
Big-brand cider can contain as little as 35 per cent juice, Pete told the Voice. But the Cider Shop prides itself on selling only cider made within 50 miles of Bristol, from pure juice. The Wapping Wharf store is proving a hit not only with Bristolians, but with “cider tourists”, who visit the city wanting to try the best in cider, said Pete. “When people try real cider they are amazed at the flavour and the pedigree, and the range of different tastes and styles.” Pete was sitting in a pub drinking West Country cider in 2010 when he realised there was no shop in the city that sold a range of local ciders. “There’s an obvious demand for proper cider,” he said. People like the fact it is a simple, pure product with minimal packaging, which hasn’t travelled far.
Celebrate Easter at your local church
CHURCH OF CHRIST – Jesus is Alive! St John’s Lane Easter Sunday, April 1 10am Service; 11am Breaking of bread; 2-4pm Easter Gospel Trail, Victoria Park, for children under 12; 5pm Evening Devotions. Easter Week holiday club, April 2-4 10am-12 noon. For children 4-12. Registration at 9.45am. Details: Jason 07795 560990. ST MICHAEL’S, Windmill Hill BS3 4LW Palm Sunday, March 25 10am Service with Archdeacon Christine Froude Maundy Thursday, March 29 7.30pm Fish and Chip Supper, with Communion. Good Friday, March 30 10am Stations of the Cross with Hot Cross Buns Easter Sunday, April 1 10am Easter Day Service with the rev Nick Williams VICTORIA PARK BAPTIST CHURCH, Sylvia Avenue Palm Sunday, March 25 10.30am Family Service Maundy Thursday, March 29 7.30pm Communion and Vigil Good Friday, March 30 10.30am Good Friday Service Easter Sunday, April 1 10.30am Family Service
Pete Snowman with Martin Green of Drinks Retailing News, Darren Broadhurst of sponsor Aston Manor and comedian Kerry Godliman
Dating event for older people proves to be a hit A DATING event for older people from South Bristol was so successful that it’s going to be repeated – and it may become a regular event. An evening for over-55s who are single and want to socialise was so popular that it was heavily oversubscribed. The event, hosted by the St Monica Trust at Mezzaluna restaurant in Bedminster saw 27 older people getting to know each other over a buffet supper. It’s not thought that any romances were sparked on the night – but many of those who attended said they’d like to see the event repeated. The next dating evening organised by St Monica’s community development team is expected to be towards the end of March. No date was available as the Voice went to press because Mezzaluna is being renovated. Many older people lose their spouses to illness or separation and often find it hard to make new acquaintances, whether for friendship or romance. The St Monica’s evenings are deliberately informal – there is no pressure to exchange addresses, or do anything more than socialise. But the popularity of the first event, held in November, has
So popular there was a waiting list – now it’s repeating showed that there are lots of older people in South Bristol who want to meet new faces. “It went really, really well,” said St Monica’s community development worker Dan Lewin. “It proved to us that there is the interest and the need for events like this.” About a third of those attending were men, which ended fears that only women would attend. “There were a lot of nerves when people arrived but as soon as people started eating and chatting, that seemed to dissipate,” said Dan. “By the end, people had had a really good evening. They had met new people, and that was the real idea. There’s no pressure on people to find a new partner.” The Voice will put details of the next dating event online as soon as they are available, but it’s likely to be on an evening in late March. The cost for a buffet meal and tea or coffee will be £5, and the Mezzaluna bar will be open. To find out more, call St Monica’s on 0117 305 2365.
To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
Centre offers a safe place to meet for separated families A PLACE where separated parents can be reunited with their children is appealing for more help. The South Bristol Child Contact Centre helps up to 10 families every weekend. It allows a parent – most often a father – who hasn’t seen his children for a while to meet them in a supported environment. The group meets in a church hall in Bedminster every Saturday afternoon. It’s been running successfully for 25 years and depends entirely on volunteers – and now some new blood is needed to make sure it can keep up the good work. Supervisor Christine Inman said that helping out at the centre can be very rewarding. “When you see a child step into the hall for the first time they may be really nervous, but when they see their dad or their mum at the other end of the room and they start running towards them … honestly, it brings a lump to
your throat, it’s great,” she said. The centre is open 2-4pm every Saturday. Volunteers receive training in helping the families to cope with what is often an emotional situation. There are plenty of games for children to play with their parents and refreshments are on sale. Sometimes the parents meet each other with their children and sometimes they stay in separate rooms while the child is taken to meet the other parent. There is always a team leader on hand. Any parent who seems under the influence of drugs or alcohol is asked to leave. Volunteers are asked to be available on a Saturday afternoon every few weeks. They can help the families or just help serve tea. Families are usually referred to the centre by their solicitor or by the courts, but they can make contact themselves. The centre has an answerphone on 0117 329 3957 and the office is open on Tuesday and Friday mornings, or you can email sbccc@talkalk.net The South Bristol centre is a registered charity and a member of the National Association of Child Contact Centres. • naccc.org.uk
13
Ordeal: Laura, Amy and Chris face six hours of workouts at the hands of their clients
Fitness clients get set to turn the tables on their personal trainers THE PERSONAL trainers at Empowered Fitness in Duckmoor Road, Southville are embarking on a six- hour workout where they will be led by their clients in a gruelling feat of endurance. Led by owner Amy Oldfield, trainers Laura and Chris will face 30-minute slots where one of their clients will turn the tables on them by dictating the exercise. They will be raising money for Penny Brohn UK, the Bristolbased cancer care charity. Amy
said: ‘’We know this sounds a little bit mad, and although we’re slightly daunted by what our clients will have in store for us, we’re really looking forward to bringing our clients together and having fun, all in the name of a fantastic cause. Our target is to raise at least £1,000.’’ All are welcome to spectate, cheer the trainers on and make a donation. • justgiving.com/fundraising/ empoweredfitness
Celebrate Easter at your local church BEDMINSTER St Aldhelm’s Chessel Street BS3 3TT Mothering Sunday, March 11 10am Palm Sunday, March 25 10am Good Friday, March 30 12-2pm Stations of the Cross, followed by reflective service from 2-3pm. Easter Sunday, April 1 10am. St Paul’s Coronation Road BS3 1DG Maundy Thursday, March 29 Service of Reflection on the Cross 7.30pm Good Friday, March 30 3pm Outdoor Service Easter Sunday, April 1 10.30am Jesus is Alive Celebration Service
Holistic music education for 3.5-8 year olds Music foundation classes across Bristol, with original songs and activities
Music School, based in Southville • Samba Drumming • Musicianship • Theory • Blackbird Children’s Choir (ages 4-8)
www.blackbirdeym.com | blackbirdeym@gmail.com 07931 931603 | Facebook:blackbirdeym
St Francis’ North Street BS3 1JP Palm Sunday, March 25 10.15am Maundy Thursday, March 29 7.30pm Holy Communion with Foot Washing Good Friday, March 30 9.30am Quiet Day, with Holy Communion at 2pm Easter Day, April 1 10.15am Holy Communion
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
March 2018
southbristolvoice
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n NEWS
THE LOCAL PLAN
High rises, Green Belt under threat, TRANSPORT ALONGSIDE the proposals for new homes and other development, the Local Plan also includes new transport options. It foresees a new mass transit link – presumably a train or tram link – from the city centre to Bristol Airport. This seems likely to pass through Bedminster, possibly several gave their initial reactions below. Here are the main proposals for South Bristol: BEDMINSTER (From the Local Plan) “CENTRAL Bedminster and Parson Street will be a focus for urban living which may have the potential for around 2,200 new homes, including affordable homes. Tall buildings in the right setting and of the right design may be appropriate in these areas
underground, if a feasibility study proves this is affordable. It raises the prospect of new stations in Bedminster or Southville. A new Park & Ride is proposed near Ashton Vale, and a new railway station at Ashton Gate. Another Park & Ride is earmarked for just outside Whitchurch on the A37. The Park & Ride at Brislington would move, to
make way for homes, to be located near the Hicks Gate roundabout. Another mass transit link is envisaged for the Bath Road – at least as far as Keynsham, and presumably destined for Bath. The plans are part of the Joint Transport Study for the period to 2036, produced by the four West of England councils. All the projects are several years away.
as part of the overall approach to development. There is an opportunity to capitalise on the accessible location through the redevelopment of key sites around Bedminster Down Road, West Street and Winterstoke Road to deliver new homes. In conjunction with measures to calm or reduce the impact of traffic through the area this could do much to regenerate the area. This will include the redevelopment of some industrial and warehousing land in the Whitehouse Lane area,
improvements to connections between East Street, Dalby Avenue and Bedminster station and an improved environment around Parson Street station.”
We know boys often see things a little differently
GREEN BELT “ THE NEW link road and part of the MetroBus system has the effect of separating the area to the east from the rest of the Green Belt. The transport infrastructure acts as a boundary. In order for the Green Belt to serve its purposes it is no longer necessary for it cover all areas to
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For more information or to arrange a visit, call 0117 930 3068 or visit www.qehbristol.co.uk To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
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THE LOCAL PLAN
and 2,200 homes
02.18.175
SOUTH Bristol has the potential for 11,000 new homes – many of them in Bedminster, according to the city’s new Local Plan. The city council has released a far-reaching blueprint for how Bristol will develop over the next 20 years. The aim is to “help deliver the new homes and jobs we need and safeguard the environmental assets we value”, according to the council. The plan is packed with important announcements and detail – such as building on the Green Belt at Ashton Vale, thousands of homes for central Bedminster, new transport links and a new policy allowing more tall buildings. There is only a few weeks for the public to make their comments – consultation closes on April 13 [see panel, right]. As the Voice went to press, councillors and commentators had not had time to absorb the impact of the Local Plan, but
March 2018
the east of the link road. It is proposed to remove land at south west Bristol from the Green Belt as indicated on the diagram [right]. Important open areas will be safeguarded and some potential sites for development will be identified. To maintain their undeveloped status it is proposed that Ashton Vale town green, Bedminster Down common and its surroundings and Highridge Common are designated as Specially Protected Local Green Space. Existing allotments will be retained in allotment use. It is proposed that land north of Ashton Vale town green, to the west of The Pavilions and west of Elsbert Drive are considered as potential development locations.” THE VALE THE LOCAL Plan deals only with the parts of the Green Belt mentioned above, which are within the city boundary. Just over the boundary in North Somerset, and next to the South Bristol Link road, developer Taylor Wimpey is proposing several thousand new homes in a cluster of three villages called The Vale. This idea has won backing from many politicians because it puts new homes close to transport links and the facilities of Bristol. North Somerset’s leadership are opposed – but elsewhere it is seen as an idea waiting for its time. TALL BUILDINGS A SEPARATE document, Urban Living: Making Successful Places at Higher Densities makes the case for more high-rise residential buildings. Bedminster Green is clearly one of the areas singled out for tall buildings – but the policy doesn’t say exactly where they should go. Mayor Marvin Rees makes his enthusiasm clear in the introduction to the Urban Living document. “I want Bristol’s skyline to grow. Years of low level buildings and a reluctance to build up in an already congested city is something I am keen to change. “I acknowledge that higher density development – particularly tall buildings – is an emotive subject both for and
WHAT IS THE LOCAL PLAN? THE Bristol Local Plan is intended to guide development for the next 20 years. It has been produced by the city council and is open for discussion until April 13. It can be viewed online at bristol.gov.uk/en_US/ planning-and-buildingregulations/local-plan-review It is also available in libraries. Comments can be made online or by email to blp@ bristol.gov.uk By post to Strategic City Planning Team, Bristol City Council, City Hall, PO Box 3176, Bristol BS3 9FS against; advocates suggest tall buildings represent ambition and meet growth requirements, while those against often cite the need to protect the unique character of the city, and voice concerns that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. The Urban Living SPD seeks to reconcile these often polarised views.” REACTIONS SOUTH Bristol councillors reacted cautiously to the Local Plan, stressing that it would take time to absorb its implications. Cllr Stephen Clarke, Green member for Southville ward, which includes Bedminster Green, told the Voice: “Bedminster Green development is potentially a huge opportunity for the area as most people would agree that the area needs some serious regeneration. What worries me is that, rather than having a cohesive and joined-up plan for the area, we will end up with a mess of competing schemes and priorities and that many of the possible community benefits will be lost. On tall buildings, he said: “We need more homes in Bristol and clearly tall buildings can provide those. However, we are all scared of the mistakes of the past being repeated. What I would prefer is more mid-scale developments, like Wapping Wharf for example, to be built. They could provide a reasonable density of buildings without being too overpowering. Bedminster Labour councillor Celia Phipps said she and Cllr
GREEN BELT Areas to be removed from the Green Belt under the Local Plan. Parts of the areas would still be protected from development
Mark Bradshaw would study the Local Plan carefully before responding in detail. She told the Voice: “I’m not a huge fan of massive tower blocks. It’s almost inevitable we are going to see high buildings, but we have a planning process, and
it has to be done sensitively.” Neil Sellers, chair of BS3 Planning, a community planning group, said members would be looking closely at the Local Plan. He wants members of the public to send him their views at bs3planning@gmail.com
HIGH RISE
on the micro-climate; • At locations where the provision of a landmark building would clearly improve the legibility of the city. A tall building should not be located where: • It hides or masks the topography of the city; • It harms valued views from key vantage points; • It has a detrimental impact on the city’s historic environment; • It has a significant negative impact on the amenity of nearby occupiers or on the public realm; • It has a negative impact on nearby renewable energy systems; • There is insufficient transport, utilities or community infrastructure to support a more intensive form of development.
From the Urban Living proposals Tall buildings will be encouraged in locations: • Where they are likely to have a positive impact on the socioeconomic health of the wider neighbourhood; • Within reasonable walking distance of a range of local facilities and public transport; • Where they can help support patronage to proposed new public transport infrastructure; • Close to other tall residential or commercial clusters of tall buildings where it can be demonstrated that a new tall building serves to raise the quality and coherence of the cluster, without creating adverse impacts
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
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March 2018
southbristolvoice
Please keep letters as short as possible, LETTERS and provide your postal address.
COMING SOON
A new chapter in the story of Bedminster
There’s no need for the mayor to set an illegal budget IN YOUR last issue you quote Bristol mayor Marvin Rees on the issue of whether it would be possible to set a no-cuts budget for Bristol. Once again mayor Rees has misrepresented the Bristol and District Anti-Cuts Alliance (BADACA). He claims it would be impossible to set an illegal budget: however, this is not what we are calling for. Bristol City council has around £80 million in general reserves and over £200m in ‘usable’ reserves, as well as the power to borrow cheaply. By using some of this money it would be entirely possible to set a legal and balanced budget without cuts. This would protect jobs and services while a
powerful mass campaign could be built against Tory austerity. Bristol council used reserves in its last budget, as did a majority of councils. Surely it is better to do this as part of a clear strategy of fighting cuts and standing up for local residents? This approach is not only being put forward by BADACA, it is now also being urged on Rees by elected bodies of his own Labour party. Unfortunately he has ignored these resolutions and continues to cut, claiming he has no choice. He is clearly not stupid, so either he is not listening to his own members or he is being deliberately dishonest. We are not asking him to “ignore austerity” as he says, we are asking him to fight it and not to ignore his constituents. The alternative is far worse. The Community Links service for people with disabilities or dementia is being cut. There are reports of human excrement in our parks since the closure of public toilets at the end of
POLICE REPORT
17 Write to paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk or to 18 Lilymead Avenue, BS4 2BX
January. The axe still hangs over 17 of the city’s libraries. Tens of millions of pounds more cuts will be put forward in the council budget later this month. How much worse does it have to get before our mayor and council will take a stand? Tom Baldwin Bristol and District Anti-Cuts Alliance
Where are the park fairies? I WONDER if some dog owners believe in fairies? I have a dog myself and I always pick up his deposits. But judging from the amount of poo I encounter every morning in the park, it looks to me as if a sizeable number of dog owners would rather leave this task to someone else. Who do they think performs this duty on their behalf? Are they under the delusion that the council patrols our park picking up unwanted poo? I can tell you it doesn’t. So it must be fairies, or
A
One and two bedroom apartments Register your interest 0117 9469832 landandnewhomes@oceanhome.co.uk
To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
Derelict: A Bedminster home which has been used for Class A drug use are working with homeless organisations as well as implementing dispersal orders as and when required. To date, police have issued a number of dispersal notices to those causing ASB in a bid to make our communities a cleaner and safer place in which to live. If you experience ASB in your area then please contact us by emailing greaterbedminsternpt@ avonandsomerset.police.uk. The more reports we get, the better a picture we can build and allocate resources accordingly. Our photo shows a derelict
New target for the Litter Police I THINK I have stumbled on a way to help fill up the council coffers. Does any reader know the contact number for the Litter Police? You know, the ones that follow you round Broadmead, then nab you if so much as a sweetie wrapper falls out of your pocket. If so, I can contact them and assemble a team at the top of my road on a Tuesday, so as to follow the recycle team down it. If successful it may be this scheme could be rolled out district or even city wide. I’m sure the extra revenue would be well received. Who knows, there may be some left over to buy a spade and wheelbarrow so Marvin can make a start on his underground tunnel. Bob, Kensal Road, Bedminster
With PCSO Charlotte Tait Broadbury Road police station
The shocking scene inside a Bedminster crack den NTI-social behaviour (ASB) linked to homelessness and street drinking is a really complicated and delicate issue which the police alone cannot solve. We have to balance the rights and needs of the people causing the problem, who often have complex health and mental health needs, with the rights and needs of communities, who should not have to tolerate ASB like this in their streets. Over recent weeks, we have noticed a visible increase in this behaviour. We are working hard to reduce these incidents, especially along East Street and Bedminster Parade. We are supporting street drinkers and homeless people to access the relevant services, with support from our partner agencies. We
similarly kind-hearted citizens of noble intent. Disgusted, Totterdown
property in Bedminster where class A drug use is taking place, with uncapped needles and other drug paraphernalia lying around. Derelict properties like this are being used by street drinkers, homeless people and drug users. We are aware of a number of locations like this and would ask you to contact us or Bristol city council should you be aware of any building being used in this manner. Once identified, we will try to make these locations secure and deal with any offences. Anti-social behaviour has a real negative impact on
communities, as we have highlighted above. But people begging on our streets, who often have drug and alcohol addictions, are some of the most vulnerable people in our community. As a result of this, they are often forced to live a lifestyle that for most of is unacceptable. It’s our aim to help those who find themselves in this situation. All we ask is that should you witness any of the above types of ASB, please contact the appropriate organisation so that we can make our communities safer places to live.
R
ESIDENTS of Ashton Vale – we have a monthly beat surgery at Risdale Road community centre on the first Thursday of every month from 1-3pm. The next one is on March 1. If you have any local issues or concerns please come along.
W
E WOULD also like to introduce a new member to the Greater Bedminster Beat Team, PCSO 9761 Rebecca Crane. Say hello if you see her out and about and please make her feel welcome. PCSO Charlotte Tait
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
mrSBvoice(0118)1PP
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n NEWS
Rising interest in plug-in cars has already led one South Bristol electrical firm, Trimby Electrical, based in Redcatch Road, Knowle, to offer home installations of charging points. This equipment offers much faster charging than a standard three-pin socket. So far there are only a handful of public charging points – [see panel]. But Southville service station on Coronation Road has planning permission to install a charger on its forecourt. Public consultation will influence where new charging stations are installed in the West
of England, using £7.1 million of public funds by 2020. Bristol is to install new chargers in Victoria Street, Brunswick Square and Stuart
Street, Redfield, during March. A survey for anyone to complete, whether you have an electric vehicle or not, is at bit.ly/2BVaCHv
ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING POINTS IN SOUTH BRISTOL
• Long Ashton Park & Ride; • Create Centre, Smeaton Road; • Templegate car park, Temple Gate; • South Bristol Skills Academy, Hengrove Park; • Brislington Park & Ride.
• Knowle West Media Centre, Leinster Avenue; • Redpoint Climbing Centre, Winterstoke Road; • Tobacco Factory, Raleigh Road • City Motors, Castle Court, St Philip’s Causeway;
Map of all charging points at goultralow.com
Dan’s plan to save the swings with a summer fun day
Bristol Neuroscience Festival 2018 22nd – 24th March FREE Event Science Festival with exhibitions, Brain Art and talks Wills Memorial Building Explore hands-on activities lead by scientists, come and talk to scientists about their research, enjoy the ‘Best of Bristol Neuroscience’ lectures, investigate the ‘Evolution of the brain’ and ‘Brain Art’ exhibitions and much more…
Public Lecture by Prof Paul Howard-Jones Victoria Rooms, 23rd March 2018, 18:30-20:00 For more information visit: www.bristol.ac.uk/neuroscience/bnf For enquires email: bnf-2018@bristol.ac.uk
THE CAMPAIGN to replace the much-missed swings in Greville Smyth Park has shifted up a gear, with hopes for a family fun day to raise funds. Runner and martial arts instructor Dan Blythe, from Ashton, has decided to put his extreme level of fitness to a good cause by attempting a mindboggling 100-mile run to draw attention to the cause. He’s also working with Frogs – the Friends of Greville Smyth Park – to organise an all-day summer event of food, music and fitness in the park. The swings were removed in 2016 for safety reasons and would cost £12,000 to replace. So far Frogs and members of the public have amassed £4,000, and it’s hoped that Dan’s events will raise the rest. “I have an image of a really good day of events that the whole family can enjoy,” he said. “We can start the day at 10am with an Under 8s run – they can just do a lap of the park. Then at 11am we could have a run for older kids. In the afternoon would be runs for adults. “In between we would like some local bands to come down and play some music. “Any local food vendors who are willing to donate a percentage
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n FEATURES
Where would you like to plug in and charge up? PEOPLE are being asked where they would like to see new charging points in Bristol for electric cars. So far only about one in 300 cars on the UK roads is a plug-in electric vehicle. But as battery technology improves and the range of the vehicles increases they are becoming more popular. The latest Nissan Leaf, for example, has a claimed range of 235 miles (though a What Car? test put the real range in cold weather at 108 miles). By the end of 2017, almost three per cent of new car sales were electric.
5/1/18
great value motor and home insurance M from your local South Bristol broker EMBERS of a South Bristol church are flying to India next month in the latest of their visits to help people in one of the country’s poorest regions. Brendan Bassett, minister of Victoria Park Baptist church, will lead the party travelling to the city of Tenali in Andhra Pradesh. But it’s fair to say the trip will probably mean most to church member Beverley Chapman, who has been on aid trips to Tenali several times but will be making the journey for the first time without her husband Rod, who died suddenly in January last year. The trio, including churchgoer Julie Loxley, will be visiting the many Christian churches around the city and also giving money and practical help to Christians and non-Christians alike. Beverley explained that the Bristol party are paying their own fares and every penny they raise will be spent on local projects such as digging wells and
LOCAL HERO: Rod Chapman, Beverley’s late husband, became a well-known face in Tenali on his last visit. After a visit to a city barber, the owners put his face on billboards all over the city. Right, Beverley and Rod
Labour of love to help poorest providing help to people such as HIV sufferers and widows, who are sometime shunned in rural areas. Under the guide of local priest Jean Paul Pinapati, they will visit
COMEDY, CURRY AND MUSIC
MOTOR INSURANCE
Long distance runner: Dan Blythe with his daughter Molly, 5 of the profits will be welcome too.” Dan has already designed a logo [above left] which he is going to produce as large stickers – he’s hoping local traders will be willing to pay to display it in their windows. He will also donate sponsorship from his entry for the Cotswold 24 Hour Endurance race in August. Runners have to circle a 9km course as many times as they can in 24 hours – if they can make it around 18 times, they will have done 100 miles. Dan has chosen the Cotswold event because the laps are short and he is visually impaired, which means he can’t tackle cross-country terrain at night. “I enjoy running but it’s not my main thing,” he said modestly. “I only do one of these events a year – last year I did the Thames Path 100k Challenge.” Celia Phipps, the Bedminster Labour councillor who is also chair of Frogs, welcomed the idea of a fun day and called it “a fantastic idea”.
To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
COMEDY IN A GOOD CAUSE
THE VOICE is supporting an evening of music and comedy to help raise funds for the Dalit Women’s Mission in Tenali. Called the Comedy, Curry and Music Shebang, it’s on Saturday March 17 at Redcatch community centre, Knowle. There’s a first-rate line-up of comedians – Matthew Baylis, Matt Bragg, Bently Browning, Dan May and Ian MacDonald – with music from Hurry up Harry. (You can check Harry out at soundcloud. com/hurry-up-harry). All the profits will go to the
schools, villages and an orphanage. She’s also looking forward to seeing what has been achieved with money she sent to Tenali in memory of Rod – she’s hoping it will have funded a well Chapman. Tickets are just £10 – which includes curry and handmade Indian treats from Sebastien Brochot services and Desi – from Ruth on 07590 527664. Bring your own alcohol.
for a school with no access to water. “It’s a very humbling experience to go there,” said Bev, who travelled to India on similar trips with Rod in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012. “The people are so amazing: you realise how much you have got and what they haven’t got.” Bev and Rod did not see their trips as a one-way charity exercise – they believed that they were given just as much in return by the Indian people. In rural areas old habits die hard, and people with leprosy or HIV can be shunned as unlucky. That is why it is so important that people go to visit them, said Beverley. “Someone said to me, why don’t you just send the money over there?” she said. “But for them to know that someone has taken the time to go there and be with them means as much as getting the cash.”
HOME INSURANCE
• COMEDY & CURRY has been generously supported by: Desi restaurant; ER&B printers, Broad Walk; The Oxford, Oxford Street; with raffle prizes from Aardman Animation, Yae Rae Flay, Incredible Brewing Co, Moa Design Jewellery, Susan Taylor Design, Raw Soap Co, Happy Biscuit Co, Wisteria Workshop, SS Great Britain, The Victoria Park, Fox & West, Park Bakery, Bemmie, Wookey Hole, Rachel Heaton, Sausagenius, Caspar, Floriography, South Bristol Voice, We The Curious, Fit4Less.
We’ve been serving local people in South Bristol charity in India – not a penny will be spent on airfares. The costs of the evening have been covered by generous South Bristol sponsors advertising on this page. The evening is organised by Ruth Drury, the Voice’s sales manager and daughter of Beverley
for over 50 years from our St John’s Lane branch, so call in or phone us to discuss your car or home insurance requirements your local independent insurance broker for over 50 years – personal service @ internet prices
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0117 923 1330
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n COMPETITION Sponsors of BS4 Good Gardens 2018 include:
Win a family ticket to Being Brunel, Bristol’s newest museum
O
N MARCH 23, doors will open on a new museum celebrating our most iconic of engineers, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Being Brunel will tell his extraordinary story through never-before-seen personal possessions, as well as interactive exhibits and audio-visual experiences. It will be a major addition at Brunel’s SS Great Britain, which is already rated as Bristol’s no.1 visitor attraction by the public on TripAdvisor. To celebrate, Bristolians are being offered the chance to win one of 10 family tickets, valid for two adults and up to three children – not just once, but for unlimited visits all year. To enter,
Largest selection of plants in the city
Riverside
Brunel the man: The great engineer’s story is told at SS Great Britain just visit ssgreatbritain.org/win and answer the following question: If Brunel were alive today, what would you want him to design for Bristol? The best 10 answers win an
annual ticket for you and your family. Winners will be announced on March 19. • Only one entry is allowed per person, and entrants must live within the BS postcode area. Family tickets allow entry to up
to three children (aged 16 and under) and two adults or seniors. Tickets cannot be exchanged for any monetary value. Visit the website for more information. • ssgreatbritain.org/win
BEING BRUNEL A WORLD OF WONDER & INNOVATION
Garden Centre & Café Join us on Facebook & Twitter
@Riverside_GCHQ
Clift House Road, Southville, Bristol BS3 1RX • 0117 966 7535
www.riversidegardencentre.com To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
COMING 23 MARCH
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
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n FEATURES
WILDLIFE IN SPRING
There’s lots you can do to make wildlife flourish in your garden this spring, says Alex Morss
W
E MAY be a few weeks off barbecue season, but right now South Bristol’s gardens are a hotpot of wild hanky panky. I’m talking about the birds and the bees, as well as bold urban mammals such as the busy fox, and especially the amorous amphibians. With spring beckoning them to get busy, here are some easy and fun garden upgrades you can do to welcome our wild, preoccupied friends.
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YOU’LL enjoy a chorus and a show if you stick up new bird boxes soon. The law says it’s too late now to clean out old boxes. Plenty of garden bird species are checking out potential nesting sites and early broods such as long-tailed tits, robins, blackbirds and herons are already off the starting blocks. Various bird box designs and positions will suit different species, so think which bird species are regular visitors to your garden, or likely new ones you could appeal to, then look up the right box type, hole size and location on the links below. For example, 25mm holes for blue, coal and marsh tits; 28mm for great tits, tree sparrows; 32mm for house sparrows and nut hatches, 45mm for starlings. Check these websites for more: • rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/ advice/how-you-can-help-birds/ nestboxes/nestboxes-for-smallbirds/ • avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/sites/ default/files/basicallyboxespart1.pdf It’s all about location with birds, so attract them by making your garden and nest box into a des res, adding nuts and seeds in bird feeders nearby, and vegetation cover to provide perches and extra safety. These will in turn attract insects for them to eat. Remember to position all these goodies away from prowling cats.
PONDLIFE
IT’S A good time to tart up your pond with new plants that will
On your doorstep: You could see a smooth newt, left, a long-tailed tit or a Southern Hawker dragonfly
Provide a welcome in spring benefit pond life, or create a new pond to attract spring visitors. Amphibians are getting jiggy about now, so avoid dredging, as there is likely to be mating and spawn. Newts like to lay their tiny eggs on emerging vegetation, so try introducing a couple of aquatic and marginal natives such as water mint, water forget-me-not, water avens, brooklime and the gorgeous golden marsh marigold – also adored by pollinators. We have both frogs and toads in our district, so you may find the newts eat some of the frog spawn, but that’s perfectly natural. We have two of Britain’s three native newts species – the smooth and palmate newt. Sadly, the magnificent and highlyprotected great crested newt seems to be absent, but tell us if you know of any! It survives in a handful of places in Bristol. Newts only use a pond for breeding and live the rest of the time within a few hundred metres of water, so good wilder gardens and alleys with lots of insect food and hiding places are vital. You could reasonably expect to attract zooming, egg-laying visits to your pond from spectacular local dragonflies and damselflies such as the Southern Hawker, Emperor, Banded, Azure, Blue-Tailed, Large Red and Common Darter. Birds will also benefit from a shallow pond margin, as will foxes – vixens will be pregnant now and give birth to cubs in March and April. Also, our
popular local hedgehog population will be awakening from hibernation once night temperatures rise above 5C, and will need copious amounts to drink. If you can’t manage a pond, then a shallow plant pot
tray, regularly topped up with rainwater, would help quench the thirsty. Job done. Sit back and enjoy the spring spectacle! • Next issue: The best spring flower ideas for a garden pollinator
Award winning family-run independent pharmacy
• Advice • NHS prescriptions • Living aid products DID YOU KNOW? • You can get vaccinated privately against meningitis B. Ask us for more details.
Do you suffer from incontinence? Don’t be embarrassed, it’s a very common problem. Come and talk to us in confidence about products that might help you. Follow us on Twitter: @bedminsterpharm
bedminster pharmacy Cannon Street, Bedminster, BS3 1BN Open 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat
0117 985 3388
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
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n STOP PRESS
BRISTOL’S LOCAL PLAN REVIEW
Cli on High School co-educa onal nursery school to sixth form
Nursery School to Sixth Form Open Morning: Thursday 10th May 2018 at 9.30am
March 2018
southbristolvoice
n NEWS
Mud challenge to adults who help brain-damaged kids CHILDREN with neurological problems which inhibit their movement are getting tailormade help from a South Bristol non-profit organisation. Conductive Education Bristol holds weekly sessions for children, teenagers and adults too at its base in Bedminster Down. Skilled practitioners help children with cerebral palsy and other conditions learn new movements and gain confidence, with the aim of helping them live more independently. Skills such as being able to balance while sitting, and learning to eat and drink, can make an enormous difference to brain-damaged children. From small beginnings with five families in 2014, the group has grown and now its members help 17 families across Bristol and North Somerset, with more on a waiting list. CE Bristol’s founder, Natalie Walker, and supporters aim to draw attention to the group’s good work – and raise vital funds
Make pedal pals
Realising Individual Brilliance
CHILDREN who can’t wait to get on two wheels can try out new courses at the Bristol Family Cycling Centre in Hengrove. Children aged 8+ who would rather learn to ride without younger children around can
Small steps: The Conductive Education group helps children learn new skills to help them live more independently
– by taking part in the Bristol Tough Mudder event on May 19. The event is a 5km obstacle course on Clifton Down that requires teamwork and endless grit to complete. One parent said: “CE Bristol has been such a support to my daughter and our family. The book a session on March 27 and April 6. Bikeability courses for 9-11-year-olds teach road skills, starting on March 26 or April 5. Children of all ages can attend regular drop-in learn to ride sessions. The centre, in Bamfield, has a traffic-free cycle track. • betterbybike.info/ familycyclingcentre
The Diamond Edge Model
Realising Individual Brilliance
To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
sessions have enabled Amelie to be more independent in self-care and given her the opportunity to make friends. Amelie looks forward to her weekly session and has shown great progress.” Another said the group helps with “patiently teaching all the small skills that together make a big difference, seeing that Finn is trying to achieve something when others overlook it.” Meanwhile, children from Conductive Education will be holding their own mini obstacle event on April 3. If you’d like to support the group, details are on the web link: • localgiving.org/charity/cebristol
Southbank art trail: there’s still time to enter ARTISTS wanting to exhibit at the Southbank arts trail – which takes place on May 12 and 13 – have until March 5 to put their names down. One of the biggest in Bristol, the SBA Trail exhibits work from over 100 local artists, from fine art to street art, photography to furniture, and textiles to mechanical toys. Homes and venues across Southville, Bedminster and Ashton will become galleries for the weekend, offering visitors the chance to meet and talk to artists. Work is usually available to buy. Venues will include the Tobacco Factory, BS3 Community (Southville Centre), churches, cafés and bars. Schools and children can also get involved in creating their own artwork to display. • southbankbristolarts.co.uk
Bible Prophecy and The Gospel Message Are you aware that: JESUS CHRIST has PROMISED to RETURN to the EARTH
International events fulfilling Bible OR THURSDAY TILL 8PM SPORTS MASSAGE EVENINGS FROM 5PMProphecy proclaim his coming is near
AVAILABLE APPOINTMENTS ONLY WEEK DAYS 7AM TO 4PM
£35
0117 933 9087 admissions@cliftonhigh.bristol.sch.uk
25
KINESIOLOGY • MASSAGE • FITNESS
What are you doing to prepare for that day?
Send for further information to: The Secretary, Apostolic Fellowship of Christ www.sarahlangfordfitness.co.uk Bethgur, 52a Dartford Road, sarahlangford13@hotmail.com Dartford, Kent DA1 3ER 07920 408013 www.sarahlangfordfitness.co.uk sarahlangford13@hotmail.com
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk 07920408013
26
n PLANNING APPLICATIONS
81 Highbury Road, Bedminster BS3 5NS Single storey side and rear extension. Granted subject to conditions
81 West Street, Bedminster BS3 3NU Single storey extension to rear of restaurant. Granted subject to conditions
33 West View Road BS3 3JL Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 3.4m, of maximum height 2.6m with eaves of maximum 2.4m. Granted
65 Stackpool Road BS3 1NL Loft conversion, insertion of roof lights, replacement windows, external alterations and erection of single storey store. Granted subject to conditions
209 Coronation Road BS3 1RQ Single storey rear extension, with interior re-modelling to ground floor of HMO to create a larger kitchen and living room space. Granted subject to conditions
242 Ashton Drive BS3 2QA Two storey rear extension. Granted subj. to conditions
55 Langton Park BS3 1EQ Single storey infill extension. Granted subject to conditions 72 Stackpool Road BS3 1NN Demolition of rear conservatory. Construction of single storey rear extension and removal of first floor rear balcony to rear. Granted subj. to conditions
March 2018
southbristolvoice
62 Winterstoke Road BS3 2NW Demolition of conservatory and construction of single storey rear extension. Refused 11 Dean Lane BS3 1DB Division of basement/ground floor maisonette into two flats, retaining first/second floor maisonette. Granted subject to conditions 208 Coronation Road BS3 1RQ Demolish single storey
Bedminster, Southville & Ashton extension and replace with single storey extension. Granted subject to conditions
of maximum height 3.63m with eaves 2.5m high. Pending consideration
261 Ashton Drive BS3 2PZ Two storey side extension. Granted subject to conditions
5 Pembery Road BS3 3JR Rear and side extension. Pending consideration
5 Southville Place BS3 1AW Conversion of house into three apartments. Granted subject to conditions
7 Carrington Road BS3 2AQ Loft conversion with rear roof dormer, Juliette balcony. Installation of roof lights to front. Pending consideration
9 North Street Bedminster BS3 1EN Conversion of buildings to front and rear and creation of six apartments and one shop unit. Granted subject to conditions
9 Truro Road BS3 2AE Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 5.97m, of maximum height 2.9m with eaves of maximum height of 2.9m. Refused
71 Stackpool Road BS3 1NL Loft extension with side dormer and rooflights to front. Refused
18-34 Stafford Street BS3 4DA Details in relation to condition 3 (Cycle storage) of permission 16/05939/F: Demolition of warehouse and erection of nine flats. Pending consideration
J Sainsbury, Winterstoke Road BS3 2NS Refurbishment of petrol station, with three new 60k underground tanks, pipework and removal of one pump reducing the overall pump count from seven to six. Granted subject to conditions The Bowers, Courtlands Lane BS3 2JS Erection of detached 1-bedroom dwelling with vehicular access and parking. Granted subject to conditions 156 Swiss Drive BS3 2RP Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 3.75m, of maximum height 3.68m with eaves of maximum height 2.5m. Pending consideration 51 Thanet Road BS3 3HY Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 3.1m,
PER METER
168 East Street, Bedminster BS3 4EH Non-material amendment for permission 15/06489/F: Demolition of rear annexes, retaining main building, and redevelopment as nine flats (as revised 16.03.2016); now proposed retention of existing single storey shop and revisions to internal layouts. Pending consideration 94 Winterstoke Road BS3 2PG Dropped kerb and block paved hardstanding for vehicular access. Pending consideration • The status of these applications may have changed since we went to press. Check for updates at planningonline.bristol.gov.uk
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March 2018
southbristolvoice
n FEATURES
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BIG JEFF, BRISTOL’S MUSIC LEGEND
Sometimes the fan is better known than the act. Beccy Golding meets Bristol’s most famous gig-goer
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ALL, wild-haired and most often seen right at the front at music events, Big Jeff is a bit of a Bristol legend, well known by gig-goers and performers alike. For many years he went to seven gigs a week. He’s had a song written about him (by a performer called Beans on Toast); Este from Haim is alleged to have tried to propose to him; and his knowledge of the Bristol music scene is so vast that he’s asked to front his own events, such as last August’s day-long music takeover of the Arnolfini. There’s even a Big Jeff Appreciation Society on Facebook with nearly 2,000 members. Jeffrey John’s first visit to Bristol was to Ashton Court Festival in 1995, when he was 12. On the main stage were Skunk Anansie – “a black femalefronted hard rock band, with a huge voice and stage presence – they changed my perception of what is possible in music. It was like a big switch in my head.” He grew up in Horsley, Gloucestershire, in the heart of the Cotswolds. In the early 2000s Jeff spent a year in Guildford, Surrey studying drums at a music school where celebrity tutors included Kirsty MacColl and Hugh Cornwell. In 2002 Jeff moved to South Bristol, first living in Southville, and then in Totterdown. “I feel pretty settled,” he says. Jeff did a three-year course in popular music at Access to Music, whose studio was used in the 1990s by iconic Bristol acts such as Portishead and Roni Size. The studios, now on a trading estate in Hengrove, have been converted into a training facility. It was a hands-on course – he formed a band, The Recluses. “I put on a few shows – the most memorable was the end- of-year gig at the Thekla – an A&R guy from Sony was invited. I had black and white facepaint, doused in tomato ketchup, doing drone rap. They lasted 10 seconds before walking
Big Jeff: Bristol’s super-fan, he’s seen thousands of gigs and found fame
A gig ain’t a gig if it don’t have the Big Jeff approval stamp out! When I moved to Totterdown I was wasting my life, staying up late and going out too much. My parents said ‘Right, you’re going to do something useful’.” Jeff worked for Art + Power – an arts disability group (which sadly closed last year). He volunteered at Windmill Hill City Farm for a couple of years too. “I really like it there – if I feel I need to escape my flat and haven’t had breakfast yet, it’s the perfect place. ” Jeff is now involved with Art in Motion, led by artist Colin Higginson, at Spike Island. An exhibition at Spike Island in March will look at “things in our own flats which make us who we are.” He’s also working with Bristol museum on an exhibition in the summer, on Bristol music. Jeff has made a couple of short films with Joff Winterhart, author and drummer with Bucky. “My strangest adventure last year was when [one of these films] was screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival. I’m used to hanging around with musicians, but A list actors is something else – I was starstruck! Toby Jones,
Richard E Grant, Kevin Bacon… it was awkward with a capital A! “This last year, in terms of achievement… tick, tick, tick… and still adding! I never thought I’d do filmmaking, I was an ambassador for Independent Venue Week, and I curated a show and DJ-ed at The Exchange in Old Market.” Jeff has also DJ-ed at at Green Man Festival
and is a regular on BCFM. The Louisiana at Wapping Road is an important venue to Jeff. “They’ve helped me a lot with my mental health (though they might not know it).” When he first came to Bristol he would “turn up at the Louis, stare at the posters. Johnny the doorman would say hello, and I wouldn’t know how to react, but gradually he broke me down. I ended up hanging around, gradually making friends.” Jeff tells me the Louis has a new stamp (for when people pay). “It says ‘Big Jeff Approved’! I asked Jeff what makes him tick. “Mental health has always affected me. A couple of years ago, in my early 30s, I got an official diagnosis.They said I had borderline autistm/Asperger’s. I felt a little bit of relief. I’ve had a lot of support for talking about it.” The name Big Jeff is one he coined himself. He’s become something of a phenomenon – he’s been in films, on posters, and has been interviewed many times. I ask him how he feels about this. Jeff shrugs. “It is what it is. It’s slightly exploited sometimes, slightly uncomfortable, but it is overwhelmingly positive. And I use social media to my advantage. “What I have learned from my parents is to keep my feet on the ground, to ‘stick a pin in your over-inflated self!’ I know how lucky I’ve been to be brought up in a family that’s really supportive and want to see me happy – not everyone does.” What does music mean to you? “It means everything really. It sums up so many emotions. A world without sound would be so boring, wouldn’t it?” • Facebook: Jeffrey Johns
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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
March 2018
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n MOTHER’S DAY ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Servicing Bristol for over 3 decades
Bristol’s Largest Indoor Window and Doors Showroom
Family owned and run
Making Sunday special for our mothers
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S USUAL, we are encouraging you to keep it local this Mothering Sunday, March 11. There’s no need to go far afield when you can find top quality cards, gifts, flowers, chocolates and everything else to make the day complete, right on your doorstep. Your mother is an individual, and she deserves something special on her special day of the year – something made with love by a local business, not a last-minute gift that arrived by courier from a vast warehouse.
Zara’s Chocolates
228 North Street Southville BS3 1JD 0117 953 3892 T SCHOOL, Zara Northcott’s friends voted her ‘Most likely to become Willy Wonka’ and ‘Most likely to take over Cadbury World’. After school, Zara set out to learn about fine chocolate and the process of making her own. Her shop on North Street is the result – winner of three successive Bristol Good Food awards and a mecca for Bristolians who love fine chocolate. Keeping production on a small scale and making everything by hand, in-store in an open kitchen, are central values for Zara’s Chocolates. “Whether you pick up an enticing Black Pepper and Strawberry white chocolate bar or a selection of seasonal, fresh truffles, each and every item has been made with passion and skill.” One of the attractions is the
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For Stunning Heritage Windows and Doors Visit Crystal Clear
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0117 911 1639
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24 Emery Road, Brislington, Bristol BS4 5PF
To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
open kitchen where customers can watch chocolates being made. A special visitor did just that in 2016 – Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, called in on Zara when she visited independent traders in North Street and was clearly delighted by the experience. • zaraschocolates.com
Flowers & Co
66 Parson Street Bedminster BS3 5QG 0117 963 4283 OTHER’S Day is one of the busiest times of year at Flowers & Co, because there’s so much on offer. Beautiful bouquets for Mother’s Day are available from £20, either made-up or assembled to your requirements. There’s also a new range of pottery – some lovely terracotta ware and glazed handmade pots and vases to make a more permanent gift. There’s lots more for you to look at in the shop, including gifts, cards and floral arrangements. Delivery throughout Bristol is available at a set cost of £5. With more than 12 years of floristry experience, Flowers & Co have the creativity and expertise to provide you with perfect flowers for any occasion. As well as providing flowers for weddings, specials occasions and funerals, the firm also caters for corporate clients. To discuss your personal gift idea, phone or send your details via email: flowersandco2016@ gmail.com • flowersandco.org.uk
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WIN HANDMADE CHOCOLATES AND FLOWERS FOR YOUR MUM IF YOU want to treat your mum this Mothering Sunday, you could give her a doubly-special treat if you enter our competition. Zara’s Chocolates of North Street have donated a lovely box of handmade truffles, which retails at £17. Mum will also receive a stunning bouquet worth £30 from Flowers & Co in Parson Street. To win, just tell us: What was Mothering Sunday called in the 16th century? Send your answers, with your address and phone number, to Flowers & Chocs Competition, either by email to paul@ southbristolvoice.co.uk, or by post to 18 Lilymead Avenue BS4 2BX. The first correct answer to be drawn from the entries on March 6 will be the winner. Enter now!
Something special: A bouquet
Handmade: Chocolates by Zara
What is the history behind our modern Mothering Sunday? THE TRADITION of Mothering Sunday as we know it is quite recent. It started as a religious event, celebrated by both Catholics and Protestants on the fourth Sunday of Lent – usually three weeks before Easter Sunday. In the 16th century it was known as Laetare Sunday, when people would visit their ‘mother church’ – the church where they were baptised. Later the custom
Make Mothering Sunday special with a delivery of a beautiful bouquet
changed, and on Laetare Sunday servants were given the day off to visit their families. The modern custom of a holiday to celebrate motherhood began in 1914 in the US, held on the second Sunday in May. Gradually, the British Mothering Sunday also became a day when mothers were rewarded, rather than a religious festival. But it has kept its original date, linked to Easter.
Treat your Mum this Mothering Sunday
Delivery anywhere in Bristol at a set cost of £5.00 Boxed bouquets & Floral arrangements made to order Cards & Gifts
66 Parson Street BS3 5QG 0117 963 4283
228 North Street
zaraschocolates.com
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
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southbristolvoice
March 2018
March 2018
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n TRAMPOLINING
You’ll feel you can fly with Axis
Safety support and tuition is given to kids
Axis Trampoline Club
Unit 14, Liberty Industrial Park South Liberty Lane, Ashton Bristol BS3 2SU 0117 966 1878 OME and learn to fly – that’s the invitation from Axis Trampoline & Gymnastics Club, the South Bristol centre which takes trampoline to the next level. Axis offers more than just bouncing around: its trained staff offer thrilling and adrenalinfuelled circus activities, where carefully-designed exercises and sequences support the development of strength and body awareness. Axis run mixed aerial classes which cater for ages 7 to adult. Activities include aerial silks,
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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
Aerial antics are all part of the fun at Axis where you learn to climb up 6m of fabric and wrap your body in mid-air and then suspend, fall, swing and spiral yourself into different positions. Static trapeze and aerial hoop include beautiful skills and poses, short sequences and creative exercises, to create dancing in the air! The centre takes trampolining to the next level by offering a trampolene wall, where normal trampolining is combined with
the approach and mindset of parkour and then applied to our 3.5m high tower. This extreme form of trampolining involves diving in and out of windows, somersaulting off raised platforms and creatively using the wall’s surface to bust crazy tricks! Axis also offers fun and developmental sessions in trampolining, gymnastics, tumbling, double-mini
trampolining and freestyle sessions for school age to adults. There’s also a range of fun pre-school sessions daily. Axis is a community-based and not-for-profit club that focuses on a safe and effective approach to coaching the various disciplines on offer, with the aim of having fun, enjoyment and achieving the full potential of every participant. For more info on booking circus activities visit • v1.bookwhen.com/axistc For more info about the club and other sessions, visit the website or Facebook page or call 0117 966 1878. • axistrampolineclub.co.uk • Facebook: axistrampolineclub
Choose a rabbit-savvy vet Gold-standard care for rabbits at Highcroft Veterinary Hospital Highcroft Exotic Species Department awarded Gold Status by the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund in January 2018
Call the Highcroft Exotic Species Department on 01275 832410
www.highcroftvet.co.uk To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
HIGHCROFT VETERINARY HOSPITAL 615 Wells Road, Bristol BS14 9BE
19/02/2018 Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
Keynsham Voice why choose ad 120 x 178.indd 1
10:20
March 2018
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N
HS England has launched a national campaign to encourage parents of young children with minor illnesses to take them to pharmacies first rather than the GP or A&E. Every year, there are about 18 million GP appointments and 2.1 million visits to A&E for conditions that a community pharmacy could help resolve – saving the NHS the equivalent of more than 220,000 hip replacements, or 880,000 cataract operations! So when should you take a child
to the pharmacy? Is this just a way to save the NHS money? Even with the new government policy to close small pharmacies like ours, this campaign is one we welcome. We have been writing here for a while, with the support of South Bristol Voice, making the case that community pharmacists are highly-trained NHS professionals, who after five years’ training are able to offer clinical advice and effective treatments on the spot for a wide range of minor health concerns. Our pharmacy team are also trained to the highest standards. We can check symptoms and tell you the best treatment or simply provide reassurance, for instance when a minor illness will get better on its own with a few days’ rest. Our pharmacists have
also undertaken additional clinical training to be able to offer vaccinations such as meningitis B and travel jabs and even prescribe medicines privately. We offer expert advice on the safe use of prescription and over-the-counter medicines. We give free advice about a range of common conditions and minor injuries, such as earache, diarrhoea, stomach ache, sore throat, coughs, colds and flu, skin and scalp conditions. We also offer support to make healthy lifestyle changes. However, if symptoms suggest it’s something more serious, we have the clinical training to ensure people get the help they need. In a situation where we see potentially serious symptoms in a child, such as a very high
Down on the Farm News from Windmill Hill City Farm with Beccy Golding Café culture
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dal dish as part of the dal trail. The café now has its own shiny new website and Instagram account! Check out • thecityfarmcafe.org.uk • kateskitchenbristol.co.uk/news/ kates-kitchen-presents-pop-uppoultry • britishdalfestival.com
Nature watch
THERE is now a new bird-cam in the farmyard that feeds into a big screen in the farm’s new interaction centre. Go and see nesting birds live!
Upholstery Cleaning LEATHER £5 Dining Chair £30 Armchair £40 2 Seater £45 3 Seater £85 3 Piece Suite FULLY CERTIFIED AND TRAINED
BLOSSOMS and new shoots are popping up in the community gardens now and it won’t be long until the pitter-patter of new born lambs – due at the end of March, followed swiftly by goat kids. Pop in for a tickle and check the farm’s Facebook page for cute photos as the new babies arrive!
Green cross code
BELLE Benfield is a sensory herbalist and artist. On March 10 she will be running a Herbal First Aid course at the farm. Learn to make herbal tinctures, welcome the spring by studying the plant medicine that’s growing right under your nose, and make your own balm to take home with you. 10.30am-3.30pm, £65 (plus £3.49 booking fee).
temperature that doesn’t respond to simple measures, signs of dehydration, not eating or struggling to stay awake, we would advise you to immediately see a GP or attend A&E, as appropriate. Parenting and caring for a family comes with a lot of pressures, we want to assure you that at Bedminster Pharmacy our friendly team is here ready to patiently offer expert advice. As those that already visit us know, no effort is too great, no query too small. Come in today to speak to us. • This article by Ade Williams and Celine Lee of Bedminster Pharmacy aims to show how all pharmacies can help people with a variety of health conditions, and ease pressure on GPs and the rest of the NHS.
• windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk
In the club
THE WILD Outdoors Club has an Easter holiday session on Thursday March 29, 10am-12 noon. There will be craft and nature activities, and games for ages six and up. £10 per child.
MARVIN REES Mayor of Bristol
We’re starting to rebuild the city with new investment
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XCITING news now that work has started on the demolition of the former Royal Mail sorting office next to Temple Meads, which has long been an eyesore at the gateway of our city. Contractors will spend the next three or four months making the site ready for demolition in early summer. This is to make way for the new University of Bristol Enterprise Campus, which will be one of the landmark developments in the regeneration of the Temple Quarter district. I also welcomed the announcement in February that we had been successful in two bids for funding for housing delivery in Southmead and Lockleaze, as part of the Government’s housing infrastructure fund. Bristol faces a huge demand for homes, so I
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am delighted that the Government has recognised this. The funding will play a part in helping us meet our ambitious target to deliver 2,000 new homes, including 800 affordable homes, per year by 2020. This £9.686 million investment will facilitate more than 1,000 new homes. We’ve managed to secure funding of £6.686m for the Unlocking Lockleaze Development project. This investment in sustainable transport infrastructure will support the delivery of more than 800 new homes, helping us to create communities and not just houses. A further £3m will go to proposed Arnside and Glencoyne Square Regeneration.
This funding will help build 300 new homes and provide improvements to the shopping area, green spaces and drainage systems. Bristol is benefiting from significant investment in its landscape and infrastructure. Even though in the long run this will have a positive impact on our communities, these ambitious plans can cause short term inconvenience. Unfortunately it is inevitable we will need roadworks to make these changes, so we have launched a new campaign to help ease the frustrations across the city. The Active Roadworks scheme will give people access to up-to-date information about roadworks. This new campaign is all about working together with utility companies to minimise disruption and frustration where we can. We want to make it easier to find more information about closures or roadworks on social media and elsewhere, so you know why you are diverted from your usual journeys. Our annual Homelessness Awareness Week, from February 24-March 3, helps to raise awareness of homelessness. Events taking place across the city are intended to get people talking and thinking about how they can make a difference. To find out more, head to the Bristol Homeless Forum website. • bristolhf.org.uk
Go wild in the city
POP IT in your diary now – this year’s Wild Outdoors Day is on Saturday April 21, 11am-5pm. Last year’s event was a massive success with a great range of outdoor activities for all ages.
Did you know?
• THE FARM is free to visit and is open seven days a week. • You can become a member of the farm for only £10 a year. You get a 10 per cent café discount! It’s a great way to support an important local resource.
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New life on the farm
S WELL as the usual homemade, home-grown food, there are two fun events at the farm café in March. On March 8 the café hosts Pop Up Poultry with Kate’s Kitchen. With canapes, threecourse supper and cabaret entertainment, it promises to be a night of feasting, fun and frivolity with local and free-range food, and locally-sourced performance. Arrive at 7.30pm for eggstastic canapes followed by a night of feathery fun and free-range roaming chicken. Tickets are £35. Later in the month, the café will be taking part in the first British Dal Festival from March 19-25. Throughout the week, the café will be offering a signature
southbristolvoice
n THE MAYOR
ADVICE FROM A PHARMACIST Sometimes you just don’t need to see a doctor
March 2018
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To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
March 2018
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n YOUR COUNCILLORS
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HE COUNCIL is consulting on a licensing scheme for landlords in the private rented Charlie sector in Southville, Bolton and pretty much all Green of the central area. Southville There is already licensing for HMOs (houses of multiple occupation) with more than five residents, and of three storeys or above. Government legislation will change this to over two storeys. The council consultation will reduce the number of residents to three. Assuming the consultation ends with the council going ahead, then it will result in the following. All landlords will pay a fee. All properties will be inspected. Where the council identifies serious faults they will force the landlords to take action. The scheme will last for five years, and if successful will improve the private rented housing stock in the area. There
Southville
have been two other such schemes in Bristol – one around Stapleton Road and the other in St George. Each has identified significant numbers of serious faults, so one has to expect at least some of that in this area. I have been volunteering recently for the excellent Centre for Sustainable Energy. They have projects which aim to help those getting into fuel poverty and into debt. In the short time I have been there, I have visited properties where the tenants are either too wary or too scared to challenge their landlords. But the properties can be in a shocking state. I saw one property with serious cracks in the ceiling – I’d be worried about its stability. I saw another where the floor was bare or only had underlay on it. Another, a converted shop, with paper-thin walls. And they shared problems – leaky windows, expensive heating systems – and were pretty cold. The tenants were in a desperate situation. We need to take action to do what we can to improve the situation.
I
How to contact your councillor: p2
AM GOING to start this column with some good news (for a change). It looks like children’s play Stephen equipment in Clarke Ashton Vale and Green Greville Smyth Southville Park is going to have some money spent on it. Local councillors voted for a total of about £100,000 to be spent from funds generated from what is called Section 106 money. This is the pot of money generated by developers who make a cash contribution to local facilities when they are given planning permission for a large development; in this case the Paxton Drive apartments. Now back to the adults and their games … it is budget season in the council again. This time the council has to save £34.5m on top of the cuts from last year and the year before, and so on). There is a perfect storm of horrible circumstances; at the
same time as these savage cuts are being made, the demand for council services (especially adult social care) is increasing rapidly, the numbers of student homes (which pay no council tax) is set to rise, and many of the suppliers of services to the council are putting up their prices. The phrase ‘death by a thousand cuts’ has never felt more appropriate. It is ultimately the fault of the Tories of course but I can’t help feeling that our mayor should be making more of a fuss about it than he has to date. Parking. Myself and Charlie Bolton have recently delivered a letter to the terraced streets south of North Street (Friezewood Road and so on). We have done this because we have had lots of requests from residents there for an extension of the Southville RPS to include those roads to deal with the spill-over. We are in listening mode at the moment and I will report to council officers what residents’ thoughts are on the subject.
MATHS AND ENGLISH
TUTORING For students aged 5 -16
March 2018
southbristolvoice
n YOUR COUNCILLORS
W
E HAVE been contacted over recent months by residents increasingly concerned about the lack of parking in Bedminster ward. The decision to consult on extending the hours of operation, and some additional streets, for the Southville and Bedminster East residents parking scheme will impact on Bedminster. You can put your objections on the consultation website but this will close in early March. There is no doubt that this set of proposals is in response to community views but, for Bedminster, we want to begin direct engagement with residents about what might help with worsening access and parking pressures. This needs to be disentangled from matchday parking, which needs specific action in cooperation with Bristol Sport. We have written to the cabinet member for transport requesting an early meeting with council officers about gathering community views. The recent
Mark Bradshaw Labour Bedminster
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Bedminster
Celia Phipps Labour Bedminster
RPZ reviews were only able to cover existing zones, not the prospect for new ones or the measures targeted at local problems. Increased enforcement might go some way to reclaiming the pavements from irresponsible parking but this remains a complex problem, based on high car use. Clearly, parking and traffic are massively polarising issues but we are getting more people saying to us “Enough is enough.” Increasingly, many residents wish for action beyond us all acknowledging there is a growing problem with cars, vans and other vehicles being left on our streets. It is a combination of
How to contact your councillor: p2
commuter, airport and displaced RPZ parking. We know that there would need to be a majority decision in favour of an additional parking zone before consultation took place. Lastly, residents have pointed out the developing market for the sale of visitors tickets, noted on social media. This has been reported and is illegal. We look forward to the development of the long-awaited children’s play equipment in Ashton Vale. First discussed in 2009, the funding has now been formally allocated and we hope to see the planning starting in the very near future. The final site is next to the community centre and will work in partnership with the team running the venue, great for parties, celebrations, and the ever popular Hub days. We were pleased that Cllr Paul Smith has introduced a consultation on proposals to introduce additional licensing requirements to 12 wards in central Bristol to try to improve housing standards. The Housing
Act 2004 allows the council to require landlords to license their properties, especially key where there is evidence of poor quality privately rented properties. We were sorry that Bedminster was not included but we will work with Paul and raise awareness in this sector. We would encourage residents to take part in the consultation and contact us if you are experiencing poor conditions in the private rented housing. We work closely with Anchor to improve the rented experience across Bristol. We are available to assist constituents in Bedminster and always happy to hear your suggestions about how we can make our community better. We regularly join coffee mornings and sessions at Gaywood House and have moved our drop-in surgery to Mezzaluna on West Street (currently closed for refurbishment, but reopening soon) on the first Saturday of the month, 10.30-11.30am, or contact us via Facebook @ Markand CeliaforBedminster.
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March 2018
southbristolvoice
n HISTORY Wills, Trusts + Probate
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
Anna Molter, Senior Associate Solicitor at Barcan+Kirby, explains the benefits of planning for the future now. What is a Lasting Power of Attorney? A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) enables you to appoint someone to act on your behalf should you lose the mental or physical ability to make your own decisions. It can also give this person specific instructions on important matters such as selling your house or arranging your care.
How do I make an LPA? Like a Will, an LPA is made with the help of a solicitor. There are two kinds of LPA – one for Health and Care Decisions, and another for Financial Decisions. The nature of an LPA is to be flexible according to your needs, so you can choose how much control to give your attorney when you draw yours up.
Why should I get an LPA? Making an LPA is arguably as important as writing your Will. In the same way that a Will appoints executors to handle your affairs after you pass away, a Lasting Power of Attorney appoints an attorney to make decisions on your behalf while you’re still alive if you can’t do so yourself.
When should I make one? The short answer is “now”. An LPA can only be made while you have mental capacity.
What if I don’t have one? With no LPA, if you lose mental capacity in the future then your family would have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your deputy. This would give them some control over your affairs.
BEDMINSTER 31 North St, Bristol BS3 1EN HORFIELD 374 Gloucester Rd, Bristol BS7 8TP QUEEN SQUARE 49/50 Queen Sq, Bristol BS1 4LW
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A Lasting Power of Attorney appoints an attorney to make decisions on your behalf while you’re still alive. In my experience however, having an LPA in the first place is usually less complicated and less expensive, and it gives you control over who may handle your affairs. Barcan+Kirby has six offices across Bristol and Gloucestershire and a team of solicitors experienced in all areas of Wills, trusts and probate. Professional advice, simply stated.
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BRISTOL’S FORGOTTEN WOMEN
Meet some of the women who got us where we are today
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Do I need a Lasting Power of Attorney?
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T’S 100 years since one of the greatest steps forward in equality in the UK. February 6, 1918, was the date some women were allowed to vote for the first time in parliamentary elections. It was the culmination of decades of campaigning – mainly peaceful efforts by women known as Suffragists. By the early 1900s a majority of MPs backed votes for women, but the ruling Liberals refused, and some women turned to direct action such as setting fire to empty buildings and post boxes, and going on hunger strike when they were imprisoned. To mark the centenary, Windmill Hill author Jane Duffus has written The Women Who Built Bristol, a celebration of women who played a vital role in the story of our city. Here are some of the women with a link to South Bristol – and one resident of Bristol Castle we couldn’t resist including. We kick off with an excerpt from Jane’s introduction to her book.
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NTIL the 1900s, women were unable to participate in public life or to influence government and they were denied access to any of the men-only business, political and cultural institutions that ran Bristol. But that didn’t stop women from quietly supporting vulnerable women and girls who were trapped by poverty, illiteracy, poor health, poor education and so on. Outside of London, Bristol saw the highest volume of suffrage activity in the United Kingdom. In the years following the establishment of the Clifton Anti-Slavery Campaign in 1840, several Bristol women signed the first-ever women’s suffrage petition in 1866, and the Bristol suffrage society was only the fifth to be established in the UK. During the 1880s, Bristol women were noisily-active strike supporters and worked on campaigns leading to the creation of an organisation called Promotion of Trades Unions Among Women in
‘I was able to drop acid into the postboxes without being suspected because I was in my cap and apron’
A new book, The Women Who Built Bristol, tells the stories of 250 of the city’s ‘sheroes’
Jessie Stephen: After starting work as a maid at the age of 14, she quickly joined the front line of the women’s campaign for votes; the start of a life spent battling for equality
To buy a copy of The Women Who Built Bristol go to • bristol womens voice. bigcartel. com 1889. These were not women to be messed with. Whether gentle peacekeeper or militant agitator, every single woman profiled in this book was a shero who deserves to be remembered well. They are all an inspiration to us today. • Jane Duffus is a trustee of Bristol Women’s Voice and has worked as a journalist and editor for national magazines and publishers. Jane set up the award-winning all-female What The Frock! Comedy project in 2012 to challenge an industry that knowingly overlooks female talent. She’s also a long-distance runner. Jane is on Twitter: @Bristol_Jane JESSIE STEPHEN 1893-1979 Suffragette, politician and Bedminster resident UFFRAGIST, trades unionist, politician, pacifist, lifelong women’s rights campaigner. Even at the age of 85, Jessie Stephen was attending up to three women’s rights meetings each week. The woman was unbreakable. Born in 1893 in Glasgow to a socialist family, Jessie was the eldest of 11 children. Although
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hoping to become a teacher, she was obliged to leave school at the age of 14 and go into domestic service when her father lost his job. And it was as a maid in 1912 that she received her first taste of activism by organising maidservants in Glasgow into the Scottish Federation of Domestic Workers. Jessie would knock on the back doors of the wealthy homes in Glasgow and enlist her sister maidservants to fight against exploitation. By the age of 16, she was also vice chair of the Independent Labour Party in Glasgow, as well as a militant member of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). While wearing her maid’s uniform, Jessie blended into the bustling street scene, putting her in an easy position to join the WSPU in their campaign to destroy the contents of letterboxes in protest at their voices not being heard. “I was able to drop acid into the postal pillar boxes without being suspected because I walked down from where I was employed in my cap and apron … nobody would ever suspect me,” she recalled. “As the women passed a
pillar box they dropped in a lighted match or a wee drop of acid. Who would have suspected those timid downstairs maids of doing such a thing?” When Jessie heard that one of the WSPU’s leaders, Sylvia Pankhurst, was heading to Glasgow to set up a branch of the Workers’ Suffrage Federation, she made it her business to be introduced to the famous suffragette and was rewarded with an invitation to work with Sylvia in London. Working in the front line of the suffragette movement, Jessie managed to avoid imprisonment despite her involvement with schemes such as smuggling Emmeline Pankhurst past a police blockade to speak at a rally. “Police, five deep, had surrounded St Andrew’s Hall in Glasgow. They were on the roof and posted at every door and window. The objective was to prevent Emily [sic] Pankhurst from addressing a packed meeting,” wrote the Bristol Evening Post, who interviewed Jessie in 1978. “The meeting Continued overleaf
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n HISTORY Continued from page 37 began with the police confident that they had reached their objective. Then Jessie announced, ‘Ladies! Our leader!’ And out of the wings stepped Emily [sic]. They had smuggled her past the police in the laundry basket where she remained on stage all day as the police searched for her.” Although Emmeline attempted to call a halt to all suffragette activities once war was declared in 1914, Jessie was reluctant to stop. She left the WSPU and went to work full-time with Sylvia’s East London Workers’ Suffrage Federation. The constant police surveillance failed to ruffle Jessie’s feathers and she shrugged off the attendance of officers at her rallies saying: “Detectives attended all meetings and took shorthand notes of the speeches … One of them always approached the speaker to ask for one’s name and address and permanent place of abode.” Jessie believed that mass
BRISTOL’S FORGOTTEN WOMEN
canvassing via open-air meetings Britain who were the driving was a way to reach the working force that led to the vote. But women who might feel those who thought equality intimidated by attending more would come with the vote were formal political meetings in halls. wrong.” She wanted to reach “women Jessie’s many roles included who are so poverty stricken that organiser of the Bermondsey they have not the necessary Independent Labour Party, clothes to go out in… This secretary of the National group is larger than Federation of Women many suppose”. Workers and vice She was chair of the Ministry adamant that the of Reconstruction. impression that In 1922, she was the suffrage the elected Labour movement and its councillor for successors were Bermondsey and largely middle-class worked to improve was a “distortion”, public health in the Blue plaque at Jessie’s stressing that there borough. She was still home, Chessel Street were “a tremendous only 29. number of workingJessie remained class women”. However, just as committed to improving the lot Jessie herself is excluded from of domestic staff, and was the the vast majority of suffrage General Secretary of the histories, so are many of her Domestic and Hotel Workers’ working-class sisters. It was only Union. At the 1923 Domestic via her subsequent work with the Service Inquiry, Jessie declared trades unions that the scale of that a number of employers were Jessie’s work as a suffragette committing a breach of contract came to light. In 1978, she stated: by supplying inferior food and “It was the working women of providing “bedrooms in which they would not house their pet dogs.” Four years later in 1927, Jessie – now area organiser of the Clerical and Administrative Workers’ Union – was fighting the corner of office workers. At a meeting at Bristol’s Grand Hotel on Broad Street (now the Mercure Grand), the Western Daily Press reported Jessie as saying: “If the average citizen knew of the appalling conditions which exist in many offices in the city he would be disgusted. In the centre of the city some of the offices were not much better than pig sties.” By 1930, Jessie was still going strong for domestic workers. At the Spring Conference of London Labour Women, she asserted: “A maid has artistic perceptions and aspirations just the same as anyone else, and a mistress has no right to give her inferior sticks of furniture or a damp room in the basement, or a lumber room at the top of the house. A girl, too, needs a certain amount of liberty and recreation. She wants to dance and sing and kick up a row occasionally.” Her work would take her all over the globe. During 1926, Jessie undertook a tour of the United States to explain the trades union position to workers there. Once back in the UK, Jessie
widened her talents. As well as establishing herself as a freelance journalist, she also set up a secretarial agency and joined the National Union of Clerks in 1938. By 1944, she was appointed the first female area union organiser of the National Clerical and Administrative Workers’ Union for South Wales and the West of England, and it was this role that brought her to Bristol where she would become the first-ever woman president of the Trades Union Council. Jessie was elected as a city councillor of Bristol in 1952 and used this as an opportunity to speak widely and loudly about birth control. In 1978, Jessie received the MBE for her trades union work. However, she died of pneumonia and heart failure at Bristol’s General Hospital on 12 June 1979, aged 86. Jessie’s last address on Chessel Street is honoured with a blue plaque. HANNAH WILTSHIRE 1833-1855. Inmate of the Bedminster workhouse URING the year 1855, rumours of murder and cover-up were circulating in the small North Somerset village of Walton in Gordano. The allegations were that in Bedminster Union Workhouse, a 22-year-old female inmate who suffered from epilepsy had been murdered. The victim’s name was Hannah Wiltshire. Within a few months of entering the workhouse, Hannah died a violent, neglected death after an altercation with the woman in charge of the workhouse dining room, Mrs Cavil. Her premature death caused local public outrage in the media at the time, instigated by her pauper aunt, Ann Howe. Ann was Hannah’s only guardian before she had to enter the workhouse. Ann was illiterate and the homeless daughter of impoverished farm labourers. However, this did not stop her from attempting to expose how Hannah had died, which was through neglect and medical negligence. With the help of friends in the community, Ann embarked on a letter-writing campaign to the local newspapers for justice. The accusation being that the Poor Law Guardians of the Workhouse had concealed the true extent of neglect that existed within the walls of Bedminster Union Workhouse. To add to her distress, Ann
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n HISTORY was not convinced that Hannah’s body was even in the coffin, because she was not given the chance to view her niece’s body before she was buried in the local churchyard. Her suspicions were valid because the Workhouse Guardians had the right, under law, to hand over dead bodies to medical schools for dissection if a body remained uncollected by family or friends, leading to a financial gain for the workhouse. Bedminster Poor Law Union Workhouse was built at Flax Burton during 1837 and 1838, to the south of Bristol. The design was based on Victorian prison plans and originally was intended to house 300 inmates. Part of the building remains to this day and has been converted for office use. The “young, old, feeble minded [sic] and invalids” were mixed together. Due to public pressure, an inquest opened on October 11, 1855 in the village schoolhouse situated next to St Paul’s Church, Walton in Gordano. The coroner agreed that Hannah’s coffin should be opened for inspection, with the jury and those who knew her to be present. The coffin was exhumed on the day of the inquest and when it was opened the female body inside was recognisable as the deceased Hannah Wiltshire. The local surgeon who carried out the autopsy stated that although her skull had not been fractured, there was a sign of a bleed under her skull. Surprisingly the workhouse doctor, Mr Massey, as well as the master and matron of the workhouse, were not required to be present at the inquest. Many pauper witnesses were called. A key witness, Mary Jane Tyler, gave evidence of what she had seen. “Mrs Cavil struck her three blows under the right ear, and then got up; deceased then had a fit and got up, and attempted to put her hands into the fire [Hannah had been attempting to warm water on the fire], but was prevented; she then again lay down in the fits … and then Sexa Marshall [a pauper nurse] and other persons took her into the Infirmary and put her to bed; on the following Monday morning I saw deceased lying dead in the Infirmary; the doctor [Mr Massey] was at the union on Saturday, and might, perhaps have seen her … but I do not think so, neither the master nor the matron of the house was
present at the time, but hearing the alarm they inquired about it afterwards.” After hearing all the evidence, the jurors took only 15 minutes to return the following verdict: “That the deceased’s death was caused by apoplexy, but that sufficient care was not taken by the authorities of the Bedminster Union Workhouse to separate the deceased from the other inmates of the establishment, knowing, as they did, the very peculiar liabilities of the deceased to fit, upon being thwarted. The jury are also of the opinion of the peculiar circumstances under which the deceased on this occasion, came by her death. This verdict was dissented from by one or two jurors, who were for one of ‘Manslaughter’”. Following the verdict, a public outcry ensued which resulted in numerous letters of complaint and dissatisfaction directed to the Board of Guardians. The writers were outraged that a unanimous verdict of manslaughter was not reached and they demanded a public inquiry. Instead the Board of Guardians agreed to hold an inquiry in private, behind closed doors. The life and nature of Hannah’s death illustrates the typical treatment imposed upon the vulnerable poor living in England during the mid-19th century. Yet, despite class-based medical discrimination towards the treatment of epileptics in Victorian England, Ann and her supporters succeeded in provoking a legal obligation for accountability from the Guardians of Bedminster Union Workhouse. By Rosemary Caldicott, historian and author of books including The Life and Death of Hannah Wiltshire ELIZA STEELE Born 1867. Cobbler, Bedminster HEN bootmaker Walter Steele died in 1924, his widow Eliza Steele picked up the reins and continued the family business as a bootmaker and cobbler at 248 North Street, Southville. After all, what choice did she have? Walter’s death left Eliza a widow with five daughters to support, and it was not uncommon for widows and fatherless children to end up in the workhouses. Nevertheless, Eliza persisted for the sake of her daughters and
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as the head of a family of six she must have worked all hours of the day to avoid that dreaded fate. Although the elder daughters Alice, Edith and Kate were just about old enough to work (as a music teacher, milliner and domestic servant respectively), there were still two younger mouths to feed. Young Gertrude and Ivy remained at school and were entirely dependent on Eliza to look after them. Local trade directories show that the Steel family’s boot business operated from North Street until at least 1934, and this is testament to Eliza’s plucky determination to persevere for the sake of her young female family in the face of unimaginably hard times. EVELINE DEW BLACKER 1884-1956. Architect of Bristol’s suburbs, including Knowle Park VELINE Dew Blacker was born on 28 July 1884 at 5 Unity Street in the centre of Bristol. In 1905, Eveline was articled to the eminent architect George Oatley (who later designed the Wills Memorial building). Eveline completed her articles in 1909, and in the same year passed the Intermediate Examination of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). In fact, she was placed 31st out of 152 candidates, of which she was the only woman. In the 1901 census, only six women in England and Wales described themselves as architects, compared with 10,775 men. And by 1905 there were just two female members of RIBA. In the 1911 census, Eveline was one of only seven women listed as architects – compared with 8,914 men. At the end of World War I, Eveline set up in practice with
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Harry Heathman at 4 Colston Street, thereby becoming the first woman to practise as an architect in Bristol. A major source of work for architects at this time was the large amount of public housing schemes around the country that local authorities undertook after World War I. In 1919, Bristol Corporation announced a competition for 5,000 houses – one of the largest schemes in the country – comprising eight council estates. Eight architectural firms, including Heathman & Blacker, were selected to design the houses, which comprise characteristic cottage types in the Garden Suburb style in areas such as Sea Mills, Fishponds and Knowle. Perhaps Heathman & Blacker’s most significant work is the Bristol cenotaph. In January 1931, after years of vacillation, a competition for local architects was launched to design Bristol’s memorial to World War I. Three entries were published in the Bristol Evening Times and put on display at the Art Gallery in Queen’s Road for a public vote, when the people of Bristol chose Heathman & Blacker’s design. Their cenotaph now stands in Colston Avenue as a monument to those lost in both world wars and is the focus of Remembrance Day services every year. By Dr Sarah Whittingham FSA, a historian specialising in people, buildings and gardens. She is writing a biography of the Blacker sisters. EMMELINE PETHICK LAWRENCE 1867-1854. Suffragette MMELINE Pethick Lawrence was born in Clifton, her family moving to Weston-super-Mare in 1881. Continued overleaf
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Bristol Cenotaph: Eveline Blacker’s design was chosen by the public
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PUZZLES Children’s puzzles sponsored by BLOOMINSTER Contact us
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Emmeline Pethick Lawrence, left, photographed with another famous suffragette, Christabel Pankhurst, in about 1908-1912 PHOTO: LSE not long before Sarah had 44 ‘battalions’ of her Army in Bristol and the surrounding area. Thanks to Sarah’s charisma and her skill at public speaking, the Army quickly grew, as did her reputation for “intuitive sagacity, her sanctified common sense and her unfailing good humour”. Ironically, she died suddenly in 1889 after falling off the platform from which she was giving a speech. Sarah was just 53 when she passed away but at least she had died “while engaged in her best loved work of rescuing the perishing from drunkenness and sin.” The Terretts had lived at Church House, Bedminster, where the couple had endured the incomprehensible grief of seven of their nine children dying in infancy. Perhaps it was in an
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effort to distract herself from her losses that Sarah turned to campaigning to save the souls of others; as well as her temperance work, Sarah was also a Poor Law Guardian of the Bedminster Union Workhouse and an advocate for women to train as teachers. One of her surviving children, a daughter known as Sunshine, went on to do good work in her mother’s memory before her own untimely death in 1903. PRINCESS ELEANOR OF BRITTANY 1184-1241 Prisoner in Bristol Castle ORN in Normandy, Princess Eleanor was orphaned in infancy and brought up by her grandmother and uncle, King Richard of England (who had offered Eleanor, aged 11, for marriage to a man nearly 40 years her senior; fortunately the marriage
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Jewelled captivity: Eleanor of Brittany was kept in Bristol Castle by King John, who feared any child of hers would have a claim on his throne
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SARAH MARY TERRETT 1836-1889. Temperance campaigner, Bedminster S THE wife of Bedminster East councillor William Terrett, Sarah Mary Terrett (née Babbage) was in a prominent social position from which to do good deeds. And there were many good deeds to be done. Most notably, this staunch Methodist was the founder in 1878 of the White Ribbon Gospel Temperance Army, which she formed after being disgusted at the open displays of drunkenness near her home in Bedminster. After buying a disused chapel and appointing officers, it was
BRISTOL’S FORGOTTEN WOMEN
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Continued from page 39 She had an active role in the highest level of the votes-forwomen movement, befriending the leading suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst. She founded a newspaper, Votes for Women, and was imprisoned several times. She later split with Pankhurst, who advocated direct action, including damage to property, while Lawrence believed in peaceful protest. The lengthy story of her career in The Women Who Built Bristol, includes her footnote in the history of South Bristol. Emmeline was refused permission to hold a Women’s Social and Political Union meeting in Victoria Park, Windmill Hill or to sell copies of her Votes for Women newspaper. It’s not clear if this refusal was entirely due to a ban on all commercial activities in the park, or whether the controversial nature of her cause offended those in charge at the city council.
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Thursday February 22 n Macbeth Tobacco Factory theatre. “Macbeth speaks to a world we find ourselves living in now; a world in which politicians lie to our faces but no one can plaster over the truth that the planet is threatening to turn on us.” Shakespeare’s elemental tragedy is the first production by the theatre’s new in-house company of actors. Directed by Adele Thomas, with Jonathan McGuiness as Macbeth, Katy Stephens as Lady Macbeth and Aaron Anthony as Banquo. Until April 7. Shows at 7.30pm except February 27 at 7pm. Matinees Thursday and Saturday 2pm. Tickets from £12. • tobaccofactorytheatres.com Thursday March 1 n Shoun Shoun The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. Annette Berlin leads a band playing “unflinching, atmospheric, minimal post-punk channeling the spirit of Marlene Dietrich and Siouxsie Sioux with a certain velvet elegance.” 7.30pm, £4. • thethunderbolt.net n The Grahams The Tunnels, Temple Meads. Doug and Alyssa Graham are musical partners as well as husband and wife. Their first album, Riverman’s Daughter, was the result of a year on the Mississippi; “Americana at its very finest”. 7.30pm, £13. • thetunnelsbristol.co.uk Friday March 2 n Dane Baptiste: G.O.D. (Gold. Oil. Drugs) Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken, North Street. Fresh from hosting Live at the Apollo and a sellout run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Dane Baptiste brings his third national tour, exploring our worldwide pursuit of wealth, power and pleasure. Sold out, but check for returns. • thecomedybox.co.uk
Wednesday March 7 n Disabled archery Park Centre, Daventry Road, Knowle. Open and friendly group, meets fortnightly on Wednesdays 1.30-3pm. Free. Part of WECIL’s (West of England Centre for Inclusive Living) peer support community. Also on March 21, April 4 and 18, May 2, 16 and 30. • wecil.co.uk
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Wicked fills in the gaps in the Yellow Brick Road REVIEW Wicked – The Musical Bristol Hippodrome
W
ICKED, having been running in the West End for 10 years, has finally opened its doors at the Bristol Hippodrome for a short run until March 3. Having heard of its brilliance, I was excited to see how it could live up to the hype. Well, it exceeded it and completely blew the audience away! In case you don’t know, this is the backstory of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – the original story which was made into the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz. Running through the show is an enjoyable narrative of how Elphaba came to be the Wicked Witch of the West, as well as the rise to prominence of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. Brilliantly, it told us that different isn’t bad and that conforming to ideals isn’t needed to be a good and loveable person – much in keeping with society’s developing view today. Accompanying the stunning costumes and sets is the Saturday March 3 n Brian Peters Saltcellar Folk Club, Totterdown Baptist church, entrance off Cemetery Road. Compelling singer, squeezebox player and guitarist with traditional songs, ballads and tunes. £5 entry, £3 for floor singers. • saltcellarfolk.org.uk Sunday March 4 Sunday Market Tobacco Factory courtyard, 10am2.30pm, every Sunday. Around 40 food and craft stalls, featuring produce prepared, harvested, cooked, baked, designed and made in the local area. Meet the producers and ask questions. Weekly kids activities 11.30am2pm. • tobaccofactory.com n Spring clean Totterdown Litter picking organised by community group Tresa as part of the Bristol Spring Clean organised by Bristol Waste. Meet
Good witch: Helen Woolf as Glinda in Wicked Photo: MATT CROCKETT wonderful feeling that we are being let in on a secret, an alternative history of Oz and the story we knew as children, as written by L Frank Baum in 1900. Joining the dots in this way creates a warm and familiar emotion which the audience loved. The musicality was brilliant, with excellent performances from all cast members, which earned a well-deserved standing ovation from every part of this huge theatre. Amy Ross was a very powerful
Elphaba, with Helen Woolf complimenting her darker side with lighter notes. Familiar TV face Aaron Sidwell gave a beautiful gentle touch with his very caring portrayal of Fiyero. All in all, Wicked is familyfriendly and easy to listen to, with a complicated plot which, even if you don’t quite follow, you enjoy immensely. We’ve bought more tickets and will follow that Yellow Brick Road straight back to see it again! Ruth Drury
in School Road park at 10.30am, moving down Wells Road to Zone A and Bushy Park. Litter pickers and bags will be provided. Bring gardening gloves if you have any. • tresa.org.uk
Tuesday March 6 n Understanding Menglish Speilman centre, Arnos Vale cemetery. Communication differences between the sexes are the topic of a two-hour seminar for professional women held by Jane C Woods, author of a confidence-boosting course for women, RenewYou. Hear about the researched differences in how men and women communicate and how this can affect your career. “For any woman who has ever been mansplained to, interrupted or got an eye roll for asking a question.” 10am-12 noon, £49.50. • arnosvale.co.uk n Tuesday Market Park centre, Daventry Road, Knowle. Indoor market every other Tuesday in the café, with stalls selling jewellery and bric-a-brac. Plus jams, chutneys and fresh eggs. Also on March 20. • theparkcentre.org.uk/wp
Victoria Park: Find out what’s new Monday March 5 n Victoria Park Action Group AGM Bowling club, Victoria Park. 7.30-9pm. All welcome. • vpag.org.uk
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Friday March 9 n History of the Clifton Suspension Bridge Knowle and Totterdown Local History Society. Talk on Bristol’s most famous landmark by Gordon Young. Followed by two of Gordon’s local short films. 7.30pm, Redcatch community centre, Redcatch Road, Knowle. Members £1.50, visitors £3. • knowleandtotterdownhistory. org.uk Saturday March 10 n Riverbank Clean-up The Friends of Avon New Cut, or Franc, meet to clear litter off the riverbank from Gaol Ferry Bridge to Vauxhall Bridge from 10am12 noon. Spare gloves, litterpickers and rubbish bags supplied, along with highvisibility vests. Free tea, coffee and cake on offer afterwards at the Spike Island café. • franc.org.uk n Herbal First Aid Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. Join herbalist Belle Benfield to learn how to make herbal tinctures and balms from plants growing all around us. Take home a balm you have made. 10.30am-3.30pm, with a bring-and-share picnic lunch. £65 (plus booking fee of £3.49). • windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk n Pre-Loved Sale for Lifeskills Fourth floor, Create Centre, Smeaton Road. Sale of high-end pre-loved clothes, jewellery, accessories and more.
THE TOTTERDOWN CENTRE IS BACK! • Floriography by Vera Fallacy • The Healing Courtyard A place to relax
• Bristol Women’s Workshop Practical courses for women
• Fanny Tingle Pop-up café and candlelit suppers Come and see what we’re up to! 142 WELLS ROAD (down the alley), TOTTERDOWN BS4 2AG 0117 329 2720 | 07495 090560
escaping in a small Sudanese village leads to all sorts of problems. A family-friendly show, presented in partnership with Ashley Housing. Tickets are free, but donations gratefully received. 7pm. • acta-bristol.com
Andy Zaltzman: Taking on the audience in his interactive show
He’ll satirise you, if you ask him nicely Sunday March 4 n Andy Zaltzman: Satirist for Hire Comedy Box at the Tobacco Factory. Andy Zaltzman, 50 per cent of global hit satirical podcast The Bugle, returns with his interactive show, giving audiences 11am-3pm, entry £1. Lifeskills holds road safety sessions for children and older people. • lifeskills-bristol.org.uk n Saturday Night Fever Zion, Bishopsworth Road. Social in aid of Bedminster & Southville and Withywood & Hartcliffe Labour Party branches. With Bristol’s first-ever woman DJ Gill Loats, ex-the legendary Dug Out club. Funk, soul, reggae, glitterpop, disco and new wave. MC Rina Vergano. £5, bar. Non-party members welcome. Booking recommended: email bedsthlabour@gmail.com • zionbristol.co.uk Sunday March 11 n Stolen Tobacco Factory theatre. Storyteller Daniel Morden takes the audience on a journey to the Land of No Return, to meet a king turned to stone and a glass man filled with wasps. An absorbing evening with accompaniment on strings by Sarah Moody and Oliver Wilson-Dickson. Tickets from £12, 7.30pm. Also on March 18. • tobaccofactorytheatres.com Thursday March 15 n Jason Ringenberg The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. With Jason and the Scorchers, Ringenberg set US roots country music alight in the 1980s with an injection of punk energy. Now touring solo, he wants to show Bristol why he won a place in the Country Music
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the chance to have the issues they care about satirised to order by one of Britain’s leading political comedians. To get your topic featured, email satirisethis@ satiristforhire.com. All issues considered, within reason, from the global to the intensely personal. Andy is a regular on Radio 4 comedy shows as well as being a cricket commentator. 7.30pm, £14.50. • thecomedybox.co.uk Hall of Fame. £10, 7.30pm. • thethunderbolt.net Saturday March 17 n Stand Up For The Weekend with Alfie Brown & Co Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken, North Street. Alfie Brown believes in pushing boundaries and experimentation. “Explosive material makes for a thrilling performance every time he hits the stage.” Plus guests. £11, 7.45pm. • thecomedybox.co.uk n DO YOU WANT YOUR EVENT TO STAND OUT?
We try to print as many listings as possible for free, and we’ll continue to do so. But if you want to ensure your event is included and gets attention, we will print it with a colour background like this for just £5. Find out more by emailing sales@ southbristolvoice.co.uk Monday March 19 Life drawing Tobacco Factory Snug Bar. First come, first served at the regular life drawing session on the first and third Monday of every month, in The Snug. £5 or £4 students, spaces limited. • tobaccofactory.com Wednesday March 21 n Lost Sheep Acta theatre, Gladstone Street, Bedminster. “Don’t dig a hole for your neighbour to fall into ... you may just fall into it yourself!” Sheep
Unapologetic: Sophie Willan Thursday March 22 n Sophie Willan Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken, North Street. One of last year’s breakout stars, nominated for Edinburgh best comedy and show and winner of several 2017 awards. “Expect a raucous hour like no other from this unapologetic young powerhouse.” As seen on As Yet Untitled (Dave) and as heard on BBC Radio 4. £12.50, 7.45pm. • thecomedybox.co.uk Friday March 23 n Networking with Freelance Mum Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. Guest speaker Helen Farmer talks about how the digital world can help manage stress and anxiety in the workplace. Helen is from socially-responsible events organiser Voice by Volume. 10am-12 noon, £9 members, £12 non-members, children free. Includes cake and kids’ activities. • windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk Saturday March 24 n Rock ’n’ Roll Angels St Michael’s Church, Windmill Hill. Support from Michaela Fedeczko. 7.30pm, £5 (proceeds to a mental health charity). The Angels recorded their album in this very church. • rocknrollangels17.blogspot. co.uk n A Certain Ratio Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster. Formed in Manchester in 1977, A Certain Ratio added funk and dance elements to the punk sound, leading to them being dubbed “post punk funk”. 8pm, £22. • fiddlers.co.uk Continued overleaf
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
March 2018
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n The Shillings Zion, Bishopsworth Road. An evening of live music and stories from the Somerset folk and country group. Led by singer-songwriter Barry Walsh, they fuse guitar, mandolin, banjo and fiddle with close vocal harmonies. 7.3010.30pm, £10 advance. • zionbristol.co.uk Sunday March 25 n Wedding fair Arnos Vale cemetery. Two Victorian chapels full of exhibitors of products and services, from wedding invitations and makeup to cakes and entertainment. Sample wedding cakes and canapes, and try on wedding dresses. Visit Arnos Vale’s outdoor wedding venue, the Underwood centre. 11am-3pm. The first 50 couples can enjoy a glass of free bubbly. • arnosvale.co.uk Monday March 26 n Disabled lunch Monthly social lunchtime meet up for disabled people at the Park Centre, Daventry Road, Knowle. Open and friendly group, meets last Monday of the month, 12-2pm. Part of WECIL’s peer support community. • wecil.co.uk
they’re doing – they played a cracking set, with tune after classic tune; all those 60s and 70s soul favourites that everyone knows the words to, each song one that I had sung along to a hundred times in my kitchen while washing up – what a pleasure to hear them played live and belt along at the top of my voice, surrounded by a crowd of people all doing the same! The three vocalists, two women, one man, had great
voices, made good harmonies and weren’t shy of tackling some big numbers – Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, the Supremes – and the crowd never stopped dancing. I’ve always had a soft spot for The Temptations – when they played My Girl, I held hands with my chap and sang to my heart’s delight – a feel-good moment in a funky disco night. Beccy Golding
Wednesday March 28 n Ladies of the Blues The Tunnels, Temple Meads. With Finnish slide goddess Erja Lyytinen, multi-award-winning blues singer Connie Lush and blues and soul singer Kyla Brox. 7.30pm, £17. • thetunnelsbristol.co.uk Thursday March 29 n Amy Rigby Band Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. Amy has been compared to Randy Newman. Her band includes Wreckless Eric, and Ian Button of Death in Vegas. £9, 7.30pm. • thethunderbolt.net
Good Friday, March 30 n Quiz and Supper Night Windmill Hill community centre, Vivian Street. Last Friday of every month, 8.30pm-late. • whca.org.uk/whatson n Double Barrel The George, Wells Road, Knowle. Playing soul, ska and Motown. 9pm, free. n The Wailing Souls Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster. The name hints at a Bob Marley connection, but duo Winston Matthews and Lloyd McDonald predate him, with roots in early 1960s reggae. 8pm, £19.25. • fiddlers.co.uk
n Manos Puestas El Rincon, North Street, Southville. Fiery trio play bossa novas, rumbas and hot club, all in a flamenco style. • elrinconbar.com/music Saturday March 31 n Jeffery Lewis & Los Bolts Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster. Lewis, from New York, is an anti-folk and postpunk musician. 7.30pm, £8.10. • fiddlers.co.uk Easter Sunday, April 1 n Big Brian The George, Wells Road, Knowle. Big Brian sings hits from the 70s to the present.
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3-0 lead, it looked certain that the afternoon would end with City matching the 54 points they gained during the entirety of last season and everything else from now on would show how much the club had improved. Just 50 minutes later everyone (apart from those from the North East) trooped glumly out of Ashton Gate after a 3-3 draw and the realisation that statistics not only lie, they can lull you into a false sense of security. It doesn’t matter what percentage of possession a team has; how many assists a player boasts; how many successful MARTIN’S SHORTS passes are achieved; who had the n THERE are now 21 Bristol best corner count; how many City players out on loan to miles the players run. Football other clubs for the rest of the comes down to whether, when season. That is a lot of young the ball hits Marlon Pack on the talent on the books at Ashton heel in the 92nd minute, it will Gate. It will be interesting to ping into the back of the net or see if the idea of hoovering up go wide. so many players and Getyoung fit for less in 2018 at F4L Bristol why football is better Get fit for less in 2018 atThat’s F4L Bristol giving them “experience” thanF4L cricket. Basically cricket is Get fit for less in 2018 at Bristol elsewhere leads to more ✔ Superb gym just maths in a field with people coming through into the first ✔ Superb gym counting everything and then Friendly staff ✔✔ Superb gym team. ✔✔Friendly staff deciding it is a draw because it Amazing results! ✔ Friendly staff ✔ Amazing results! ✔ Amazing results!
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HERE are a lot of statistics and mathematics involved in supporting a football club but only two things really matter – scoring goals and gaining league points. Bristol City fans can get the calculators and slide rules out but the plain facts are that this season the team now have to up their game if they want to finish in the play-off positions and have a chance of getting to the Premier League. At half-time against bottom club Sunderland, at home with a
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REVIEW Motown & Soul night with Soulside, The Tunnels HE TUNNELS is a great venue but the stage isn’t huge – especially with a 10-piece band on it. Three singers, three saxophonists and a full rhythm section doesn’t leave much room for dancing, but the singers still managed to squeeze in a few synchronised moves à la 60s backing singers. The audience was enthusiastic – a group of lads were straight in at the front, dancing and singing along to songs that were written way before they were born; a selfie-taking hen party; clusters of friends and lots of family groups – grown up sons and daughters with mums, dads, aunties, uncles – a nice mixed bag and a friendly vibe. Soulside really know what
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rained. We don’t need a Wisden possible – but unlikely. book of logarithms to work out The Championship is a tough that we need to put the ball in the league and a glance at Bristol net more often than the other City’s February fixtures, that list team. Bolton, Sunderland, Leeds, So far this season the Fulham and Cardiff as opposition statistics tell us only one certain – all teams with recent Premier thing – Bristol City have secured League experience – shows just themselves a place in the how tough. Championship next season. To In the top league it could read gain a place in the play-offs they Huddersfield, Bournemouth, still have the tough task of Swansea and Brighton, which getting around two points a game somehow doesn’t sound any for the rest of the season. tougher! At Christmas it looked The games are coming thick realistically possible to make the and fast but for those studying top two but that would now the league table and doing the require a points haul from the maths it is worth realising one remaining games that would see thing – Fulham finished sixth * this young Bristol City side going last season with 80 points. That on a magnificent run. It’s always has to be the target. per month
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KARIN SMYTH Labour MP for Bristol
South Bristol needs more jobs, including from the arena
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NLIKE other parts of the city, we don’t have many large local employers here in Bristol South – which has an impact on just how many people can secure decent, well-paid work. That said, we’re fortunate enough to be close to Bristol Airport. I recently visited the airport where I heard about their expansion plans; it currently employs around 15,000 people but with passenger numbers set to double over the next 10-15 years, will need another 6,000-plus members of staff. I heard about some of the employment opportunities now available at the airport and am pleased to be welcoming them to the South Bristol Jobs & Apprenticeships Fair, which takes place from 12-5.30pm on Thursday March 8 at City of Bristol College’s South
Bristol Skills Academy in Hengrove. They’re joining the likes of Keir Construction, Greene King, Brunelcare and many other local employers who are keen to link up with local jobseekers. Last year’s event saw hundreds of young people learn more about how apprenticeships could benefit them. We also welcomed lots of parents keen to support their children to find the best path into training and employment. University is not for everyone and with Bristol South sending the smallest percentage of 18 year olds to university in the whole of England, we need to look at how we support
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young people in going on to secure decent jobs. Apprenticeships offer you the chance to earn while you learn – giving you the knowledge, skills and experience to go on to gainful employment. You may have heard of last-minute plans to consider moving Bristol’s arena from the existing site near Temple Meads to the northern fringe of the city in Filton. I was very disappointed to hear this. The arena build, which should already be under way, provides the potential for hundreds of apprenticeship and job opportunities. There’s been much talk over the years of the need to rebalance north and south Bristol and consideration of where the arena ends up has to take this into account. It’s about access to cultural capital too – a world-class entertainment venue within easy reach of Bristol South. We shouldn’t throw away an opportunity to make headway with that by moving jobs, investment and access up to Filton, which is already home to large scale investment and many large employers, and is inaccessible for a lot of people living in Bristol South. I will continue to fight for the job and apprenticeship opportunities that Bristol South needs in order to rebalance the city and, as ever, would be pleased to hear your thoughts.
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Slimming World with Virginia
Sash window specialist
Every Tuesday at 9.30am & 6pm at the Salvation Army, Dean Lane, Bedminster
• Renovation • Draughtproofing • Double glazing • Repairs • Painting We can fit double glazing to your sash windows! www.snugsash.co.uk
Call 07938 567886 or just come along
07736 229727 SnugSash
Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk
southbristolvoice
T: 07811 766072
www.southbristolvoice.co.uk
March 2018
INVITATION
CJ Hole Southville invite you to accept our offer of a free sales or lettings valuation. To arrange an appointment, please telephone the office or call in personally. If you have instructed another agent on a sole agency and/or sole selling rights basis, the terms of those instructions must be considered to avoid a possible liability to pay two commissions.
MEDIUM SOUTH WEST
268 North Street, Southville, Bristol BS3 1JA
t: 0117 963 4373 southville@cjhole.co.uk With 17 offices covering Bristol, Gloucester and Somerset
OPENING HOURS Monday - Friday 9am - 7pm Saturday 9am - 5pm
SOUTH WEST
MEDIUM AGENCY ESTATE AGENCY YEAR 2011
The Multi Award Winning Agent