Neighbourhood Partnerhship 06 – Bishopston, Cotham and Redland Additional AGSP investment responses for Redland Green and Cotham Gardens from RCAS members. 1. Toilets yes - if agreement can be reached with Bowling Committee to agree management. Cafe - good idea, but difficult to organise/finance? 2. Yes 3. The road should be PART of the Park - fencing is a dangerous precedent (could lead to the Church Green and most of Redland Green being treated as two separate areas with eventually the road taking precedence over pedestrians. This ABSOLUTELY MUST NOT happen. People First - Cars Second. Therefore support strong SPEED restrictions (say 10mph) through Park. 4. This park is TOO SMALL to become an all-purpose event area/arena. It should be preserved as an attractive openspace with trees and grass lawns for strolling, ball games and family picnics. DON'T try and urbanise or beautify it. It is too precious as it is now. 5. This has a very long history since the earliest consultations. Cycling should never have been permitted through the Park. If it has to take place it should be very strictly controlled with all cycling confined to one through route along the existing agreed joint use path, with strict controls over cycle speed (written by a keen cyclist as well as a Park lover). (See also remark 4 above - The Park should have fewer hard surfaced paths - not more.) 6. This appears to conflict with 2 above. Avoidance of dense undergrowth is importance for child safety and to discourage anti-social behaviour but surely areas like the children's play area should be closely supervised by adults in any case. 7. ditto. 8. Information Boards should be restricted to perhaps 3 key entrance points - giving history and interest of the site - but avoiding littering the rest of the park and urbanising it further. More 'natural' play is not required - children already enjoy the slopes and play games on open grass areas in the lower dell. The Park is not large enough to start creating "wildlife areas" which in any event are much better provided in the adjacent allotments. 9. Good. 10. Maintain the existing steps and character of these entrances. Lighting seems an unnecessary addition. 11. NO - the beauty of this park is its low key status as an open lung in the city - Creating "bijou" landscape architects' lighted corridors is a very bad idea. 12. Have you asked the Bowlers? Yes it should definitely be kept. 13. The present high standard should be maintained. 14. NO - The grass areas are very vulnerable to heavy use, especially in winter when the whole of the upper (and lower) areas become waterlogged. Organised pitches would require complete underdraining and would encourage a higher level of formal rather than casual use. The Downs are the right location for these facilities. Redland Green: These are the options I think are important to retain or introduce: 1. 2. 8. 11. I agree with 9 in order to make access to the park easier but I don't think additional lighting is a requirement. Cotham Gardens: I agree with: 1 - natural play equipment for children and enhancement of play space. 2, 6. • I'm a Redland ward resident who has lived in Elton Road since June 1998. Prior to that I lived in a bedsit in Cotham Brow for 6 years. I really value the open space and I was concerned to read that seats and tables had been removed from the area because of anti-social behaviour. I would ask that no more seating is removed because the majority of the people who sit in the park (as my partner and I have done over many years). I particularly valued being able to sit in the park when I lived in a bedsit. Many flats and bedsits in the area do not have gardens. I do not feel that a shelter for teens would be money well-spent as it could lead to an increase in anti-social behaviour in the park. • Hi there You asked for comments so here are some. Re: 2.6.3 Far too much of our area is parked on. A concerted effort to get people out of cars and onto buses or trains or bikes or their feet seems strongly indicated. Then we could ban garages and build housing on those plots! Re: 2.6.6 I would be most unhappy to see any green spaces given up. Already masses of green space has been lost to hard-standing, with appalling knock-on effects of loss of visual amenity (and the impact of that on mental health and stress), flash flooding, loss of songbird habitat, loss of pollution sinks and the carbon footprint. Re: 2.6.7 Cheaper buses are needed---I'd impose a cap on fares at a quarter of the taxi fare for the same journey. We also need a pedestrians' charter, safeguarding pavements (especially as regards pavement parking, A-boards, smokers' areas/tables, pavement cycling)---how does the Council expect to encourage walking when it allows pavements to be so comprehensively parked on?!!! Just try to get a wheelchair down Meridian Rd---absolutely no hope of doing it on the pavement. • I've looked at the plans for Cotham Gardens and both my wife and I like the options although we are not sure of when money will be available. Comments on Options: 1 - agree 2 - definitely agree 3 - agree 4 - yes in principle but NOT if it is an excuse to provide other youth facilities in the area; the lack of which is scandalous as the number of teens grow 5 - not a priority 6 - agree Our top two would be 1 & 2. Could No 2 be tackled in conjunction with a local school and a small grant from Partnership monies? Can you let me know when the next Partnership meeting which the public can attend is and where? . In respose to the consultation on improvements to Redland Green, I should like to suggest the following:- 1) The playground equipment is repaired and additions, such as a netball/basketball net, be available for the older children within this area 2) The entrance gate to the childrens playground be raised and locked at sunset and the surrounding fencing where there is no hedge, also be raised so that the area is sealed off at night 3) A park keeper be around the area after school hours until dusk to make sure there is no vandalism, OR CCTV is installed and used at night only to identify problems 4) The sleeper steps be resurfaced in either paving stones, or a cheaper option of gravel, and a channel provided alongside for bicycles See photo attachment. (this is a photo of the Abbey Steps at Malmesbury. More information can be supplied if required) 5) A pedestrian crossing be installed at the very dangerous corner in Redland Green Road by the junction of the church and the Tennis Club 6)The road accross the Green to the farm, by the division of roads, is repaired and resurfaced 7)There be no further fenced off areas or street furniture 8)Planting of spring bulbs on the steep slope opposite the Dell 9)Removal of elm saplings and chestnut saplings that have self seeded in/or adjacent to the high Redland Road wall as they are going to cause expensive repair work 10)Possible removal of the bars at the top of the Victorian-style lamps on Redland Green, church end, as the school kids climb up the posts and swing on them 11)Able-bodied people on benefit organise tennis, circus skills, rounders, cricket, trampoline etc on the Green to keep the kids occupied after school 12)The schools provide monitors to ensure the rubbish is taken away by the pupils after the lunch break • On Saturday I picked up a flier being circulated in the Gloucester Road about the Council's plans to sell 62 green spaces across the city. I followed links and had a brief look at the plans for my area (Bishopston) and completed the consultation document. I could see that there are no plans to sell off land locally (largely I suspect because there isn't any) and could not find anywhere to express my concern at such a large sell-off - hence this email. I understand the need to finance what are some excellent development plans for other parks and spaces but it does seem to me that 62 is a very high number indeed and I am very concerned that these could be use for high density housing. We need our green lungs in this city - something Bristol likes to promote. I wish I could have some faith in the planning department having respect for local communities and honouring statutory land usage, but I do not. I have been witness to the absurd handling of Gloucester Cricket Club's over development and the cowardly use of a green field site (designated in perpetuity for the community) for a new primary school when it could have been built on hard standing that club wanted to grab. So I can only add my voice to the others who are, I guess, like me asking for restraint and respect when looking at such sell-offs. • Dear Sir or Madam: I was very alarmed to see your proposals for developing Redland Green Park. I enjoy using this park several times a day. It feels very much like you are considering 'improvements' just for the sake of it when actually the park is fine just as it is.