I wasn't at the public meetings on Wednesday at the school, but I gather there was a good turn out of local people. The school seemed surprised by the strength of feeling, but also seem determined to go through with their plans to close the wood.
We can still persuade them to change their mind, but we need support from powerful people. Start now by signing the new petition to Bristol City Council - there is a link to it on the right there. Pass on the link to your friends and neighbours.
If you haven't done so already, please put your views in writing to the school and the local councillors.
School may.park.p@bristol.gov.uk
Eastville Ward steve.comer@bristol.gov.uk; muriel.cole@bristol.gov.uk;
Easton Ward faruk.choudhury@bristol.gov.uk; john.kiely@bristol.gov.uk
Chair of the Parks Committee gary.hopkins@bristol.gov.uk
Tell your story of the wood - tell them why you like it! See Faith's comments under Welcome to the Blog for some interesting new angles on child safety and play spaces you could use.
Lastly, come to the wood at 11 o'clock this sunday if you can to talk about a plan for the 'picnic in the wood'!
The form to apply for village green status can be found here http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/documents/protected/common-land/tvg-form44.pdf
ReplyDeletewe shall we discuss this on Sunday?
TVG could be a way forward but it's a lot of work for a few people gathering evidence and presenting a case. On the other hand, it would do no harm to set the thing in motion and start gathering evidence from folk who use it/used it in the 20 years before the fence went up (when As of Right use stopped). It would be nice if a group could be set up to maintain the wood, working with the school, clear up rubbish/pooh on a regular basis and generally look after it. It has a dramatic effect on the way an area is treated when there is obviously a lot of effort going in to keep it up for everyone. Evidence of this can be seen in Snuff Mills, which, less than 3 yrs ago was a vandalised, neglected place. It has been turned round by the formation of Snuff Mills Action Group which is just local people putting in time and persistent effort to make the place somewhere for everyone to enjoy. Details can be found at http://snuffmills.blogspot.com. This group is also campaigning to save the adjacent woodland on the opposite bank, currently threatened by unsympathetic private owners. A TGV hearing is coming up in the spring, and Local Nature Reserve status is being sought. Don't expect much from the council, elected councillors have very small teeth. It's the officers who have to be constantly chased.
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