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HOTWELLS&CLIFTONWOOD

NEWS

Summer 2009

Published by Hotwells & Cliftonwood Community Association, 3,Charles Place, Hotwells, Bristol, BS8 4QW

h&cca HOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

Cliftonwood gains Town Green

Neighbourhood Traffic Strategy Launched You may remember some time ago we asked you to nominate your most dan-gerous and threatening travel spots throughout H&CW. It has taken a long time, and particular thanks are due to Paul Walker Jones and Richard Wilson for their hours of work, but the draft is now ready for your comments and sug-gestions. See feature on pages 4-5 to find out how to get hold of a copy. Tell us what you think. It is our intention to lobby Bristol City Council to have the document adopted as part of the local plan for our area but only once we are sure that it is what YOU want to see.

James Smith

Aliens land at Junction Lock Here is the box housing the controls for the new machinery at Junction Lock. Note how it perfectly comple-ments the historic pump house (which, ironically, once housed an ear-lier generation of machinery for op-erating the lock gates). For good measure, there is an identical alien

space craft on the other side of the lock, adjacent to the historic dock cottages of 1831. Is this what happens when you let engineers design a building? I hope no architect was involved but it would be interesting to know who passed this design and how they could have felt it was remotely acceptable in this setting. It seems some of our City planners are living on another planet.

Ray Smith

It's official -Cliftonwood now has a Town Green. It's the Community Garden at the junc-tion of Ambra Vale East, Ambrose Road and Argyle Place. Local residents made an application in November 2007 for the garden to be registered under the Commons Act 2006. On 19 January 2009 Bristol Council's Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee voted in favour of

registration. The vote was unanimous and councillors praised the quality of the submission, so this was a good result. What does it mean? It means that local people can continue to use and enjoy the garden, as they have been doing for over twenty years. It also protects this public open space for the future. Registration as a Town Green makes the garden offi-cially Common Land, which is safe from development. If you aren't familiar with the garden, get there and enjoy it. It's almost opposite the Argyle Place play area. - 200 yards west of the Lion pub. You can also join the ‘Green Links Celebration’ on Apr. 19th (see Events Diary p.7)

Don Egginton

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Community News h&cca HOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD COM-

MUNITY ASSOCIATION O117 9291883

Admin@hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk

Local Doctor’s Surgery hours extended Dr Ring’s surgery at 2 Charles Place is now operat-ing full time. Call 0117 9294334 for further details. Dangerous Crossing con-cerns parents Parents taking children to Christ Church Primary from Cliftonwood and older stu-dents travelling to Cotham Secondary school are af-fected by the lack of a safe crossing at the junction of Constitution Hill/ Clifton Hill. Hilary Williams from Clifton-wood Road writes ‘Cars con-verge from 4 roads and the heavily parked cars make reaching the pavement an additional hazard’ Parents had a visit from the ‘Safe Routes to Schools’ officer last November but are still waiting for a response from the Council. Cumberland Basin Eyesore Mike Timmins our ‘Open Spaces’ specialist reports: “The seats on the northern side of the Cumberland Ba-sin are in a poor state, and the apparently approved pro-cedure is to remove them as they collapse, rather than replace them. This contin-ues to be an eyesore, only slightly improved by a par-ticularly splendid set of drifts of daffodils. Rubbish bins are overflowing with cleared-up dog mess, and although dog owners are to be congratu-lated in clearing away dog mess, the bins were never designed for this purpose. Proper dog waste disposal bins are urgently needed”. There is a petition being cir-culated to campaign for addi-tional car-parking on this site. Is this what people want?

Welcome to the new HCCA website Our original website was developed for us by students at UWE many years ago and the Trustees recognised a revamp was badly needed. Now, with help from Kevan Harding of Harbourside Design we have a new site that you

can visit www.hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk. Our aim is to keep this simple but

relevant and try to maintain a source of local news and useful information which is always up to date. If anything happens in Hotwells, we hope you’ll find out about it on the HCCA website first. To make this work, we will depend on the input of vol-unteers to review the content regularly. We hope you will help with this by letting us know about news, events and opinions you feel it would be useful to share. If we can solve the problem of spamming, that infested our last attempt at a bulletin board, we will add some more interactive features in due course. We plan to limit the site initially to a small number of pages covering our main areas of work plus some background informa-tion about Hotwells that might interest visitors to the area. These are: ► Home page –breaking news and links to other items. ► Whats On—events and meeting dates ► Community Action—reports on the work of the Community Links Group ► Environment & Transport—reports on the work of CHASE ► Open Spaces & Planning ► Newsletters -an archive of back numbers of H&C News that you can download ► 500 Club -what it is; how to join ► About HCCA –our aims and contact details ► About Hotwells -a short historical summary for visitors and new residents. ► Links -to other useful local websites If more people get involved and our capacity grows , there is no reason why we shouldn’t add more pages reflecting the interests of other local groups and services. Give us your feedback about the site and how you feel it might be developed.

Ray Smith

Reader’s Rant I moved to Bristol in 1987 and was always fascinated by the crescent that backs onto Underfall Yard and the harbour, so when we had an

opportunity to buy a house in Avon Crescent six years ago we jumped at it. It is fantastic – apart from the traffic. Yes! of course I knew that it is fronted by a busy road, but for years we have been told that measures are afoot to calm the traffic but absolutely nothing ever happens. The traffic not only affects residents, but families who having enjoyed a walk around the harbour then attempt to cross onto the ‘chocolate block’ path running by the river on Cumberland Road. The natural place to cross is at the end of Avon Crescent, possibly the most treacherous junction in Bristol. Oncoming traffic is hidden by railings, therefore vehicles speed up for the right-hand sweep into the Crescent. I have only witnessed one pedestrian injured here, but I believe that residents nearer this end of the crescent have witnessed many more. Will the problem only be addressed when someone is killed? There were plans by the Council a couple of years back to make some token improve-ments, but I am told by our Councillor that these were overlooked and have gone to the bottom of the pile. A radical solution is required but the council seems to be using the Cumberland Basin "Balanced & Sustainable Community" aspirations as an excuse for doing nothing now. Couldn’t something like a 20mph speed limit be introduced? Or would this also get overlooked and find itself back at the bottom of the pile?

Martin Rands

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Panto Fundraising Success Hope Chapel was packed for 4 nights in March yet again for the ever-popular Hot-wells Pantomime. This year it was the turn of the story of ‘Robin Hood’ to be set in the mythical state of ‘Hotwellia,’ although Robin sported a Geordie accent, the Sheriff very definitely came from France and there was a scene that involved Vikings, so it had a rather cosmopolitan flavour. The 100+ performers, crew, musicians and bar staff gave it their all and the event raised over £3,000 for local projects. We would like to thank Hope Community Church for making the building available rent-free.

h&cca HOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

O117 9291883 Admin@hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk

Community News

Hotwells Off-Licence Bill, who now manages the Hotwells Off-Licence and g e n e r a l s t o r e , i s offering to deliver free of charge to community mem-b e r s w i t h m o b i l i t y problems any items which he stocks in the shop. Please ring him for further details. 0117-927 6251 WheelieBin Woes We have been hearing complaints about black bins permanently blocking the pavement in Cliftonwood Crescent. One resident says she has to wheel her pushchair down the middle of the street because the pavement is impassable. Some houses have rear access for storing bins. Community Links is trying to follow this up to get ad-vice from the department responsible at the Council or SITA. Do other places in H&C have similar problems? Residents Parking Zone The potential problems caused by the western boundary of the proposed RPZ passing across Ambrose Road have been raised by residents living just outside this fairly arbi-trary line. There are con-cerns that pressure on parking will increase in ad-joining streets as commut-ers are driven out of the RPZ area. As a result, the Council has made a com-mitment to fully consult about the details of the scheme with people in ad-joining areas, as well as those in the RPZ itself, with the proviso that people out-side will not be able to veto the principle of the RPZ.

Still waters run deep? Wessex Water’s building works on the Portway, designed to improve water quality in the Floating harbour were due to last for several months but the project is now approaching it’s 4th anni-versary.

Questions about how it has taken so long for these contractors to solve the problems of pumping water from one place to another are probably not very helpful at this stage. The latest estimate for completion given to Com-munity Links committee is now May (May 2009 that is). Expect a spate of accidents on the Portway when drivers suddenly discover there are actually two lanes of traffic and a view across the river that they haven’t seen in living memory. They are supposed to be putting the Plimsoll statue back where it was, after all. Did anyone consult with us about this? No. Is he going to be stuck behind a blank wall staring out at another blank wall? Very possibly, because that’s why they originally decided he couldn’t possibly go back there. However, four years on all that, it seems, is now forgotten.

New Local History Society The launch of this new group will take place on May 20th at 7.30 pm in the Lecture Theatre at the Create Centre. The aim is to bring together everyone inter-ested in the huge diversity of historical riches in the area. After some short formal business to get the group formally constituted, the meeting will move on to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Floating Harbour, followed by ’Treasures’ when invited people will bring something special and share their knowledge and enthusiasm for 5 minutes maximum ffi: tel 9277157

Trinity Daycare Funding cut The organisation has just lost £3,000 of fund-ing. They are organising a concert at Trinity Church to try and raise some money to com-pensate for this. See Events Diary (page 7) for details.

Happy 200th birthday! Friends of the Avon New Cut (FrANC) are organising A Fun Day to mark the 200th anniversary of the completion of the Avon New Cut and the Floating Harbour. It will be held on Monday 4 May, 12.30 to 5pm by the SS Great Britain. Inspired by the 1809 opening ceremony which was followed by a huge party for the Irish builders and Bristol citizens, The Great Britain is organising a hog roast, the Bristol Beer Fac-tory has produced a special “Cut Blaster” beer, and the Friends of the Avon New Cut have organised entertainment for the whole family including:

Tales of the Cut with an Irish actor and “Show of Strength”

Irish and Morris dancers

A jazz band

Sea shanty singers

A treasure hunt plus other fun and games for children

Fascinating facts and images of the New Cut and Floating Harbour.

For more information about FrANC’s activi-ties see the Southville Centre website www.southvillecentre.org.uk

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“Hotwells and Clifton Wood, like many other in-ner urban communities, suffer an inequitable level of commuter through traffic and negative impacts. By contrast local people are relatively low car users as they live within walk and cycle distance of the city centre and various amenities. Unfortunately increased traffic, poor design and management of highways and streets and lack of investment has created a situation of significant environmental injustice where local journeys and our freedoms of movement, safety and activities are compromised. It appears that transport plan-ners put the needs of car driving commuters from outside Bristol ahead of local people mak-ing local journeys and the wider life quality of local residents. This has lead to damage and ongoing constraints not just to our local envi-ronment but also to our economy and community”. Few people living and working in our area would disagree with these sentiments ex-pressed by local resident and planning expert, Richard Walker, and UWE architecture & planning graduate Paul Walker-Jones in the new Hot-wells & Cliftonwood Commu-nity Traffic Strategy. Their in-spired report is possibly the first time that the transport conflicts which dominate Hot-wells & Cliftonwood have been addressed in such a comprehensive way. It began when a consultation exercise identified the ten ‘Danger Hot-spots’ in our area (see box above). Ranked by the num-ber of complaints they are:

1. Top of Clifton Vale (17)

2. Avon Crescent & Cumberland Road (15)

3. Constitution Hill & Goldney Avenue (15)

4. Bottom of Hope Chapel Hill (15)

5. Jacobs Wells Road Roundabout (15 )

6. Bottom of Clifton Vale & Ambra Vale (13)

7. Cumberland Basin Road and Merchant Road (9)

8. Hopechapel Hill access to school (8)

9. Trinity Traffic Lights (7)

10.Constitution Hill junction with Jacobs Wells Road

(7)

Some of the solutions they propose are relatively straightforward. For example, creating ‘Homezones’ for almost the whole area, bounded by ‘road tables’, 20mph limits and weight restrictions at all the main road junctions. This alone, they reason, would have an im-pact on Hotspots 1, 4, 6 & 8 and discourage commuter rat-running without the need to enforce road closures.

Other ideas have surprising spinoffs. For example the authors believe reorganising the messy Hotwell Rd / Merchants Rd junction by Trinity Church could create space for a new community centre!

Volunteers Needed Cumberland Basin area

Do you like working with children? Would you like to improve their safety?

Do you have one or two days spare each month? Phone Lifeskills on 9224511 www.lifeskills-bristol.org.uk

Hotwells & Cliftonwood Community Traffic Strategy

What is the Strategy based on? A simple 1 sheet questionnaire (with freepost return) was drawn up and inserted into the Summer 2007 Hotwells & Cliftonwood News which was distributed to every home across the whole area. In the initial reply (late Autumn 2007) over 120 had been completed and returned covering almost all streets. These have been map plotted in terms of Route of identi-fied local journeys colour coded by mode/s of travel Dangers identified in terms of specific junctions/crossings and also linear issues raised. The resulting traffic map and an update report on the top ten traffic hotspots identified by local people and pro-posed substantive actions to address through traffic flow problems was discussed and agreed at the December 2007 CHASE meeting.

Starting with something simple - 20mph HomeZones

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A Vision of the Future

Overall, it is a revelation to realise how traffic problems are so interconnected, not just in Hotwells & Clifton-wood but further afield. We need to find solutions that don’t simply displace a problem from one place to a neighbouring area and generate enmity between differ-ent communities. The authors have suggested creating an extra filter lane at the bottom of Bridge Valley Road and worked out an attrac-tive way of achieving this. It would reduce delays for com-muters heading down Bridge Valley Rd. for the Cumberland Basin Flyover and hence reduce the temptation to rat-run through the residential streets of Clifton & Hotwells. This is a win-win argument for commut-ers and local residents through-out West Bristol. The next step is to consult more widely and get feedback and support for these ideas amongst local people. We will mount an exhibition and a pub-lic meeting so that your queries and suggestions can be re-sponded to in more depth.

With your support, we will have a powerful case to take to professional traffic-planners, councillors and others who can influence official planning policies and identify funds to start converting some of these ideas into action. This is a document everyone who cares about the qual-ity of life in Hotwells & Cliftonwood should read and draw hope from. There are ways of solving our prob-lems. The solutions are not all cheap or quick to achieve but it does, at last, give us a strategic frame-work for discussing the issues with our civic leaders in a language they can understand. Ray Smith

20s Plenty for Us This is a national campaign that has come to Bristol. Its aim is to replace the default speed limit of 30mph in residential areas with 20 mph. Bristol is proposing a couple of pilot schemes but it would be much more effective and probably cheaper to introduce it city wide so no one is in any doubt what the limit is. There is a web site at www.20splentyforus.org.uk with more detail and resources to download. CHASE has agreed to champion the campaign in the HCCA area and needs someone to head it up. We are lucky in having the resources of the HCCA to use and there is a Bristol group up and running. The advan-tages seem obvious. If you live in a 20 zone you are much more likely to see the advantage and drive slower in other people’s streets. Even though you can rarely exceed 20 here it doesn’t stop some rat runners trying! Please contact James Smith via the HCCA office if you could take this on.

Longer Term Vision - Reorganise the traffic flow

Hotwell Road - Does anyone need all this tarmac? You can download the report by going to:

http://www.urbanized.co.uk and choosing the ‘downloads’ option. Or, you can collect a 20 page printed version from the CA office in return for a small dona-tion. Go to the exhibition at CREATE from Mon. 18th– Fri. 22nd May. E-mail your comments to: admin@hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk

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Information

Hotwells Bus Services A number of useful but poorly pub-licised BCC supported services run from Dowry Square operated by Wessex Connect: 510 Hotwells to Bedminster Down & Bedminster. Hourly service, Mon-Fri from 10:31 587 Hotwells to Kingswood via Clifton, Westbury Park, Horfield, Eastville, Fishponds. Hourly ser-vice Mon-Sat. From 08:20 586 Hotwells to the Centre –route as above to Eastville but then returns to Centre via Temple Meads & Broadmead Note also the following service operated by Bugler Coaches from Merchants Rd. 500—Harbour Link loop via Spike Island, Temple Meads, Broadmead, Centre. 20 min ser-vice Mon-Sat. Find timetables for all of these at: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Transport-Streets/Public-Transport/supported-bus-services-folder/council-supported-bus-services.en

Hotspots After-School Club Hotspots - Hotwells Primary School's after school club - has been enjoying itself under the new management of Josh Widdows and Liz Hill. The duo took over organisation of the club in September and since then, the club has come on in leaps and bounds. The main focus of Hotspots is on child-led, constructive activities and creative play that help develop imagination and confidence. Accordingly, activities at the club are varied and inventive. During the recent half term, Josh and Liz planned an array of workshops and day trips, including a circus performance, an African tribal dance class and a river walk to Explore @Bristol. Many Hotwells News readers will also remember the lovely dis-play the children put on during the arts trail last year. The club’s children came up with some amazing junk models for the trail, in-cluding a racing car and an aquarium.

However, Josh and Liz are still keen to reach as many children in the area as possible and are seeking to raise their profile within the community in order to recruit volunteers and attendees to the club. Sessions cost £7.25 and run from Monday through to Fri-day from 3.30pm until 6pm. Please email Liz at hotspotsafterschoolclub@hotmail.com to book a place, if you are interested in volun-teering, or have goods that you would like to donate, such as DVDs, CDs, toys or dressing up gear. Jayne Marshall

Calling All Artists and Art Lovers!

West Bristol Art Trail 2009 will be on 17th & 18th October this year. Don’t miss out on this popular showcase for local talent. If you have a venue in Hotwells, Clifton, Cliftonwood or Spike Island please contact admin@westbristolarts.org.uk for an application form or download from www.westbristolarts.org.uk

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Specialist in Floor Maintenance,

Carpets, Windows and Daily Office Cleaning.

Fully Insured

G. J. TREASURE CLEANING CONTRACTORS

5 Britannia Buildings

Merchants Road Hotwells

Bristol BS8 4QD

Tel: (0117) 9290578 Fax: 9144316

Events

DIARY

Sun Apr 19th

14:30-16:30

Green Links Celebra-tion. Community event to celebrate the new open spaces in Cliftonwood

Argyle Place

Sat Apr 25th

19:00 New Harmony Ladies Choir / City of Bristol Training Brass Band

Trinity Church (fundraiser for Trinity Daycare—tickets £5)

Sun Apr 26th

11:00-12:00

‘Secret Garden’ work-ing party

Cliftonwood Terrace

Sat May 9th

Flea Market

Folk House

Wed May 20th

20:00 Hotwells Book Club 3, Charles Place ffi. tel: 9298841

Wed May 20th

19:30 Hotwells Local His-tory Society launch

Create Centre

Sun May 31st

11:00-12:00

‘Secret Garden’ work-ing party

Cliftonwood Terrace

Mon 4th May

12:30-17:00

Fun Day to mark 200th Anniversary of the ‘Avon New Cut’

by Great Britain & The Grain Barge

Mon May 18th– May 22nd

10:00-17:00

Hotwells & Clifton-wood Traffic Strategy Exhibition

Create Centre

D O W R Y CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC Alison Archibald & Associates Registered with the British Chiropractic Association & the General Chiropractic Council back and leg pain sports injuries neck shoulder and arm pain postural advice headaches free chiro checks ergonomic products available Perrin technique also available

MEDICAL INSURANCE APPROVED

Tel: 0117 929 8384 3 Dowry Place, Hotwells, Bristol

BS8 4QL www.archibaldclinics.co.uk

(also at Taunton 01823 412489)

Folk House Flea Market - Sat May 9th To raise money for the renovation of the Folk House Hall, local traders are going to be selling their wares - every-thing from records and vintage clothes, to textiles and ceramics. There will also be a raffle with fantas-tic prizes from local businesses. The organic cafe will also be busy rustling up some delicious treats for you! So please come along and join in the fun. Ffi. Ring 0117-926-2987

Email: fran@bristolfolkhouse.co.uk 40a Park Street, Bristol BS1 5JG

Meeting Room available for hire The Community Association has a small meeting room with a conference table at it’s office in Charles Place that will seat up to 8 people. Tea & coffee-making facili-ties available. £10 for either an afternoon or evening session. Ffi. Tel 9291883. Dave Easto

Professional Guitar Tuition Also Electric Bass All Styles Beginners Welcome

0117 963 4849

56 Beauley Rd, Southville Bristol BS3 1QF

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Hotwells & Cliftonwood C.A. 3 Charles Place, Hotwells, Bristol,

BS8 4QW tel: 0117 9291883 co-ordinator: Rosemary Stibbon admin@hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk

www.hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk Management Committee Dennis Gornall (Chair) Personnel Brenda McLennan (Treasurer) Projects Ray Smith Communications Mike Timmins Open spaces James Smith CHASE Anthea Bruges Community Links

CONTACTS

J H THOMPSONJ H THOMPSONJ H THOMPSONJ H THOMPSON

BA (Hons) DO MRO

REGISTERED OSTEOPATH

39 Oldfield Road Hotwells BRISTOL BS8 4QQ

Tel: (0117) 927 2100

Maya’s gentle yoga

Monday, Pavey House, Clifton 6-7pm. Wednesday, Hotwells Primary School

7-8pm

Tel: 0117 9542212

or 0117 9512371

classes:

Sui Generis Hair & Beauty

255 HOTWELL ROAD,

HOTWELLS, BRISTOL BS8

4SF

BOOKING & ADVICE LINE

0117 925 3611

call

0117 973 7132

Open for Dinner Wednesday to Saturday all year round. For special bookings and enquiries, please call Coral on:

07971 812540

Anne Coughlan Holistic Therapy and Massage

• Sports Massage • Reflexology • Aromatherapy Massage • Indian Head Massage • Swedish Massage • On site in your workplace or home • Pamper Parties

balanced@onetel.com 929 1794 or 07977265673 Anne Coughlan BA (Hons) IIHHT