hotwells news - winter 2010

8/9/2019 Hotwells News - Winter 2010

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PublishedbyHotwells&CliftonwoodComm

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e,Hotwells,Bristol,BS84QW

ww.hotwellscliftonwood.org

.uk

h&ccaHOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD COM-

MUNITY ASSOCIATION

New cycle route struggles tonavigate Cumberland BasinPlans to construct a new cycle and pedestrian route across Cum-berland Basin have been thrown into confusion by the failure of a

key proposal to incorporate the Brunel Swivel Bridge into thescheme at the entrance lock.

Renovating this historic bridge, as part of the Sustrans Connect2 BCCfunded Festival Way route from Bristol to Nailsea would have provided asafe and level crossing of the lock but proved too expensive on the basis ofan assessment by engineering consultancy Ove Arup. A further setbackcame when it was realised that an alternative route to Ashton Swing Bridgealong the line of the old Bristol Harbour Railway was also going to be im-practicable.A scheduled site meeting with Cycle City planner Jon Usher on Nov. 23rd to discuss an-other part of the link along Cumberland Basin Road was hijacked by a demonstation of

about 20 Hotwells residents de-manding a pedestrian crossingacross Merchants Road at thePump House. This complicated junction will need to be modifiedbut neither cyclists or local pe-destrians seem happy that nocontrolled crossing of the busyroad is included in the proposals.There is also disappointment thatthe commitments made in Con-nect2 publicity to create a saferoute to Hotwells School seem

to have been downgraded.As potential costs of the projectescalate, a further meeting chairedby Cllr. Barbara Janke took placeat Hotwells School on Dec. 1st.

where local residents emphasised the need to look again at all the options (including theswivel bridge renovation) to try and find a solution that delivered benefits for people inHotwells. A Cumberland Basin subgroup of the Festival Way steering committee has nowbeen formed with representation from Hotwells School and HCCA to look at any furtherproposals in detail. Even if the problems are resolved, because of the delays, completingthe work within the timescale agreed in the next financial year may prove difficult.Meanwhile, the traffic-free path from Ashton Swing Bridge to Bower Ashton is already un-der construction and the next leg through Ashton Court Estate is currently out for consul-

tation. (see http://www.opinionsuite.com/bristol/departments/city-development/ashton-court-cycling-and-walking-link-public-consultation/consultation/consult_view)

Ray Smith

disgruntled demonstrators listen to Jon Usher from BCCoutside The Pump House

Mystery sign takes Hotwells in a new direction

No one in Hotwells seems sure when it arrivedor who was the perpetrator but the unauthorisedamendment to this road sign certainly causedsome double-takes from bored motorists stuckat the lights at the Hotwell Road junction withMerchants Road. The 'Evening Post' reported it

on Nov. 12th and quoted a Bristol City Councilspokesperson as saying ' although the sign wasamusing, it will have to be taken down so driversare not distracted'. It eventually disappeared justbefore Christmas to reveal a much more mun-dane direction to Bedminster


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Community Newsh&ccaHOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD COM-

MUNITY ASSOCIATIONO117 9291883

[email protected]

HCCA Annual MeetingThe meeting on Nov 17th was an oppor-tunity to describe some of the work yourCA has been doing this year.The Hotwells Traffic Strategy has beenthrough detailed consultation and is now

being revised for presentation to the Coun-cil. The CAs website has been renewed andis now being updated on a more regularbasis. We have provided support to thesecond West Bristol Arts Trail which isnow rapidly becoming a fixture in the localcalendar. After much hard work by RaySmith we published the Hotwells HeritageTrail and a lot of work has been done toensure that all relevant organisations knowthat this end of the floating harbour is Hot-wells and not Harbourside. Pauline Barnesstrenuous efforts (with help from the LordMayor) to ensure thatthe Plimsoll bust, re-moved some years ago,remains in Hotwells. havepaid off and the sculpturewill be unveiled soon atCapricorn Quay.We have participated inconsultations on BristolsCore Strategy, on theRapid Transit Route fromAshton Gate to the Cen-

tre and on local cycleroutes (see page 1). Morelocally, representationshave been made aboutbins and recycle containers on the pave-ments and we are working closely with theWaste Management Team to try and im-prove things.A special thanks to Brian Price for all hishard work as our very local Councillor overmany years. We wish him a very happy re-tirement.Also welcome to Trevor Blythe, who took

Brians place in May this year. We look for-ward to working closely with him and Bar-bara Janke to continue to try and improvethe area where we live.

Dennis Gornall

Gordon Priest & June LancasterIt was with great sadness that we heard ofthe deaths of two people who contributedmuch to the life of the community.Gordon Priest died in Dorset but, for manyyears lived in Freeland Place. He was anarchitect, lecturer and wrote the definitive

book about the Patys who were responsiblefor many of the notable 18th century build-ings in Bristol. If he and other spirited indi-viduals had not fought battles in the 1970s

with the planners, Bristols architecturalheritage would today be much poorer. June Lancaster, who lived in Granby Hill,was an exceptional teacher of children withspecial needs and a Director of the BristolGuild. She contributed the signs over our

notice boards for which we are grateful.Sue Stops

New look NeighbourhoodPartnershipsBristol City Council has announced plans togive a bigger say over decision making tolocal people and create a structure for de-volving decisions to the NeighbourhoodPartnership (NP) level.At the top will be the NeighbourhoodCommittee, made up of the 6 Ward Coun-

cillors from the 3 Wards of our NP. Theywill have the final decision on expen-diture. Some 2m is planned to bedevolved across the city in the firstinstance and our NP will controlsome of that.At the next level will be a NP Steer-ing Group, consisting of ResidentRepresentatives, Voluntary and/orCommunity Sector representatives,key agencies, such as the Police,Health, Fire and Rescue and the 6ward Councillors. This will make

recommendations to the Neighbour-hood CommitteeThere will also be Neighbourhood

Forums held at least twice a year ineach ward. These will incorporate the cur-rent PACT meetings held by the Police.Neighbourhood Forums will be open to allin the ward and will be our opportunity tosay what we think will be important for ourarea. It will also be our chance to build acase for resources to achieve improve-ments. These may include, environmentalprojects, recycling facilities, highway im-

provements, community facilities. It mayalso be our chance to put forward propos-als that do not come under delegated pow-ers but would have to go to full Council.The idea is that our voice should be heardall the year round and not just at electiontime. So it will be up to us.The first small, but perhaps significant deci-sion, may be to rename our NP to some-thing less clumsy than Cabot Clifton andClifton East NP. So if you have any ideas docontact us or come along to the first openforum.

Details of meetings will be posted on noticeboards and on the website as soon as theyare known.

Dennis Gornall

Hotwells & CliftonwoodCommunity Association3 Charles Place, Hotwells,Bristol, BS8 4QW

tel: 0117 9291883

[email protected]

Management CommitteeDennis Gornall (Chair) Person-nelBrenda McLennan (Treasurer)Projects

Rosemary Stibbon AdministratorRay Smith CommunicationsMike Timmins Open spacesJames Smith CHASEAnthea Bruges Community Links

CONTACTS

HCCA needs helpTo help improve our areaand do the things we try anddo we are very keen to re-cruit new members to ourManagement Committee, orto join our Community LinksGroup. If you, or anyone youknow, might be interested inworking with the CA in a vol-untary capacity please get intouch with us and we wouldbe pleased to talk to youabout what is involved.

Farmers Market inHotwells?The Pump House is consid-ering organising a fortnightlymarket in their yard by Junc-tion Lock. If you have anythoughts about this the con-tact to talk to is:Kate Upson, Events Co-ordinator, The Pump House0117 9272229www.the-pumphouse.com

Hotwells landmark returns

To keep up to date withHotwells news as it hap-pens rather than wait for thenext printed Hotwells Newsvisit our website. Let usknow about any localevents and news that youwould like to see online.


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h&ccaHOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOODCOMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

O117 [email protected]

Community News

Bins on pavementsWe are still actively pursuing

with the Council ways ofimproving our pavements byridding them of bins, blackboxes etc. A trial is currentlyunderway in Clifton for theuse of larger communal binsand we think that there is atleast one place in Clifton-wood where this might pro-vide an improvement.If you know of any places inthe area where bins andrecycle boxes on the pave-

ments are a nuisance thenplease advise the HCCAoffice and we will take it upwith the Council for you. TheWaste Management teamare keen to find solutions forneighbourhoods where thisis a problem.

Blocked gulleysThe HCCA, through theCommunity Links Group,has again raised this peren-nial problem. We believe wecan help the Council to helpus. We shall be surveyingthe roads in our area toidentify blocked gulleys. Wewill then be supplying thislist to the Council and askingfor plenty of prior warning ofthe planned visits of the gul-ley clearing team so that wecan try and ensure that therelevant places are clear ofcars on the day.If you know of blocked gul-leys please send details tothe office identifying theroad and the position of thedrain.

Remembrance SundayA large group gathered atthe Memorial in St. Andrewschurchyard for a movingservice . Although it pouredwith rain, the traditional or-

der of service was followedand a wreath laid by a repre-sentative of the CommunityAssociation.

Whats going on in the Docks?The replacement of lock gates and theirmechanisms at Junction Lock continues.Two more new lock gates have now to beinstalled by the bridge. The good news isthat BAM Nuttall reckon that there should

only be one or two more weekend closuresof the bridge, probably January/February totest everything when the rest of the worksthere are complete.

Works at Entrance Lock to replace thewater hydraulic system with an oil basedsystem will be ongoing until May/June 2010.A near catastrophe in 2007 exposed thefact that the 140 year old system was verybadly corroded and would have deterio-

rated further without replacement. Anyfailure in the lock mechanism might haveresulted in an empty harbour and this couldwell have caused some parts of the harbourwall to collapse.As a consequence of this work we shall see5 small new buildings at Entrance Lock, 4to house the mechanisms for each of thelock gates and one to hold an emergencygenerator. Readers will be pleased to hear

that the design will be rather less stark thanthe buildings at Junction Lock. There willbe no access to the foot crossing over thelock gates until the work is completed.

Dennis Gornall

Will development site moneyreach Hotwells?The 32 new student dwellings approved forthe site next to the Mardyke pub in HotwellRoad will contribute 19,000 of section 106funding to be spent on the provision/improvement/ maintenance of recreationalspace and facilities. The original plan wasto build 13 apartments and these wouldhave contributed over 35,000 for commu-nity use. The BCC Planning Officer saidthe reduced payment is due to the fact that

contributions toward open space and recreationfor student accommodation, are calculated

under a different formula to those for standard

residential accommodationHowever no work has resumed on site yet,following the failure of the previous schemeand even if this one succeeds, Hotwellsmay have a fight on its hands to ensure themoney is used to improve open space inHotwells. The Council has a habit of allo-cating Section 106 funds to other areas thatactually have some parks to spend it on (aswe revealed in our Autumn 2008 edition of

Hotwells News). We have been promised animproved consultation process on howthese funds are allocated but the new devel-opers successfully argued that no furtherpublic consultation was necessary for thenew planning application so we have notbeen given an opportunity to express a viewon the revised Section 106 arrangementseither.

Ray Smith

Hotwells & Cliftonwood Transition Group

The film "Hawai'i: Message in the Waves" (see last newsletter) highlighted theproblems caused by the huge quantities of manmade plastics polluting theoceans of the world. They are a danger to birds, fish and dolphins who mayswallow plastic objects or become entangled in floating plastic sheets. This mayseem a long way from Hotwells, but we have a river feeding into the ocean andall the plastic we use and discard will remain in the environment, perhaps forhundreds of years. So what can we do?A small group of people met to start discussing this and to see what local actioncould be taken. We realised we had to take responsibility ourselves, both indi-vidually and together. Please contact me if you would like to join the grouplooking at plastics, or just to share your ideas and enthusiasm. Look on the

HCCA website for details of the next meeting of the Transition group.e-mail: [email protected]. Tel: 0117 9291804.For more information about Transition Hotwells and Cliftonwood, e-mail:[email protected]

engineering work at the Entrance Lock


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Specialist in Floor Maintenance,Carpets, Windows and Daily

Office Cleaning.Fully Insured

G. J. TREASURECLEANING CONTRACTORS

5 Britannia BuildingsMerchants Road

Hotwells

Bristol BS8 4QD

Tel: (0117) 9290578 Fax: 91443160117 973 7132

[email protected]

Cumberland Basin Piazza your views

Following an article in the last edition ofHotwells News we have received over 70

responses so far and a picture is beginning toemerge of what people would like to see

done about the wilderness area under the

flyover .We assigned a score to each one of the 12options described, based on the prioritygiven to it in the questionnaire; ie. 12points for the most favoured option and 1for the least. Some people ticked optionsbut didnt indicate a priority. In this case,all the options they selected were given ascore of 6. The pie chart below gives theresults as a percentage of all responses.

As you can see, some kind of park/greenspace is almost twice as popular as the nexthighest scoring option (Heritage Exhibi-tion). But 8 of the options all clusteraround 7-9%, so no clear preferenceemerges for 2nd place.The least favoured option is car-parking,which, possibly, doesnt rule out someparking spaces in conjunction with otheruses but suggests that a dedi-cated car park on the wholesite would not be popular.We also received a varied listof suggestions for other pos-

s i b l e u se s i n c l ud i n g :

Wood recycling

Climbing wallPerformance space

Graffiti area

Toddler play area

Open air market

Each of these scored less than 1% of the total but this ishardly surprising since the ideas had not been offered to allrespondents. We intend to keep them alive for discussion bya steering group (see box below).We also asked you to suggest a name for the space under

the flyover. Lots of people had similar ideas with small varia-tions in wording. Some of the more inspired were:Hotwells Hub, Teen Space, Hotwells Flyunder,

HotSprings Island, The Pillars, Brunel Park, Hotwells

Peoples Park, Hotwells Oasis, Hotwells Haven,

Lockgate Park, Under the Bridge, Plimsoll Circus

Thank you for all your contributions.If you havent been in touch yet itsnot too late. The questionnaire form

is still available for download or ringthe HCCA office and we will sendyou one. The more responses we getthe more assured we can be that theyreflect the views of local people. Ifyou dont tell us what you want, youcant complain about the outcome!

You can find the questionnaire at:http://www.hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk/content/planning.html

Ray Smith

Cumberland Basin 'Piazza' Development Ideas

Teen Park ( 8%)

Caf (8%)

Sculpture Park (7%)

Car park (4 %)

Woo d (8 %)

All ot ment ( 5%)

Community use (9%)Workshops (6%)

Park (15%)

Heritage Exhib. (9%)

Cycle hub (7%)

M useum (9%)

The next step.We want to set up a steering group to workon an outline plan for The Piazza that we canput to local people and discuss with the City

Council. If you are a representative of an or-ganisation like a residents group, have rele-vant skills like planning or landscape architec-ture or just have a strong vision of what youwould like to happen then please get in touchwith the HCCA office.


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Looking at a photograph of Brownes Tea Rooms,

where Howards was until recently, its hard to believe

that it was taken around 100 years ago. It representsa totally different Hotwells to the one we all live in

now. Local histories are so fascinating for just thatreason: we recognise the places and can relate to the

lives of the people in a much more personal way.

I met Sue Stops of the Local HistorySociety at her home in FreelandPlace where a massive and fascinat-ing archive of Hotwells life has beengrowing unobserved for a wholedecade. The archive grew out of anexhibition of photographs and sto-ries of local families, organised bythe Community Association to cele-brate the Millennium. The groupwrote to the Evening Post askingfor families to get in touch, expect-ing a small response but they wereoverwhelmed. In the ten years sinceit has grown bigger and furtherreaching, as many more familieshave contributed - and it still contin-ues to grow.

So what does it contain? It would be impossi-ble to sum it up succinctly enough for this arti-

cle, but the images have been categorised intotangibles like; buildings; shops; people; mapsand pubs. Then there are the families andtheir stories, families like the Snooks, the Roy-alls, the Roaches, the Maggs and the Staples.Mrs Hallaran, a Staples relative, had 20 of herown children and advertised her services as amidwife in the front room window. Her storyand photographs have since been officially re-corded and together they are stored at therecord office. Hotwellian pubs too hold a richsocial history, The General Draper, on St Vin-cents Parade, was where paddle steamers

would pull up on Sundays and unload theircargo of thirsty Welshmen seeking more re-laxed licensing laws. The archive, also chartsfour distinct periods in Hotwells history and

what Sue calls its fourfailures: the failure ofthe spa in the 1800s;the poverty of the Vic-torian era; the dire pe-riod when ship building

left for Avonmouth andfinally, the building ofthe flyover in the 1960s.

However, housed as itis in a bookcase in Sueshome, the immediatequestion is what to dowith the archive and

what purpose should it serve within the community. Part ofthe collection an archive of original posters from playsstaged at Hope Centre before it became Hope Chapel - hasalready found a permanent home at Bristol Universitys Thea-

tre Collection on Park Row. The rest of the collection,unlike the posters, arent original images, they are copies ofphotographs. As such, they have no intrinsic value. If they did

they could find a more natural home in a museumwhere they could be officially recorded and archived.However, the sheer volume and scope of the copiesand the interest that it holds for the people of Hot-wells not to mention the hard work of the CA and-Local History Society in organising and nurturing itthus far makes it unthinkable that nothing should bedone with it. The CA would welcome suggestions ofwhere it could be kept permanently and allowed togrow. Its most important purpose would be to en-gage the community to learn and enjoy our sharedheritage of this unique area.

The Hotwells, Clifton & Cliftonwood Local HistorySociety has around two meetings a year and is opento everyone with an interest in the subject. look outin the newsletter and on the community noticeboardsfor more information about the next meeting.

Jayne Marshall

Unearthing the past - The Hotwells History Archive

Mrs Hallaranmother of 20!

The day the Great Britain arrived in Cumberland BasinJuly 5th 1970


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Events and Reviews

J H THOMPSONJ H THOMPSONJ H THOMPSONJ H THOMPSON

BA (Hons) DO MRO

REGISTERED OSTEOPATH

39 Oldfield RoadHotwellsBRISTOLBS8 4QQ

Tel: (0117) 927 2100

Art Trail successThe second West Bristol Art Trailtook place over the 17th and 18th

of October last year and has been

deemed a massive success by or-ganisers, growing on last years

achievements and ensuring abright future for the trail in forth-

coming years.

Despite the rainy weather on the Satur-day, artists saw an average of 400 visi-

tors over the weekend and the feed-back from artists and visitors has beenvery positive. Trail organiser and localfilmmaker, Anna Wilson has had a greatresponse from participating artists, per-haps summed up best by one artist whosimply said: Wonderful exhaustingand brilliant.If you would like to find out about the2009 trail in more depth and read theartists and visitors feedback, check theTrails website where these details willbe posted soon:

www.westbristolarts.org.uk.This is also the place to find out how toget involved next year, especially asorganiser from 2008 and 2009, AnnaWilson is standing down and plans tohand-over to a group of interested art-ists and community members. Artistskeen to be involved in coordinatingfuture West Bristol Art Trails shouldcontact Anna [email protected].

Hotspots After School ClubHotspots after school club and holidayplay scheme operates at HotwellsSchool and is a totally independent, self-

financing, not-for-profit organisation. Itwas established over 20 years ago toprovide a safe and stable environmentfor children and parents who needchildcare. Priority is therefore given tochildren whose need for the scheme is

dictated by their parents workinghours.Although we use the school premiseswe are totally separate from the school.We are able to take children from theage of 4.For further informationcall: 07964 856 553 or e-mail:[email protected]

potsaft

The Gurt Lush Choir(Its Gurt; its lush; its a choir)A new community choir has started upin Hotwells, Redland & St Andrews.The Gurt Lush Choir rehearses weeklyand signing up for any one of the ses-sions, gives the automatic right to visitthe others, meaning people with com-plicated diaries don't have to miss out.The choir rehearses every Thursdaynight (in term time), from 7.30-9.00, atHoly Trinity Church in Hotwells. AlsoThursday lunchtimes at Redland FriendsMeeting House, Hampton Rd. andTuesday nights, at St Bartholomew's

P a r i s h H a l l , S o m e r v i l l e R d .The choir sings songs from all over theworld, in gurt lush multi-part harmo-nies. -Hot gospel, Ancient Spirituals,East-European/ African/ Celtic & evenEnglish folk songs, the odd classicalnumber, Pop & Soul..... No style or pe-riod is excluded, as long as the arrange-ment is good!You don't need to read music, althoughwe do use manuscript as a learning aid.You don't need any previous experi-ence of choirs to join. You don't have

to audition and you won't be asked tosing on your own.All members get a free CD with all themusic recorded on it, so you can learnyour part simply by singing along withthe CD. Also, as a new arrival, you'll beput with a more experienced singer soyou don't feel 'lost'.Get a free taster session, then it worksout at 5 or 6 per session, or less forconcessions.

CONTACT: Sam Burns 07533

178113, [email protected], orwebsite www.gurtlushchoir.com

erschool [email protected]

image courtesy Gary JonesFor more pictures of the Trail see:

http://www.garyjonesphoto.com/WBAT2009/


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Events Diary

DIARY

Mon Jan11th- 20th

Clifton Rocks Railwayand Beyond -exhibitionof photographs

Photographique31, Baldwin Street(entry free)

Mon Jan18th

18:00 HCCA Community Linksmeeting

3 Charles Place

Wed Jan20th

19:00-21:00 Clifton PACT Meeting

Clifton High SchoolNew Hall

Sat Feb 6th 10:30-

13:00Holy Trinity Churchopen morning

Trinity Church

Mon Feb1st

19:30

HCCA Trustees meeting

3 Charles Place

Sat Mar 6th 10:30-13:00 Holy Trinity Church

open morning

Trinity Church

Mon Mar8th

18:00HCCA Community Linksmeeting

3 Charles Place

Thu Mar

10th-13th

19:30

Hotwells PantomimeJack and the Beanstalk

Hope Chapel

Mon Mar22nd

19:30

HCCA Trustees meeting

3 Charles Place

Mayasgentle yoga

Monday, Pavey House, Clifton 6-7pm.

Wednesday, Hotwells Primary School

7-8pm

Tel: 0117 9512371

or 07545 [email protected]

classes:

D O W R YCHIROPRACTIC CLINICAlison Archibald & Associates

Registered with the BritishChiropractic Association & theGeneral Chiropractic Council

back and leg painsports injuriesneck shoulder and arm painpostural adviceheadachesfree chiro checksergonomic productsavailablePerrin technique also available

MEDICAL INSURANCEAPPROVED

Tel: 0117 929 83843 Dowry Place, Hotwells, Bristol

BS8 4QLwww.archibaldclinics.co.uk

(also at Taunton 01823 412489)

Hotwells Pantomimealways last but still the best

Book your seats now for Jack and the Beanstalk, the homegrown,100% organic and completely sustainable production with the lowest

carbon footprint (and sense of humour) of any panto on a warmingplanet. You can find it at Hope Chapel from March 10th-13th.

Tickets fromThe South-ville Centretel: 9231039Prices: 8adult / 7concession /5 children.

All profits

support localcommunityprojects

Last years panto audience was transfixed by the mesmerisingproduction. Could it be your turn this year?

REMEMBER -YOU CAN ALWAYS CHECK FOR LATEST UPDATES TOEVENTS HAPPENING IN HOTWELLS AT:

http://www.hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk/content/whats-on.htmlTo submit entries to go in the diary please e-mail:[email protected]


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Open for DinnerFri & Sateveningsall year round

Hotwells PineEST. 1985

Quality Antique Pine Furniture

Free local delivery253 Hotwell Road, BS8 4SF

www.hotwellspine.co.ukoff-road parking available at rear of shop

Farmhouse Table & Chairpromotion

NOW ON!2 beech chairs (59 each)

FREE when purchasing

either a 6x3 (265)

or 5x3 (245)

Farmhouse Table

6 SHOWROOMS OF FURNITURE

Tel: 0800 0850604

Volunteers Needed CumberlandBasin area

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

Do you have one or two days spareeach month?

Phone Lifeskills on 9224511www.lifeskills-bristol.org.uk

hotwells news - winter 2010

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