Dear Henbury Residents,
I have lived close to the Crow Lane Open Space for nearly fifty years and I, like many others, am appalled at the recently released proposed plans for the council to sell off a good portion of the Open Space to developers to build 161 houses.
This site has been classed as ‘a poorly and misused backland site’ which is ‘no longer required as an open space’. What we need is not development but regular management and maintenance of the site by the council so that it is fit to be enjoyed by our community. This just has not been forthcoming in past years.
The official documents show that the proposed building would take a lot of the land down the length of the stream on both sides, closing off several cul-de-sacs, as well as at building at other sites on the Open Space.
The plans also show that maybe we could get a few ‘improvements’ such as a couple of ponds ‘for the wildlife’ – (that is, of course, if it hasn’t been completely scared off or destroyed by the developers!) - a possible children’s play area and perhaps some public toilets! These and any other ‘improvements’ would be funded by the money the council would get from the sale of the land. However, that money would go into a ‘central pot’ to be used throughout the city, not necessarily to be used on what would be left of our Open Space. So we could be sacrificing our green space to fund the enhancement of parks and green spaces in other districts!
These documents are available on line on the Bristol City Council website or a copy can be requested by ringing 0117 922 3719. They are also in the library. I urge you to read them.
I feel that we, as residents, must strongly raise our objections to these proposals as loudly as we can. The council will be holding a ‘public consultation drop – in’ for us to view the proposals and to comment on them. However, at the moment, that consultation is to be held on 27th September at the Greenway Centre in SOUTHMEAD! The consultations across the city began in June and end on 29th October, giving us, in Henbury, only one month to lodge a serious objection. Our local councillors are pushing for our ‘drop – in’ to be held in Henbury, but whatever the council decide to do, there will definitely be a meeting well before that date to inform Henbury residents of the plans and to give us the chance to show our objections. We are supported by both our councillors in this and by Charlotte Leslie, our MP.
Please watch for information about the meeting and take the time opportunity to your voice and give us your support, because if we don’t raise a strong enough objection, the plans will go ahead, taking a good portion of the land. This will set precedents for future further development and we could lose all our Open Space forever.
We have to fight for our Green Space NOW.
Chris Pratt
Henbury Resident
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