Community Conference 2011

Local People create Action Plan for Henbury and Brentry

The Conference took place on Saturday 5th March at Brentry Lodge Youth Centre. More than 50 local residents and people working in the area took part. After Chair Paul Thompson reviewed progress from the 2008 Conference, Amy Hillier set the tone with an upbeat presentation on the achievements of the BS10 Big It Up! Project (aka In- spiring Communities).

Residents then worked to explore issues and plan improvement around three key issues: Young People, Older People and the broader theme of Developing the Community. The tone was relaxed but workmanlike as residents raised issues then worked together to identify solutions and improvements.

Key issues included:

• Young People: Crime and Safety; Things to Do and Work, Training and Education
• Older People: Transport, lack of sheltered accommodation (where you can keep your pet); the need for more social clubs and groups; intergenerational contact between young and old people
• Developing the Community: improving street scene (litter, dog mess); increasing use of the Green Spaces; the need for a Community Centre; Traffic, parking and transport problems. It was encouraging to discover when everyone came back together to share their work that many issues were com- mon to all – and that ideas for how to move forward are already out there.

An Action Plan will now be put together, with input from residents, voluntary groups and statutory services. It will be combined with similar plans from Southmead and presented to the Neighbourhood Partnership on 5th July for approval. If you would like to help develop the Henbury and Brentry Action Plan please contact: Keith Houghton, Henbury & Southmead Area Co-ordinator, Telephone: 0117 922 2135 or e-mail: keith.houghton@bristol.gov.uk.