IMPORTANT PUBLIC MEETING 

Come to a PUBLIC MEETING, Wednesday 2^nd December 2015

St. Werburgh’s Community Centre Foyer, 6:30pm

The final decision on whether to give planning permission for the gas power station on Gatton Road is going to be made at a public meeting of the Council's Development Control Committee on Wednesday 9th December, 2pm at Colston Hall. We'll tell you what you can do next to object, including:

• You can mail a written statement to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk with the title 'Statement for the Development Control Department meeting on 9th Dec regarding Gatton Road power station' DEADLINE to email your statement in is 12.00 Tuesday 8th Dec.
• You can send in written questions to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk the DEADLINE is 5pm 3^rd December.
• You can also go to the meeting and tell them the main points in your statements
• You can go to the meeting and just show your support or join the protest outside.
• You can sign a petition that we will be sending round.

Come along to the community centre to find out more!

To contact us: BS2Greenspace@gmail.com, Tweet @BS2Greenspace, or follow our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BS2Greenspace

Next Date for your diaries

We have had nearly 700 objections to the plans for the proposed power station! That's amazing and a great testament to the power of community and the way everyone has spread the word far and wide, and got behind the campaign.

Clearly we are not alone and there are two similar proposals in the mix at the moment (15/04297/F - Land South west end of SWEB Estate, Romney Avenue, Lockleaze and 15/02310/F Avonbank Feeder Road Bristol BS2 0TH being the other two).

In order to decide what happens next these plans will be debated (separately but at the same meeting) by the Council on:

9th December starting at 10am. It will be at Brunel House, St. Georges Rd, BS1 5UY

It will be debated by Development Control B Committee.

This is a further chance for you to have your say - you can submit a question or statement to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk by 5pm on 3rd December (questions) or 12 midday on 8th December (statements) and you can go along to "speak to your statement" (say what your main points are) at the meeting.

Come and support us!

Update, update, update - we now have until 11th November to object....

Click here to post objection on Bristol City Council Planning Portal

To object to the proposals click here

This could be your last chance to say what you think...........................

The Development Planning Committee has set a (new) date to decide on the planning application made by Dainton Group Services (DGS). Wednesday 18th June is when the council will decide whether DGS get to errect their (rather too many) large shipping containers on the land adjacent to Saxon/Warminster road. This is their land, but land that has been unused for any commercial purpose for over 20 years.

If you want to say what you think of this planned development you can e-mail democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk  and state clearly what you think about the proposed development. Your email must get to them by  12 noon on Tuesday 17^th June.

This is the land that we have been hoping to (at least in part) secure for a Green Space for the local community. We have tried and failed to engage with DGS - they pulled out of the pre-ap process and have long since lost interest in what the local community thinks. We asked them nicely if they would leave a decent sized strip of land between their storage containers and our houses and they have left a teeny tiny strip that will still leave the houses on Saxon Road very much overlooked by a sea of giant metal boxes.

In addition their opening hours are antisocial, their business will increase traffic, there is a risk of light pollution from the site and they will be giving absolutely nothing back to the local community

This is just not good enough.

There were over 40 objections to the original DGS plans. Following some tinkering around the edges and mostly cosmetic changes to the plans they resubmitted them to the council and were met with a barage of further objections.

The Development Control Committee meeting is when the council will accept or reject the plans.

For the full details of the plans you can look at the council website www.bit.ly/SaxonLand

For the residents of St.Werburghs who are interested and want to help us object to the plans and let Daintons know that we, as residents are important and need to be taken into consideration come and meet with us. We are having a public meeting on Wednesday 11th June, 7.30pm at the Community Centre. 

We can help you understand more about our group, the process of objecting and attending the Development Planning Committee Meeting, and find out exactly what you as residents think.  

This is how high and how close to the houses the storage units will be.

Saxon Road Green Space Group call to action!

The owners of the site, Dainton Group Services Ltd. submitted a  planning application on 8^th January to erect metal storage containers over the whole of the site.

We’ve been in a ‘Pre Application’ process with them since September 2012 and our aim is to have a section of the site donated as a green space for wild life and for our community to enjoy. Dainton seem to have disengaged from that process.

As many of you have said you want to be involved, we are coordinating a response to their current Planning Application on the following issues:

§   Double stacked metal shipping containers (16 ft total height) will be erected on blocks over the whole site ruining the view down Warminster Rd.

§   Containers will be close to an adjoining property – very near a child’s bedroom.

§   Large access gates for vehicles on to Saxon Road for ‘emergency access’.

§   Traffic noise on site up to 9.00 pm in the evening

Time is short so if you want to object please do by using one of the options below before 29^th January or sooner if you can!

Online it’s very straightforward, go to bit.ly/SaxonLand (case sensitive). You can see all the documents and an online form to comment, or object. 

Write to City Development, Brunel House, St Georges Road, Bristol BS1 5UY

Include your name, address, the date and the following reference.

13/05815/F Land Adjacent To Scrapyard Between Saxon Road & New Gatton Road Bristol

 

Check our community website www.stwerburghs.org for more information (coming soon)

Please email BS2GreenSpace@gmail.com if you need help or have any questions.

The Pet Shop Boys Were Right

When they said ‘left to their own devices they can become a party animal’; the Greenspace is a wonderful constantly improving Brownfield habitat. The ingredients of bare ground, wild flowers, an edging of trees, a surrounding cocktail of undergrowth, some light and space, mixed with the early fine weather produce a recipe for inner city wildlife success.

The early sunshine (remember April) created a flush of insects, greatly benefiting local bats and sparrows. If the space was heavily built on, for example, industrial units, their populations would be suppressed due to poor air quality and a lack of varied grasslands. This is thought to be the reason behind their nationally declining numbers.

The railway corridor from Narrowways helps the flora and fauna migrate through the St Werburghs landscape, and must be partly responsible for attracting Bullfinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches ( a group of Goldfinches is called a Charm), and Long Tailed Tits to the localised area.

The Holly Blue Butterfly has been emerging from the site; this species has a complex development involving a symbiotic relationship with red ants. This is a strong indication of biodiversity. The ants carry the butterfly larvae or chrysalis to their nests where they develop. It is an uplifting sight to see them flying from plant to plant to lay their eggs.

The adult butterfly’s feed on the bramble blossom, producing offspring that prefer Holly in the spring and Ivy in the autumn, but it will eat bramble and other shrubs in necessary.

The early fine weather provided a huge boost for Bumblebee Queens, giving them a good start to create their nectar pots to start their new colonies; visiting back gardens to find exotic blooms, heathers and spring flowers. Bumblebee’s look for nectar within a mile radius of their nests. Four or five species have nests alongside the greenspace.

One of the bee species spotted visiting the area is a Tree Bumblebee. This arrived in the UK from mainland Europe in 2001, its preferred nesting area is holes in trees, but its behavior is adapting and it will nest in little outside nooks and crannies, it is one to look out for. It will feature on the notice board when the Rosebay Willow herb produces its annual blaze of colour on the site.

So, every little bit helps to attract and boost numbers of these creatures. If they are not around and about us we will loose something of ourselves.

Jerry