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Bristol Parks Forum
Bristol Parks Forum was established by Bristol Parks as an umbrella organisation for community park groups and organisations in the city with an interest in their local parks and green spaces.
The forum is supported by Bristol City Council but acts independently and is currently the only 'community voice' that is dedicated to all of Bristol's green spaces.
The forum's three main roles are:
- to offer an opportunity to share ideas and experience;
- to act as a consultation body for the Bristol Parks service and other agencies;
- to influence decision-making, including the allocation of resources.
Bristol Parks Forum Terms of Reference
Your Views
You can post your comments on anything to do with Bristol's Parks & Green Spaces at www.friends-forum.org.uk >>
Latest News
Bristol Parks Restructuring - Consultation
The structure of Bristol Parks is currently being reviewed. This has come about because of the changes in grounds maintenance which means that some work will be taken in-house and also because of the restructuring of Bristol City Council - details on the BCC website. The plan which has been approved by the cabinet moves Bristol Parks from Culture & Leisure Services to Neighbourhoods.
Bristol Parks wish to consult the BPF about the proposed changes and there are two ways to get involved:
Special meeting of the BPF on Saturday 13th September 10-00 a.m until
12-00 midday at the Southville Centre.
Please contact helen.rossington@bristol.gov.uk or ring 0117 922 3719 if you wish to attend this meeting or if you would like more details about the consultation.
Parks Review webpage
Park groups are invited to comment via a Parks Review webpage which will contain the Service Review Plan.
A link to the website will appear here soon after it goes live on 9th September.
The consultation period will run until the first week of October.
Castle Park Town Green Application
The User Group has lodged an application to register Castle Park as a Town Green. If successful this would ensure that the park is not built on, but as expected the Council's preferred developer has objected to the application.
A public inquiry is now being planned to rule on whether to give town green status to Castle Park and this is unlikely to take place before December.
Read the 'This is Bristol' report and add your comments
Read a letter from Peter Insole, archaeological officer, Bristol City Council and add your comments
More information at www.castlepark.org.uk
Areas Green Space Plans
Download the timetable for Area Green Space Plans - NOTE this timetable is now being revised.
It is vital that as many Park Groups as possible get involved in this process - remember it is this that will decide which areas of Bristol's green space (if any) will be sold. More details - Parks & Green Spaces Strategy >>
Bus Rapid Transit Latest - Malago threatened
A "Save the Malago greenway from development as rapid transit route" e-petition has been created on the Bristol City Council (BCC) web-site.
In addition to this, over the next few weeks, the Save the Malago Group will be leafleting some of the areas which may be impacted by any rapid transit route and collecting signatures on a formal petition.
The intention with these dual petitions is to present them to BCC as evidence of public support for the aim of preventing any part of the Malago Greenway from being expropriated for use by any rapid transit projects.
The Bristol Parks Forum discussed this issue at our meeting on 12th July and voted overwhelmingly to support the campaign against the Bus Route. If you can help please contact the Kingfisher Group via .
More information at www.malago.org - Sign the Save the Malago petition
Tai Chi on Brandon Hill
There were some flyers available at the last forum meeting giving details of a proposed Tai Chi space on Brandon Hill, you can see a copy here. To make this proposal a reality support is needed from local groups or individuals who would be interested in joining a group to apply for funding. This could either be a 'Friends' group for Brandon Hill or some form of 'Tai Chi in Bristol's Parks' group. There is no current group for Brandon Hill but the local Councillors are keen to see one started. If you would like to know more about Tai Chi visit the Bristol School of Tai Chi website. Please email if you, or any one you know, would be interested in getting involved in setting up a group.
Save the Bristol to Bath Railway Path
At its meeting on 19 April 2008 the Bristol Parks Forum confirmed its support for the campaign to save the Railway Path and to protect this linear park and wildlife corridor.
More information at www.railwaypath.org
- Sign the Save the Railway Path e-petition
Report - National Open Spaces Forum
"It's extraordinarily refreshing to go somewhere and Bristol is a national leader in something !"
National Open Spaces Forum Page>>
Contacts
Bristol Parks Forum has two elected officers:
BPF Chair is Fraser from the Castle Park Users Group;
BPF Vice Chair is Hugh from Mina Road Park Group
Both were elected in September 2007 and can serve for a maximum of two years.
You can email both Fraser and Hugh via .
These emails will also be seen by Alison (as past chair) and Rob from Friends of Troopers Hill, who runs this website and keeps the emailing list.
Bristol Parks manage all parks and green spaces in the City of Bristol. If you would like more information about the parks or wish to report any problems or issues relating to your park please contact Bristol Parks directly.
Email: or phone 0117 922 3719 - this is available Mon to Fri 8.30am - 5pm (4.30pm Fri).
You can also visit the Bristol Parks website at www.bristol.gov.uk/parks
Meetings and Communication
The forum meets four times a year and publishes a regular newsletter - 'Park People'. We also keep Park Groups informed between meetings via email. Please email us if you would like to be added to our mailing list . There is also a separate list of Park Groups kept by Bristol Parks which includes postal addresses and is used to sends out meeting agendas and minutes.
The next Parks Forum meeting will on Saturday 11th October - 9-30am to 12-30pm at Windmill Hill City Farm.
To be discussed at the meeting: Proposed changes to BPF Terms of Reference.
There will also be an additional meeting about the Bristol Parks restructuring on Sat 13th September (see above)
Last meeting: Saturday 12th July - at Windmill Hill City Farm - Minutes here
The toolkit aimed at new groups that was mentioned at the meeting can be downloaded here:
Bristol Parks Community Action Toolkit
Membership
Membership is open to all community park groups and similar organisations with an interest in protecting and enhancing green space in Bristol. New groups are always welcome to join us, membership is free.
Bristol Parks Forum has published a directory containing details of some of its members which can be downloaded here: Bristol Parks Forum Directory 2007.
We are also trying to put together a complete list of Bristol's parks and park groups.
The current list can be found here: Listing of Parks and Park Groups >>
Information for Park Groups
The following information and links are provided as a resource for Park Groups but may also be useful to anyone who uses Bristol's parks.
Who to contact:
For general issues relating to your park or green space contact Bristol Parks by email to or phone 0117 922 3719 Mon to Fri 8.30am - 5pm (4.30pm Fri). Alternatively you can contact Bristol Parks by text on 0771 039 6713.
For removal of drug and sex related litter call the rapid clean up hotline on 0117 922 2241 - this is available Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 8.00pm. You will need to tell them the location and the type of litter.
If you witness anti social behaviour in a park or green space in Bristol, please report it to either the 'It's Your Call' action line on 0845 605 2222 or the non-emergency police line on 0845 456 7000. Whilst a police response will not always be possible, these calls will help build up a picture of hotspots and issues in your area and are extremely valuable in helping reduce antisocial behaviour.
For general enquiries relating to the organisation of Park Groups and the support available from Bristol Parks contact Richard Fletcher, Community Development Officer.
In our experience Bristol Parks generally respond to queries promptly and try to help where they can, however, if you are not satisfied with the response you receive from Bristol Parks please contact us via and we will try to help resolve your problem.
You can also contact your local councillors and discuss local problems with them, many councillors attend meetings of local park groups.
Community Action Toolkit
Bristol Parks have produced this very informative document which is available for download from their website via the link below. The toolkit is mainly aimed at new groups but contains information that all groups will find helpful.
Download Bristol Parks Community Action Toolkit
Parks Monitoring Forms
Bristol Parks have produced these forms to encourage park groups to monitor the quality of maintenance of their parks. The forms can be printed and the completed forms sent to the freepost post address shown at the end of the form.
Parks Monitoring form.
Management and Maintenance Standards
The standards that Bristol Parks aims to achieve for management and maintenance are described on the Bristol Parks website and can be seen here: Bristol Parks Management and Maintenance Standards.
Other items of general interest relating to parks & green spaces
(please let us know if there is anything you think should be posted here).
A link to the website will appear here soon after it goes live on 9th September.
It is vital that as many Park Groups as possible get involved in this process - remember it is this that will decide which areas of Bristol's green space (if any) will be sold. More details - Parks & Green Spaces Strategy >>
A "Save the Malago greenway from development as rapid transit route" e-petition has been created on the Bristol City Council (BCC) web-site.In addition to this, over the next few weeks, the Save the Malago Group will be leafleting some of the areas which may be impacted by any rapid transit route and collecting signatures on a formal petition. The intention with these dual petitions is to present them to BCC as evidence of public support for the aim of preventing any part of the Malago Greenway from being expropriated for use by any rapid transit projects.
The Bristol Parks Forum discussed this issue at our meeting on 12th July and voted overwhelmingly to support the campaign against the Bus Route. If you can help please contact the Kingfisher Group via .
BPF Chair is Fraser from the Castle Park Users Group; BPF Vice Chair is Hugh from Mina Road Park Group
Both were elected in September 2007 and can serve for a maximum of two years.
You can email both Fraser and Hugh via .
These emails will also be seen by Alison (as past chair) and Rob from Friends of Troopers Hill, who runs this website and keeps the emailing list.
Bristol Parks manage all parks and green spaces in the City of Bristol. If you would like more information about the parks or wish to report any problems or issues relating to your park please contact Bristol Parks directly.
Email: or phone 0117 922 3719 - this is available Mon to Fri 8.30am - 5pm (4.30pm Fri).
You can also visit the Bristol Parks website at www.bristol.gov.uk/parks
The next Parks Forum meeting will on Saturday 11th October - 9-30am to 12-30pm at Windmill Hill City Farm.
To be discussed at the meeting: Proposed changes to BPF Terms of Reference.
There will also be an additional meeting about the Bristol Parks restructuring on Sat 13th September (see above)
Last meeting: Saturday 12th July - at Windmill Hill City Farm - Minutes here
The toolkit aimed at new groups that was mentioned at the meeting can be downloaded here:
Bristol Parks Community Action Toolkit
Membership
Membership is open to all community park groups and similar organisations with an interest in protecting and enhancing green space in Bristol. New groups are always welcome to join us, membership is free.
Bristol Parks Forum has published a directory containing details of some of its members which can be downloaded here: Bristol Parks Forum Directory 2007.
We are also trying to put together a complete list of Bristol's parks and park groups.
The current list can be found here: Listing of Parks and Park Groups >>
Information for Park Groups
The following information and links are provided as a resource for Park Groups but may also be useful to anyone who uses Bristol's parks.
Who to contact:
For general issues relating to your park or green space contact Bristol Parks by email to or phone 0117 922 3719 Mon to Fri 8.30am - 5pm (4.30pm Fri). Alternatively you can contact Bristol Parks by text on 0771 039 6713.
For removal of drug and sex related litter call the rapid clean up hotline on 0117 922 2241 - this is available Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 8.00pm. You will need to tell them the location and the type of litter.
If you witness anti social behaviour in a park or green space in Bristol, please report it to either the 'It's Your Call' action line on 0845 605 2222 or the non-emergency police line on 0845 456 7000. Whilst a police response will not always be possible, these calls will help build up a picture of hotspots and issues in your area and are extremely valuable in helping reduce antisocial behaviour.
For general enquiries relating to the organisation of Park Groups and the support available from Bristol Parks contact Richard Fletcher, Community Development Officer.
In our experience Bristol Parks generally respond to queries promptly and try to help where they can, however, if you are not satisfied with the response you receive from Bristol Parks please contact us via and we will try to help resolve your problem.
You can also contact your local councillors and discuss local problems with them, many councillors attend meetings of local park groups.
Community Action Toolkit
Bristol Parks have produced this very informative document which is available for download from their website via the link below. The toolkit is mainly aimed at new groups but contains information that all groups will find helpful.
Download Bristol Parks Community Action Toolkit
Parks Monitoring Forms
Bristol Parks have produced these forms to encourage park groups to monitor the quality of maintenance of their parks. The forms can be printed and the completed forms sent to the freepost post address shown at the end of the form.
Parks Monitoring form.
Management and Maintenance Standards
The standards that Bristol Parks aims to achieve for management and maintenance are described on the Bristol Parks website and can be seen here: Bristol Parks Management and Maintenance Standards.
Other items of general interest relating to parks & green spaces
(please let us know if there is anything you think should be posted here).
There is a very comprehensve list of relevant websites on the Bristol Parks website. |
Bristol Parks |
What land does Bristol City Council own? The 'pinpoint' mapping system on the Council's website will show you; the link to the right takes you to Castle Park as an example. |
Bristol City Council |
'If you haven't seen the attached report before, I hope you will be as thrilled as I am with its contents.'
|
Philadelphia Park Value Report |
'Good quality, well-designed parks and green spaces make a critical contribution to our neighbourhoods, towns and cities and to people's quality of life and play an important role in creating a sense of place.'
|
Communities & Local Government |
GreenSpace a registered charity which works to improve parks and green spaces. There is lots of information on their site, the 'Community' pages are of particular interest to park groups. |
GreenSpace |
There are also three research papers about the management of urban green spaces. |
GreenSpace |
Planning Finder - find planning applications near your park. Make an instant search or register for email alerts. |
www.planningfinder.co.uk |
Town and Village Greens - information on the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs website about the registration of land that has been used by local people for recreation ‘as of right’ (i.e. without permission, force or secrecy) for at least 20 years. |
defra - Town & Village Greens information |
symbol and then on the map to get details of each parcel of land. 
