Area Green Space Plans
A key element of the Parks & Green Spaces Strategy as adopted is the production of 'Area Green Space Plans'. It is these plans that are intended to determine where the capital to be invested in parks is to be spent to improve the local environment. They will also determine which areas of green space the community think are 'low recreational value' and could therefore be sold and put to better use. There is an Area Green Space Plan for each of the 14 Neighbourhood Partnership areas. A public consultation on 'Ideas and Options' for the Plans ran from 14 June to 29 October 2010.
Following the completion of the consultation Bristol City Council Cabinet made a decision on 16 Dec 2010 on the disposal of green space suggested in the documents. The Cabinet decision was considered by the 'Call In Panel' of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on 6 January 2011, and there was then a lively debate in the Full Council meeting on 22 March 2011 but the Cabinet did not change its decision. The decision can be seen in the press release below:
Council Press Release on Green Space Disposals
At the Full Council meeting on 17 May 2011 (following the May elections where the LibDems lost overall control of the Council) Cllr Janke, who was elected as Leader, outlined a number of issues that were agreed by all parties. This included halting all disposals under the Green Spaces Strategy and setting up a cross-party working group to look again at the strategy. The Press Release following that meeting can be seen here. Paperwork for the meetings can be seen via www.bristol.gov.uk/meetings.
The cross-party working group held 20 meetings and presented a report to Full Council on 22nd November 2011. The Council decided to defer the decision on disposal of 49 spaces for the Neighbourhood Committees to decide.
Report to Cabinet 26 January 2012
Cross Party Working Group Report to Full Council 22 Nov 2011
BPF Committee Statement to Full Council 22 Nov 2011
Bristol 24-7 Tony Dyer: There’s nothing black and white in Bristol green spaces ‘victory’ 23 Nov 2011
Cllr Gary Hopkins reply to those who presented statements to the Full Council meeting
Record of Cross Party meeting 13 Sept 11 -
Record of Cross Party meeting 21 Nov 11
Our listing of Parks and Park Groups now shows the status of the spaces under the AGSP process (as the Full Council decision on 22 Nov 2011), over 97% of the area covered by the P&GSS is protected from development for the next 20 years.
Neighbourhood Partnerships have been asked to consider how they want to work with Parks to agree the priorities for investment in their area. The intention is for NPs to agree a list of priorities for investment in their area. Most NPs are now proceeding with this process and should be involving park groups. Groups should contact their NP coordinator if they have not been contacted about this process.
The Strategy
The strategy and some of the background documents can be downloaded from the Bristol Parks website.
Bristol Parks Forum issued the following statement to the 21 February 2008 Cabinet meeting:
The Bristol Parks Forum welcomes the revised Parks and Green Spaces Strategy.
The strategy will be the basis on which the city can improve the many low quality parks and open spaces to create a network of recreation and wildlife spaces that a city of Bristol's size and standing should have. This being done without the loss of any valuable spaces.
We support the revised financial template for funding the improvements and maintaining the parks at a good standard after the initial improvements are completed.
We look forward to engaging with Bristol Parks to create the Area Green Space Plans. These plans will identify the way in which open space will be improved, which low amenity value areas may be available for disposal for other uses, and where certain types of park space are missing or overprovided. This will help to form parks and open spaces that the local communities can value and appreciate and that the city can be proud of.
Press Reports on the P&GSS
P&GSS Background Information
The strategy was put out to public consultation during the summer 2007 and was due to be adopted at the Council Cabinet meeting on 10 January 2008. To the surprise of the Parks Forum the financial information in the version submitted to Cabinet had changed from that in the consultation version. Due to a technicallity relating to maps the strategy was not adopted in January and the decision was delayed to 21 February.
Following the meeting of the Bristol Parks Forum on Sat 19 Jan 2008, representatives of the Forum had a number of meetings and discussions with Cabinet members and Parks officers. The version of the strategy that was adopted by Council Cabinet on 21 Feb includes changes that were agreed as part of those discussions and was welcomed by the Parks Forum. More details of the events at the begining of 2008 can be seen here:
Parks & Green Spaces Strategy Funding - How Bristol’s Parks were Saved!
Links to other information about the strategy and the debate about funding are shown below:
 
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