This Area Committee meeting was scheduled to include a debate on a petition about a local road, a request to use money from planning agreements in a different way to what was originally planned, and a report on proposed new tree planting in the area.

Hereford Street Petition

Hereford Street in Windmill Hill, Bristol was made one-way eastbound as part of the recent changes to road layouts in the area. Nick Jeans organised a petition to [m]ake Hereford Street Two-Way Again to Ease Traffic and Safety Concerns . The petition, which had been signed by 310 people at the time of the meeting, states that:

The recent changes to Hereford Street/Whitehouse Lane have now forced us all to become rat-runners ourselves, because we can now longer access the major road network via Hereford Street, a 100 metre long link which has been made one way eastbound.

The petition debate was scheduled to last a maximum of 20 minutes, with 5 minutes for Mr Jeans to present the petition and 15 minutes for Councillors to discuss it.

Change of Use of Funds

Councillors Ellie Freeman and Emily Clarke submitted two requests for the change of use of money allocated from the Community Infrastructure Levy¹ (CIL) and Section 106² funds.

Ashton Vale Playfields Path

The original proposal, which was awarded £50,000 from the CIL in 2022 and a further £11,880 in 2023, was for a path to be built around the football field at Ashton Vale playing fields. Following discussions with officers from Bristol City Council's Parks department, representatives from the local community group Ashton Vale Together, and the leaseholder of the football field, Councillors Freeman and Clarke determined that the proposal was not feasible. They instead proposed that the money be used to install a fence along the front of the football field, an entrance sign, and a noticeboard. The indicative cost for this revised proposal was £57,443.

Ashton Vale Play Area

In 2018, £70,000 was awarded from Section 106 contributions to fund play equipment at Ashton Vale. Following discussions with officers and local representatives, Councillors Freeman and Clarke determined that none of the sites were suitable. They proposed to repurpose the money to fund the creation of approximately 5 wooden sculptures and a bench, to be designed in consultation with local children and sited around the area to form a trail. The indicative cost for the sculptures was £58,917.

Tree Planting Proposals

The final item on the agenda was a report on tree planting. The Committee was asked to consider funding a proposal by Tree Bristol, a partnership between Bristol City Council and the environmental charity The Forest of Avon Trust, to plant 21 new trees across the Southville, Bedminster, and Windmill Hill wards at a cost of £22,590.75. The majority of the funding for the scheme was to be drawn from Section 106 contributions that had been ringfenced for tree planting. According to the report:

Bristol’s One City Action Plan has the Environmental Objective of doubling the tree canopy in the city by 2046 and becoming carbon neutral by 2030.