27 | May | 2014 | Steve Woods

Save Avonvale Road Victorian school

27/05/2014 Steve WoodsBristol, Oddities, Politics

There seems to be a passion for demolishing what’s left (and unlisted) of Bristol’s 19th century buildings at present (posts passim).

The latest potential victim is the Victorian era school in Avonvale Road in St George.

image of Avonvale School — Avonvale School. Picture credit: Mariateresa Bucciante

Bristol City Council, those champions of preserving the city’s heritage of past centuries (as long as it fits in with their particular view of what constitutes heritage. Ed.), together with Redfield Educate Together (who’ll be running the school to be opened on the site) and the builders, PPP ‘experts’ Skanska, have submitted a planning application proposing the demolition of the old Victorian school buildings and the building of a box-like, bland, modern replacement.

The existing building has apparently been declared unsuitable by the city council’s Children and Young People’s Service, the trendy, modern moniker for what used to be the Local Education Authority.

A petition has been organised to try and avert its demolition and the information below comes from it.

The Victorian school currently occupying the site was designed in 1898 by the acclaimed local architect, Herbert J Jones, and it is a candidate for local listing. It is a local landmark in St. George, an area with a strong character and the building, in excellent condition, was used by the council until recently (isn’t it curious how the same building can be used and then regarded as unsuitable by the same body? Ed.).

The petitioners believe, as recommended by English Heritage advice on reusing Victorian schools, that the building should be saved and adapted for the new school. If not large enough, other school buildings are available, such as the other school in Avonvale Road in Barton Hill.

The advice from English Heritage is strong: “Where re-use for educational purposes has been ruled out, every effort should be made to find a new use. The aim should be to obtain the best return for the taxpayer consistent with government policies for protecting the historic environment.”

The replacement defeats Bristol City Council’s draft policy DM26 which states that, “Development should contribute positively to an area’s character and identity, creating or reinforcing local distinctiveness.”

The petition, which is addressed to Bristol City Council, concludes as follows:

We acknowledge the urgent and strong need for a new school in the area and we very much support the reuse of this building and the search for more suitable sites, and for a school which is truly inspiring for the future generations of Bristolians.

We believe you should reconsider your plan, looking for the advice of English Heritage’s experts independent from the proposal of a single developer.

Sign the petition.

Keep Castle Park open

27/05/2014 Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

One of the jewels of Bristol is Castle Park – a reasonably large green space in the middle of the city.

In times gone by this was partly the heart of the medieval city and contains the ruins of Bristol Castle. It also used to be the city’s main shopping area before World War 2. It lost that status when Broadmead (virtually unscathed by bombing) was developed as the city’s central shopping area. The construction of this bland, uninspiring mid-20th century retail development required the demolition of an area of Victorian, Georgian and Tudor buildings.

image of Castle Park, Bristol — The west end of Castle Park, Bristol. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

For most of the past week, Castle Park has been closed to the public for a private commercial event, causing great inconvenience to those who use it regularly, such as cyclists and pedestrians making their ways to and from work or the shops, as well as more casual users wanting a bit of respite in pleasant surroundings in their lunch breaks.

To try and prevent Bristol City Council from closing Castle Park in future for its pure commercial gain and allow citizens access to their parks at all times, a petition has now been started on the 38 Degrees website.

The petition reads as follows:

To Bristol City Council

Following the complete closure of Castle Park (Bristol UK) for the 3rd year running, we propose that public parks should never be fenced off in their entirety for commercial events.

Tens of thousands of people attending a music event can negatively affect local residents and will inevitably cause damage to this small park. Damage which takes time and money to repair, and that can ruin the enjoyment of the park for the general public for weeks to come.

A park should be available for general public use at all times and even more so during School or Bank Holidays.

We request that Bristol City Council only license commercial events to be held at more suitable venues and allow people access to public parks.

Keeping parks open and accessible at all times is important because parks and green spaces have been shown to improve the well-being of local people and attract visitors from further afield.

According to Bristol City Council’s Parks and Green Spaces Strategy, central Bristol Bristol is so lacking in green space that temporary park closures would further deplete Castle Park.

Finally, parks are a public service provided by the council on behalf of the people of Bristol; they should not be exploited to the latter’s detriment as a means of generating revenue.

Sign the petition.