Snuff Mills Action Group General Meeting - Thursday 14th October 7-9pm - Stapleton Baptist Church, Broom Hill

Snuff Mills Action Group General Meeting - Thursday 14th October 7-9pm - Stapleton Baptist Church, Broom Hill

Please join is for our first ever Annual General Meeting. Don't worry, it won't be boring, but more of a celebration of the progress we have made to improve Snuff Mills and save Grove Wood.

Also, did you know that plans to radically change Snuff Mills, Oldbury Court and Wickham Glen have been unveiled and you can help shape these plans? These include a children's play area in Snuff Mills car park, more games areas in Oldbury Court and of course a cycle track through Wickham Glen. There are some really positive proposals too.

To help you decide what you think of these plans and whether you want to support them or object to them, we will be joined by some Council staff who will talk about these plans and answer questions:
John Knowlson will talk about plans for a children's play area in Snuff Mills car park
Alberto Palmero will talk about the improvements to toilet facilities in Snuff Mills
Nick Pates will talk about plans for a cycle track through Wickham Glen

We want to talk about the plans to develop Laundry Field and sell Begbrook Drive Open Space for development too. We hope to have an update about Laundry Field at the meeting from the Homes and Communities Agency.

Wickham Glen update

Update: The planning application has been resubmitted but it does not answer all of the objections. Watch this space as we may be asking for more objections to go in if there are no more changes to this proposal.

Councillors unanimously rejected the application for a 3m wide ramp through Wickham Glen despite recommendations from planners to approve the proposal. This follows a carefully researched campaign by Snuff Mills Action Group and concerns raised by many supporters of the group as well a local Councillors.

The Councillors have deferred a formal rejection until a future committee to allow the Cycling City team time to come up with a ramp that is not so wide and adresses the proposed dangerous exit onto Blackberry Hill properly.

Thanks to eveyone who helped by sending in statements and objections - it really makes a difference. A special thank you to Ivor Needs (pictured left with Mark Logan) who helped us research the issues over disabled access properly by joining us on a site visit with his disabled son, Matt.

We hope to work with the Cycling City team to develop a proposal that will genuinely inprove access to the Glen for everyone, but keep the Glen tranquil and special.

Owl prowl

75 people joined us last night for our second owl prowl with naturalist Chris Sperring (pictured) . Luckily we were joined by two other owl experts which meant that the event could go ahead. Chris led us through the valley as far as Halfpenny Bridge where he stopped to call the owls. A female owl reponded straight away by screeching back, so we knew we were being watched.

We then split in to three groups to see if we could find other owls. One group went up towards Begbrook School because we have had reports of owls calling up there, but not last night. Another group went through Laundry Field and Grove Wood but did not hear owls rhere. The last group went through Oldbury Court and we heard the female owl again by Laundry Lane. It was great fun walking through the woods in the dark and everyone seemed to enjoy the event.

However, we were really sad not hear the twit-twoo of a male owl and we hope our screeching female finds a new mate soon.

Jafari in Court again

UPDATE (Sept): Jafari is now due to have his two days in court on 17th and 18th November. (Bristol Magistrates Court - behind the Bus Station.)

UPDATE (Aug): Jafari appeared in Court yesterday, but the case did not proceed because John Mair could not prove he was allowed to practice as a solicitor in England (he is apparently registered in Scotland). Jafari now wants a barrister to represent him.

While the container has been removed, the Council want to proceed with this case because it has only been removed 'temporarily' and they want to make sure that he does not pull a fast one and stick it back there when we aren't looking!
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Original Post: Mr Housang 'chopper' Jafari, landowner of Grove Wood, will be facing more charges at Bristol Magistrates Court for the next two days.

Exactly what these proceesings are about will not be revealed until the case starts, but Bristol City Council are involved, so we suspect it has something to do with Grove Wood. Perhaps it is about the fact that he did not remove the container when instructed, although two days seem quite a long time for such a matter.

If you fancy popping along, it's in Court 7 from 10am each day. We are uncertain if 'chopper' will be there, but no doubt his sidekick, sorry 'solicitor', John Mair will be representing him.

Freshen up the Frome

Help Freshen up the Frome on Friday 24th September
Volunteers from Deloitte will be clearing litter and coppicing small areas to improve habitat for wildlife,with support from Snuff Mills Action Group.

Please come along and lend us a hand!

Meet in Snuff Mills car park at 9am. Work will continue until 4pm but finish whenever you like.

All tools and materials provided.

Benches done!

After several weekends of hard work, Mark Logan and his helpers have installed the last of the eleven benches in Snuff Mills. These have been made possible through a mixture of lottery funding and donations from people who wanted to dedicate a bench to a loved one. Thanks to everyone that helped or who donated some money so we could have more benches than we'd planned.

They seem to be very popular too!

Tackling a problem

You might remember that a kingfisher was found tangled up in fishing tackle a few months ago. Over the weekend a member of of Snuff Mills Action Group retreived these little collection of discarded >tackle between the garden and Halfpenny Bridge along with 30 foot of nylon fishing line. We love the fact that anglers can spend time in the valley catching fish. It is meant to be one of the most relaxing things to do. We just wish the few fishermen who do not retrieve their tackle or fish under trees where line could get caught up would think of the other great fisherman of the valley - the beautiful kingfisher.

Stand up for Wickham Glen

Please help us stop a 3m (that's more than 9 feet) wide cyclists' expressway from ruining Wickham Glen forever. The Council's Cycling City Team say they want to build a ramp from Wickham Glen up to Broom Hill so that cyclists can get in to town more quickly and to enable better disabled access.

These are all good things of course, but the Cycling City Team have not taken in to account the unique character of Wickham Glen. It's a really beautiful spot next to the river between Eastville Park and Snuff Mills and has a long history dating back to the Civil War. It's not like a park but more like a bit of countryside in the city and Snuff Mills Action Group is strongly against it being covered in tarmac, spoiling this unique character.

We have objected to the planning application and urge you to send in statements objecting to the scheme too. Send your statement to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk by noon on September 14th. Please quote: Land adjacent to Frome Terrace, Blackberry Hill,Bristol(ref:10/02839/FB) in the subject field of your email.
It will then be considered by the South and East Development Control Committee of the Council the next day. In your statement you could argue that:

1) For cyclists there is a perfectly acceptable alternative to building a cyclists expressway through Wickham Glen by using Wickham Hill instead. This is a cul de sac with very litte traffic and it leads straight down to the river - it's already there so why throw more tarmac at the area?

2) A 3m wide tarmac ramp and path will spoil the unique character of the area which is part of the Stapleton Conservation Area and a wildlife site. A much narrower path surfaced with more appropriate materials would be more in keeping

In response to suggestions by Snuff Mills Action Group to reduce the width of the path or use Wickham Hill lane the Cycling City Team claim they are also trying to improve access for disabled people. We applaud this idea but have tested the proposals with 78 year old Ivor Needs and his son, Matt, who uses a wheelchair. They tell us this proposal will not help wheelchair users because:


1) It's a long ramp that leads up to Broom Hill and it needs level resting places otherwise it is too much of a long climb
2) The ramp will come out on Broom Hill higher up than the current exit on Frome Terrace. This means there is a steeper uphill climb to reach the ramp which would be difficult for wheelchair users
3) There is no provision for crossing Broom Hill which is a notorious accident blackspot and this scheme will endanger both wheelchair users and cyclists alike

Ivor does not see the need for a really wide path either. He believes a much narrower path will maintain the beauty of the area and discourage cyclists from speeding and encourage them to respect walkers. We also believes the path should exit on to Broom Hill by Frome Terrace following the line of the current footpath as this really would help wheelchair users and result in the loss of many less trees than the current plan.

You may be interested to know that we reached a compromise with Cycling City following a meeting on site a few weeks ago. They agreed a narrower path and other changes to the scheme, but then emailed us the following week to say this was no longer acceptable because of the needs of the 'disabled community'. A few of us in Snuff Mills Action Group work with people with disabilities and we have been very offended at the way the Cycling City team seem to have cynically used the needs of disabled users to promote what is really a road - but a road that just happens to be for cyclists.

New book from Ian Llewellyn

SMAG member Ian Llewellyn (see the SMAG logo picture) has had a book about Kingfishers published by New Holland Publishers. It can be purchased from Amazon, Blackwells, Waterstones or from high street bookshops.

Here is the description from Amazon: Usually encountered as a flash of blue or orange seen from the riverbank, most people are aware of the Kingfisher, but few are familiar with the intricacies of its day-to-day life. Here its remarkable existence is celebrated through a series of stunning chapters with images depicting courtship, nesting, fishing, winter survival and other important events in the lives of Kingfishers, which are further brought to life through the eloquent accompanying text which is enlivened by personal anecdotes from the author and photographer. The book is the first in a series, and it will be followed by Peregrine Falcon and Barn Owl in March 2011.

David Chandler is based in Histon, Cambridge, and has worked for the RSPB and BirdLife International for nearly 20 years. He is now a freelance writer and ornithologist and has authored a number of titles, including the All About Bugs and All About Garden Wildlife for New Holland.

Ian Llewellyn is a professional photographer and cameraman who has worked on many documentaries for the BBC. He has been fascinated by Kingfishers for many years and spent many months studying and photographing them. He lives in Fishponds, Bristol.

For Irene

One of Stapleton's longest residents and most committed naturalists, Irene Hockey, died recently. She was born in the area in 1921 and lived in the house she was born in for nearly all of her life. Irene was also my next door neighbour.

I wanted to put a little tribute to her on the blog because she has inspired many of the the things we have done in Snuff Mills Action Group. Irene used to tell me lots of stories about the area when I saw her and that was the inspiration behind the oral history project we are doing - sadly she died before we were able to interview her for the project.

It was also Irene who remembered the name of Grove Wood when everyone else had forgotten its name. Her husband, Hector, organised the first ever campaign to protect Grove Wood in the 1970s when he tried to stop the hospital from dumping their rubbish in the woods.

Irene loved Snuff Mills and especially Stoke Park before the motorway was built and she was one of the leading members of the original Stapleton Conservation Society and was heavily involved in the Bristol Naturalists Society too. There wasn't much about the area or wildlife that she didn't know and I know I will miss her encouragement and support.

Willow Felled

The weeping willow (see the main blog photo above) that used to grace the weir next to the Broomhill Bridge has now been removed at the request of the Environment Agency after a complaint from an unknown resident. It was blocking the flow because of the large amount of debris that was trapped beneath it. We believe this is reasonable but hope that the remaining stump will regenerate quite quickly into a more upright tree.

We assume the men who are doing the job have been hired by Mr Jafari. They are also removing the tree that almost fell onto the cafe a couple of years ago as it too was blocking the river. However it must be noted that they do not have a remit to carry out any further tree works.

Update:
We have had reports of walkers being subject to abuse by people who are working in the wood, one of whom is Mr Jafari's son. If this happens to you, please email or post something on our blog. See here for further details of these incidents.

Get off my land!

We had this report from a local person who was enjoying a walk through Grove Wood yesterday:

"Was taking a leisurely stroll along the upper path of Grove Wood this afto, with my friend Karen and Jack...thank goodness, when we were accosted by some bloke telling us this was a private footpath and we were trespassing! He said his name was John Meer? and his company owned it. Well, two Conservation Society women and Jack were no match for him, and he hurried on his way muttering about calling the Police!
What is the position with the compulsory purchase order? and do you know who John Meer is?
I am not easily scared but Karen was quite concerned for our safety! We did wonder if he may just have been a 'Patient' !"

John Mair is apparently the 'solicitor' for Housang 'chopper' Jafari, the landowner of Grove Wood. We think this is proof that the Council should hurry up and Compulsory Purchase Grove Wood as he clearly is not welcoming to visitors to this proposed nature reserve.

If you have any similar expeiences, please let us know so we can gather more evidence of such behaviour

New benches for Snuff Mills

Our team of volunteers began installing the new benches in Snuff Mills today. The project is being led by Snuff Mills superhero Mark Logan who is really chuffed with how the new benches look.

Eleven benches will eventually be installed, some of them in quieter places so you can have a peaceful sit down. Each bench has been sponsored by different people and groups in the local community, usually in memory of a loved one, with match funding from The People's Millions. The second picture shows Keith and Sandra Ingham by the bench they sponsored. Keep an eye out for more benches as we put them in over the next few weeks.

Pathway resurfacing

UPDATE: The pathway resurfacing was completed today (Sat 7th August). It took a little longer than expected, but we hope that it now means that anyone that wants to can at least enjoy a circular walk to Halfpenny Bridge and back.

PREVIOUSLY: The contractor has been working to resurface the upper and lower paths in Snuff Mills all week. The area that floods close to Halfpenny Bridge has been resurfaced with a porous material in an attempt to stop this. The lower path by the river is now also now resurfaced with tarmac.

This People's Millions funded project has been done to make at least some of the valley more accessible to wheelchair users and other people with mobility problems. Work will continue to resurface the upper path and the stretch from the mill to where the paths split. In a few days it will not be possible to access the valley from Snuff Mills for a day or so. We apologise for any inconvenience and hope that you will agree the end result will be worth it.

Houshang Jafari convicted of endangering an aircraft

Update 3rd August: Mr Jafari has been sentenced to 1 year in prison for this offence. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-10851311
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7th July: The landowner of Grove Wood (Mr Jafari) made the front page of the Evening Post and some national & even international newspapers after appearing in court charged with endangering a helicopter. He has since been found guilty by jury and will be sentenced on August 3rd. While this matter is not directly linked to Grove Wood, we think it will be of interest.
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http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/HEL-MAD-STUNT-PULL/article-2387711-detail/article.html 07/07/2010

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Man-claims-did-grab-hold-helicopter/article-2397906-detail/article.html 09/07/2010

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Businessman-grabbed-helicopter-face-jail-term/article-2407570-detail/article.html 13/07/2010

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Bristol-businessman-jailed-terrifying-attack-helicopter/article-2484997-detail/article.html 03/08/2010

Grove Wood container gone

After what seems like an eternity, Mr Jafari finally did the decent thing and removed the shipping container that has been a blot on the landscape in Grove Wood today at 3.45pm. Luckily a member of the group was there to record this wonderful moment.

I guess Mr Jafari couldn't face yet another humiliation in the Courts as the issue was due to go to court in August.

Wickham Glen Cycling Proposals

A planning application has been submitted by Cycling City for a new cyling ramp to be installed through the woods in Wickham Glen and onto Blackberry Hill/Broom Hill.
The application is only for the Ramp Only but forms part of the larger scheme (which doesnt need planning approval as its deemed as improvements/repairs to existing) which will continue the new cycle path through Eastville Park all the way to Blackberry Hill/Broom Hill and then eventually Stoke Park.
The planning application is for a new 3m wide cycle route to but cut through the existing woodland that is surfaced in tarmac and has timber post and rail fencing either side.
In order to do this trees will have to be removed and substantial earthworks undertaken. A replanting scheme will then be undertaken.

The documents can be seen by folowing the following weblink:
http://e2edocs.bristol.gov.uk/WAM/findCaseFile.do?appType=planning&appNumber=10/02839/FB
No provison has been made to prevent or even make more difficult motobike access. The route is designed to conform to national cycle route standards.

It appears that due to Bristol being a cylcling city that this is the norm.
Should we accept that instead of asking cyclist to use the road from Wickham bridge up to Blackberry Hill we have to accept that woodland has to be destroyed and repalced with 3m wide cycle lanes.
We accept that the footpath is in need of repair and that access is not suitable for cycles/wheelchairs and motorbikes but do we have to tarmac everywhere to enable unfettered access to those that choose to ride bikes and not walk along public footpaths?
You can also contact the ofiicer responsible for submitting the proposals at nick.pates@bristol.gov.uk or his colleague jon.usher@bristol.gov.uk who will be able to explain the proposals to you.
We would like to gage the opinion of our members so the group can respond to this application so please comment on what you think.

New plans for Snuff Mills, Oldbury Court and Wickham Glen

The Council have just published their Area Greenspace Plan for the open spaces in our area. As well as including plans to sell of several open spaces for development, see post below, it includes lots of ideas for improving our parks and greenspaces.

For Snuff Mills and Quarry Field (by Ham Lane) they propose:
1) To repair the historic buildings and walls, improve access and provide facilties for the community as whole.
2) Reinforce the wildlife value.
3) Provide a new, enclosed childrens play area in natural materials adjacent to the car park.
4) Continue to improve paths
5) Continue to improve formal planting beds.
6) Improve appearance of car park.
7) Manage and maintain Ham Lane [Quarry Field] to keep it as it is and improve the footpath link between the two spaces.
They say that these are ideas and options and they cannot afford to do all of these suggestions.

For Oldbury Court they propose:
1) New visitors centre, staff accommodation, shared use pavilion and cafe.
2) Redesign main car park.
3) New entrance gates and signage. A large entrance feature is suggested.This could
be of a modern design or replicate what might have been there originally.
4) Open up of the entrance off Goffenton Drive
5) Creation of a secondary parking area
6) Creation of a new formal area with seating
7) Introduction of a wheels park or Multi-Use-Games-Area for young people
8) Restore the original landscape design. This would involve the removal of some trees planted since the Estate was originally laid out and may give rise to concerns regarding the loss of natural habitats.
9) Reinforce wildlife interest. Within the framework of trees it may be possible to carry out low level planting of native perennials to add to the wildlife
value of the Estate.
10) Repair of riverside path
11) Repair of walls and bridges
12) Signs from Fishponds Road
13) Review sporting use and the creation of a new cricket square
14) Signs and information throughout the estate.
Once again they say these are ideas and options and they cannot afford to do all of these suggestions.

Finally for Wickham Glen they propose to maintain the green route along
the valley and improve connections and to reinforce the wildlife
value by
1) Creating an attractive and improved path through the site
2) Appropriate scrub clearance to increase the range of natural habitats

These plans are now out for consultation. While Snuff Mills Action Group will be responding, and we support many of these proposals (but not all of them), you can have your say. Take part in the online consultation here: http://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=127618140774

View the plan for yourself here: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Environment-Planning/Parks-and-open-spaces/information-and-advice/area-green-space-plans/05-eastville-hillfields-and-frome-vale/area-green-space-plan-ideas-and-options-for-eastville-hillfields-and-frome-vale.en

New developments proposed for the area

The Council have just published their site allocations for our area. This highlights land that they regard as suitable for development. Several of the proposals affect the areas that are of concern to Snuff Mills Action Group.

Laundry Field and Blackberry Hill Hospital are alloacted for housing and business uses, although there seem to be some concessions to preserve greenspace. We will be preparing a full and detailed response to this allocation of land to ensure that the assurances we have received from the owners of the land, the Homes and Communities Agency, are noted. Otherwise a developer could be rubbing their hands at all that greenfield land ripe for development with the possibility of no less than 470 dwellings there.

Also of concern are plans to develop Begbrook Drive open space next to Begbrook School. This area of land is proposed for either housing or a travellers' site. We would be concerned about the impact of any development here on the wildlife and amenity of the valley below it and will be sending some detailed feedback, whether it means they will build 24 homes or provide 12 gypsy pitches.

Also on the list is Glenside Campus, just above precious Grove Wood. Development here could provide 341 dwellings. The site is registered as a Historic Landscape as well as in a Conservation Area and a Wildlife Network Site. We would be concerned about the impact of development on Grove Wood and the wider area. Would there need to be new sewers in the woods that would result in lots of trees being chopped down that would basically destroy the woods, especially after we have fought so hard to save it?

As if all that wasn't enough, they also propose to build 85 dwelling on Snowdon Road open space off Small Lane. This is slightly outside our area of interest, but it adds to the greenspaces that make Stapleton so unique.

And we haven't even mentioned the plans for 213 dwellings on the St Matthias campus in Fishponds close to Oldbury Court.

If all of these plans happen, we could see the loss of three areas of greenspace and 1048 new dwellings in the area. Snuff Mills Action Group will only comment on these proposals with regard to their impact on the greenspaces of the area, but you can have your say because the proposals are now out for consultation. Have your say here: http://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=127679377956

You can view the full site allocations document here: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Environment-Planning/Planning/planning-policy-documents/bristol-development-framework/site-allocations/site-allocations-and-development-plan-document-fsis/25---greater-fishponds-area.en

Path works about to start

The paths in Snuff Mills will be restored during the week of 26th July. The work is being done by contractors Greentrees through Bristol City Council who have all worked hard to ensure the paths can be made to the highest possible standard with the money available.

Not all of Snuff Mills will be accessible during the week of the work.

On Monday 26th July it will not be possible to cross Halfpenny Bridge to get to Oldbury Court because the path that gets flooded next to the bridge will be being fixed - If you want to get to Oldbury Court from Snuff Mills on Monday 26th July you will need to walk through Grove Wood on the other side of the river.

The upper and lower paths will be surfaced between Tuesday - Thursday and it should be possible to enjoy the valley but you won't be able to use the path that is being surfaced - It might be an idea to keep your dog on a lead while this work is taking place.

On Friday 30th July the footpath from the Mill to where the two paths split will be surfaced. It will not be possible to get to the valley from the Mill on that day. If you want to get in to the valley from the car park on Friday 30th July you can either visit Grove Wood on the opposite side of the valley or walk up in to Quarry Field and along the top of the valley by Ham Lane. We hope to have signs to guide you.

New benches for Snuff Mills - coming soon!

The new benches for Snuff Mills are in the final stages of making their way to the valley. They have been made specially for us by a company in Scotland, so it is taking a little longer than we had hoped for them to arrive.

A total of 11 new metal benches will be installed between the park entrance and Halfpenny Bridge thanks to the People's Millions lottery money and the kind sponsorship of many local people. Every single bench will be dedicated to someone who loved or loves the area.

The benches will be installed in more interesting places than the current ones so that visitors to the valley can sit in quieter spots not just next to paths. They will be installed by Snuff Mills Action Group volunteers with help from Bristol City Council. Because of this, it may take a little while for all of them to be installed.

Himalayan balsam pulling

This rather beautiful looking plant is called Himalayan Balsam. While it might look good it is a very invasive plant that grows like a triffid and it is choking up our riverbanks making them less good for wildlife. There is a lot of it along the River Frome in Snuff Mills and on the other side of the river from Oldbury Court.

We've organised a special event to pull up this weed from along the river bank on Sunday 18th July from 2-4pm. Meet in the garden and bring gloves if you have them.

Mutt strut video

A short film of the mutt strut and dog show by Richard Pring.