A Stoke Park round-up including the important consultation

February 03 2017
A Stoke Park round-up including the important consultation

Help shape the future of the Stoke Park Estate.

Help shape the future of the Stoke Park Estate

People in Bristol are being asked to help develop the long term future of Stoke Park.

A consultation is currently underway to create a plan that will protect the park’s important historic and ecological features as well as provide opportunities for people to enjoy the parkland.

The consultation will help the council submit bids for funding, including a £3 million bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, to avoid using core council budgets. This will be used alongside a dowry which can only be used to fund work and activities associated with Stoke Park.

Councillor Asher Craig, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said, “Stoke Park is a hugely popular green space within the city, and we want to make sure that people can have their say on its future. It is important to balance the conservation of the valuable historic features, with the desire of local people to use the land for recreation. The outcome of the consultation will help to prioritise the work that needs to be done and will help the council put in bids for a number of grants. We will also consider income generating ideas with money being invested back into the park, so we can make the park financially self-funding.”

Stoke Park is a Grade II registered historic park. It has many important historical features, including the World War II anti-aircraft gun battery, as well as being a diverse and interesting landscape enjoyed by local people for a range of leisure activities. 

Some of the historic features in the park are currently in need of repair and the site is listed on Historic England’s ‘Heritage at Risk’ register.  The council is working in partnership with a number of other organisations who will help to deliver some of this work.

The proposals put forward have been pulled together from a number of sources including a detailed Conservation Management Plan drawn up by Historic England, previous consultation with users of the park and significant support and discussion with Historic England. 

Some ideas included in the consultation are;

• Replanting parkland trees and reintroducing low intensity grazing to parkland and downland areas progressively over a ten year programme.

• Maintaining and repairing the park’s historic structures (walls, follies and ponds) based on carefully thought-out priorities.

• Creating a new visitor car park and café.

• Restoring historic gravel paths and rides to allow people of all abilities to enjoy the park at all times of the year.

• Providing low level direction and information signage for visitors.

The consultation is now open and runs until February 20. You can have your say here www.bristol.gov.uk/stokeparkconsultation

You can also find out more by having a look at our open exhibitions.

Exhibitions:

The Hub, Gainsborough Square, Lockleaze – January 9 - 20 February - 9.30am-3pm Monday-Friday

M Shed –January 10 – 29 - 10am-5pm (closed Mondays)

Central Library – January 31 – February 20 - 10am-7pm, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 10am-5pm Friday and Saturday, 1pm-5pm Sunday (closed Wednesday)

Monthly Litter Pick

Ruth Revell says, “Three years ago a number of us who were walking in Stoke Park regularly picking up rubbish as we walked. A friend of mine, Alima, decided it would be a good idea to have a regular group of people to meet up and pick up rubbish in the Estate. Initially when the group began we had no equipment and were having to take the rubbish home to dispose of it. We now have our own equipment and a tools store, and meet on the first Saturday of the month at the Cameron Centre at 10am, the City Council pick up our rubbish and we separate the recycling out for disposal. When our group first began it was hard work as we had lots of historic rubbish and fly tipping to dispose of, it was very tiring carrying large bags of rubbish around the Estate and back up to our collection point. There is much less rubbish now, and it's encouraging to see other park users picking up as they go. Dog mess (particularly in bags) is an ongoing problem and we would encourage park users to take their rubbish home, or make use of the dog mess bins on site. We often socialise after the litter picks, and welcome new members. We will be visiting Boston Tea Party after our February pick to celebrate our 3rd birthday and it would be great to have some new volunteers to join us. Volunteering is great way to keep fit and meet people in your community. For further information please contact ruthrevell@hotmail.com”

Alternatively if you live nearer the Old (Eastville) Library they meet up on the first Saturday of the month too at 10am, turning their community garden into a beautiful, social place. No experience is necessary and everyone will be welcomed. If you have them please bring your tools and gloves along with you.

The Friends of Stoke Park

The Friends of Stoke Park is a group which was set up to bring together all the people who have an interest in our great park. They hold a monthly meeting towards the end of each month where they sit down and discuss all things park-related.

In the short time that they have been around they have been very busy and have put on a very successful Christmas event in the woods (in the dark!), have started the process of mapping the park and have plans for the construction of an outdoor gym.

If you would like to join them and get involved there are plenty activities planned for this year: Pathway clearance, vegetation management, woodland skills training, park furniture review benches, bins etc.

They have a Facebook group, “Friends of Stoke Park” where you can sign up or alternatively you can join their e-mailing list at http://tinyurl.com/friendsofstokepark

Christmas carols in the woods

On Saturday, 17th December the Friends of Stoke Park held their inaugural Christmas event.

Meeting at the Hub just after darkness fell everyone made the short walk into Cheswick Village and from there into the Park. A range of food was on offer from hot soup to mince pies and gluten-free cakes. Carol singing followed to the accompaniment of music (thank you to Ruth’s parents) and the evening ended with the toasting of marshmallows.

The Friends of Stoke Park would like to thank everyone who came to join them on the evening, and say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this event including Buzz Lockleaze for making the soup, Tim Bird from 62nd Scouts for cooking, Boston Tea Party Cheswick Village and Tesco for providing the food. Thanks to Steve England, Ruth Revell and Alan from Groundwork for making sure the event ran so smoothly, and all the friends who chipped in including Avon Wildlife Trust with helping on the evening. To quote Steve England 'it was like being in an episode of river cottage'.