• The AQMA is extended further into the wards of Bedminster, Southville and Windmill Hill.
• The AQMA boundary is slightly amended to include part of Brislington West.

The proposed realignment for Bedminster is shown below. The proposed realignment in Brislington is much smaller and relates to a few properties on Bath Road. See the consultation document for a map showing the proposed realignment.

Changes to the AQMA’s do not always mean that pollution has got better or worse in those areas. The changes have been prompted by new air quality monitoring data from the affected roads. The data shows that at residential properties along North Street, West Street and St. John’s Lane the air quality objective for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is breached. The council has a duty to include all areas where residential exposure above the air quality objectives is experienced within the AQMA. Large parts of Southville and Bedminster experience good air quality, but close to the main roads the levels of NO₂ will be above the air quality objectives at some properties. The proposed boundary is designed to include all those areas with poor air quality while maintaining a sensible and contiguous AQMA for the central area of Bristol.

The detailed explanation of the justification for the proposed changes is contained in the Detailed assessment of air quality in Bristol: 2010. This is available in chapter 7 of the document available from the link below.

The inclusion of an area within the AQMA means that resources can be focused on the area through the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP), although measures within the AQAP are generally city – wide and strategic rather than locally focused. The AQAP’s for all the ex – Avon local authorities are now subsumed within the Joint Local Transport Plan. This is available on the city council web site from the JLTP link below.

Bringing an area within the AQMA means that greater attention is paid to the air quality impacts of new developments within the planning process. Air quality assessments will be required for major developments and mitigation sought where appropriate.

The council is consulting with residents and you can give your views here.

The introduction of the goats is being carried out by the City Council and Natural England as part of the wider Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project. The project aims to save and protect the Avon Gorge as one of the UK’s most important botanical sites.

The grassland on the Bristol side of the gorge was once grazed by sheep, which kept it open and free of trees and scrub. When grazing ceased at the beginning of the last century the area became overgrown and woodland quickly established. The grassland almost disappeared along with many of the gorge’s rare plants such as Bristol rock cress and Bristol onion, which grow here and nowhere else in the UK.

The first phase of restoration has been completed with the removal of trees and scrub from the Gully. It’s now the goats’ job to control the scrubby re-growth and help to encourage grasses and wildflower to re-establish. They are already a familiar sight in Burrington Coombe where they have proved they are good at controlling scrubby vegetation and well suited to the steep and difficult terrain.

Bristol’s goats will be cared for by two specially trained members of the city council’s Downs Ranger’s team. They will carry out daily checks on the animals and Bristol Zoo Gardens will offer additional veterinary care.

“The Avon Gorge is internationally recognised for its wildflower rich grassland and rare plants that grow on the rocky outcrops and grassy slopes. Over the last century the grassland and rare plants have suffered a significant decline,” says Chris Westcott of Natural England. “By introducing goats to help manage scrub re-growth we are enabling these rare plants to re-establish, grow and spread.”

Cllr Glenise Morgan, a member of the Downs Committee said: “It is almost 100 years since the gorge was grazed by sheep. It is great to see grazing animals back on the gorge as part of this important conservation project, which should help to save its very special wildflower grassland for future generations.”

Cllr Gary Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Targeted Improvements said: “The introduction of the goats is part of an exciting partnership project, and a really positive step towards helping to manage this special part of the Avon Gorge which is one of the UK’s most important botanical sites.”

Robert Westlake, the Downs Ranger added: “The goats will be well cared for and will become a natural addition to the Avon Gorge’s unique environment. Their fenced area will ensure they have enough space to explore and plenty of vegetation to eat.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about the introduction of goats into the Avon Gorge Gully can take part in two Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife events: A special talk on the goats, Tuesday, October 11th October and ‘Meet the goat keepers’ walk on Saturday October 15th. To book call the Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project on 0117 9030609 or visit www.avongorge.org.uk

Bristol City Council’s Urban Design & Conservation Team will be producing a Character Appraisal for the Clifton Conservation Area. A Character Appraisal is a document that outlines the significance and special interest of a Conservation Area; it details the features that make that specific area unique. It is one of the documents that guides and informs planning policy for an area.

To start the process, Conservation Officers will be holding a public meeting on Monday 7th December, 6:00pm – New Hall, Clifton High School, College Road, Clifton where there will be a brief presentation outlining the scope of the document and detailing how interested parties can get involved. A period of public consultation follows, when comments on issues officers may like to consider should be put forward and submitted in writing to Urban Design & Conservation, 2nd Floor Brunel House, St Georges Road, Bristol BS1 5UY or e-mail to conservation@bristol.gvo.uk. The public consultation period will close on Friday 15th January 2010.

Bristol currently has 33 Conservation Areas, and the city council has a statutory duty to review their character, special interest and boundaries.

Since 2006 the city council has committed to undertake a full review of Bristol’s existing 33 Conservation Areas, through the production of a Character Appraisal and set of Management Proposals for each area. Character Appraisals are a record of features that will inform sound decisions on the future management of the area.

To date, the following Character Appraisals have been adopted:

• Stokes Croft (adopted 12 October 2007)
• Kingsdown (adopted 31 March 2008)
• Portland Square (adopted 31 March 2008)
• Redcliffe (adopted 31 March 2008)
• Old Market (adopted 31 March 2008)
• St Michael’s Hill and Christmas Steps (adopted 14 January 2009)
• Montpelier (adopted 14 January 2009)
• City and Queen Square (adopted 14 January 2009)

Further information on the public consultation can be found on our conservation pages in the planning section.

Plant a tree - save the planet

The city council’s TreeBristol team and Cycling City team are joining hundreds of other tree enthusiasts this weekend in a national tree-planting event to help claim a Guinness World Record. And members of the public are invited to come along and get involved.

Volunteers are needed to help plant trees throughout Friday, December 4 and Saturday 5 from 10am to 4pm – with the main record attempt taking place across the country between 11am-12noon on Saturday.

In Bristol the trees are being planted to improve the scenery along the new Speedwell cycle path at Ridgeway playing fields. The cycle path, which will be completed in February 2010 will link Speedwell and St George to the Bristol Bath Railway Path. The path is one of a number of new or improved Cycling City routes that allow people to get to their destination using off-road paths or bike lanes segregated from the traffic.

Russell Horsey, senior arboricultural officer at Bristol City Council, says: “This is a great occasion for community members to come out and support a world record attempt whilst also getting a chance to see the new cycle path that Cycling City are bringing to the area.”

The council are funding the planting of big “heavy standards” trees and a new hedge. Trees for Cities are also sponsoring some of the trees. The planting sessions are open to people of all ages.

There will be a similar TreeBristol and Cycling City event on the Bristol Bath Railway path on January 26, 2010.

Trees to be planted at Ridgeway Playing Fields on the Bristol and Bath Railway Path were gathered for artists Ackroyd & Harvey’s work The Walking Forest. The saplings that make-up the work had been brought by means of slow travel from all over the UK. The project formed part of *C Words: Carbon, Climate, Capital, Culture,* a season of events at Arnolfini Contemporary Arts Centre in the run up to next week’s Copenhagen summit on climate change. *C Words* curator, James Marriot, said: “A number of the projects that formed part of the *C Words *season hope to put down roots in Bristol. The planting of the trees at the Ridgeway Playing Fields is a great example of this.”

Yes... this is what we're talking about

Bristol Police Community Support Officers have now been trained to join forces with Bristol City Council staff to target anti-social behaviour, which is damaging the local environment. As part of their duties the PCSOs will now be issuing fixed penalty fines for behaviour such as littering, dog fouling and fly posting.

“Local people tell us that their first concern is to keep their environment pleasant. PCSOs who are normally out and about as part of their jobs will be adding their efforts to tackle environmental anti social behaviour across the board.” said Cllr Gary Hopkins “Among their other duties they will be on the look out for chances to encourage and enforce people to behave responsibly and not to litter or otherwise spoil the local environment.” “And in the run up to Christmas with crowds of people in the city its even more important that we keep it a clean and great place to be”.

Neighbourhood Police Inspector Mark Runacres said, “The PCSOs play a vital role in policing Bristol and help to combat key problem areas such as anti-social behaviour and underage drinking freeing up police officers to deal with other issues. We know from our meetings with the local communities that keeping the area clean and tidy is a first concern. We know also that anti-social behaviour such as littering can lead to more extreme behaviour which has an impact on residents.”

Cllr Hopkins said: “We are pulling out all the stops to ensure that Bristol is one of the cleanest cities in the UK. As well as investing heavily in street cleaning we are also enlisting all the resources we have to keep Bristol a pleasant place to be.” For example we are also training staff from many Council departments such as cleansing, waste, environmental health and pest control, to advise and encourage better behaviour and to issue fixed term penalty fines of up to £75 on the spot.”

More than 40 new PCSOs began patrolling the streets of Bristol earlier this year thanks to £1. 2 million pounds worth of funding from Bristol City Council. This increased the numbers of PCSOs to 132 in the city, meaning that the number of PCSOs in the city has grown by over a third.

Councillor Hopkins said ” This extra Council funding to radically increase the number of PCSOs across the city demonstrated our commitment to work with the other partners in our neighbourhoods to make a safer city. But the money is only part of the story. What is essential is the extra training and joint tasking that helps us all tackle joint priorities. This is only one joint scheme at present that is showing results” said Cllr Hopkins.