fishpondsvoice April, 2022 — ISSUE 85
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Bright future for M32 flyover Artists have brightened up the drab concrete of the M32 Eastville flyover, as plans for a park and ride to take traffic off the motorway take a step forward. PAGE 11
Standing with Ukraine Brothers Qetarie and Makonnen Hirose slept in a tent to raise money for UNICEF UK's Ukraine appeal PEOPLE in the Fishponds area are sending help refugees – but is calling for the Government to and showing solidarity with Ukrainians after the remove obstacles for those trying to reach the UK. Russian invasion which has claimed thousands of It is a call echoed by members of a boxing club, lives. who were frustrated in their efforts to arrange for A woman who grew up in Ukraine worked on a Ukrainian teenage European champion and his an appeal which saw tons of aid brought in to a mum to come to the UK. community hall by people from across the region, Fundraising events have been held across the then taken across Europe by volunteers in vans and area – including by two boys who raised more than lorries. £1,000 by sleeping in a tent in their garden. She is now offering help with translation to Pages 2,3, 4 and 5
Mayor's future in your hands Ahead of a vote to decide whether the role of Bristol Mayor should be scrapped, the Voice has asked both sides of the debate to have their say. PAGES 30 & 31
Cuts to buses Bus operator First is cutting some of its services through Fishponds, and axing one route completely. PAGE 10
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EDITORIAL Ken McCormick 07715 770377 news@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
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Brothers camp out to help Ukrainian children
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Despite our best efforts, we sometimes get things wrong. We always try to resolve issues informally at first but we also have a formal complaints procedure. If you have a complaint about anything in the Kingswood Voice, contact the publisher using the details below. We aspire to follow the Code of Conduct of the NUJ (National Union of Journalists), which holds journalists to a high standard of behaviour. Further details of the complaints process can be obtained by contacting the Publisher.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Fishponds Voice is independent. We cannot take responsibility for content or accuracy of adverts, and it is advertisers’ responsibility to conform to all relevant legislation. We cannot vouch for any services offered. Opinions are not necessarily those of the editor. Fishponds Voice is distributed each month to local residents in Fishponds and the surrounding areas. If for some reason you do not get a copy, please get in touch or collect one from local pick-up points. Feedback is welcomed, call Brookfield Publishing on 07540 383870 or email news@fishpondsvoice. co.uk. This month 8,000 copies will be distributed in Fishponds and the local area.
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Makonnen and Qetarie Hirose outside their tent as they raised money to help Ukrainian children TWO young brothers from children the same age as them Fishponds raised more than were fleeing their country, did £1,000 to help victims of the not have a house to live in and Russian invasion of Ukraine by were drinking water from snow. spending ten nights sleeping out "I've done some fundraising in a tent. before and said to the boys that Makonnen and Qetarie we don't have to feel powerless, Hirose pitched the tent in their we can do something." garden, with help from mum The family had talked about Hirose, and camped out while going on a camping holiday, so supporters made donations to decided on the sleep out as a way UNICEF's UK appeal to help of raising money to help the aid children in Ukraine, via an online effort. fundraising page. They had to borrow a Makonnen, who is 11, and tarpaulin to cover the tent after nine-year-old Qetarie slept out discovering it wasn't waterproof through freezing temperatures, when rain arrived but carried on, wind and rain, which left their drying their bedding during the bedding wet after water got into day so they could go back to the their tent. tent at night. But the brothers kept going Qetarie's school, Avanti because they wanted to help Gardens, supported the children who had been left with fundraising by sharing the appeal nothing by the war. with parents and the Voice They wrote to supporters: shared details via our Facebook "Imagine how difficult it must be page. for the families in Ukraine. We've The sleep-out also attracted got enough layers to keep warm, the attention of ITV, which we will be fine." planned to include it in its They originally wanted to coverage of UK fundraising raise £500 but after hitting in the Concert for Ukraine their target within five days broadcast on March 29. they doubled it and eventually Hirose, who joined her sons collected £1,168 from 77 in the tent, said she was proud supporters. of the way her boys stuck to Hirose said: "Makonnen is the task but what was more autistic and hasn't been at school important was they had done for a year because of anxiety. something to help. "After seeing the news from She said: "We're quite a small Ukraine he was was getting family but when you put your emotional and wanted to help mind to something you can make the children there. good things happen, no matter "The boys were quite sad that how young or small you are."
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April, 2022
3
n NEWS
Mariya helps community efforts to support Ukraine A FISHPONDS woman has been helping the people of her native Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia. Mariya Sych joined her friend Vera Stadon's effort to collect and send supplies donated in the Bristol area to support refugees and those fighting for the country's survival. Vera, from Mangotsfield, first asked for donations in a Facebook post and, after they filled her living room, teamed up with Viv Roberts, the manager of Emersons Green Village Hall, who offered more space to store them in. Within days, as word of the appeal spread, tons of supplies had been donated, from medical equipment to military kit, with people driving from as far away as Wales to bring them in. Mariya and Vera spent almost two weeks running the donation hub, supervising volunteers, labelling donated packages in Ukrainian and arranging to get them to where they were needed. Dozens of volunteers – Britons and Ukrainians joined by Poles, Lithuanians and some Russians – helped to sort and load them on to vehicles. The donations were then taken across Europe – first by a Ukrainian lorry which had made a delivery in the UK and had been due to go back empty, then by five vans and another lorry, driven by volunteers from Bristol and South Gloucestershire who set up crowdfunding sites to pay for fuel and expenses. Mariya, who moved to the UK 20 years ago and has lived in Fishponds for the past 16 years,
said helping to send donations had helped her through an "incredibly stressful" time. She was given time off from her work at NatWest bank. She said: "My manage was very understanding from the start and everyone has been very supportive and understanding of how I feel – it's amazing to have that support." Since the hub at the village hall closed, Mariya has continued to collect individual donations and has also been acting as an interpreter when needed. She recently helped calm a refugee who had been collected from the Ukraine-Poland border with her children by a volunteer from Bristol, but had panicked at the prospect of being driven to Berlin by a stranger. The volunteer called Mariya, who reassured the woman. Mariya has also offered to translate for the families of three children brought from Ukraine to Bristol Children's Hospital for cancer treatment, and is offering to help people with visa applications. But she says the application process is extremely difficult for refugees, with visa application forms and the Homes for Ukraine website not available in Ukrainian. She is calling on the government to make the process easier for refugees to understand and navigate. Mariya's own parents and siblings are still in Zolochiv, near Lviv, where she grew up. Her sister has received a letter giving her permission to enter the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme, for relatives of people
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Mariya Sych (right) with Viv Roberts (left) and Vera Stadon in a room packed with donations at Emersons Green Village Hall already living here. Mariya said: "My family have But she does not want to leave been relatively fortunate not to her parents, son and husband, be living in the middle of the who is a firefighter, behind. military action, although air raid Mariya's father recently had sirens are going off regularly and surgery and is too frail to leave there are food shortages. home. She also has a brother who "Although there have been is fighting the Russians, and has glimmers of hope, people are still no idea where he is. dying."
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April, 2022
n NEWS
Mayor could axe e-scooters over Russia link METRO Mayor Dan Norris has warned he will pull the plug on the company behind the region's e-scooter trial unless it severs any ties to Russia. The West of England Mayor is due to meet the chief executive of Sweden-based Voi Technology after it was reported that one of the company's major shareholders has close links with an oligarch sanctioned by the European Union over links to the Putin regime. Mr Norris had recently announced that the e-scooter trial was being extended until the end of November in the region, following a request from the Department for Transport. But he said Voi's actions over the investor will “strongly affect my thinking regarding the future use” of the firm’s electric twowheelers, which are a common sight in the Fishponds area. In response, Voi says it has ceased all business activities in Russia and its ally Belarus, and is reevaluating all its partners
in light of the war in Ukraine to take “all actions deemed necessary to comply with sanctions”, including removing shareholders who “no longer align with our core values”. Mr Norris held a Zoom meeting with Fredrik Hjelm, CEO of Voi Technology, on March 15. After what the mayor described as a "frank and candid" discussion, they agreed to meet later, face to face, in the UK. The mayor spoke out after media reports that Russian businessman Alexander Eliseev
owned shares in Voi worth about £10.8 million. He is chairman of shipping firm Globaltruck, which is reported to be partly owned by the Russian state, and a Swedish newspaper said he also has business links with Alexei Mordashov, an oligarch who has been sanctioned by the EU. Mr Norris said: “It is vital that Voi do due diligence when it comes to any possible connection between their company and the Putin regime. If there are links they must end them. West of England residents expect nothing
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less and I made this abundantly clear." Mr Hjelm told a Swedish news website he had been in contact with Mr Eliseev, who is Voi’s 12th largest shareholder, and was trying to "find a solution or a transaction" to solve the problem. A Voi spokesperson said the company conducted background checks on all investors "to ensure consistency with our aims and values as a company". The spokesperson said: "None of them had been under any sanctions when we accepted their investment, and, at the time of writing, none are currently under any sanctions. “Alongside many international businesses, we believe Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a severe violation of international law and we stand on the side of democracy and the Ukrainian people at this time.” By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service
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April, 2022
5
n NEWS
Boxers' concern over young Ukrainian champ
A FISHPONDS-based boxing club reached out to try and help a teenage Ukrainian champion who had to leave his home after the Russian invasion. Downend Boxing Club was left frustrated in attempts their to bring 17-year-old Oleh Hichva to the UK by delays in setting up the government's scheme to help refugees. Club member Ethan Moore, also 17, of Hillfields, met Oleh, who is a double junior European champion, at a boxing training camp in Ukraine two years ago. At the start of the conflict, Ethan communicated via Instagram to see if Oleh was OK. A few days later the Ukrainian said he and his mother Lilla needed help to escape the fighting. Ethan spoke to Downend Boxing club coach Craig Turner and between them they decided to offer Oleh and his mother a place to stay. Craig contacted Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees, who put him in
touch with his migration advisor and international team, as well as youth charity Young Bristol and the Western Counties Amateur Boxing Association. Oleh and his mother crossed into Poland, where they were sleeping in the lobby of a hotel and being fed by an aid agency. Craig said a potential home in South Gloucestershire was found and he involved MPs Luke Hall, a former Downend Boxing Club member, and Chris Skidmore in the campaign but, because at the time no sponsorship scheme for refugees had been opened, they could not arrange for the pair to come to the UK. Craig said: "Oleh is an extremely talented young sportsperson and is European champion, with a record of 76 contests with 75 wins, has a solid link with the city and South Gloucestershire and was offered support that would cost the state nothing." By the time the government's
Homes for Ukraine scheme opened for applications, Oleh and his mother had been found accommodation in Poland through the Polish boxing association. Craig said the solution was a "great outcome". Burt he said: "It shouldn't be this difficult for our country to offer safety to these vulnerable people." Bristol City Council has passed a motion calling on the government to do more for refugees, and throw out the Nationality and Borders Bill, which the council's Labour group says will "criminalise refugees based on the type of journey they make to the United Kingdom". A Green Party amendment calling for visa requirements for refugees entering the UK to be waived, allowing them to work or receive benefits and calling on the council to help refugees "to the maximum of our legal ability” was added.
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Oleh Hichva and Ethan Moore Eastville ward councillor Marley Bennett, a co-sponsor of the motion, said: "Bristolians have sought to do what they can to help Ukrainians. It has been heartening to see so many people offering their homes to refugees in just the last few days." Club report: Page 36
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n NEWS Rent write-off MORE than £1.5 million of rent arrears racked up by nearly 3,500 former council tenants is being written off. City council cabinet members agreed that officers should give up trying to chase the debts, which are all over three years old. No payments have been made by any of the 3,446 extenants in the last 12 months – each owing an average of £446 – and the money is now considered unrecoverable and accounted for in the authority’s budget. A report said the outstanding total debt for the council’s housing revenue account was £13.1m, of which £8.5m was arrears from current tenants. Eastville ward councillor Marley Bennett told the meeting in March it was really important "to differentiate between those who can’t pay and those who won’t pay".
April, 2022
Ivy and Blossom help homeless TWO sisters who attend a Fishponds school spent a night sleeping rough to help homeless people. Ivy and Blossom Geear joined their dad Alex sleeping rough in a park as part of an event to raise money for homelessness charity Julian House. The event on March 4 in Alice Park, Bath, called the Big Bath Sleep-Out, was also held to raise awareness of rough sleepers in the region. Last year Julian House provided support to more than 1,500 vulnerable people who were experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Bristol, Bath and the South West. Ivy and Blossom raised a total of £674. Alex said: "It was fun but tiring, and they made some friends – but it was so cold that people's sleeping bags froze!" The school also helped
Avanti Gardens School pupils Ivy and Blossom Geear raised money for a homelessness charity
spread the word of pupil Qetarie Hirose's fundraising for UNICEF UK's Ukraine appeal, as featured on page 2 of this month's Voice. And Year 4 pupils are running a mile a day with their class teacher around the school’s sunken lawn to raise money to help Ukrainian refugees. A school spokesperson said: "Pupils from Avanti Gardens School have been extremely
generous and thoughtful with their fund-raising efforts. "In these challenging times, it has been encouraging to see that children have been using their initiative and have been pulling together to help in their own special and unique ways. "They have been raising money for worthy causes that affect individuals on a local and global level."
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April, 2022
7
n NEWS
Dealer sold drugs in shopping street A DRUG dealer has been jailed after being spotted doing deals outside a row of shops in Fishponds. Police found drugs worth more than £80,000, including heroin and cocaine, after arresting Mazin Mohammed at his home nearby. Avon and Somerset police said a member of the public saw a suspected drug deal taking place in Straits Parade in December and called the police with details of the car involved. Officers traced it to Mohammed and arrested him at his home in Claverham Road, off Manor Road, where they found "a significant quantity of Class A drugs". In total drugs with an estimated street value of around £82,000 were seized as part of the investigation. At Bristol Crown Court in March, 28-yearold Mohammed was jailed for seven years and six months, after admitting charges including possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to supply. The court heard the sentence would have been ten years had Mohammed not admitted the charges. Afterwards PC Louise Jones, from the force's team dedicated to tackling drug
Drugs seized by police after the arrest of Mazin Mohammed, left crime, said: "Mohammed was caught with a large quantity of class A drugs and, in the face of overwhelming evidence, had little option but to plead guilty to these offences. "He sought to profit from the misery that drugs cause people and communities and we welcome the custodial sentence he has today received. This arrest was the direct result of a member of the public calling to report witnessing a suspected drug deal. "That call played a vital role and we’d like to publicly thank them for reporting this to us. It enabled us to react quickly, seize drugs and ultimately helped to secure this
conviction. "We hope this result provides people with the confidence to continue reporting these crimes to help us rid Bristol's streets of drug dealers. Drug crime has devastating consequences for our communities and often dealers target the most vulnerable people within them." Police are encouraging people with information about drug dealers to call 101 to talk to their neighbourhood team or report it online at www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/ report/drug-dealing-and-use/. Drug crackdown: Page 18
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ADVERTISING FEATURE
Credit union bites back against loan sharks in the South West Throughout the pandemic, many people have become less financially resilient and in the wake of the increased rates of inflation and energy bill crisis, this trajectory is expected to continue. In a recent statement from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, they suggested the cost of living crisis will lead to increased loan sharks and illegitimate doorstep energy sellers. Those feeling the pinch may look for money away from trusted sources for a temporary solution. However, all money lenders need to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); if they are not and they aren’t someone you know, they could be a loan shark. In the UK alone, the last reported figure found that 310,000 people were in debt to illegitimate lenders according to the Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) and this may have risen in the face of economic hardship since the pandemic began.
Spotting the signs
memory, it provides loan sharks with more collateral to hold against their victims. If you are unsure whether a payment transaction is legitimate, check the FCA’s register to find out whether the lender is authorised https://register.fca.org.uk/. If they are not listed, avoid borrowing from them and ensure they do not enter your home.
Reporting illegal money lending
Stop Loan Sharks’ recent winter newsletter details the story of a terrified dad who borrowed £2,000 from someone posing as a work colleague to help him fund a family holiday in Southeast Loan sharks often approach people as friendly, trustworthy Asia. The loan shark was initially friendly and to keep up with figures and so it can be difficult to initially recognise the payments of £200 per month, the father borrowed another warning signs. They typically won’t give you any proof of payments before entering an agreement, or confirmation about £4,000 from the colleague, meaning that he ended up further in debt. The loan shark became more aggressive when he the total money you will need to repay. As a result, they can struggled to make repayments, even threatening the victim’s raise the debt and interest or add additional amounts without children and turning up at his doorstep. He eventually called your permission. Citizen’s Advice for help and the IMLT launched an investigation, To reclaim their payments, they can resort to illegal measures leading to the arrest of the loan shark. such as intimidation, threats and, in some instances, violence. This includes taking possessions for security such as passports If you have fallen victim to a loan shark or have spotted the and bank cards or using blackmail such as threatening to tell the signs that the transaction does not look legitimate, you can victim’s friends, family, employers and even the police. report it to England’s IMLT, who can prosecute illegal lenders If you’ve borrowed money from a loan shark, the most and help to support victims. Since its inception in 2004, they important things to remember are that you’ve not done have supported more than 30,000 people and written off over anything illegal and you won’t get in trouble with the police. £87 million worth of illegal debt. Their services go beyond It’s illegal to lend money without a licence, but it’s not illegal to investigating and prosecuting loan sharks, extending to borrow money from a loan shark. education around the issues and problems that loan sharks can In this digital age, spotting the signs can be harder as loan cause. sharks have moved their methods online, giving them access To report an illegal money lender, call the 24/7 helpline on to a wider audience than ever before. In fact, one in ten people 0300 555 2222 or visit www.stoploansharks.co.uk. Live Chat met a loan shark using social media platforms such as Snapchat, is available on the website between 9am and 5pm, Monday Whatsapp and Facebook or via dating websites according to to Friday. If you have been threatened by a loan shark and are IMLT’s 2020 victim statistics report. With more sensitive worried about your safety, it is recommended that you call the information being shared online than at any point in living police.
A safe and trusted way to borrow
In light of the current economic situation, credit unions are stepping up to the plate by offering FCA recognised finance, in an ethical and low-cost way. Here in South West England, Great Western Credit Union (GWCU) currently has over 20,000 members and is a financially sympathetic community-based option, steering people away from the debt cycle. With their low-cost finance, the credit union actively helps people to save in comparison to high street banks, whilst providing a carefully calculated amount of lending so that repayments are genuinely affordable. GWCU has teamed up with IMLT to raise more awareness of schemes and their new dedicated loan shark page offers resources to learn more about how to identify high-cost lenders to stop this activity from arising further. The credit union is helping people to make informed choices about the lending options available to them and as a reward for establishing good money habits, new members will receive a savings boost of £25. For full details about the savings boost, including eligibility, please visit https://greatwesterncu.org/financial-wellbeing
fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
9
n NEWS CHILDREN at a Fishponds primary school set up their own museum to show what they had learned about the Stone Age. The Year 6 pupils at Minerva Primary Academy in Hillfields have spent the last few weeks learning about life in the South West thousands of years ago. First, they used a roll of toilet paper to make a timeline to find out just how long ago the Stone Age was – it started millions of years ago and lasted until around 2,000 BC. Then they studied artefacts from the period, discussing what they knew about them, what they could have been used for, and wrote questions which were sent off to an archaeologist. The children then had a virtual workshop with an expert from Wiltshire Museum, who showed them more artefacts found in the region, including some discovered near Stonehenge. The pupils also studied local Stone Age people, including the Cheddar Man whose skeleton was found in Somerset and
Children set up their own classroom museum whose DNA was extracted to find out more about what people looked like 10,000 years ago. They then set up their own 'Stone Age museum' in their classroom, working in small groups to create exhibits, write information cards and design displays to show off what they knew. Year 6 teacher Christy Hill said: "It was lovely to have their parents, visitors from around the school, and children from younger classes visit their museum. "The children loved having the opportunity to display their oracy skills and their historical knowledge to a real audience. "We are so proud of what the children curated and how they chose to demonstrate
Year 6 pupils at Minerva Primary Academy welcome visitors to their Stone Age museum their knowledge of the history curriculum. "Their confidence grew with
each visitor, and they really felt proud of what they had achieved."
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10
n NEWS
BUS operator First is cutting some of its services through Fishponds. The company is axing the Y2 route, which links the area to Yate and Chipping Sodbury via Downend, as it is "no longer commercially viable". It is also reducing the frequency of the 48 and 49 to Downend, Staple Hill, Emersons Green and the city centre from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes on Sundays. The company also says "some early poorly used morning and weekend journeys will be withdrawn" on the 48 and 49 routes, but has not given details of which ones. First will withdraw "some journeys" on the 6 and 7 services through Speedwell to Kingswood and Staple Hill respectively, due to "low customer demand". Metrobus m1 services from Stoke Lane to Hengrove Park and Cribbs Causeway will reduce from every 10 to every 12 minutes on Mondays to Saturdays and every 15 to every 20 minutes on Sundays. The Y2 runs seven times a day from Bristol to Yate and
April, 2022
First cuts bus services through Fishponds eight times in the opposite direction Monday to Saturday and six times in each direction on Sundays, roughly once every two hours. The cuts will be introduced on April 24, and were announced two weeks after the government said it would spend an extra £150 million nationwide to support local bus services until October. First West of England managing director Doug Claringbold said: “Despite the Government extending emergency funding for another six months, ongoing issues with driver availability mean further action is necessary beyond the changes we made at the end of January to ensure we can operate services more reliably for our customers. "A number of services will see temporary reductions in frequency, whilst passenger and
driver numbers are constrained, but unfortunately there are a number of services that are not commercially viable even at prepandemic passenger levels." The 48a from the city centre to UWE's Frenchay campus will decrease from every 10 to every 20 minutes from April 24, although First describes this "a normal seasonal change to reflect lower demand for travel to and from UWE over the summer months". The West of England Combined Authority, which has regulatory powers over buses, recently approved funding to support the 5 route from the city centre to St Werburgh's, Eastville, Stapleton and Oldbury Court to Downend, and is also subsidising the Y5 from Fishponds to Pucklechurch and Chipping Sodbury, until August. But a spokesperson said
Doug Claringbold
WECA had not yet been told by the government how much money it would receive from the £150m Bus Recovery Grant. Metro Mayor Dan Norris, who leads the authority, said: "There isn't enough money in the system to keep these buses going and that's a big blow. I deeply sympathise with everyone who has lost their services."
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April, 2022
11
n NEWS
Park and ride for M32
PLANS to build a park and ride for the M32 have been given new funding – but a site for the project still has to be identified. The park and ride is one of the projects Bristol City Council says can be developed after the council and the West of England Combined Authority were given £500,000 under the Zero Emission Transport City scheme. The council's annual Strategic Transport Plans Update says £48 million is allocated to the park and ride project as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which will see between £540m and £880m spent by WECA on transport over the next five years. Consultants have been commissioned to identify sites and produce an outline business for the project by next year. Other projects receiving funding include installing 1,000 cycle hangars, increasing electric vehicle charging units, introducing 250 electric buses and cutting freight emissions with 'consolidation centres' -
where suppliers deliver goods to a hub where they are combined into bigger loads, cutting lorry and van journeys into the city centre – and electric cargo bikes. Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said: "To build a sustainable transport network we need to fundamentally transform the ways we all move around the city and region." Metro Mayor Dan Norris, who is in charge of WECA, said: "This is important to enable us to reach our ambitious net-zero targets and will mean more local people breathe cleaner air and lead healthier lives." The site may need to be in South Gloucestershire. In 2019 Mr Rees pledged that community farm Sims Hill Shared Harvest, west of the M32, between the Metrobus junction and the Avon Ring Road, would not be used after previously being earmarked as the only viable option for the project. The mayor said the farmland was vital and the park and ride needed to be "out by the M4".
ARTISTS Manazzar Siddique, Aumairah Hassan, Sadie Phew and Conrico Steez have brightened up the space under the M32 Eastville flyover. The project to add artworks to the pillars supporting the viaduct, which crosses Stapleton Road, Glenfrome Road and the river Frome, was organised by charity LitterARTI will work with community street art group Peace of Art Bristol, with £20,000 of funding from National Highways and Bristol City Council.
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April, 2022
WILL & PROBATE ADVICE
FREE REVIEW to fix the gap in your legal protection You may be surprised that the law doesn’t work in the way you’d expect. Having NO Will or NO Powers of Attorney can cause huge problems for those you love. If you became seriously ill or suffered a serious injury, or perhaps a routine operation went wrong and you lost mental capacity, then NO Powers of Attorney can mean: ● No access to your savings – as they’ll often be frozen - even if needed for your urgent treatment, to pay to support your children, or just to pay your bills. ● You’re unable to move home to more suitable accommodation. This can leave you in hospital or living away from your family, as no one else can sign for you on your property transfer documents.
● No one authorised to speak up for you to insist that you get the medical treatment or care you’d want. Melissa Witter, at Simpson Solicitors says: “You may be surprised that this applies even if you are married or have a close family. So, unless the people you trust are appointed by you IN ADVANCE they can face huge upset and often expense as you’ve left them powerless to help you”. The law can also have very cruel consequences if you died unexpectedly with no Will. In the worst cases it can mean: ● No inheritance for your children. ● No inheritance for your partner, if you are not married.
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● Children under 18 placed in care until the court decides who should look after them. Act now to fix this gap in your legal protection. Simpson Solicitors are offering our readers a FREE, no obligation, review meeting. If getting to their office is difficult, they offer a FREE home meeting service too. As well as their already competitive prices for Wills, they currently offer 20% off the cost of two Lasting Powers of Attorney when bought at the same time. You will have the peace of mind of their award winning service, that they offer clear fixed prices and they are fully regulated and insured. So, pop in or call them today on 0117 960 8594.
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fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
n NEWS POLICE dropped in to a Fishponds school so its youngest pupils could find out about life on the thin blue line. A neighbourhood police team visited St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School in Chatsworth Road to show them some of the kit they use and how they investigate crimes. Children in the school's Reception class have been learning about some of the many jobs that help keep the community going, from postal workers to chefs, as part of a topic called 'Not All Heroes Wear Capes'. Two police officers visited with a van and let the children try out some of the kit, from helmets and handcuffs to a riot shield. Head teacher Jocelyn Baker said: "Children loved exploring the van, putting the siren and lights on and pretending to drive. "The children enjoyed completing lots of police activities throughout the day from taking their fingerprints to cutting and sticking a police uniform. "The Police Officers even helped them investigate a
13
Boys and girls in blue
Children at St Joseph's RC Primary School try out a police van, hats and handcuffs Humpty Dumpty crime scene to find out whether Humpty fell or got pushed off his wall!"
Easter Services 2022 St Marys Church
Palm Sunday 10th April 10am - Holy Communion with Procession of Palms Tuesday 12th April 7.30pm - Reflective Service for Ukraine Maundy Thursday 14th April 7.30pm - Maundy Thursday Holy Communion with Vigil until Midnight Good Friday 15th April 1.30pm - Good Friday Service Saturday 16th April 7.30pm - Easter Eve Service with First Holy Communion of Easter Easter Sunday 17th April 10am - All Age Easter Day Holy Communion Easter Sunday 17th April 6.30pm - Easter Day Choral Evensong
All Saints Church
Palm Sunday 10th April 8am - Service of Holy Communion Palm Sunday 10th April 10.30am - All Age Palm Sunday Service Wednesday 13th April 7.30pm - Reflective Service for Ukraine Maundy Thursday 14th April 6.30pm - Agape Meal Good Friday 15th April 10am - Children’s Activities Good Friday 15th April 2pm - Good Friday Service Easter Sunday 17th April 10.30am - All Age Easter Sunday Holy Communion
St John’s Church
Groups now fully open
Mondays 6.30pm & Tuesdays 9.30am
The Beechwood Club, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3TR Tel: Claire 07791574353
To advertise, contact Shaun Tel 07540 383 870
Palm Sunday 10th April 10.30am - Outdoor All Age Holy Communion Monday 11th April 7.00pm - Prayers and Reflection Maundy Thursday 14th April 10.00am - Holy Communion Maundy Thursday 14th April 6.00pm - Agape Meal (to book call Amy on 9586412) Good Friday 15 April 9.30am - Walk the Cross from St John’s to St Michael’s to St Aidan’s. Meet at St John’s at 9.30am. Easter Sunday 10.30am - Holy Communion
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14
April, 2022
n P ETER'S VISION
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Over the last few weeks I’ve noticed a trend at our practices in Henleaze & Fishponds. We’re seeing more and more new patients, which is of course, hugely flattering and very welcome! Coincidentally, but not directly related, we’ve been considering how we greet both existing and new patients, our aim being to offer a friendly, warm and professional welcome to all. Now how we phrase our first question after welcoming our patient to the practice depends on a few things, essentially if we feel a light hearted or serious introduction is indicated. We’ll often ask “what brought you to see us today?” and wait to see if we get “my wife / the bus driver or my E-bike” or just a straight forward “my eyes are changing, can you help me?”. I love the way we, as humans, respond to this and I find the many nuances of our communication just wonderful! Sometimes patients do say well you asked for that, but I’m happy that we've broken the ice, our patient has relaxed and has shown their sense of humour! But don’t worry, we’re all too aware that sometimes our patients' eye concerns are such that humour is not appropriate, and instead ask “how can we help you?” One aspect we're keen to chat about is myopia. It’s slowly but surely being talked about more often. To summarise, myopia is distance blur, corrected by glasses or contact lenses, but your close up vision is usually clear. Does the increasing number of patients becoming myopic matter? Well yes we believe so, particularly as myopia often develops at or around early teen years, when some, but not all, patients of this age have a tendency to be less communicative with their parents. Now as a myope myself there are definite advantages to this (well I think so, but clearly I am biassed on this!), however the risk of eye health problems increases with the degree of myopia. The trend is that spending time on tech up close, phones particularly, can have a negative impact on our younger patients' eyes. The solution - book an appointment to see us for expert eye care and we’ll be happy to assess the eye health and myopia risk for each individual, as well as discuss the management options available. With all the demands that modern life puts on our eyes, it’s not surprising we’re seeing so many patients who’ve noticed a change in their vision. Whether your arms aren’t now long enough, your distance vision’s changing or if it’s increased screen time that’s causing a change in vision we’re here, ready and willing to help! Just contact our friendly team on the telephone, or visit our website and we’ll be happy to see you. We continue to offer COVID safe ways to choose your new glasses too! Although regulations have relaxed, which will come as a relief to so many, we recognise that a few of our patients still need to be cautious. To help us keep you all safe, we’re still asking you all to telephone first to book a time to come in. Please call our Henleaze practice on 0117 962 2474 or our Fishponds practice on 0117 965 4434.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Peter
Peter Turner is a Senior Optometrist at Turners Opticians in Bristol, and also works part time as a Senior Optometrist at the Bristol Eye Hospital.
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fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
n NEWS A FISHPONDS woman who survived domestic abuse is taking on the London Marathon to raise money and awareness of the charity which has supported her. Amy Yapp is sharing her story to help charity Refuge – and to encourage other women in abusive relationships to seek help. Amy found herself in a relationship where she was subjected to physical, psychological and emotional abuse over four years. She was beaten, isolated from her family and friends and lost control of her finances. Amy said: "When I look back, I do not recognise the person I had become at all. I was conditioned how to behave and even speak. Living by rules which I was not allowed to break. "Compliments turned into insults, then eventually insults turned into physical abuse. "You say 'oh, that will never happen to me' but after experiencing all that, it showed me how anyone can be affected." Amy left her abuser, who has since been convicted of assault
15
Amy runs to help other domestic abuse survivors
Amy Yapp taking part in a Bristol 10k
for beating her. A friend who had been through a similar experience told her about Refuge which, as well as providing emergency accommodation for women and children fleeing abuse, runs local support groups and a 24-hour helpline offering advice. While Amy never needed to stay in the charity's
accommodation, its helpline provided invaluable support when she needed to talk to someone outside her family and friends. She said: "I never realised when I was in that situation that there was so much help out there – during those critical moments, having someone to reassure you is so important." A student paramedic studying at Gloucestershire University and attached to the ambulance service in Bath, Amy also works for supported living provider Aspire in Downend, Staple Hill and Fishponds. The former Downend School pupil has run in a number of distance races but has never taken on a marathon before, and when she discovered that Refuge had places for fundraisers in the London Marathon it was a chance to both tick off
a challenge from her 'bucket list' and "turn something that was negative into something positive". Amy said: "I would like to repay my gratitude to Refuge for the much-needed help and support they gave me. "And if just one woman recognises the warning signs of domestic violence and finds the courage to get in touch with Refuge, then that is potentially one life saved." Amy aims to raise £2,000 for Refuge at the marathon, which takes place in October. To support Amy's appeal visit www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/amyyapp98. For more information about the work of Refuge visit the website www.refuge.org.uk. The charity's free national domestic abuse 24-hour helpline is on 0808 2000 247.
A WARM WELCOME AWAITS AT QUARRY HOUSE NURSING HOME Providing top quality, best value, holistic care Quarry House in Fishponds offers safe and nurturing care We are now enabling close contact visits in the home, every resident is able to have an essential care giver, and there is no isolation required for new residents from the community. We still have a varied activity schedule which keeps life interesting and happy.
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Give us a call on 0117 969 0990 or visit our website at bristolcarehomes.co.uk To advertise, contact Shaun Tel 07540 383 870
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fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
n NEWS PUPILS at two Fishponds schools are taking part in a challenge to get to school under their own steam. Chester Park infant and junior schools have both signed up for the Big Walk and Wheel, where children and their families are encouraged to walk, cycle or scoot to school and leave the car at home. The event, organised by city charity Sustrans, has attracted more than 750,000 participants from more than 2,400 schools over ten days between March 21 and April 1 and is described as the UK’s largest inter-school cycling, walking, wheeling and scooting challenge. The active travel campaign is the latest activity to get children fitter, in addition to dancercise and daily mile events on site. As well as the schools competing for a place on the national leader board, a competition is also underway between classes across the two schools to find out which ones are the most active. Chester Park Federation head
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Walking and wheeling to school
Children from Chester Park infant and junior schools take to bikes and scooters to get themselves to school
teacher Mike McNama said: "It was lovely to see so many children taking part and getting more active; it also helped with the congestion around the schools, as more families were leaving the cars at home and enjoying the spring weather whilst actively travelling to school." Bristol City Council has
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announced plans for a School Street zones outside Chester Park Junior School, on a section of Abingdon Road from Moorlands Road to the junction of Acton Road, to keep vehicles away at pick-up and drop-off times. The council has yet to announce a date to implement the scheme.
Mr McNama said: "Chester Park is continuing to explore the School Street option and to promote healthy attitudes regarding travelling to and from school. At present, the council is reviewing information from a recent survey to ensure all stakeholders' views are considered."
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18
fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
n NEWS
Arrests as police target drug gangs
Police break down a door as they raid a home during Operation Scorpion. Picture: Avon and Somerset Police POLICE made three arrests in Eastville as part of a regional operation to target drug dealing networks. Three people were arrested after being found in possession of suspected class A drugs in a vehicle stopped in East Park, which runs parallel to the lower part of Fishponds Road and is also home to a primary school and health centre. Officers then searched an address connected to one of those arrested, which led to a "larger quantity" of suspected class A drugs being found. All three of the people arrested were released under investigation. Police also worked with charity the One25 Project and Bristol Drug and Alcohol Services to support and sex workers "vulnerable to abuse and violence" in the area. The action was part of Operation Scorpion, which saw police forces across the South West working together during March to tackle so-called 'county lines' drug gangs, which operate across borders. Avon and Somerset police arrested 64 people, carried out 17 raids and said they disrupted five known county line dealing operations. They also visited 44 educational visits to schools, youth clubs, colleges and scouting groups to educate children and adults about exploitation and grooming. In nearby Staple Hill stopped and arrested a 17-year-old boy riding a suspected stolen motorbike, who was found to be
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in possession of controlled drugs. A man was arrested on Colston Street in Soundwell, on suspicion of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply after he was found with more than £1,000 in cash and a quantity of Class A and B drugs. He has also been released under investigation whilst enquiries continue. Eight further raids and six arrests on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs took place across south and East Bristol between March 8 and 10, with further suspected class A drugs, cash and phones recovered. Across the whole region there were a total of 194 arrests, 55 raids and "hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cash and suspected drugs" seized. Avon and Somerset police lead for Serious Violence and County Lines, Superintendent James Raphael, said: “This operation allowed us to combine resources, intelligence and enforcement powers with our colleagues in other areas of the South West in a strategic way, sending a clear message to organised criminals and those who cause harm in our communities, that there is no place for them in our region. "Going hand in hand with this important enforcement work is the work of safeguarding vulnerable people who find themselves caught up in the misery of drug use or supply, through no fault of their own." Illegal drugs activity can be reported by calling 101 or online at www.avonandsomerset. police.uk.
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fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
n NEWS A PRIMARY school has had a visit from the head of Ofsted after receiving an outstanding report from the regulator. Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman and South West regional director James McNeille visited Frome Vale Academy and Snowdon Village, which provides learning for children outside mainstream education and has a primary school, The Nest, on the Frome Vale site. Both are run by the Cabot Learning Federation, whose chief executive Steve Taylor joined Frome Vale principal Jan Saunders and Snowdon Village principal Alex Davies for the tour. Inspectors from the schools watchdog who visited in January said Frome vale, in Frenchay Road, was "highly ambitious and inclusive", with excellentlybehaved children and primary school has been given an 'outstanding' rating by inspectors – the first in the region this academic year. Ofsted's high praise for Frome Vale Academy, in Frenchay Road, comes less than four years after
19
School shares success story
Frome Vale Academy principal Jan Saunders, staff and pupils welcomed Ofsted and Cabot Learning Foundation leaders to their school. Right, Frome Vale Academy pupils dressed as fictional characters for World Book Day, when they received some new books from Morrisons' Fishponds supermarket
the education watchdog said the school required improvement. The inspectors said children's behaviour was "excellent" and also praised the ambitious curriculum and skilled staff. Children from among the 175 pupils or 'Frome Vale citizens' at
the school gave the visitors a tour of the classrooms, where they spoke to children about their work. Dr Saunders said: "It was a pleasure to welcome Amanda and James as visitors to Frome Vale. Our children gave them a tour and enjoyed talking to them about life
as a Frome Vale Citizen." The school had another boost when Fishponds supermarket Morrisons donated books for pupils – community champion Julie Drummond delivered the books on World Book Day in March.
“Colston’s isn’t just about the grades - it’s about enabling me to be the best version of myself.” Discover more at our next Scan to meet Eleanor
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Working Open Morning Friday 29th April 2022 Register at colstons.org Email: sales@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
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fishpondsvoice
20
April, 2022
n NEWS
Delay to consultations Children learn circus skills CONSULTATIONS on the redevelopment of the Vassall Centre in Oldbury Court are being delayed to bring in more experts to work on the plans. Bristol Charities, which owns the site, announced last year that it wanted to demolish the existing wartime buildings at the centre and replace them with homes, new workspaces and community facilities, in a variety of two and three-storey buildings. But in an initial consultation, residents and Bristol Civic Society raised concerns over some aspects of the plans, particularly the number of threestorey buildings. Bristol Charities says the next phase of consultation, originally scheduled for March, has now been delayed to May as a result of the feedback. The charity has decided to bring in specialists and wants to give them time to bring their "particular knowledge and expertise" to the project, including an accessibility consultant and landscape consultant.
Chief executive Anne Anketell said: "We’ve brought in additional specialist consultants at this stage because we’ve listened to points raised through the consultation and want to make sure we have the right specialist advice to ensure our plans respond to these and that the project delivers on our vision, which is to create a vibrant new, accessible multi-generational community in this area of Fishponds." A new chief executive will take charge of the organisation in May. Julian Mines joins from FairShare South West, part of the UK’s largest food charity. Bristol Charities said Anne Anketell, who has been chief executive for eight years, will continue to lead the team working on the Vassall Centre redevelopment until Julian joins the organisation and will continue to support the public consultation process, to "ensure a seamless transition".
CHILDREN learned some circus skills at the Hillfields Community Hub. The juggling, plate-spinning and stilt-walking session was part of a half-term holiday club organised local charity Imayla at the hub and Hillfields Community Garden. The volunteer-run community garden project runs monthly 'mini explorers' events for pre-school children on the last Monday of every month from 10-11am, as well as volunteering dig days – the next is on April 23 from 10.30am
– and a Wild Women group, which next meets on April 11 at 10am. Before that the community garden was due to host its Spring Fair on April 2, from noon to 3pm, with music and children's activities. The volunteer team is looking for more members, who can get in touch via their Facebook page, and has launched an online survey asking resident what they would like to see happening in the garden, which can be found at forms.gle/2bzMoYp6HLgLBqS49.
Children learning skills at the Hillfields Community Hub
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fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
21
n NEWS
Voice readers help chronicle river Frome journey
Julie Doherty from Avon Wildlife Trust and Christina Wheeler canoeing between Snuff Mills and Eastville
Duncan Porter from Winterbourne and Frome Valley Environmental Group
A FILM and podcast maker has published a series of programmes on the river Frome's journey through the area – with some help from Fishponds Voice readers. Christina Wheeler asked people to contact her if the river played a significant part in their life and her appeal was published in Voice editions along the river's course last summer. She said: "The response to the article was amazing – phone calls and emails immediately came in. "I wanted to find people who would be able to talk to me about anything connected to the river, it might be about their childhood on the river, or about environmental projects or their work, also local history, or how the river has helped with well-being or inspired creativity. "I’d originally hoped I might be able to meet up with two or three people for each programme, but in the end so many people came forward, with such strong stories, I couldn’t resist. "I ended up with four stories in each programme and had to expand the series." After hours of interviewing, walking and editing, Christina's series, called River Journey: The Bristol Frome has now been
launched as an audio podcast, which can be listened to online or downloaded. You can find out more and listen to the series by visiting christinawheeler.org/riverChristina Wheeler next to Nightingale Bridge journey-the-bristol-frome/. in Frampton Cotterell Christina followed the river on its 20-mile journey from the source, in the Dodington estate near Tormarton in South In each programme Christina met people Gloucestershire, through Frenchay, Snuff who could tell her about the river's historic Mills and Eastville to its mouth in the centre mills, weirs, hat-making industry, ancient of Bristol. bridges and how the Frome influenced the On her journey she met people like siting of Bristol Castle. Jean Ray, who grew up next to the river in In the final programme she canoes from Frampton Cotterell, in a household of nine Snuff Mills to Eastville, and follows the children. course of the river once it has disappeared Jean remembers the year the river froze, under the streets of Bristol. and how her family walked on the ice all the Christina said: "The programme is way to Cog Mill. as much about my journey as the river’s Christina also met with Duncan journey. Porter, from Winterbourne and Frome "I’ve learned so much by making this. It’s Environmental Group, who talked about the a river I have lived near for much of my life group’s work to improve biodiversity and and I’d always wanted to know more about it. nature, tackle plastic pollution and reduce "We’re so lucky to have this on our the risk of flooding. doorstep – we can walk all the way from Old Writer and poet Ros Martin, who came to Sodbury right into the heart of Bristol, and I the river every day during lockdown, finding really hope that I can help inspire people to new paths and secret places near Snuff Mills go out and enjoy and learn more about what as well the inspiration for writing a play is close to them." about her uncle, also tells her story.
Microsuction and irrigation (syringing) Ear Wax Removal Service
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Ear Clear Bristol THE SOLUTION IS HEAR Call Sarah Hayward (Ear Wax Removal Specialist) on
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Mondays 18:45 & 19:55 at The Life Church Saturdays 9.15 at All Saints Church Hall Please contact Emily to book your place on 07974252486 email: info@teachmepilates.co.uk or find me on facebook and Instagram: Emily Osborne Pilates
92 Westbourne Rd, Downend, BS16 6RF To advertise, contact Shaun Tel 07540 383 870
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April, 2022
22
n NEWS FROM OUR MP
People have run out of ways to make ends meet THE cost-of-living crisis is now very much beginning to bite. I’ve spoken to people across Bristol East who are already struggling to cope with rising bills, taxes and food prices, and are having to make very difficult choices. With inflation at 6.2% (its highest level for 30 years), the worst, I’m afraid, is still to come. My worry is that – as Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has said – we’re now at the point where people have run out of ways in which to try to make ends meet. I know that Bristol City Council is doing its best to help, supporting the WHAM (Warmer Homes, Advice and Money) project, maintaining the Council Tax Reduction Scheme which helps 40,000 families, and with a Local Crisis Prevention Fund for those who need emergency help with food and fuel bills, school
uniforms and other costs. The Fishponds-based Bristol Baby Bank Network and the food bank at Fishponds Baptist Church, along with other community-led organisations, provide a valuable service. Please do contact me if you are finding things difficult, and I can signpost you to where help is available. Also, please do keep an eye out for neighbours and others who might be struggling, particularly older people, who are often reluctant to ask for help. As your Member of Parliament, my main role is of course to try to convince the Government that urgent action is needed. Ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement – in effect, a mini-Budget – I wrote to him numerous times, flagging up the need for more support for my constituents. The main question facing the Chancellor ahead of this
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statement was ‘who pays the price?’ Who takes the biggest hit from soaring energy bills and who will benefit the most from each announcement? Martin Lewis told MPs before the speech that many households were facing a “fiscal punch in the face”. Unfortunately, instead of providing a helping hand, Rishi Sunak was the one wearing the boxing gloves. There was some positive news. The National Insurance threshold was raised, the use of energy efficient materials was encouraged with a VAT reduction, and there was a 5p fuel duty cut. Labour’s proposal of a oneoff windfall tax on oil and gas producers was rejected, despite BP bosses crowing that “we have more cash than we know what to do with” – if only people in Bristol East could say the same! This Government has
Kerry McCarthy MP for Bristol East
writes for Fishponds Voice been in power for 12 years. It must bear responsibility for pensioners being too afraid to put the heating on or parents struggling to put food on their children’s plates. I will, along with many colleagues in the House of Commons, insist that the Chancellor does more to help.
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fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
23
n NEWS SECONDARY schools in the Fishponds area have increased the number of places available for Year 7 pupils in September to meet increasing demand. Bristol Metropolitan Academy in Snowdon Road is offering 220 places this year – 40 more than its official published admissions number of 180 – and Bristol Brunel Academy in Speedwell Road is increasing numbers by 58, from 232 to 290, both at the request of the city council. The education authority has had to ask schools in the east of the city to accommodate extra pupils as plans to provide a new 1,600-place school in St Philip's, to be known as Oasis Academy Temple Quarter, are still awaiting a decision on planning permission, more than two and a half years after being submitted. The school by the Feeder Canal had originally been slated to open in 2018, but even the latest proposed opening date of 2023 looks unlikely. Bristol Met principal Cameron Shaw said: "Parental preference for the academy is at a record
Schools increase capacity to meet demand for places
Bristol Metropolitan Academy pupils raised £900 for this year's Comic Relief appeal
high, having received over 600 applications for Year 7. We are, of course, delighted to be a school of choice for so many of our families.” Bristol Brunel principal Jon Jones said: "BBA has been
significantly over subscribed for many years, the strength of our reputation in the community has been reflected by these figures with over 600 applications for September." The council says all families
who applied to Bristol secondary schools will be offered a place. This year 5,008 applications were received, an increase of 47 on 2021's figure of 4,961. The council says just under 94 per cent of families were offered one of their top three preferences and 77 per cent have been offered their first choice, compared with 94 per cent and 76 per cent respectively in 2021. The authority declined to release details of the number of applications and places at each secondary school, or numbers of families who made schools outside the city their first choice. Cabinet member for education Asher Craig said: “This is another year where we have seen an increase in the number of children looking for secondary school places in Bristol."
Are you a passionate, empathetic, hardworking person, who likes to make a difference in children’s lives, if so, we have exciting opportunities to work at our rapidly expanding Special School in a variety of roles. Briarwood is a Bristol Special School, based in Fishponds and Barton Hill, committed to providing a high quality of education, care and life skills for children and young people with severe learning difficulties and complex needs including autism and sensory impairment from 3-19 years. Please visit our careers page on www.eteach.com/schools/briarwood-school-25106 or contact us via emal on HR.briarwoodsp@bristol-schools.uk Are you looking for a way to get involved with your local community? Have you considered being a School Governor? If you are interested please contact Deborah Smith for more information chairbriarwoodsp@bristol-schools.uk Briarwood School, Briar Way, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 4EA To advertise, contact Shaun Tel 07540 383 870
www.briarwood.bristol.sch.uk
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Get ready for Bristol’s Clean Air Zone
Summer 2022
Bristol is introducing a Clean Air Zone to reduce harmful pollution. Older and more polluting vehicles will be charged to enter the zone. Check your vehicle online and find out how we can help you prepare for the zone.
bristol.gov.uk/cleanairzone
fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
25
n HISTORY
Hidden talents: art and the asylum
Buses in the sitting room
Mike Jempson surveys Glenside’s artistic traditions ART therapy was not a conventional treatment at Glenside Hospital, though some patients did enjoy the opportunity when it came their way. A diorama of the male patients’ sitting room in the 1970s at the museum contains a vibrant painting of Bristol buses by one talented patient. The hospital buildings provided sanctuary to several artists whose work would reach much wider audiences. More than a century ago, the young Stanley Spencer worked as an orderly at the Beaufort War Hospital when Bristol Lunatic Asylum, as Glenside was then known, was requisitioned by the War Office. Arriving in 1915 as a volunteer with the Army Medical Corps, he spent just over a year there. The experience left its mark on him, as witnessed by some telling paintings now on display in the Sandham Memorial Chapel, a National Trust property in Burghclere, Hampshire. In one he reimagined the gates to the hospital being opened by warders to a truck full of wounded soldiers. In others he depicted day-to-day events including work in the laundry. One painting even shows him scraping the frost-bitten feet of a casualty. A more cheerful
Patients sitting by Denis Reed image shows soldiers tucking into his favourite snack of bread and jam. At the age of 24 Spencer was transferred to Macedonia, where he spent more than two traumatic years, initially with a field ambulance brigade and then with the infantry. Paintings of the atrocities he saw confirmed his reputation as a war artist. During World War II, Bristolborn artist Denis Reed also served in the army, but his paintings were of calmer, rural and urban scenes. He too would spend time at the now-renamed Bristol Mental Hospital, but this time as a patient. His was an extended stay, and consultant psychiatrist Dr Donal Early encouraged him to draw, providing him with paper, pencils and ink. He produced more than 100 drawings of life among his fellow patients. His sketches of them bathing, chatting, shaving, sitting around and sleeping offer a rare insight into hospital life. Some are on permanent display in the Museum. After he left in 1955 Denis taught in Luton, but returned to live in Clifton and paint city and coastal scenes. Bristol Museum and the Royal West of England Academy hold several of his works. Art remains an integral part of life in the museum. Former shopkeeper and laboratory scientist Anwyl CooperWillis arrived at Glenside Hospital Museum in 2016 as part of a Bristol-based fine art group called
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alldaybreakfast. It had won a grant from the Arts Council England and Bristol City Council to be artists-inresidence, and mounted several exhibitions based on the museum’s collection. Anwyl is including a visual representation in coloured blocks of the different ways patients left the asylum. She now finds herself chair of Glenside’s management committee, and has made arts central to her involvement. The museum has run drawing workshops about its exhibits in the Vestibules at City Hall in 2018, among other locations. "Currently we are collaborating with Outside In, a national charity for artists who face significant difficulties," she says. "During the pandemic we ran the courses online. "Up to ten artists have explored our collection and their work will be shown in the Museum on May 14. They have also contributed to an online exhibition, which features other works from Glasgow Museums and Wakefield’s Mental Health Hospital.” Art as a form of therapy is now widely accepted as a valuable antidote to a variety of conditions, from dementia to depression. Dr Eric Nestler, director of the Friedman Brain Institute in New York, believes advances in brain imaging technology mean it is now possible to measure brain changes produced by art therapies. Getting the funds to turn anecdotal
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Self portrait by Denis Reed evidence into scientific proof "is going to be a major struggle," he says. Meanwhile the museum is always on the lookout for new ways of employing the arts to promote mental health. It has hosted an interactive theatre performance, and encourages visitors to find imaginative ways of expressing themselves. *Glenside Hospital Museum is open 10am-1pm on Wednesdays and 10am-4pm on Saturdays. For more information visit www. glensidemuseum.org.uk/about-us/ visit-us. *The Outside-In exhibition is on Saturday May 14. A virtual exhibition is available online until April 21 at outsidein. org.uk/exhibitions.
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fishpondsvoice
26
April, 2022
n NEWS FROM THE METRO MAYOR
Warm words won’t fix the cost-of-living crisis like buying and selling property portfolios or stocks and shares. Yet it’s not all doom and gloom on the economic front. There are plenty of great job vacancies in the region – many with good pay and prospects. One project I was excited to launch recently was aimed at West of England jobseekers in our burgeoning hospitality sector. Jobs Connect was commissioned by the West of England Combined Authority that I lead, and built by Bath-based software company Cognisess. It will connect local people to jobs with top hospitality and tourism employers in the region. Jobs Connect is a bit like a dating agency for jobs. Job seekers and businesses upload their profiles and the website plays matchmaker. Individuals can do personality tests to figure out their compatibility, and there are top tips to make sure you put your best side forward
EVERY month it seems to be getting worse. Gas and electric bills are up and for everyone who uses heating oil, that’s off the scale too. It’s rocketed 116 per cent. I expect you, like me, are looking at your smart meter thinking it didn’t used to be like that a few months ago – and as for petrol… Every month we also hear the Chancellor commenting. He is normally saying how he understands that life is tough for working families and pensioners. Really? Because as March turns to April and the cost of living crisis bites, and everything from the price of a stamp goes up, the Government has chosen this moment to deliberately introduce a series of measures that will make this crisis much, much worse. They say April is the cruellest month, and this spring the Chancellor will again force up taxes, painfully whacking up National Insurance contributions. He’s chosen a tax on workers’ income, not any of the other options
Metro Mayor
Dan Norris
writes for the Voice and stand out from the crowd. In the forthcoming months I hope to expand this scheme as well as launch more skills support and set up a good employers’ charter. We can’t change Government policy – well not until the next General Election – nor can we change food prices locally. But we can make sure more people can get better paid jobs and opportunities. Warm words won’t solve the cost-of-living crisis, but it’s vital we make sure people in our region have the skills and opportunities to weather this storm.
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fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
27
n FRIENDS OF EASTVILLE PARK
Spring arrives in the park Friends of
EASTVILLE PARK THIS cob swan is making a very good job of emphasising his position as leader of the group as he looks out over Eastville Park lake on a beautiful evening. The arrival of spring has seen nests being made and the park bursting with colour, as crocuses and daffodils push their way through the warming soil. Trees are full of bud and leaves are being tempted to burst into life. The last few weeks have also brought some surprise visitors, including the first ever sighting of a red kite, little grebe, and the welcome return of both the heron and kingfishers. We’re seeing and hearing a lot more from the owls, too, and we’ve been busy placing nest boxes for them in the enchanting Fishponds Brook. All the while we see the park being used more and more by us humans, taking advantage of the many varied landscapes it has to offer. The playing fields, tennis and basketball courts are busy well into the evening. The Friends have all but finished the renovations at the Nissen Hut, and we’re delighted with the result of our efforts over winter. By the time you read this, we’ll have new windows and doors installed and running hot water again. Soon the toilets will be more accessible for disabled users. We have started activities over the last few weeks, from party and activity bookings to our first café of the year, with over 500 customers coming through, to a background of live music from Karen Swan. Being able to move back indoors after last year's café al fresco was a little daunting
but, with our amazing team of volunteer helpers, we had a very successful day. There will be a few tweaks for the next café in April. The revitalised bowls club begins its season in April. Each Friday evening, there are free ‘give it a go’ sessions between 5pm and 7pm. Just turn up and enjoy this wonderful game – you’ll soon be hooked! Other exciting projects will come to fruition soon. Work to improve the Old Swimming Pool, with new seating and planting, will hopefully start within a few weeks. We are also starting to install more benches around the park, and there is exciting news coming about improvements to the children's playground. The Friends are looking forward to an exciting year ahead and we thank you for the wonderful support you have given us. We are all on a journey together for an improved park with better facilities for everyone, a shared vision for the future and, especially, for our local community. The Parkie
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Every Little Help Counts! Do you need FREE provisions and supplies to get you to the end of the month? If so, please drop by at the Bristol Dance Company on any Sunday, 12noon to 1pm to pick up a free bag of provisions. No questions asked and you don't have to be a member of our Church. Please text "Bag" and your first name to the number, 07881 339217 so that we can reserve a bag for you.
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fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Life aboard the SS Great Britain WITH Easter holidays just around the corner, we're looking forward to the fragrance of freshly cut grass and sprouting flowers as spring gets into full swing. However, life aboard the SS Great Britain did not smell quite as sweet. In fact, some of the odours of a nineteenth century passenger ship would be enough to send you overboard. Brunel's SS Great Britain, the 'world's smelliest museum', already includes hundreds of sights, sounds and smells. However, this Easter, they're inviting visitors to rate the smells and help them choose new ones! Some of the new smells under consideration include the rich scents of dark chocolate and brandy, the homely aroma of roast beef, and the pong of boiled cabbage. Be sure to follow Brunel's SS Great Britain on social media for a look behindthe-scenes as they prepare for the holidays and book your tickets on their website to join in the fun. www.ssgreatbritain.org/easter
29
n NEWS
New deputy police commissioner THE Avon & Somerset police and crime commissioner has appointed a deputy. Claire Hiscott, a former Bristol City Council cabinet member who is the area chairman for Bristol and Gloucestershire Conservatives, is tasked with assisting PCC Mark Shelford, increasing engagement with residents and the policing family, and ensuring "continuity in unforeseen circumstances". Her appointment to the three-day-a-week role, with an annual salary of £39,051 – 45% of the PCC's £86,700 salary – was confirmed by the region's Police and Crime Panel on March 17. Claire, a former Horfield ward city councillor who trained as a pharmacist and has just finished a long stint supporting the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme, is a former school governor and is currently a trustee and safeguarding lead for Bristol Old Vic.
Claire Hiscott She said: “I’m motivated to tackle inequality and increase opportunities for all; I see policing and criminal justice as an area where there is disproportionality and inequality in outcomes for different groups in society. “I’m really focussed on
protecting the most vulnerable groups in our society including the elderly, people with mental health issues and women and girls, particularly when it comes to violence against women and girls. "From working in my pharmacy, I’ve interacted with people from all walks of life and understand how health, mental health and the circumstances they find themselves in can be influenced by their education, affluence and family life." "This is why I have a particular interest in understanding why someone might be an offender or perpetrator as well as the mental health aspect of the Criminal Justice System." Mark added: “I am delighted that Claire Hiscott has been appointed as my DPCC, and she will support me and the OPCC in ensuring Avon and Somerset Police is an effective, efficient and legitimate police service."
Get ready to experience hundreds of sights, sounds and smells at Brunel’s SS Great Britain, with brand new scents to discover on board this Easter. Plan your voyage at ssgreatbritain.org/easter To advertise, contact Shaun Tel 07540 383 870
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fishpondsvoice
30
April, 2022
n NEWS
Should we keep the Bristol Mayor? WITH voters being asked to decide whether to keep or scrap the post of Bristol Mayor next month, two people with opposing views in the debate make the case for and against the role.
NO
YES Paul Hassan is a Fishponds resident who has worked in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in the city for ten years. WHEN Bristol had a referendum 10 years ago, citizens were offered the chance to improve the governance of the city, and said yes. Since then we have had two mayors – George Ferguson, an independent who had a 'rainbow cabinet' to pull in all talents, and Labour's Marvin Rees. They have both had achievements. George Ferguson brought in residents parking zones – unpopular at the time but now accepted as a real advantage – while Marvin Rees is making real progress in delivering housing. In both cases the mayor has taken big decisions, thinking about the long term – a huge improvement on the previous system. The mayor is here for at least five years and has the credibility needed to cut deals with people who want someone to see them through. I remember when Bristol was led by a committee system. Most decisions were short-term fixes, marked by acrimony. I didn't get the sense there was a collegiate, collaborative atmosphere. There was a lack of confidence that the leader was going to be there long. They were dependent not just on the support of their party, but of factions within their party. The leader wasn't visible and was known by a small fraction of people – more than half know who the mayor is now. This is also about Bristol's place on the national and global stage. It used to feel very parochial but now punches above its weight, talking about issues like migration with mayors of everywhere from Kampala to Los Angeles. Bristol voters – 139,000 at the last election – get to elect their leader, not 30 to 40 councillors in a room. That's more accountability. Two candidates ran 'scrap the mayor' campaigns last year, and were soundly defeated, so it's very unfortunate that the council voted to have a referendum now, at great cost. What we are being asked is, do we go back to the old ways or stick with what we've got? If we lose the mayor now, we put Bristol on the back foot. I would encourage all Bristol citizens to turn out for this vote and think long and hard: do you still want to choose your leader and have them directly accountable to you at the ballot box? Do you want a leader who can stand up and deliver change or return to a time of petty party-politicking and short-termism?
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Mary Page is co-founder of It's Our City Bristol, a "loose coalition of independent people" aiming to remove the role of mayor and replace it with a committee system. IN May Bristol will have a referendum on whether we want to continue having the council run by one mayor, or by a team of elected councillors. You may think, why does it matter how the council is run? For people who support having a Bristol mayor, democracy is about having an election once every four years, to pick one person to rule over us for the next four years. They want people to turn up to vote but then have no power for the next four years. People who want to scrap the role of Bristol Mayor want to put control back in the hands of local councillors and their communities. We see democracy as a partnership, because it’s our city, not just the mayor’s. We think democracy is an everyday collaborative process where we can participate to ensure our views are given a fair hearing. We want power to influence collective decisions made by councillors elected by all communities. We think that's a better way to create a shared sense of belonging and respect for the stewardship of the city and its resources. Supporters of a mayor claim that handing all the decision making power to one person “gets things done”. A recent Bristol Civic Leadership report has shown that’s simply not what happened. Besides, the more important question is: has what has been done been what most Bristol people wanted? Good decision making is not about the quantity of decisions made; it is about the quality of those decisions and whose views have been included. The quality of decisions is likely to better reflect what the majority of people want if those decisions are made collectively by local committees, with the opportunity for public input from all areas and political spectrums of the city. The coming referendum will have at its heart the question: "How would you like Bristol City Council to be run?" Ask yourself, do I prefer the kind of democracy and leadership that leaves power over all council decisions in the hands of one person, or would I prefer the kind where power and decision making is shared, and I can be involved if I choose? I believe that our directly elected councillors deserve a seat in a committee decision-making table. I want our local representatives to be able to have conversations together, because no decision about us should be made without us.
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fishpondsvoice
April, 2022
31
n NEWS
You decide in second referendum BRISTOL will go to the polls next month to decide whether to keep an elected mayor or put all council powers back in the hands of councillors. A referendum will be held on Thursday May 5, when voters will be asked one question: "How would you like Bristol City Council to be run?" There are two answers to choose: either "By a Mayor who is elected by voters" or "By one or more Committees made up of elected Councillors". Critics of the mayoral system say it has put too much power in the hands of one person and undermined the role of councillors representing communities. Opponents of the committee system, which was the way the council was run until 2000, say it led to political bickering and nothing got done. The elected mayor was introduced after a change in the law forced Bristol to hold a referendum in 2012, and residents voted in favour. That decision was supposed to be irreversible, but another law change in 2016 – introduced via an amendment in the House of Lords by former city council leader Barbara Janke, a Liberal Democrat life peer – allowed councillors to hold another referendum. After Labour lost control of the council chamber last year, councillors voted by 41 to 24 to put the question of city leadership back to the people. Green, Lib Dem and Conservative councillors voted for a second referendum. The only group to vote against was Labour, the party of current mayor Marvin Rees. Before last May's mayoral election, both the Tory and Lib Dem candidates had told a Voice Q&A that the mayor had "too much power" and was not needed now the region had a Metro Mayor. The Green candidate said the mayor needed to be more accountable and should have a cross-party cabinet, but did not call for the abolition of the post. But after Mr Rees turned down a post-election demand for posts on his cabinet from the Greens, who had won an
The vote will decide how City Hall is run equal number of council seats to Labour, they joined the antimayor camp. Green group leader Heather Mack blamed the mayoral system for delays over the latest budget, which she said would not have happened under the committee system. Academics at Bristol University and the University of the West of England have produced a report, called the Bristol Civic Leadership Project, which "explores the pros and cons" of the options facing voters. The report does not favour one option over the other, saying both have "strengths and weaknesses": the mayoral system brings stability and greater visibility but concerns about "over-concentration of powers in the mayor’s office"; the committee system can work "effectively and democratically", but there are questions over accountability of leadership, scrutiny and time-consuming meetings. The authors say Bristol citizens should not have been given the "binary choice" between mayor and committee without discussing other options, such as the council leader and cabinet system the city had between 2000 and 2012. They said: "We are aware of no detailed discussion of or rationale for why the committee model is being presented to the citizens of Bristol rather than the leader and cabinet model." Regardless of the result, however, they say the referendum presents a “huge opportunity for positive reform”. Co-author Dr Thom Oliver, of UWE, said: “This important
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debate is not just one for politicos and academics; the decision Bristolians make will have profound and far-reaching implications for local democracy – from who leads the city and actually makes decisions, to how they are held to account outside of elections." Bristol will be stuck with
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whichever option people choose for at least 10 years, unless there is yet another change in the law. What the referendum will not affect is the future of current Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees. He had already announced that he would not seek another term of office and, even if residents vote to abolish the mayor's role, the change will not come into effect until he finishes in 2024. *Polls will be open from 7am to 10pm on May 5. The deadline to register to vote is midnight on April 14, for a postal vote is 5pm on April 19 and for a proxy vote, where someone else can cast your vote on your behalf, is 5pm on April 26. For help or more information on voting email electoral. services@bristol.gov.uk or call 0117 922 3400.
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n MESSAGE FROM AVON & SOMERSET PCC
A new approach to tackling drug dealing
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I AM delighted to tell you about a significant new approach that sees Avon and Somerset Police team up with partners across the South West to combine their operational powers in tackling cross-border drugs supply activities, known as Operation Scorpion. Coinciding with National County Lines Intensification Week, the aim of this activity was to send a strong message to criminals that the South West is #NoPlaceForDrugs. The five regional police services – Avon and Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire – alongside their respective PCCs, the British Transport Police, South West Regional Organised Crime Unit and Crimestoppers, set aside regional boundaries just as criminals engaging in drugs activity do, to harness
their collective power and disrupt the South West drugs market, dismantling drugs supply networks and arresting those who profit from them. The forces used a range of tactics, including enhanced surveillance of the road and transport networks, increased high-visibility patrols in areas of high demand, carrying out warrants at addresses used for drug dealing and welfare checks on vulnerable people. As a result, a number of successful results were achieved in our force area, including 64 arrests and 17 warrants executed. Five known county lines were disrupted and at least 41 weapon sweeps took place, along with 178 visits to vulnerable people’s addresses. The results from this collective action speak for themselves and highlights what can be achieved
when a borderless approach to drugs enforcement is taken. By coming together collectively in this way, we can send a strong message to criminals and those who exploit young and vulnerable people in Avon and Somerset that the South West is no place for drugs. In other news, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Claire Hiscott as my Deputy PCC to support me and my office in ensuring Avon and Somerset Police is an effective, efficient and legitimate police service. Claire was a councillor for eight years in the Horfield Ward area, a cabinet member for education and skills, and an area chairman for Bristol and Gloucestershire Conservatives. With the recent publication of my Police and Crime Plan, work is well underway in delivering against my priorities and
With Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Shelford objectives. I know Claire has a particular interest in violence against women and girls as well as disproportionality, and I look forward to her supporting me in these workstreams. Claire will also support me on engagement days, meeting with local people, partners and organisations to find out how we can support them and address their police and crime concerns.
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n THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
Resurrection story brings hope at this difficult time WE are still struggling with Covid, although we hope the worst is behind us. Then in February we witnessed the devastation in Ukraine. Our minds cannot fathom how such tragedy can happen. In these desperate trials we can easily ask ourselves does God really care, is he part of our world, does he understand suffering? The Easter story answers that question. Jesus came into a society oppressed by a foreign governing power, and they crucified him. The son of God suffered greatly in this world. The bible explains why. Firstly, his life was a sacrifice that paid the penalty for the sin of the world. Secondly, by going through death and rising again, he taught us not to fear death and to have hope that a better day is coming and thirdly through his suffering he is able to comfort those who suffer. The cross shows
us that God loves us. He calls us to follow him in acts of love. We have been inspired by acts of outstanding courage and love in and around Ukraine. Many people have opened their homes in compassion and in such difficult times this too gives us hope. Hope that all is not lost, hope that something good can come from this, things we were not expecting. Jesus’ s followers were not expecting Jesus to rise from the dead, they thought his death was the end even though he had told them otherwise. They had found it hard to understand that his death was a new beginning. Jesus compared his death to a seed. To give life a seed must be buried in the ground. If it is not, it remains alone just a single seed. When planted the seed disappears, like it is dead, but something new grows in its place
as a plant which flowers and in the flower, there are hundreds of new seeds. One becomes many. When Jesus died his body was buried in a tomb, but then he was raised to life, he did not come back to life, he was resurrected with a new body. It was a body that in one sense was the same as the old one because the old body was no longer there but it was a new body with big differences. It would not suffer pain again; it was a powerful body. Not a ghost, a real body. Jesus’s resurrection was the beginning of a new creation in which at the right season all things will be made new. Spring reminds us of that new creation. In spring, new life appears all around us. We have new hope. Easter teaches us to look forward to that new creation when Jesus will come back and make things new and there will be no more
Tony Davies Leader, Waterbrook Church death, and sorrow and pain will be gone. But now we watch and pray that we will see signs of that new life now, that by God’s Spirit hope will come bringing peace and reconciliation and love to our world.
Museum expansion approved Loft Boarding & Insulation FRENCHAY Village Museum is set to expand after being given planning permission for an extension. Councillors on South Gloucestershire's development management committee approved the scheme despite planning officers’ advice to reject it. Applicants the Frenchay Tuckett Society said the museum, in a historic former estate lodge, needed to expand because of a lack of storage space for artefacts or a toilet. Officers had said the "substantial scale and inappropriate design", with black vertical cladding material, would harm the building and its setting in a conservation area. But the meeting heard it would be "absurd" to refuse the application on heritage grounds when hundreds of new homes were being built on the site of the former Frenchay Hospital next door. Members voted 6-3 in March to approve the plans, after visiting the site for themselves. Frenchay ward Winterbourne parish councillor Hugh Whatley told the committee that the volunteer-staffed museum at
Begbrook Park has an international reputation. He said: "The museum has amassed an impressive collection of nearly 1,000 objects and artefacts. "Space and environmental constraints prevent the proper conservation and display of many items. "Cramped spaces inhibit outreach – a school class group can’t be accommodated in one go." South Gloucestershire cabinet member and Frenchay & Downend ward councillor Ben Burton said: “Residents of Frenchay would find it absurd that this authority could approve the building of hundreds of new homes in the grounds of the old Frenchay Hospital site but would then refuse this modest and locally-supported application on heritage grounds." He said the design was sympathetic to its surroundings and would ensure the museum was fit for the future. Calls from planning committee members Jayne Stansfield and Tristan Clark to defer a decision to find more suitable materials were rejected. By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service
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n NEWS
April, 2022
New services to help Bristol cancer patients A CENTRE for cancer patients and their families is expanding its services and is urging people who could benefit to find out more. The National Garden Scheme Macmillan Wellbeing Centre at Southmead Hospital is running workshops and talks throughout April for people living with cancer and their carers. The centre opened seven years ago but had to provide more online and telephone services during the pandemic, while adapting its face-to-face services for vulnerable patients. Now improvements at the NGS centre, which provides a place for people affected by cancer to come for information and support, are being funded by Macmillan Cancer Support and Southmead Hospital Charity. 'Cancer navigator' and former support worker Sue Mitchell said:
Cancer navigator Sue Mitchell
"Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be a time of real uncertainty for all concerned. It can also be a really lonely time. "The NGS Macmillan Wellbeing Centre is there to provide vital reassurance and support when people need it most."
Sue provides support for new and late diagnosis cancer patients, people receiving palliative care and their families, including support and advice on everything from benefits, wills, and funeral planning to providing free parking passes for hospital visits.
She said cancer patients who are being treated at Southmead Hospital should ask to see a cancer navigator as soon as they can, adding: "I am here to help and provide support wherever I can. "The more people who know about the service, the more I can hopefully help." Support Centre Manager Rachel Townsley said the centre was "an oasis of calm" for patients, their families and friends providing advice and services on both journeys to recovery and endof-life care. The building is open for booked appointments, and anyone who is affected by cancer can call 0117 414 7051 on weekdays or email wellbeingcentre@nbt.nhs.uk. Information is available online by searching for NGS Macmillan Wellbeing Centre at www.nbt. nhs.uk.
n PLANNING MATTERS WITH CHRIS GOSLING
Feeling the squeeze? A THEME that I keep returning to is lack of space. Living in a city, in particular, it is a daily constraint – the need to share road space on an everyday basis in particular, where dedicated bus lanes are needed to give public transport any chance. I have also covered issues such as the need to preserve the amount of open space against the need for housing, and how off-street parking requirements eat into garden sizes. In the end, planning is all about space, be that public or private, and there is a growing emphasis on how it should be shared – not just with other humans. This month, once again, the natural world comes under the spotlight, with secondary legislation to implement the 2021 Environment Act. This is looking likely to add a further dimension to the planning system. There is an encouraging degree of 'joined-up thinking' going on between government departments on the environment.
There is an opportunity afforded by Brexit for the country to forge its own way towards a 2030 international commitment to halt the decline in species and to increase species abundance by 10% within the following 12 years. This also involves the protection of 30% of the nation‘s land area by 2030. It is a challenging target. How we get there is also a challenge, and the joined-up thinking will be crucial in achieving the aim. Given that all land has a use, either authorised or inherited, and it is planning that governs when the uses change, planning is the natural home for this. However, the creation of a system of Biodiversity Net Gain will add a new highly legalistic burden to a planning system already at full stretch. It is likely to become an obligation relating to lesser forms of development, not just new estates. The starting position will have to be full knowledge of species and their habitats, which is in itself a considerable undertaking. The meagre
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government funding for this would suggest that most local authorities already possess this sort of up-to-date information. Let’s assume (erroneously) that they do, and that this database can be provided in real time to the public and development industry. That brings us to an important principle: to date, the usual approach is to make some allowance for protected species on the development site itself. This usually means a nominal strip where bats and badgers can roam, just the other side of the fence from an overlit patio. You can imagine how effectively that works out when, for instance, grass clippings get dumped over said fence. Hopefully we will also see the end of the sad sight of short stretches of natural hedgerow that don’t connect to a network. What has been suggested instead of these well-meaning but all too often failed measures is a trading system where more effective (and normally larger) pieces of land elsewhere can do their bit to create more effective
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habitats. Under this trading mechanism, developers will be able to transfer their on-site habitat obligation somewhere else, where more effective conservation can occur, with a 30-year obligation for the landowner to maintain that land appropriately. That offers an income stream to farmers and landowners looking to diversify from traditional agriculture towards land husbandry. That is the thinking in broad terms. It will be for the secondary legislation to add more detail. With habitats in sharp decline, there is very little likelihood of a second chance to get this right. Chrisgoslingplanning@gmail.com
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n HOME CARE & FUNDING
Tom Jackson, Commercial Lead
Improve your Energy Performance Certificate to help slash your energy costs We’re all feeling the squeeze on our finances as the rate of inflation and living costs go up and energy prices continue to soar. Ofcom’s increase to the energy price cap will double household energy bills and push some households into fuel poverty. Now is the time to take action to improve our homes to save money. At Lendology CIC, we’re here to support homeowners to improve their homes. If you’re a homeowner, you’ll know that the need to maintain your home doesn’t go away and can often be costly. But don’t worry, you don’t need to have savings to be able to make these essential repairs. We work in partnership with Bristol City Council to provide accessible funds to a range of homeowners including those who are selfemployed, in receipt of benefits, or retired. Since 2005, we’ve lent over £3 million to homeowners across the city to fund home repairs and improvements and our holistic and flexible approach means that people make our decisions, not credit scores. A recent Bristol homeowner who benefited from the loan scheme said “Go ahead and apply! Lendology really takes care of their customers with reasonable lending rates that gives you peace of mind.” By improving your home, you can look to
We Care & Repair
5 Hide Market, Waterloo Road, Bristol BS2 0BH 0300 323 0700 www.wecr.org.uk info@wecr.org.uk Ellie Lister Service Delivery Manager
Lendology
www.lendology.org.uk, loans@lendology.org.uk, and 01823 461099
reduce your carbon emissions and potentially save money on your energy bills. You can find out how efficient your home is rated by looking at the energy performance certificate most commonly known as an EPC. The EPC is based on a home inspection and measures your property’s C02 emissions to calculate how efficient it is. The scale goes from A-G, with A being the most efficient and G the least. One way to lower your bills and increase your energy rating is to ensure your home is well insulated or install new low-carbon technologies. Your EPC will include recommendations to increase your
energy rating and lower your bills. For energy advice, please contact local energy advice organisations such as the Centre for Sustainable Energy. To apply for a home improvement loan, call Lendology on 01823 461099, email loans@ lendology.org.uk or visit www.lendology.org. uk For more information on the services provided by We Care Home Improvements, call 0300 323 0700 or visit www.wecr.org.uk * For qualifying works as determined by Bristol City Council, you may be entitled to a a £1,000 loan reduction for works costing £2,000 or over, or 50% contribution for works under £2,000. This is a financial promotion approved by Lendology CIC. Lendology CIC is a trading name of Wessex Resolutions C.I.C.: a community interest company limited by guarantee, registered in England, company number 4512225. Registered address: Heatherton Park Studios, Bradford on Tone, Taunton TA4 1EU. Wessex Resolutions C.I.C is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (675263) for credit regulated activities.
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Working in partnership with We Care Home Improvements and Lendology CIC, the partnership takes the stress out of funding and finding contractors for home repairs, improvements or adaptations. If you are a homeowner, of any age, and need to make essential repairs to your home, call us today for more information. Works covered under the scheme include roof repair, electrical and plumbing work, damp and structural remedies, heating installations or replacement, amongst other works.
For an informal chat about the loan scheme and eligibility, call Lendology on 01823 461099, email loans@lendology.org.uk or visit www.lendology.org.uk
For more information on the services provided by We Care Home Improvements, call 0300 323 0700 or visit www.wecr.org.uk
*Subject to eligibility. **A maximum reduction of £1,000 from an approved loan over £2,000. For loans £2,000 or less, the reduction will be 50% of the loan value. Budget is limited and will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. Typical Example (4% fixed interest rate, Typical 4.2% APR). Borrow £5,000 over 60 months. £92.08 monthly repayments. Total amount repayable = £5,544.96, including £20 fee for registering the Title Restriction. Missing payments could affect your credit rating and ability to obtain credit in the future. Loans are subject to status and are typically protected by a Title Restriction. This means that you may not be able to sell your home without our permission unless the loan is fully repaid. This is a financial promotion approved by Lendology CIC. Lendology CIC is a trading name of Wessex Resolutions C.I.C.: a community interest company limited by guarantee, registered in England, company number 4512225. Registered address: Heatherton Park Studios, Bradford on Tone, Taunton TA4 1EU. Wessex Resolutions C.I.C is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (675263) for credit regulated activities.
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April, 2022
n SPORT
Jake is Western Counties champ JAKE Edwards has become the latest Downend Boxing Club member to become a Western Counties champion. The 15-year-old boxer won his divisional round at the Harry Crook Centre with a points win over William Palmer of Barton Hill boxing club, before securing the championship against Dion Lee from Factory boxing club of Gloucester, following a fastpaced contest that took place in Dursley. On March 12 former Downend boxer Callum Smith commenced his professional career with a points win over Viktor Vezhlivtsev at the Vale Sports Arena, Cardiff. Younger brother Bradley Smith returned to the ring after an absence of three years the following day at the Harry Crook Centre, when Downend boxing held the first open tournament following the pandemic. Bradley faced Ricky Barrett
Jake Edwards and sister Eloise (front) with coaches Mark Moore and Craig Turner, and proud dad Lee of SweatBox Bedminster in a tough contest that seemingly saw the Downend boxer land cleaner shots. To everyone’s surprise the decision went to Ricky but the
appreciative audience recognised both guys’ efforts with generous applause. The youngest of the Smith boxing brothers, 10-year-old
Kadon, made his boxing debut in a skills contest against Tyler Devlin of Pat Benson’s boxing academy, Birmingham. Also featuring were first timers Tommy Pring, Austin Strange, Adam Vorgee, Tom Davis and, in his first real contest, Charlie Bell, who was expecting to box a skills bout when at the last minute it turned into a competitive contest that saw him perform brilliantly. Also featured were Arthur Tipping (16), Makenzie Lawrence (15) and, taking part in his first senior contest, 18-year-old Jay Holloway. Another Downend boxer making a successful debut was Jasmine Pool, 21, who faced tough opposition in Carys Mainwaring, of Llanrumney Phoenix, Cardiff. At the end of a hard-fought bout, the decision went to the Downend girl. Craig Turner
Mission to explain epilepsy A Team approach to healthcare.
Supporting Premiership Football, Rugby, 2012 Olympics and World Athletic Championship 2017 Chiropractic & Physiotherapy Back & Leg Pain, Sciatica Sports Massage Headaches & Migraines Trapped Nerves Repetitive Strain Injuries Occupational Injuries Sports Injury Specialist Competitively priced
The practice of pain relief Member of the British Chiropractic Association
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A MUM from Soundwell has donated more than 180 information packs about epilepsy to GP surgeries, hospital wards, schools and libraries in the area. Sarah Reid, who developed the condition after suffering a head injury in childhood, has been fundraising for 16 years, including five years of collections at Downend Co-op, and has raised almost £17,000 for charities in that time. Her most recent fundraising paid for the information packs, which include a book called Epilepsy Book for Kids, written by her then seven-year-old daughter Layla in 2012, as well as child-friendly epilepsy first aid leaflets and stickers. Sarah put the packs together and delivered 100 to the local NHS office, 41 to Bristol City Council to distribute to schools and libraries and another 41 for South Gloucestershire Council. The latest batch brings to 500 the number of packs Sarah has donated over the past five years.
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Layla's book is available via Amazon and publishers IngramSpark, for £6.50 plus postage. Sarah said: "Every copy sold means money for epilepsy charities." Anyone who wants one of Sarah's epilepsy information packs can message her via Facebook by searching for Sarah Layla Reid. Sarah will now fundraise for the charities which gave leaflets for the packs, including Young Epilepsy and the Epilepsy Society, and will also collect donations for food banks at the same time.
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n ON THE TREATMENT TABLE
We’re ready to put a spring in your step! AT Cleve Chiropractic, we always like to be at the forefront of medical technology. So, in partnership with FoothealthUK– fit4U, we have become a 'microlab' for the scanning, prescription and printing of custom orthotics and insoles. We have purchased and are using what is, in effect, a posh 3D printer with a special composite to create bespoke insoles, sandals and flip flops. These insoles are so unique to the individual’s special requirements that we look not just at scanning the 3D image of your feet, but also how they’re performing and coping with everyday life. Do your arches collapse? Do you struggle to bend your big toe? Do you have plantar fasciitis or heel pain? Do you have mechanical issues with your feet that you suspect could affect problems higher up in your body – for example knee, back and neck pain? Are you getting Achilles problems when you are running? This machine can even design insoles for high heels, football boots and work shoes! As a special microlab, we now accept scans from all over Bristol and the wider UK, so why not come to us directly? All of our practitioners are trained to help you, so book in now to take advantage of a special introductory rate on offer for a limited time.
with Tim Button, Doctor of Chiropractic at Cleve Chiropractic and Next Step in Mangotsfield
0117 957 5388
drtimbutton@cleve chiropractic.com www.clevechiropractic.com facebook.com/clevechiro twitter.com/clevechiro
Dele working at the GB Master athletics While you’re thinking about getting out and exercising in the springtime, this could be the perfect way to ensure that your feet are behaving themselves – this is such an important aspect of health and fitness to get right. Talking of fitness at the very highest levels, we’re honoured to have been selected to work with the athletes at this year’s Commonwealth Games, which are taking place in and around Birmingham during July and August. I’m so pleased that Cleve Chiropractic colleagues Catherine and Lucy and I will be part of the star-studded Games ‘family’. We’re
looking forward to the fantastic experience that working with elite athletes at a major event always provides. Back at the grass roots level, Dele – another of our talented staff members – was recently selected to help out at the GB Indoor Masters Track and Field Championships. He had a great time treating some of our athletes and using his well-honed chiropractic sports skills trackside. Dele is a former Welsh international 100 metres sprinter and it won’t be long before he makes the transition to Masters athletics. We think he's a little older than
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he looks but he still has the game! Fun fact: in the clinic, Dele's sprint prowess has helped him smash the record for fastest person to the biscuit tin... But seriously, Dele could be the perfect partner to help with all your sports chiropractic requirements. He has gained an International Certificate in Sports Chiropractic (ICSC), which allows him to treat athletes at the highest level of their sport. He understands the drive and ambition it takes to compete at your best and the chiropractic treatments that can make sure you achieve your potential. By tailoring individual treatments and rehabilitation exercises, Dele is passionate about helping you achieve your goals.
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n WHAT’S ON IN OUR AREA April 2 n HILLFIELDS COMMUNITY GARDEN SPRING FAIR, noon to 3pm. Event for the whole community to celebrate the beginnings of spring, hear the garden team's plans for the year ahead, find out about volunteering and other ways to get involved. Treasure hunt, nature-based storytelling and activities for kids. For help attending and more information email hillfieldscommunitygarden@gmail.com April 8 n LUNCHTIME CONCERT BY THE DUO ‘BONNER AND BLAKE’ at St. Mary’s Church, Manor Road, Fishponds, 1pm - 2pm April 19
n DOWNEND GARDENING IN RETIREMENT CLUB, 10.15am, the Assembly Hall, Salisbury Road. Non-members welcome at £3, including tea or coffee. May 2 n PHOENIX ART CLUB, who meet at Stapleton Church Hall, are holding a free Affordable Art Show at Iron Acton Parish Hall, 10am-4pm, alongside village May Day events. Exhibition of portraits, landscapes and abstracts in a range of different mediums: watercolours, oils, acrylics and pastels. Refreshments and cakes will be on sale. May 7 to May 13 n GREENBANK BOWLING CLUB, Open Days, 10am-1pm. Why not give bowls a try? Sport for
all ages. For more information or to arrange an introductory session call Graham Godfrey on 0117 965 7822 Easter n BRUNEL'S SS GREAT BRITAIN, the 'world's smelliest museum', already includes hundreds of sights, sounds and smells. However, this Easter, they're inviting visitors to rate the smells and help choose new ones! Experience the good, the bad and the ugly scents which wafted through the 19th century ship. Find out more and book your tickets at ssgreatbritain.org/easter
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0117 9600296 or 07970122137 info@blueflameservice.co.uk www.blueflameservice.co.uk FULLY ACCREDITED WITH
CREST HEATING & PLUMBING
BOILERS, BATHROOMS AND GENERAL PLUMBING
OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE HONEST & RELIABLE
E-MAIL:
TEL: 07765 250816
sales@fishpondsvoice.co.uk To advertise, contact Shaun Tel 07540 383 870
PLUMBING
Email: sales@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
56746
Got News? Call Ken On 07715 770377
Rajani Superstore WWW.RAJANIS.CO.UK
Maggs Lane, Fishponds Trading Estate, Bristol, BS5 7EW www.rajanis.co.uk Tel: 0117 965 5201
Everything for the Home & Garden this Summer
FERTILIZER BAGS
TOP SOIL & GARDEN TRELLIS
PLANT SEEDS
GARDEN EQUIPMENT
GARDEN FURNITURE
NOW LICENSED TO SELL ALCOHOL
VISIT OUR INSTORE CAFE WHICH SERVES SANDWICHES, LUNCHES, FULL ENGLISH BREAKFASTS HOT AND COLD DRINKS
OPENING HOURS:
Monday to Saturday 9am - 6pm Sunday and Bank Holiday 10am - 4pm