February, 2012
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£50,000 lotto funds for Filton play area
A Filton residents’ group is celebrating after securing nearly £50,000 in Lottery funding for a new play area. The Viewpoint Action Group, which is made up of residents from four blocks of flats owned by Merlin Housing Society, has received £49,999 from the Big Lottery Fund’s Community Spaces programme. Together with £35,000 of funding from Merlin, it means the residents now have the funds to build a new play area. The group has been trying to secure funding to build a new play park for the past two years, after the existing one was closed for health and safety reasons by South Gloucestershire Council. Since then the area has been fenced off, leaving children from the flats with nowhere to play.
But all that is about to change, much to the delight of Donna Burgess, chairwoman of the Viewpoint Action Group said: “It’s so exciting. It has taken us two years to get here so we’re really happy to have the money. “We’re hoping it will all be finished in June. It’ll make a huge difference. “The play area was built in the early 1990s and was really looked after by the residents – there was never any vandalism or graffiti. The kids loved it and took a great pride in it as it’s the only space they’ve got really. It’ll be great to have it open again.” Residents and children have been involved in the design of the new park, which includes separate areas for children of different ages. There will be a zip wire for older children, while a
more traditional climbing frame will be installed for younger ones. The group also plan to run some vocational workshops for some of the older children, to give them the chance to learn new skills and make some of the equipment themselves. Community Investment Officer Louisa Massey, who helped the group put their application together, said: “This is great news for the residents. “They’ve worked so hard over the past few years to find the money for this project; their dedication has been really inspiring. “Facilities like this playground are vital for children and we’re really pleased to be working with the residents to make their plans a reality.”
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Keep Filton lights on, councillor urges
Proposals by South Glos Council to turn of some residential street lights in Filton should be resisted, one town councillor has said. Cllr Brian Mead told a meeting of the town council that he believed crime could rise in the area if the cost-cutting measures were implemented. In November it was revealed that street lights could be switched off across Filton for several hours at night under a cost-cutting plan by South Gloucestershire Council. Approval has already been given for a switch-off on sections of the main A38 between midnight and 5am, starting in April, including the stretch between the Filton roundabout and Filton College. But the community is under pressure to sign up for a more wide-ranging scheme – in which more than half the lights in residential areas of Filton could be switched off – as South Glos attempts to reduce its budget for street lighting by £250,000 per year. The authority has already invited other communities to volunteer for the residential switch-off. However the council needs all neighbourhoods in South Glos to take part if the savings are to be made and the decision on Filton may ultimately be taken by district councillors. Cllr Keiran Hyde said experiments in San Francisco with state of the art LED bulbs had led to savings without the need to remove the lighting.
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