southbristolvoice
8
March 2017
n NEWS ‘Nothing to hide’ in Green Capital THE REPORT into Bristol Green Capital Year 2015, ordered by mayor Marvin Rees, has decided that suspicions about its finances were “totally unfounded”. Ex-Bristol West MP Stephen Williams had wanted more detail of how the arms-length company set up by the council, Bristol 2015 Ltd, had spent £12.5 million. But a report by former Audit Commission boss Steve Bundred said the company had nothing to hide, and the Green Capital year was a great success. The company was run by Nicola Yates, the council’s chief executive. She received a separate salary for her Green Capital role, and would not answer questions at a council audit committee last March. She left the council last year. Former mayor George Ferguson praised the report, saying he had given Mr Bundred a long and detailed interview about Green Capital.
Fear that RC church will sell Holy Cross for development DISMAY has greeted news that Holy Cross Roman Catholic church in Dean Lane has closed. Less than four weeks’ notice of the closure, due to take effect on February 27, was given by the RC Bishop of Clifton, Rt Rev Declan Lang. The bishop said that every effort had been made to keep the building open – but it needs £500,000 in repairs, a bill which the church can’t meet. Many fear that the church and the presbytery, where the priest lived, will now be sold off for housing. The church says no decisions have been taken, and services for the 150 or so worshippers will be held at Holy Cross primary school next door. Worshippers from Bedminster and further afield reacted with dismay. Holy Cross is the only
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Holy Cross: Closure is sudden Roman Catholic church in the city where Latin mass is read. One long-term worshipper said he believed the £500,000 repair bill was ”an excuse” to allow the church to sell the site for what he claimed would be £5 million. “The people of Bristol and Bedminster are all disgusted at the diocese accepting 30 pieces of silver, as Judas did to betray Jesus,” he told the Voice. Another worshipper said: “I question why this situation has been allowed to develop over the years. I am disillusioned that the Catholic church, one of the world’s richest organisations, should put finance before religion.” A third member of the congregation told the Voice: “The
decision has come as a surprise to the congregation and those that know the church. “I would argue that rather than sell the whole site the accommodation at the side of the church could be sold to raise the money. It would be tragic if a place so full of memories and prayers was to close.” Bishop Declan said the work needed was too extensive. At a meeting with parishioners on February 9, he said the church needed complete rewiring, roof repairs, fire safety work and damp repairs. It was feared the church would have to be shut in December 2015, he said, but stopgap repairs had kept it open. “This has been a very difficult decision to make,” he said. A spokesperson for the diocese told the Voice that all options are being considered for the building. He would not speculate on whether it would be sold or used for housing, or anything else. A feasibility study is expected to take some months. “Our priority is to provide a place of worship for the parish,” he said. Mass will be said at the school for the time being, but a new venue is being sought. “I am gutted – our family have always been a part of Holy Cross – communions, weddings and funerals from our family,” said one man on Facebook. • Letters: page 19
Voice joins news debate THE Voice series of magazines – currently 13 across the Bristol area – will be part of a debate about the challenges facing the city’s media in an age of declining revenues and “fake news” . Representatives from the city’s media, including the Bristol Post, the BBC, ITV, Bristol 24/7 and the Bristol Cable will be present. Called Local News Matters, it’s on March 24 at the Watershed and is organised by the Bristol branch of the National Union of Journalists. The debate will ask how well the city is being served by its
news organisations, and look at the many challenges they face. The number of journalists serving the city has plummeted in the last decade. There have been cutbacks at the BBC, ITV, and the city’s newspapers, which have seen their advertising income shrink in the face of competition from the internet. Many people now expect their news to be provided for free – leaving news organisations the problem of how to pay for it. For tickets (£6, or £4 for concessions and NUJ members) go to watershed.co.uk
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