WHAT’S THE PLAN? Don’t miss the first draft plans out this Friday and Saturday By Sam McLellan REGENERATION PROJECT TEAM
Southmead Regeneration is a community-led project which aims to improve the centre of Southmead so that the area can be as vibrant and exciting as the people who live in it. But what has actually been done to achieve this? The journey started in 2012 when work on the Southmead Community Plan began. The Plan is an initiative by Southmead Residents and community stakeholders created to increase the likelihood of Southmead receiving financial investment, to support community groups and residents to work together, and to influence decisions that will have an impact on the neighbourhood. To create it, local residents went doorknocking and had over 900 surveys filled in which produced some invaluable data.
Key points discovered were around the desperate need for more housing to enable residents living in three bedroom semi-detached houses to downsize and to stay in the area. Also for more three bed homes to be available for younger families. The feasibility work that followed identified Glencoyne Square as a site that was underused and misused. It showed that by providing a carefully considered housing strategy in the area, surpluses from the housing provision could be used to reinvest back into the area. Southmead Development Trust (SDT) are looking at improving community facilities, infrastructure and initiatives while providing affordable housing solutions for the community. As a community owned and run organisation, it is important to SDT to make sure we are doing our best for our residents and so we have put huge emphasis on the levels of community engagement throughout the process. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
This Saturday: Politics with Daz in the Greenhouse Café MP Darren Jones is holding his next informal chat about local or national politics at: Greenhouse Cafe, Greenway Centre, 10.30 - 12.00 on Saturday 8th September (Cafe open 0900 - 16.00) Want a bit of background on Darren? Read the ‘Dazza & Sher’ interview on pages 6 & 7.