Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society (CHIS)The Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project
Richard Bland
What's Happening
- 17 May 09: Park Forum meeting Summary
- 20 April 09: A management plan for the Bristol side of the Gorge has just been published.
Public comment is requested and open until May 29th. The site is
www.bristol.gov.uk/gorgeproposals
It is a big improvement on the first plan. It still includes the idea of , experimentally, using goats, which work well in both Cheddar Gorge and Burrington Combe . Please look at the proposals, and make your own comments. - 21 Feb 09:
Changes to the Iron-age Camp.
At present the huge defencive structures of Clifton Camp, in which the Observatory is situated, are obscured by scrub and self-sown trees that mostly sprang up during the Second World War. The Downs Committee wants to reveal the camp in all its glory, and archaeologists are concerned that the trees, if they fell in a storm, would damage the archaeological evidence concealed in the sub-soil. Provisional plans have been made which will be the subject of public consultation this coming summer. If you have been to the camp in Leigh Woods of the same age, where much clearance has been done by the National Trust, you will know how dramatic the result is. Both camps were designed some 2500 years ago to defend the only feasible crossing of the Avon, which lay between Nightingale Valley in Leigh Woods and the track that became Bridge Valley Road. - Jan 09:
By way of it's first active venture, FOD+AG planned a deep litter collection on the Downs. Its purpose will be to supplement the excellent work done by the Downs
Ranger's team on a regular basis, by removing litter which has accumulated and become hidden in undergrowth but which, in winter, is exposed.
Such litter not only spoils the appearance of the Downs but is also hazardous to it's wildlife in a variety of ways.
FOD+AG have equipemnt and guidance available, and are aware of a groundswell of concern for, and appreciation, the value of the Downs to the people of Bristol. What they now need are VOLUNTEERS willing to offer a little time and energy to promoting it's well-being.
Martin Collins at ( 0117 ) 924 9435.
FOD+AG Membership/subscription (£5 pa) forms will be available on the day.
Please be aware that children are welcome under close adult supervision, and that Bristol City Council insurance does not cover over-75s - 4 Dec 08: The Downs Ranger, Gordon Milward, will start work on Dec 9th on an overgrown area near the top of the Gulley to cut back scrub growth round a series of mature and excellent trees, including the one old yew tree on the Downs. There will also be work on the path down the Gulley, which is often impassably muddy. The work has been approved by Natural England. The aim is to improve the appearance of the area, make it feel safer, with clearer sightlines and clean trunks, make it easier to maintain in the long run, increase the variety of plant species by increasing the amount of sunlight, and thus increasing the insect life, and also improving the drainage of an area that at some time has had heavy soil dumped over the top of the limestone"
Brief summary of Draft Downs Management Plan.
There will be a five year rolling plan based on six themes of Enjoyment, Events, Access, Landscape & Wildlife, Antisocial Behaviour, which will be reviewed and updated annually.The aim is to fit into the Bristol Parks plan for parks that are Safe, Accessible, Clean, Attractive, and are good for Wildlife. The management will seek a Green Flag award from the Civic Trust.
There is a separate English Nature Management Plan for the Gorge, (which overlaps with the Downs in several areas) which should be linked to this plan. There is also a plan for the Iron Age fort, involving progressive removal of scrub and trees, and interpretation. It is intended to standardise furniture, and fencing, to look at signage, litter bins, seating, road crossings, control of grass parking, deal with running track.
It is proposed to bring management in house, to maintain and develop The Gorge and Downs Project, and to seek additional funding. (The annual cost is £221,000, income £75,000). It is intended to establish a Friends organisation as a single group representing the present 31 stakeholders, and have volunteers for monitoring, research, tree wardens, wardening. The plan seeks to improve information, and enforce Bye Laws.
The first year priorities are to examine and propose solutions to following;-
- A visitor point at Sea Walls;
- Disability access and parking;
- Cycle routes;
- Record scrub growth, prepare plan;
- Review furniture, create a design guide for these and fences;
- Open lost views of the Gorge;
- Deal with fairyland;
- Control grass parking;
- Review litter bins;
- Solve running track;
- Monitor plants and other wildlife. Create Marketing plan;
- Examine recycling;
- Create Friends and volunteer Wardens.
Useful links
- Treegazing (including Tony Titchen walks). He has organised walks round Victoria Square, St Andrews churchyard, Royal York Crescent gardens and Canynge Square amongst others
- The Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project
- The Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project
- Clifton Garden Society. Contact Person: David Speller, 9 Dowry Road, Bristol BS8 4PR.
- The Tree Register of notable trees in Britain and Ireland