(CHIS)
Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society
CHIS News
CHIS IS 40 YEARS OLD THIS YEAR!The following news items are listed with the latest items first.
Save Alma Vale Rd Post Office
20 March 2008:Sign this Petition too
We call upon the Council to follow the splendid example of Essex, and act to save our local post offices from closure. These are the places where people meet and chat, and they keep the local community spirit alive, more than any other shops. Many elderly and disabled people meet their neighbours there, and would find it difficult to reach other post offices. Local businesses, too, value them highly. Closing them strikes at the heart of local communities.
6 March 2008: Alma Vale Rd Post Office will close without your help.
The proposed closure is June 2008 and the deadline for comments is April 9 Please sign the petition in the Post Office or write to: Network Development Manager, Post Office Ltd., C/O National Consultation team, FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM Give your address, and the address of the Post Office (60-62 Alma Vale Rd) and state why you use this Post Office in preference to the others, how long you have been using it, and what you use it for. See the flier
Sutton House, bottom of Canygne Rd
Application No. 08/01666/H Sutton House Clifton Down Bristol BS8 3HT Date Received 8 April 2008, Date Registered 15 April 2008Proposal Demolition and reconstruction of front boundary wall using salvaged and new matching material, realigning and widening the access. Alterations to the existing modern gates and repairs to side boundary walls and construction of dwarf wall following access drive.
A bit late- it went at the begining of March!
 front wall gone |  dormer window |
 balustrade |  no balustrade |
- (i) a suburban 'dormer' window in the important rear mansard roof slope.
This is not an appropriate element within the Conservation Area nor an appropriate alteration to this Listed Building whose preservation is in your care. See the adjoining Auburn house to show how the roof did and should be. The two houses are a symmetrical pair, together forming an important villa. - (ii) what appear to be metal or pvc windows placed forward of the original sash windows, Such alterations are completely without precedent and are unacceptable.
- (iii) At the front of the house, the stone balustrading above the front entrance and arch has now been removed without consent (as the front wall was demolished).
- (iv) Demolition of front wall
- (v) Reducing level of front garden, with damage to roots of tree resulting in the need to fell for safety reasons.
- (vi) Laying of wide black tarmac drive and car parking area in contravention of recent Canynge Road appeal decision.
- (vii) Un-authorised stripping of interior of property at basement and second floor level, with removal of original panel doors
Sutton House (near the Lord Mayors House)
- The Bath stone and local random coursed and squared rubble stone front wall has been demolished, and not a single stone salvaged for re-use. The continuity of this wall if of fundamental architectural and historical importance to the Promenade of which this is an extension. No foundation has been dug for the rebuilding of the wall.
- No application for Listed Building consent has been made as far as we are aware.
- Since then we understand that statues and panelled doors have been thrown out and the basement and second floor stripped out.
- All original plasterwork, cornices, fireplaces and joinery have been removed or destroyed at these levels.
- It is the Planning Department's responsibility, and not ours, to ensure this does not happen.
- We now require a stop order to be served on the owner forthwith and proceedings to be instigated with respect to the illegal demolition of the front wall and demolition of the interior features. We will of course expect full and expert reinstatement.
Brunel Swivel Bridge
This project has been supported by CHIS for many years Brunel Swivel Bridge |
 Brunel Swivel Bridge |
 Brunel Swivel Bridge |
 Brunel Swivel Bridge |
The Cumberland Basin will be made much easier to use for pedestrians and cyclists, and Brunel's Swivel Bridge,
which has been closed since the late 1960s, will be reopened. It is likely that £250,000 is earmarked for its restoration.
David Neale and Ross Floyd's illustrated web page
on The Bristol City Docks, The Locks and Brunel's Swivel Bridge
Sustrans submission to Council
Plaque Unveiling
Sunday 3rd February 2008 (noon)- Australia Day ceremony in front of the Clifton Club to replace the CHIS plaque in memory of Erancis Greenway who designed the then Hotel and Assembly Rooms for the Clifton Spa and became known as the father of Australian ArchitectureARE YOU AN ARTIST?
DO YOU LIVE IN CLIFTON, HOTWELLS, CLIFTONWOOD OR SPIKE ISLAND?Here is an important date for your diary!
The first ever
WEST BRISTOL ART TRAIL
will take place on October 18th & 19th 2008!
What ever your skills, here is an exciting opportunity for you to show and sell your artwork by opening your own home, by exhibiting in another artists home or joining a group of artists in a variety of local venues.
If you are interested in taking part, please contact Anna at
Hotwells and Cliftonwood Community Association, 0117 929 1883, admin@hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk
This community event is being organised by local people for the pleasure of local people.
Don’t forget to tell your artist friends about the WEST BRISTOL ART TRAIL 2008!
Sponsored by CHIS and others. Supported by HCCA
Redland Police Station
12 October 07: There are possible plans to close Redland Police Station in 2008. Please oppose this by writing to your local councillor and to Stephen Williams MP at the House of Commons, London. The police have asked us to help them fight the closure. As one policeman said to me "It is bad enough being beaten up in the area without the likelihood of being beaten up again in Bridewell". Details about RedlandLandmark Hotel's Life on the Edge
Evening Post, Tuesday, September 4, 2007One of the most iconic hotels in Bristol is being sold for £15.5 million. MAURICE FELLS looks at the past and future of the historic Avon Gorge Hotel.
Perched next to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, overlooking the scenic Avon Gorge, the Avon Gorge Hotel is one of the best known venues in Bristol. The 76-bedroom Victorian landmark has had a long and colourful history since it opened in 1898 when the great and the good used to stay at what was then known as the Grand Spa Hotel to take the waters at the Royal Clifton Spa next door.
In years gone by, newly qualified RAF pilots used to fly under the Clifton Suspension Bridge, to be toasted by their officers standing on the hotel's terrace, as part of their initiation ceremony
Now a new chapter in the hotel's history begins as plans are finalised for its sale to Westburyon-Trym-based New Light Hotels. The £15.5 million sale, by London-based Peel Hotels, was due to be completed yesterday with executives of New Light Hotels expected to move in immediately Included in the deal is a town house in nearby Caledonia Place, which is used by hotel staff.
New Light is a recently-formed subsidiary of Swire Properties Hotels Holdings, and is based in the Old School House in Eastfield Road. It is part of one of the world's biggest business groups, the Hong Kong and London-based Swire Group, employing some 113,000 people in Asia, the Pacific Rim, Australia, America and the United Kingdom. They work in the shipping, property, aviation, beverage, marine services and industrial trading sectors. The group owns Cathay Pacific Airlines and is Hong Kong's biggest property developer.
While such a major investment will boost Bristol's economy, the news has been received with caution by the hotel's neighbours. Mary-Jane Cembrowicz, chair of the 100-strong Hotel Action Group, said: "Whilst renovations of the parts of the hotel that have been neglected for decades is welcomed, there are still concerns by neighbours and local members of the Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society "These are about proposed plans to more than double the capacity of the hotel to 1,180 mostly non-residents. "We hope the new owners will be able to take a long, hard look at the existing development plans and consider their impact on the amenities of the neighbourhood, parking and the environment in Bristol's most famous beauty spot. "The hotel deserves to be more than merely an alcohol outlet."
News of the sale had not come entirely as a surprise to locals, who said rumours had been circulating for some months. One man, who did not wish to be named, said: "This hotel has to be one of the West Country's premier sites for tourism and anyone who wants to develop around here should take that into account. "If they want to increase the number of customers they have to consider the extra cars, for one thing. The narrow streets are already choked, day and night. "The new owners should call an early meeting of people living around here to tell us about their plans. We don't want to find out about developments when they're submitted to the planners."
The hotel, known as the Grand Spa until 1975 and owned by the Smith-Cox family of Clevedon, has long been at the centre of protests.
- In 1971 the owners applied for planning permission to build an eight-storey hotel block on the rock face of the Gorge itself, just yards from Clifton Suspension Bridge. This created a furore, as views of the bridge were threatened. Petitions and letters of objection were sent by the sack-load. It culminated in the Government ordering a public inquiry into the scheme. During the nine-day hearing at the Council House, probably the most influential objector emerged as the architect and poet John Betjeman, later to be appointed by the Queen as Poet Laureate. He told the inquiry inspector that the proposed hotel "was old-fashioned and a monster and utterly unsuitable for this site. The Avon Gorge is a natural piece of unique scenery and should not be spoilt." The Environment Minister eventually threw the scheme out.
- In 1990 campaigners fought plans to demolish the hotel's Pump Room and build over the upper station of the adjoining Clifton to Hotwells Rocks Railway, which is also owned by the hotel.
- Two years ago the Hotel Action Group was formed after what one neighbour described as "dramatic plans by the Peel Group to virtually rebuild the hotel". This involved a film package, including restoration of the old ballroom for conferences and exhibitions with a glass pavilion atrium built above it, nine extra bedrooms and the creation of a health club in the basement. Plans for a car park on the terraces which are overlooked by the suspension bridge were abandoned after objections by neighbours. While two of the planning applications have been withdrawn because of controversy, others have yet to be determined by Bristol City Council.
The new owners have already contacted the group of volunteers restoring the world's only four-track funicular railway, the Clifton Rocks Railway Restoration officer Maggie Shapland said: "I emailed them on Thursday night and on Friday morning I had a reply from the marketing director offering to meet us. I am delighted and very impressed that they got in touch so quickly We shall also be meeting the operations director and the hotel manager" She said the chairman of Peel Hotels was not only happy for them to do restoration work but also allowed them to hold their meetings in the hotel. "We were on edge a bit when we first heard the news as we have just formed a company called Clifton Rocks Funicular Railway Limited. We are also in the process of obtaining charitable status."
The disposal of the hotel is the second recent property sale for the Peel group. A week earlier it sold the freehold of three-quarters of an acre of land with planning permission for 99 new apartments, office space and car parking in Salem Street, Bradford, for £2m. Chairman Robert Peel said the deals will clear the company's debts with both sales being for cash. His group will continue to own and operate eight other hotels. He denied that poor performance by the Avon Gorge was to blame for its sale, calling it "one of the most popular hotels" in the group. Attributable earnings for the hotel for the year ending February 1 were £747,694 before interest, tax and depreciation.
REMEMBERING HOPE CENTRE & CELEBRATING HOTWELLS PANTOMIME
From 2 October until 25 October there will be an exhibition at the Create Centre of the history of Hope Centre which was the local community centre for 25 years. The interesting archive of pictures and reports will bring back memories of the many events that were held there and the people who performed and went on to be known nationally. There will be photographs and costumes from the excellent pantomimes which were produced over the years.Climate Change debate
10 Jul 07 Press release from the Civic Trust: The "Every Action Counts" campaign is utilising the vast network of local community groups to spread the word on climate change; how small everyday actions taken by enough people can lead to large scale change.Emma Montlake (Campaign Coordinator) has written a document and is hoping that it may encourage debate amongst Civic Trust affiliated Civic Societies. She is also interested in learning what Civic Societies are undertaking themselves and whether there is any feeling amongst Civic Societies, that there is a level at which they have a civic responsibility to actively engage with their members in the debates surrounding climate change, or not.
Please contact her by email: emontlake@civictrust.org.uk
or
Write to: The Civic Trust, Essex Hall, 1-6 Essex Street, London. WC2R 3HU
Secretarial Assistance Needed
Can anyone help Brian our chairman with secretarial assistance for about 6 hours per month?Ten Ideas for CHIS
We would be interested to know if you have any bright ideas for Clifton projects to make Clifton an even better place to live! Contact Maggie.Shapland@bristol.ac.ukSuspension Bridge Toilets
20 March 07: There has been an arson attack at the
Suspension Bridge Toilets. The roof works are likely to be completed by the end of April, and internal work take another 6 weeks. The building
may be closed for between 12 and 20 weeks.
Robert Smith Unit, 11 Mortimer Road: Proposed unit to treat class A drug users
27 September 2006: AWP decide not to pursue the use of 11 Mortimer Road as a drug clinic! The next step would have been on 18 October 2006: Decision by Scrutiny Commission about whether the clinic constitutes a substantial variation of serviceMore details about the 9 month fight
Suspension bridge Lights
The highly effective lights were switched on on the 8th April 2006 at 9:15pm with a fantastic display ofhuge and cascading fireworks
Photos courtesy of Tom Scammel
There was a demonstration of the new lights12 May 9:15 2005. Pictures:
- View from the lookout
- Lights on the chains
- Lights on the walk way- these can be dimmed down
Useful websites:
- BBC
- Clifton Online
- Redland and Cotham Amenities Society
- Bristol Civic Society
- Network of Residents' Association
- Civic Trust
- Bristol Evening Post
- Clifton Chronicle
- Bristol City Council
- BBC
- multimap. Enter a postcode (Smiths, Regent Street, Clifton is BS8 4DU where the bus stops), and see a detailed map of the area.
- Clifton Suspension Bridge website
- Clifton Rocks Railway website