Inclusion Southmead and Team Southmead celebrated a victory in Doncastor Rd Park this year, finally changing the gates to give disabled access. Unbelievably, this was a five-year battle. In my own experience I have found phone calls and emails to the council to discuss re-wilding the Trym Valley and increasing biodiversity also somehow get lost in the ether.
But is something about to change?
This year a conversation is starting about the future of Bristol’s parks. Vital for our health, wellbeing, biodiversity and the centre of our community, everyone recognises the importance of our local green spaces. And whereas once the council funded and ran all the parks in their way, the Bristol Future Parks team is looking for a new, inclusive, and innovative way to use and fund the green spaces.
Ideally, they want communities to come up with ideas about how to invest in and use their local parks. These ‘Expressions of Interest’ will then be explored and if they get a go-ahead the Future Parks team will support and help match up funders and volunteers to make the plans happen.
The ‘Sustainable Southmead’ group would love to put in a plan for the Trymside/ Trym Valley park (between Doncaster Rd and Shetland Rd). Does your house back on to this ground? Do you use it to walk your dog or to cut through the estate? Do you hate the flytipping which happens there? Find us on https://www.facebook.com/SustainableSouthmead/ to tell us your ideas!
We’d also love to support you if you’ve got a dream for your local park or patch of green: whether it’s Fonthill, Pen Park, Lanercost or Brentry Lane, all our green spaces are vital and this is our opportunity to secure funding and care for them.