Stretching from Muller Road in Horfield all the way to the M32, Purdown is a valuable innercity green space, and NE6 designated wildlife corridor, rich in history and ecological diversity.
Planning Application SubmittedBristol LEA have submitted the playing field application for Purdown. The closing date for comments is the 8th February. The Friends of Purdown will be opposing the application on numerous grounds, not least due to the fact it represents a complete divergence from the Bristol Local plan. See our 5 point guidance on objection (in progress 26/1/06). We also believe that kids in Fairfield are getting a raw deal because a superior proposal, in the Muller Road Recreational ground, has been deliberately ignored. No Fairfield parents we spoke to had any information about this option. Here are the two sets of proposals for comparison: Argument SummaryThe LEA's report identifies the best option for Fairfield School's playing fields - and its NOT Purdown. The renovation of the Muller Road Recreational ground represents a vastly superior sporting alternative. Sports EducationPurdown gives Fairfield three small grass pitches - one that can only be used by kids up to Year 9 for football and one big enough only for training - and no grass facilities for cricket, athletics or hockey. Upgrading facilities at Muller Road would give junior and adult sized rugby and football grass pitches, grass cricket circles, 400 meters athletics track, floodlighting and onsite changing rooms. Pitches at Muller Road also have built in 'pitch shift' allowance. Pitches on Purdown do not, meaning they will degrade and cost more over time. BussingFairfield pupils have been bussed around for years, but for the new Fairfield, renovation work to existing pitches will meet 96.7% of timetabled sports ONSITE. Transport and pavillion maintenance costs for Dings and Bonnington walk mean both these options could be used for the extra 3.3% of lessons for 38 YEARS before you equalled the initial cost of developing Purdown. Big savings for the school and the tax payer. If Purdown was used, pupils would still need to be bussed off site for just under 1% of lessons (13 double P.E. sessions a year). CommunityThe pitches on Purdown are tiny. Only one is big enough for kids up to 18 - so much for community usage. Muller Road sits in the middle of one of the most inadequately provisioned areas in Bristol, sorely in need of real facilities usable by local kids. EnvironmentThe majority of this part of Purdown, the most accessible to inner city kids and families, would be lost to playing fields hidden behind fences that would be Five metres high in parts. This land would also be levelled to a depth of 2 metres at one end and built up by the same at the other. Mature hedgerows and trees will be lost and by the time their replacements have grown to be habitable, the bats, insects, badgers, foxes, deer and butterflies will have gone. Click here to see the comparative report. Campaign Update 25.10.04:Read our latest flyer. Campaign Update 18.10.04:'Fairfield Parents Network' flyer - The Truth. Fairfield Parents Network have produced a flyer that is wrong. Here's why... If you want to help.....The educational, financial, and ecological arguments provide a compelling case against using Purdown. However, there is much misinformation being put forward. It is essential that policy and decision makers know the FACTS about the Fairfield playing field options.
Next Diary Dates7th Nov 2004 Talk on the Smyths of Ashton Court, by Anton Bantock. (The Ashton Court mythes came into ownership of Heath House estate, including South Purdown, by marriage in 1767). |
