A disturbing first-hand account of a plain clothes police officer quizzing a fellow blogger who had taken two photographs of the new Costa cafe on Gloucester Road. Read the story here.
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Showing posts with label Gloucester Road. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gloucester Road. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Undercover police in Bristol’s new Costa « Bristol Culture
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Thursday, 6 August 2009
Filton Bomb Scare
The A38 has been closed both ways at Gypsy Patch Lane this afternoon following the discovery of a suspect package in the area about quarter to four.
The army explosives team are on site, according to Avon and Somerset Police, and a few buildings have been evacuated in the immediate area.
The closure is between Gypsy Patch Lane and Station Road.
Word from the front gate is that there are suggestions that the package was found inside the Rolls Royce factory in the area. Others have claimed it was in the Royal Mail sorting depot on the other side of the dual carriageway.
All traffic, including buses, are being diverted so there is considerable congestion in all approaches though by 6.30 the road had been re-opened, without an explosion, as far as I can gather, so it looks like the whole thing was a hoax.
Post Script: it seems that the only mainstream reporter on site was Martin Jones of Original Radio. You can hear is report from the scene here.
The army explosives team are on site, according to Avon and Somerset Police, and a few buildings have been evacuated in the immediate area.
The closure is between Gypsy Patch Lane and Station Road.
Word from the front gate is that there are suggestions that the package was found inside the Rolls Royce factory in the area. Others have claimed it was in the Royal Mail sorting depot on the other side of the dual carriageway.
All traffic, including buses, are being diverted so there is considerable congestion in all approaches though by 6.30 the road had been re-opened, without an explosion, as far as I can gather, so it looks like the whole thing was a hoax.
Post Script: it seems that the only mainstream reporter on site was Martin Jones of Original Radio. You can hear is report from the scene here.
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Monday, 15 December 2008
Letting the Train Take the Strain Through the Middle of Bristol
I cannot tell you how excited I was last week to take my first journey on the Bristol Suburban Light Railway.
But I will try.
From the moment I walked down the ramp from Clifton Down Shopping Centre towards the platform to the time I alighted at Stapleton Road, I was as happy as a sandboy.
For a start, the journey was so quick. Clifton Down to Easton took 11 minutes - a journey which would have lasted nearly 40 had I taken the required two buses via the centre.
Costwise, I had to part with £1.50, which struck me as reasonable. The Severn Beach Line, on which I travelled, is awash with rumours of how easy it is to travel for free on these trains as there are no ticket machines at any of the stations between Severn Beach and Temple Meads. I suspect these urban folk tales have grown with the telling. At any rate, the lunchtime service I took had a conductor selling tickets - a bit like the old days on buses before the drivers took on that task.
The icing on the cake, however, was the experience of seeing Bristol from new and unusual angles. How many of us (gaffiti artists excluded) have felt the frisson of excitement that can only be generated by looking down onto Gloucester Road from the viaduct that crosses it at the point where it meets Cheltenham Road and Zetland Road? Or, have we noticed the extent of the allotments at Aashey Down and St Werburgh's?
The only drawback that I can see is that the trains run only once every 45-60 minutes at present. I estimated there were about 20 people in the train's two carriages as it headed inbound to Temple Meads. If the frequency of journeys were doubled and the service advertised effectively, I would think that the service could go a long way towards relieving congestion in the centre and west of the city.
Friends of the railway maintain an online presence here. Bristol West MP Stephen Williams also thinks the local service is a very good thing and has some things to say about it here.
But I will try.
From the moment I walked down the ramp from Clifton Down Shopping Centre towards the platform to the time I alighted at Stapleton Road, I was as happy as a sandboy.
For a start, the journey was so quick. Clifton Down to Easton took 11 minutes - a journey which would have lasted nearly 40 had I taken the required two buses via the centre.
Costwise, I had to part with £1.50, which struck me as reasonable. The Severn Beach Line, on which I travelled, is awash with rumours of how easy it is to travel for free on these trains as there are no ticket machines at any of the stations between Severn Beach and Temple Meads. I suspect these urban folk tales have grown with the telling. At any rate, the lunchtime service I took had a conductor selling tickets - a bit like the old days on buses before the drivers took on that task.
The icing on the cake, however, was the experience of seeing Bristol from new and unusual angles. How many of us (gaffiti artists excluded) have felt the frisson of excitement that can only be generated by looking down onto Gloucester Road from the viaduct that crosses it at the point where it meets Cheltenham Road and Zetland Road? Or, have we noticed the extent of the allotments at Aashey Down and St Werburgh's?
The only drawback that I can see is that the trains run only once every 45-60 minutes at present. I estimated there were about 20 people in the train's two carriages as it headed inbound to Temple Meads. If the frequency of journeys were doubled and the service advertised effectively, I would think that the service could go a long way towards relieving congestion in the centre and west of the city.
Friends of the railway maintain an online presence here. Bristol West MP Stephen Williams also thinks the local service is a very good thing and has some things to say about it here.
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Thursday, 4 December 2008
Credit Crunches Local Businesses
Recent victims of the economic downturn in the north Bristol area have included:
Halifax Estate Agents. The branch on Canford Road in Westbury on Trym has recently ceased trading, though the banking service in the same building remains operational.
Enfields Estate Agent in Gloucester Road has closed. The new kid on the block - with its distinctive bold colour for sale signs and faux-antique font style - had begun to establish its presence in Henleaze and Westbury earlier this year.
The Clifton branch of the Britannia Building Society shut on Tuesday and has transferred its business to its Henleaze branch.
I don't know whether and how many job losses these changes have caused.
Halifax Estate Agents. The branch on Canford Road in Westbury on Trym has recently ceased trading, though the banking service in the same building remains operational.
Enfields Estate Agent in Gloucester Road has closed. The new kid on the block - with its distinctive bold colour for sale signs and faux-antique font style - had begun to establish its presence in Henleaze and Westbury earlier this year.
The Clifton branch of the Britannia Building Society shut on Tuesday and has transferred its business to its Henleaze branch.
I don't know whether and how many job losses these changes have caused.
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Thursday, 26 June 2008
Bike Bristol
Driving home yesterday up Gloucester Road, I had a strange experience. At 5.30 in the middle of the rush hour, I found mine the only car on the short stretch of road between Zetland Road and the old swimming baths.
Not the only vehicle, I hasten to add, as I was surrounded by bicycles.
I wasn't aware that there was a cycle protest on. But there were about 30 cyclists heading my way up the road.
It was a strange but rather pleasant experience as I got a glimpse of what Bristol might become as it moves towards its status of cycling city.
Maybe it will look more like Amsterdam.
Not the only vehicle, I hasten to add, as I was surrounded by bicycles.
I wasn't aware that there was a cycle protest on. But there were about 30 cyclists heading my way up the road.
It was a strange but rather pleasant experience as I got a glimpse of what Bristol might become as it moves towards its status of cycling city.
Maybe it will look more like Amsterdam.
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Sunday, 1 June 2008
Failure of Memorial Stadium May Not be the Best Thing for Local Residents
Local residents around the Memorial Stadium on Filton Avenue are said to be "delighted" by the news that the planned development of the ground has been delayed by the withdrawal of a main contractor.
Spokesman for the Residents Opposed to the Stadium Expansion (ROSE) pressure group, said: "We've said all along that it doesn't make financial sense to shell out millions on a new stadium that is in the wrong place. It seems we have now been proved right. It now seems more likely than ever before that this development will never get off the ground, something we have campaigned long and hard for."
The campaigners may want to pause before breaking open the bubbly and think about the consequences of the failure of the Stadium to redevelop.
I lived through a similar story in Brighton many years ago. Although work has now started on a brand new out-of-town stadium for Brighton and Hove Albion, their former ground (the Goldstone Ground on the Old Shoreham Road in Hove) has already been converted into a soulless retail park, housing such wonderful attractions as Toys R Us, DFS, Homebase and Carpet Right.
The fact is that if the memorial Ground is not redeveloped and the clubs which use it have to move elsewhere, the residents of Horfield will be facing much more difficult battles against infinitely more aggressive opponents that Bristol Rovers.
The lifestyle implications of having a retail park at the bottom of Filton Avenue, not to mention the damage this would do to the independent shops on Gloucester Road, seem to me far more damaging than a larger Memorial Stadium, which was of course there long before any of the present residents moved into the neighbourhood.
Spokesman for the Residents Opposed to the Stadium Expansion (ROSE) pressure group, said: "We've said all along that it doesn't make financial sense to shell out millions on a new stadium that is in the wrong place. It seems we have now been proved right. It now seems more likely than ever before that this development will never get off the ground, something we have campaigned long and hard for."
The campaigners may want to pause before breaking open the bubbly and think about the consequences of the failure of the Stadium to redevelop.
I lived through a similar story in Brighton many years ago. Although work has now started on a brand new out-of-town stadium for Brighton and Hove Albion, their former ground (the Goldstone Ground on the Old Shoreham Road in Hove) has already been converted into a soulless retail park, housing such wonderful attractions as Toys R Us, DFS, Homebase and Carpet Right.
The fact is that if the memorial Ground is not redeveloped and the clubs which use it have to move elsewhere, the residents of Horfield will be facing much more difficult battles against infinitely more aggressive opponents that Bristol Rovers.
The lifestyle implications of having a retail park at the bottom of Filton Avenue, not to mention the damage this would do to the independent shops on Gloucester Road, seem to me far more damaging than a larger Memorial Stadium, which was of course there long before any of the present residents moved into the neighbourhood.
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Friday, 18 April 2008
Trym Tales TV - Local Video From North Bristol
Filton Road to the City Centre as seen by a visiting Spanish exchange student.
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Friday, 14 March 2008
Money Agreed for Colston's Girls' Academy
Word from Colston's Girls School is that the financial paperwork which undergirds the school's application to become an independent state-funded academy has been signed and ratified by the academy sponsors and the government's Department for Children, Schools and Families.
This means that the school's aim of becoming an academy in September 08 is all but a done deal and that a formal announcement to this effect can be expected after Easter (or shall we call it spring break?)
The school's sponsors - Bristol's Society of Merchant Venturers - will deposit an initial fund of £1 million into a trust fund to be used by the new academy for extension and enrichment activities. The school's day to day costs will be met by the Department who will supply an additional cash boost to help with the initial transition costs of the new academy.
Further down the line, Colston's Girls is set to undergo a major refurbishment and extension of its Cheltenham Road site.
While the presence of a new city centre state school of the quality of Colston's Girls' will be good news for Bristol families, it is unlikely to make a dramatic difference to the demand for places at Redland Green School. The new academy's admissions policy treats the entire city of Bristol as one "catchment area", with the former county of Avon as its second area for admissions. Entrants to the new school will, therefore, be drawn from across the city, not necessarily from families living in the Redland Green catchment area.
The application process for admissions to Colston's Girls' in September 2008 is virtually complete. Information on applying for 2009 can be found here.
The background to the Colston's Girls academy and further information on the way academies operate can be found here.
This means that the school's aim of becoming an academy in September 08 is all but a done deal and that a formal announcement to this effect can be expected after Easter (or shall we call it spring break?)
The school's sponsors - Bristol's Society of Merchant Venturers - will deposit an initial fund of £1 million into a trust fund to be used by the new academy for extension and enrichment activities. The school's day to day costs will be met by the Department who will supply an additional cash boost to help with the initial transition costs of the new academy.
Further down the line, Colston's Girls is set to undergo a major refurbishment and extension of its Cheltenham Road site.
While the presence of a new city centre state school of the quality of Colston's Girls' will be good news for Bristol families, it is unlikely to make a dramatic difference to the demand for places at Redland Green School. The new academy's admissions policy treats the entire city of Bristol as one "catchment area", with the former county of Avon as its second area for admissions. Entrants to the new school will, therefore, be drawn from across the city, not necessarily from families living in the Redland Green catchment area.
The application process for admissions to Colston's Girls' in September 2008 is virtually complete. Information on applying for 2009 can be found here.
The background to the Colston's Girls academy and further information on the way academies operate can be found here.
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.
Sunday, 25 November 2007
North Bristol Art Trail
Today was another first for me - the North Bristol Art Trail.
Having never been on an art trail before (they are an increasingly popular way of local artists exhibiting and selling their work) I was unsure of what to expect. In the end I was impressed by a range of quality art, entertained by people-watching and faintly amused by the simple pleasure of nosing around a range of private houses in north Bristol.
The houses were all Victorian and lie in that swathe of city built in the 19th century between Ashley Down and White Tree roundabout.
As for the art work, some personal favourites included Sue Harvey's watercolour landscapes and seascapes - I've got my eye on one of her Dartmoor pieces; Dylan Arnold's photography and Debby Bird's mixed media and textile work.
The artists themselves seemed to be pleased (if a little exhausted by 5 pm Sunday) with the event, which ran over Saturday and Sunday, and the numbers of people looking round. The dry weather may have helped draw people out who might otherwise have stayed at home.
All in all, a good day out. And since I didn't buy anything, a very cheap one as well - £4.60 for two hot chocolates and a flapjack at The Prom on Gloucester Road was the sole expense.
Having never been on an art trail before (they are an increasingly popular way of local artists exhibiting and selling their work) I was unsure of what to expect. In the end I was impressed by a range of quality art, entertained by people-watching and faintly amused by the simple pleasure of nosing around a range of private houses in north Bristol.
The houses were all Victorian and lie in that swathe of city built in the 19th century between Ashley Down and White Tree roundabout.
As for the art work, some personal favourites included Sue Harvey's watercolour landscapes and seascapes - I've got my eye on one of her Dartmoor pieces; Dylan Arnold's photography and Debby Bird's mixed media and textile work.
The artists themselves seemed to be pleased (if a little exhausted by 5 pm Sunday) with the event, which ran over Saturday and Sunday, and the numbers of people looking round. The dry weather may have helped draw people out who might otherwise have stayed at home.
All in all, a good day out. And since I didn't buy anything, a very cheap one as well - £4.60 for two hot chocolates and a flapjack at The Prom on Gloucester Road was the sole expense.
Thursday, 1 November 2007
The Southville Problem
As mentioned in an earlier post, I have noticed a growing tendency for Ashton to find itself called Southville, especially by newcomers to the area.
At one level, this is an understandable mistake. The three neighbourhoods of Southville, Bedminster and Ashton do have convoluting boundaries - similar to those dividing Bishopston, St Andrews and Horfield in the Gloucester Road area of North Bristol.
Confusion cannot be enough, however, to explain this phenomenon. There is a more sinister cause of this geographical confusion.
It started about three or four years ago when property prices were racing ahead and when estate agents in Clifton started to take on properties outside their normal areas to respond to the demand from buyers for city centre homes at affordable prices. One day someone in an estate agent's office somewhere on Whiteladies Road thought aloud and suggested referring to this neighbourhood as "Lower Clifton."
Apart from being an outrageous piece of marketing, this action also set in motion a trend that resulted in Southville being pushed south and west into Ashton (in the minds of first time buyers considering relocating there. )
The rest, as they say is history and now we have North Street Ashton regularly described as being in Southville, when for at least a century it has been in Ashton.
At one level, this is an understandable mistake. The three neighbourhoods of Southville, Bedminster and Ashton do have convoluting boundaries - similar to those dividing Bishopston, St Andrews and Horfield in the Gloucester Road area of North Bristol.
Confusion cannot be enough, however, to explain this phenomenon. There is a more sinister cause of this geographical confusion.
It started about three or four years ago when property prices were racing ahead and when estate agents in Clifton started to take on properties outside their normal areas to respond to the demand from buyers for city centre homes at affordable prices. One day someone in an estate agent's office somewhere on Whiteladies Road thought aloud and suggested referring to this neighbourhood as "Lower Clifton."
Apart from being an outrageous piece of marketing, this action also set in motion a trend that resulted in Southville being pushed south and west into Ashton (in the minds of first time buyers considering relocating there. )
The rest, as they say is history and now we have North Street Ashton regularly described as being in Southville, when for at least a century it has been in Ashton.
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Shopping for Greener Food in Bristol - part 3
Back in the car and on to
Having not fully weaned myself off supermarket fare yet, I did end up next door in Somerfield for orange juice (sorry, I’m not paying 1.95 a litre even if it is good for me), margarine, rolls and croissants.
My bill? Slightly cheaper than my weekly food bill before starting on this journey. All in all, a reasonable start on the path of not-buying-food-that-has-been-flown-a-long-way-produced-with-lots-of-chemicals-
and-sold-by-retail-giants-that-destroy-local-communities.
Friday, 5 October 2007
Bristol Traffic News
WHAT happened to the traffic today?
Westbury Road was bumper to bumper from Badminton School to Black Boy Hill.
Whiteladies Road was heaving.
Muller Road was backed up all the way to the junction with Gloucester Road.
You expect this on a Monday when it's raining but Friday mornings are often clearer in town as people take a day off or work from home.
Then I realized. Bristol University and UWE have both started back this week.
Agh! Only two weeks till half term, though.
While you're chocking, take a look at this great article on the BBC Action network. It's the best article I've ever read on why Bristol has the worst bus service of any comparably sized city in Britain.
Westbury Road was bumper to bumper from Badminton School to Black Boy Hill.
Whiteladies Road was heaving.
Muller Road was backed up all the way to the junction with Gloucester Road.
You expect this on a Monday when it's raining but Friday mornings are often clearer in town as people take a day off or work from home.
Then I realized. Bristol University and UWE have both started back this week.
Agh! Only two weeks till half term, though.
While you're chocking, take a look at this great article on the BBC Action network. It's the best article I've ever read on why Bristol has the worst bus service of any comparably sized city in Britain.
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