Quarterly summary – April to June 2026
Sport and recreation
At a recent council meeting, Councillor Kye Dudd called for the council to support investment in the Downs changing rooms, used by teams that play football in the Downs League. The changing rooms are badly run down, putting the league’s future at risk. It was unanimously agreed to explore allocating sufficient funding towards the changing rooms, making the historic Downs League more accessible. However, there is still some way to go before sufficient funds are in place to allow work to proceed.
Councillor Kye Dudd and myself had a successful meeting with senior council officers about the future of the Roger Gracie martial arts club, based in the old Southmead Youth club building. The Green / Lib-Dem led administration wanted to sell the building off to the highest bidder, but we intervened and suggested a Community Asset Transfer as an alternative. Talks are now taking place between the council and the club owners; Cllr Dudd and myself are hopeful that a successful outcome will be achieved.
Consultation on 20mph speed limits
Bristol City Council has launched a consultation on a proposal to reduce the speed limit on 97 roads across the city to 20mph. 86% of Bristol's roads are already 20mph, but some residential roads are still 30mph. These roads make up roughly 8% of Bristol's road network, but account for around 30% of serious injuries and fatalities in Bristol. Among the roads under consideration are Greystoke Avenue, Pen Park Road, Falcondale Road (the A4018) and those parts of Southmead Road that are not yet 20mph.
Library strategy
Bristol City Council are consulting on a new strategy for the city’s library service. Some in-person events have already taken place and an online method of responding should be available from the end of April.
At Southmead library you can find more than just books, but also internet access and a photocopier.
Van dweller update
The Green / Lib-Dem administration stated in late 2025 that they wanted to create 250 pitches for van dwellers on meanwhile sites across the city by April 2026. However, Councillor Barry Parsons (the Green Party Chair of the Housing Policy Committee) has now admitted that this was ‘never realistic’. The number has now been revised down to 160 ‘by the summer’. Van dwellers on these official pitches will have to pay a small weekly fee and may have to pay council tax.
Eastfield Park
I was pleased to see that a new bench and bin have been installed in Eastfield Park. These add to the new play equipment that was promised by myself and Cllr Kye Dudd before the election (now installed).
I have been made aware that the tree roots in some parts of the park are making the pavement very uneven, making it hard for some pedestrians and wheelchair users to navigate the park. This has been raised with the council.
Fly tipping
Fly tipping remains an issue across the city. Over 11,500 piles of illegally dumped rubbish were cleared last year costing the council over £1million.
In the 2025 budget, all parties except the Green Party voted for the Labour proposal to install new fly-tipping enforcement cameras in known hotspots and raise littering spot fines by £100. However, the Green / Lib-Dem led council have decided not to implement this proposal, saying alternative plans had been found that would be more useful and cost-effective.
Please report fly tipping using the online tool fixmystreet.bristol.gov.uk, or you can email me cllr.kaz.self@bristol.gov.uk . If you see somebody fly tipping you can report this to the police via 101, or anonymously via Crimestoppers.
News you may have missed this quarter (links to news articles)
Bristol neighbours’ fury over van dwellers site on doorstep of new builds– Bristol Post
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Quarterly summary – January to March 2026
Plans for a 24/7 closure of Park Street to general traffic scrapped
At a Transport Committee meeting on 5th February councillors rejected a Green Party proposal for a 24/7 closure of Park Street to general traffic by 5 to 4. The three Labour votes on the committee were key to that decision, with me being one of those who voted against. The proposal on the table would have meant a substantial number of additional vehicles being redirected past the Children’s Hospital and the BRI, something my Labour colleagues and I weren’t prepared to accept.
The proposal to put bus gates at the top and bottom of Park Street first came to committee last year. We abstained at that time on the basis that the scheme included some good improvements to travel infrastructure and public realm in the Queens Road area, but we weren’t convinced by a permanent Park Street closure. The WECA mayor Helen Godwin put in a common-sense suggestion to have peak time only bus gates, to reduce bus journey times when congestion is at its worst, but the Green-led administration rejected it. WECA would have funded the compromise proposal; by turning it down the Green-led administration turned this money down and suggested CAZ (Clean Air Zone) money could fund it instead. My Labour colleagues and I thought CAZ money is better spent on more buses, highways maintenance (including white line and zebra repainting) and better lighting.
Elmfield Secondary School for Deaf Children
Work to relocate Elmfield Secondary School for Deaf Children to a new, purpose-designed facility in Southmead has begun. The project will provide dedicated classrooms, breakout spaces and specialist facilities tailored to meet the needs of diverse deaf students. Part of Badock’s Wood E-ACT Academy will be refurbished to enable Elmfield Secondary to move location.
Breakfast club coming to Badock’s Wood School
Badock’s Wood E-ACT Academy in Southmead is part of the next phase of the national free school breakfast club programme, which will see 15 more schools across West offering free breakfasts from April, bringing the total to 24.
The scheme, backed by an £80 million investment from government, is designed to help families, reduce child hunger, and ensure children start the school day ready to learn. Recent expansions mean half a million more children will benefit nationwide, with schools receiving simplified funding to provide high-quality breakfast provision.
New SEND school to be built in Southmead
In December it was confirmed that (thanks to funding from the Labour Government) a new school for children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) will be built on the site of the old Elmfield School for the Deaf, off Greystoke Avenue. With 164 places, this fantastic new facility will mean that SEND children will get the education they need, near to where they live. As a purpose-built facility, the new school will offer targeted education, including therapeutic and speech/language support.
Van dwellers
A planning application has been submitted for a temporary (up to 3 years) van dweller site with 21 pitches on Lanercost Road. There has already been an unauthorised encampment on this site for a year, one enabled by the Green-led council installing an access gate.
The vast majority of local residents who responded to the consultation objected to the application. There are families who moved into the new houses on Bramble Road expecting this land to be a play area or returned to grass land. We cannot support a proposal for a van dweller site on this land for a total period of up to 4 years and have called-in the application so it is decided by a planning committee, rather than council officers.
The council have decreed that the van dwellers on the Downs are having a ‘high impact’, hence an injunction is being sought to move them on. Meanwhile, the illegal encampment of van dwellers on council owned land in Southmead, next to a centre for vulnerable adults, is apparently not ‘high impact’.
Bristol City Council Budget
The Council met on the 12th February to set its budget for the 2026/2027 financial year. We already know that there will be an increase in council tax of 4.99%.
Labour councillors proposed several amendments to the budget, including more investment in youth facilities, roads and lighting in parks, unfortunately these were voted down by the Green Party. It was announced in late 2025 that the Labour Government will be boosting Bristol City Council's core spending power by £161.3 million in a multi-year settlement lasting to 2028/29. After years of austerity this increase will go a long way to avoiding cuts to vital services.
Three weekly black wheelie bin collections and increased CAZ charges stopped
Labour councillors prevented the Green-led council implementing 3 weekly black wheelie bin collections and increasing the CAZ charge from £9 to £14.
Residents Parking Schemes (RPS’s)
The Green-led council are looking to introduce more Residents Parking Schemes (RPS’s) across the city. Currently it costs anywhere between £62/year and £186/year for a first resident permit, depending on vehicle emissions and/or city location, with second vehicle permits costing 162/year and third vehicle permits £390/year.
Transport
The Labour government announced a £42 million multi-year transport deal for the West of England at the end of last year. This is vital funding to improve our buses, opening up the possibility of new routes, more frequent and reliable services and safer journeys – helping ease the cost of living and making it easier for people to get to work, hospital appointments and see friends and family.
Here in Bristol, we’re already seeing good things on the way to getting better buses. Following on from the success of the ‘kids go free’ on buses that the Metro Mayor Helen Godwin ran last summer, I was pleased to see this return for the Christmas holidays. With a Labour Metro Mayor we have seen the introduction of new electric buses, night buses at the weekend and some new routes.
News you may have missed this quarter (links to news articles)
Fury as council put Southmead’s ‘community heart’up for auction again
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Quarterly summary – October to December 2025
Charging for businesses to use our parks
After announcing that businesses like dog walkers will be charged to use our parks, the Green / Lib-Dem administration had to make a U-turn. We were concerned about the potential impact on small businesses and will continue to scrutinise any revised proposals that come forward.
Planning applications
Henleaze Lake put in a planning application for a new sauna facility, in addition to the one they already have. We were concerned that this may encourage yet more car parking issues in the area, the fine weather over the summer 2025 meant this was a big issue. The application had the reference 25/13591/F
In late December 2025 a planning application was put in for a temporary (or semi-permanent) site for 21 pitches for van dwellers on Lanercost Road in Southmead (see below). There was no consultation with us as ward councillors or with local residents about the usage of this as a meanwhile site. This was covered by local BBC news, with coverage on their website, Points West and Radio Bristol.
Van dwellers – unauthorised encampment in Southmead
Bristol has one of the highest numbers of van dwellers of any city in the UK. With rents soaring and a lack of affordable housing, many people are turning to alternative forms of living. The number of van dwellers has increased significantly in recent years, it’s estimated that there are now over 600 across the city, the Downs being just one place where they are congregated. The council is considering setting up what’s called ‘meanwhile sites’, where unused land planned for development is allocated for temporary accommodation use.
In January 2025 a small community of van dwellers set up on council owned land on Lanercost Road in Southmead, access being enabled by a gate put in by the council. This is an unauthorised encampment without planning permission. It has no running water, no wastewater facility and no proper toilets, these are basic requirements for any temporary accommodation. Local residents and the BBC were told by the van dwellers the council encouraged them to move there from Lockleaze.
Ash die-back
Several Ash trees in the city are diseased, including in Badock’s Wood. Safety of the public will always be a priority and as a result these diseased trees may have to be felled.
In a press release the council said ‘A three-year programme to remove trees infected with ash dieback disease is running from 2025 to 2028, together with a dedicated tree planting programme to increase the city’s tree canopy cover. Following an extensive audit of ash trees on council owned land, the programme of work is now underway across the city targeting diseased ash trees.’
Crime and anti-social behaviour
Many residents contacted us about people with masks driving electric bikes, asking what’s being done. An electric bike without pedals that can travel over 15.5mph is classified as a motorcycle, hence users need to have a licence and insurance to use them and obey road traffic laws.
The police are aware of issues with drivers of these bikes and reassure us that they are tackling crime / anti-social behaviour related to them. The police rely on reports from members of the public as part of their evidence gathering process. If you see e-bike drivers acting suspiciously or breaking the law by speeding, you can report this anonymously via Crimestoppers or the non-emergency number 101.
Parking
Bad parking is an issue that residents contact us about on a regular basis. Traffic enforcement officers were in our ward issuing penalty notices to those who park illegally on double yellow lines.
Vehicles parked on the pavement can cause serious problems for all pedestrians, especially people with mobility or sight impairments, as well as those with prams, pushchairs or mobility scooters. Unlike Greater London, parking on the pavement is not explicitly prohibited in legislation outside London. Councils can restrict pavement parking by introducing a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), but the current TRO process is burdensome, time-consuming, and in need of reform. The Government are is looking to modernise the process for making creating a TRO and have stated that they will be announcing it will announce next steps for pavement parking policy as soon as possible.
Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO’s)
The council are is proposing to remove rules that allow for homes to be turned into small HMOs without the need for planning permission, known as permitted development rights, in an area of Southmead. (A small HMO is broadly defined as a shared house or flat occupied by between three and six unrelated individuals, as their only or main residence, who share basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom). The proposed area where this will be applied includes parts of the ward between Southmead Road and Greystoke Avenue, as far west as Lake Road, but not including Lakewood Rd/Cres and the Home Ground area.
Safety for women and girls in our parks
In November 2025 councillors unanimously approved Labour’s plan to make parks safer and more inclusive for women and girls. Women are three times more likely than men to report feeling unsafe in parks, and 93% of women say they feel unsafe after dark in their local park, compared to 20% during the day. As a result, the council will now work on improving parks through measures such as improved lighting and sight lines, a more visible staff presence and will produce an annual Safe Parks Progress Report to Council, to include feedback from women and girls.
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
In Southmead we have been able to secure funding for new benches at in Elderberry Walk park and small improvements to Fonthill park.
The process for identifying projects for 26/27 starts in January 2026. After a fallow year for potential transport related improvements, we can consider these in this round. If you have any projects, please contact your local councillors as soon as possible. The online tool ‘Improve my Street’ is being used to identify potential highway improvements, if you are online, please consider using this to log a request, the link is https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/streets-travel/tell-us-about-a-road-safety-concern
Road centre line painting
The Transport and Connectivity Committee voted to adopt a policy of not repainting white lines in the centre of some of our roads. This policy was brought forward based on very limited research, on the basis roads may be safer for cyclists by doing this. Labour councillors on the Committee (including me) are very much in favour of improving safety for cyclists but weren’t prepared to make this a policy without concrete evidence, hence voted against it.
Libraries
The Green /Lib-Dem led administration have stated that they would protect the funding for libraries, but when inflation is considered, this actually means a real term cut. We are concerned that some of the less well used libraries (like Southmead) may be closed in next year’s Council budget.
A petition against library closures started by Labour got nearly 5000 signatures and was debated at November’s council. Stephen Williams is the councillor in charge of our libraries, in that debate he was unable to state that no libraries will be closed.
Council waste
Did you get a letter saying that there was a “typo” mistake in your last council tax bill? The Green led council were legally obliged to write to residents about this at a total cost of almost £200,000! Bear that in mind if you hear councillors complaining they don’t get enough funding from central government.
News you may have missed this quarter (links to news articles)
Bristol won't be moving to 3-weekly bin collections - thanks to Labour councillors– Bristol Post
Labour councillors stop an increase in the CAZ charge– BBC Bristol News