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Celebration of achievement of Village Green Status! Yes! Yes! Yes! Saturday 1st February 2014, WHPF.

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Thank you very much to everyone who came along to celebrate achieving Village Green Status for Wellington Hill Playing Field on Saturday 1st February 2014 at 10.30am! The sun shone on us! 

Thank you too for all the messages of congratulations from those who couldn't be there - more pics of the lovely celebration will be posted here soon!

YES! YES! YES! Wellington Hill Playing Field is Bristol's Newest Village Green!

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Congratulations to all involved in the campaign to achieve Village Green registration for Wellington Hill Playing Field! It was confirmed on December 23rd 2013 that Bristol City Council have now withdrawn their objection to the application to register the field as a Village Green, recognising that it meets the criteria for registration.

The status of Village Green affords Wellington Hill Playing Field the highest level of protection as a green and open space that is available in the UK. This is a fantastic achievement which ensures that the young people's groups, local residents, dog walkers and other users of the field will be able to continue to enjoy it into the future! 

Do have a look back at our photographs and videos from the campaign - there are lots on our Facebook page, as well as in our photos and videos as well as in our news and events archive - congratulations to all who have taken part in the campaign! 

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And on...and on.... (April 2013)

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Our Barrister is doing an amazing job of simply staying with the Village Green Application Process and waiting for the outcome of yet another process which appears to be designed by BCC's legal team to try to find a way not to award the status of Village Green to Wellington Hill Playing Field.

We owe an enormous debt of gratutude to our Barrister, because it would not be possible for us to continue to pursue this application without his work, his expertise and his willingness to commit this on behalf of the local community in Horfield, Henleaze and Bishopston without being paid for this. Whilst for us this is an amazing outcome, it is troubling because it suggests that for groups and communities who cannot secure this kind of help, protecting their own local green and open spaces is unlikely to be possible - our experience to date is that as soon as one argument is demonstrated to be invalid (e.g challenging the submission as 'evidence' of photographs of signs allegedly 'put up in all fields' in Bristol which more than 40 local residents who have lived in this area for more than 25 years have signed sworn statements to say were never put up in WHPF) another is constructed...

As soon as we have any further updates, we will let you know

The Village Green Campaign goes on....

Following the  outcome of the PROWG meeting on 25th June 2012, at which Councillors recommended that the application be referred to an independent inspector, but only to decide on a specific point relevant to the application - we are progressing on with collecting evidence which we hope will be emphatic enough by the next meeting that the Committee may decide to register the field rather than continuing to pursue a legal dispute over it.

FOHC members will be in touch with a number of those of you who filled in the original evidence questionnaires to ask for some more detailed information from you. 

We have also just received confirmation that an amazing Barrister who works in Bristol & who has developed a strong understanding of Village Green legislation and cases will represent us for free which is brilliant news & we are extremely grateful to him - you know who you are! THANK YOU!

More news here as soon as we have it!

The Village Green Application for Wellington Hill Playing Field will be discussed at the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee at Bristol City Council House on Monday 25th June 2012 at 2.00pm

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If you are able to attend the meeting, you are welcome to. 

We are expecting that a report will be received by the Committee - from the Common's Registration Authority Officers - which recommends that Councillors appoint an Independent Inspector to look at all of the evidence that has been submitted in support of the application. If this is agreed by Councillors who sit on this committee, we would expect the Independent Inspectors report to return to this committee at a later stage.

If you would like to submit a statement reiterating your support for Wellington Hill Playing Field to be registered as a Village Green - this needs to be received by 12pm on Friday 22nd June 2012. 

If you would like to submit a statement by e-mail, Peter Abraham is the Chair of the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee. Statements should be addressed to him, in that role and sent to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk before 12 midday on Friday 22nd June.
 
The meeting is open to the public & a good show of people demonstrating their continued support for the application would be good. Please get in touch if you'd like to meet up and attend with us!

**Village Green Campaign Update **1st June 2012

Finally we have an update about the Village Green Application. 

The Commons Registration Agency report will be available on 15 June 2012 (let's hope that it finds in our favour) & the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee at Bristol City Council will be considering this at the meeting on 25 June 2012 at 14.00 at The Council House on College Green. 

We will let you know as soon as we do what the outcome is - & the meeting on 25 June is a public meeting, if you would like to attend. 

The terms of reference for the committee don't make clear what the function of the committee is for Village Green decisions, but we will find out & rally the troops again if needed...please get 25 June into your diaries for now just in case! 

COME ON VILLAGE GREEN STATUS FOR WELLINGTON HILL PLAYING FIELD! YES! YES! YES! 

The Village Green Campaign goes on into 2012! Please keep up the support for it!

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VILLAGE GREEN STATUS FOR WELLINGTON HILL PLAYING FIELD! 

YES! YES! YES!

Wellington Hill Playing Field was finally, formally saved from any immediate threat of sale for development at the Horfield & Lockleaze Area Neighbourhood Partnership Meeting on 27th March 2012, when the original decision taken by BCC's Cabinet last December was formally agreed! 

We are very pleased to report back that all the spaces in Horfield and Lockleaze detailed here were withdrawn from the plans for disposal at that meeting. Congratulations to all of the groups involved in campaigning against the sale of parks and green spaces! Well done!

Woop Woop! - below is a simple overview of the response to those proposals from the meetings' papers - as for Wellington Hill itself - all one thousand nine hundred and seventeen of you - WE SALUTE YOU!

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Now that this part of the Area Green Space Planning Process is finished, we are returning our attentions to the Village Green Application for the field in the hope that now the importance of the field has been demonstrated emphatically -the objection from Bristol City Council will be withdrawn and the status can be awarded.

Whilst it is brilliant news that this immediate threat is now gone, VGA status will protect the field as a green and open space for use by all into the future.

There are similar discussions taking place in other areas of the city too - see here for a report in Bristol Evening Post about Bracey Drive in Downend which seems to raise identical issues: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Campaigners-Downend-Bristol-fight-protect-village/story-15653477-detail/story.html

This is the Area of Horfield Common that is registered - to date - under Village Green legislation

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Click on the image to the left for a larger version of the map!

No Wellington Hill Playing Field alas...but hopefully soon we will be able to see that protected also!

**News Flash** Horfield has a Village Green....but it's not the one we were expecting!

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Wow! Well, this has come as a surprise to all following the publication of the AGSP plans last year which confirmed what we all thought that we knew - that Horfield Common was - as a Common - legally registered as Common Land.

It now appears that this is not the case & that the whole of Horfield Common (13.5 hectares in total) is not registered as Common land; it is in fact registered as a Village Green. This is confirmed on DEFRA's website, although the area is misspelt & registered as Harfield Common, which is perhaps why this wasn't previously picked up.

A very helpful officer at the planning inspectorate confirmed that 'the land may well be common land historically, however, if it was registered as a village green, then legally it does not have common land status. Not all common land was correctly registered, and anomalies like these do exist. Village greens are protected from development under different legislation.

Although this does mean that - as the above says - the application for consent for works on Horfield Common (regarding the new playground near to the TA centre) under Section 38 of the Commons Act 2006 has now been withdrawn by BCC as it is not now necessary; in practice we are unsure what impact this difference in legal registration will have on the wider common itself, and we are awaiting confirmation of this, and a map of exactly which areas are covered by this registration. BCC have confirmed that they are considering what this means for the proposed new play area.

At present, we are assuming that this VG registration does not include Wellington Hill Playing Field as we are sure that this would have come to light during the application process that we are currently still engaged in, but we will let you know as soon as we do! 

Check back here for updates...

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Wellington Hill Playing Field :: Village Green Application Update & take part in BCC's Consultation on changes to the process for assessing Village Green Applications

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11 November 2011

We have again responded robustly to Bristol City Council rejecting the points that they are attempting to make in order to justify rejecting the application for Village Green Status for Wellington Hill Playing Field (WHPF). We now await a further response about the next steps for the application & will update you all here as soon as we know any more details. At the moment it seems to be the case that we write, then they write, then we respond then they respond etc so it's certainly not a quick process, but Gavin and Chris are continuing to do an amazing job in managing this - MASSIVE THANK YOUs on behalf of everyone for this - the time and expertise that they are committing to this would be  extremely difficult for a voluntary organisation to afford without their generosity & it is much appreciated.

Whilst the application for WHPF remains ongoing - you might like to take part in a consultation that is currently live on Bristol City Council's (BCC) website - there is a proposal to change the ways in which Village Green Applications are managed by BCC in future so as to reduce costs - it proposes that BCC Officers make the decisions on applications in the future (in some cases) so this consultation is seeking views on this.

Bristol Evening Post published an article on Saturday 5th November specifically using WHPF as an example of the kinds of green spaces which could have been lost for use by the community had these changes been in place at the time of the AGSP consultation last year. As the field was originally incorrectly identified by BCC Officers through the AGSP process as a space 'little used other than by dog walkers' and the 'value assessment' undertaken for the field was also demonstrated to be inaccurate when this statement was questioned - this site could have been viewed as one which was 'straightforward' so we think that it will be important for all to understand precisely how communities can challenge decisions taken by BCC if, as they were in this case, decisions are based on inaccurate information and data.

The alternative approach for BCC to save money in relation to the Village Green application for WHPF would be to use the voluntary dedication process set out buy DEFRA which enables landowners to dedicate land as public space: http://archive.defra.gov.uk/rural/documents/protected/common-land/gpg-vdtvg.pdf 

Where there is overwhelming support for an application, and no opposition to it (other than from BCC, as is the case for the WHPF application) - this would seem to be a pragmatic solution.

To take part in the consultation - click here: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/press/environment/consultation-starts-town-and-village-green-applications and make sure that your views on this proposed change are part of the decision-making process that goes alongsaide it.

Consultation deadline is 13 December 2011.

ALAS! BCC have objected again to our response to their original objections (stay with us here....!) We are currently drafting another response and will keep you up to date with any movement on this once we actually have some news to report!

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In the meantime - massive thanks to Chris & Gavin who are working extremely hard behind the scenes to deal with the onerous paperwork that this process is generating.

For information, it was announced on 3 October 2011 that residents in Whitchurch had finally won Village Green Status for 27 acres of their valuable green space after putting in a Village Green Application 4 years ago (see here for info: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-15157925) - well done to them!

For us...we may have some time left to go!! Please keep up your support for the campaign to have this crucial green space registered as a Village Green so that it will remain available for use by all into the future.

Hooray! Work to make good the temporary road and remove the fenced off areas of Wellington Hill Playing Field has started!

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This morning (1st August 2011) there is finally activity in Wellington Hill Playing Field as the contractors return to make good the damage caused to the field by the temporary road and fencing that were laid across it to enable access for the redevelopment of the Concorde Lodge site!

Horfield Councillor Cheryl Ann sent out an e-mail on Saturday to advise that this work would be going ahead, along with a series of other updates about the parks and green spaces in the area. 

To read a copy of this e-mail in full - please click here.

The e-mail states that: 'The field will be worked on as from next week....... It will of course be a while until the new grass is strong enough for football playing but the process is most certainly starting.' 


This is fantastic news for everyone who uses Wellington Hill Playing Field!

Village Green Application Update - July 2011

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Bristol City Council's legal department have objected to the application to register Wellington Hill Playing Field as a Village Green on a number of different grounds. 

We believe that we have a robust response to all of the points that are made in the letter detailing their objections, and that our application demonstrates that the field clearly meets the criteria for registration as a Village Green.

Two local residents who are legally trained  have drafted a response to the Council's objections which was submitted on 30 June 2011 - we will update you here as soon as possible with further information as this progresses. It may be necessary for those who completed evidence forms to come to an inquiry meeting to confirm in person that the information they have submitted is correct, and, again we will let everybody know if this will be necessary as soon as we can.

Well done all for supporting this campaign - the field is an essential and extensively used open space for local residents - it will be brilliant to achieve this status to protect it for the future.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SIGNED THE PETITION IN SUPPORT OF THE APPLICATION TO REGISTER WELLINGTON HILL PLAYING FIELD AS A VILLAGE GREEN - WE NEED TO KEEP UP THE CAMPAIGN...

Alas...there has been an objection lodged to the application - we have responded and are waiting for a response from BCC - please check back here for further updates!

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As the Bristol Evening Post made clear in it's 'We Say' section on 29/1/11 (see Media Coverage pages for a copy of this), the application for Wellington Hill Playing Field offers an opportunity for the city to secure a space for the community in Horfield which has been recognised through the recent AGSP consultation as crucial for local groups to continue to operate and is a vital space for families and children to play which is free from the complex issues surrounding the Village Green application for land in South Bristol. The Village Green application is a standalone legal process, separate from any Council managed strategies (i.e the recent area green space plans) and is the only means of ensuring that the field remains available for use by all into the future, which unfortunately cannot be guaranteed through the AGSP process.

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An application to register Wellington Hill Playing Field as a Village Green is currently being considered by Bristol City Council. If we can achieve village green status for the field - this will protect it for use by all into the future; not just for the short-term covered by the recent Area Green Space Plans for the Bristol area.

To support the campaign - please e-mail your local Councillor and ask them to support this application and also download a copy of the poster from our downloads page & add your voice to the campaign.

The Council have now OBJECTED TO THE APPLICATION.

Contact details for local Councillors can be found here: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Council-Democracy/Elected-Representatives/councillor-finder.en?Task=ward

WELLINGTON HILL PLAYING FIELD IS REMOVED FROM LIST OF SITES FOR SALE...FOR NOW!
Well done & congratulations to all involved in the campaign to save our field for use by all into the future! At the Council's cabinet meeting on 16 Dec 2010, Wellington Hill Playing Field was one of the sites removed from the list for 'disposal' through the AGSP process - it is saved! You can watch the meeting at which this decision was made on the Council's website here: http://www.bristol.public-i.tv/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=46137&t=3706188&m=flash&l=en_GB&t=3706188

You can also see the scrutiny committee meeting which took place on 15 Dec 2010 - at which large numbers of representations from local people and groups opposing the proposal to sell Wellington Hill Playing Field were presented here: http://www.bristol.public-i.tv/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=48162&t=&m=flash&l=en_GB

We are sorry to hear though that there has not been good news for lots of other groups across Bristol who were fighting to save their green spaces - see BBC news and Evening Post websites for more info.

Horfield's "Show of Strength of Feeling" on College Green on 28th October 2010 was attended by more than 100 local residents opposed to the sale of Wellington Hill Playing Field and the loss of facilities at the Ardagh - more photos & videos are on the facebook site - please send us yours if you have some & we'll share them! Well done to everyone who attended this event which made really clear how valued these facilities are for local people and groups and genuinely made the opposition to the proposals visible to the whole city!

See our media coverage page for full details of the response to the event from people across the city...

Save Wellington Hill Playing Field and the facilities at the Ardagh!

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Download copies of our full responses to the AGSP and SADMOD proposals from the downloads page.


These are the final versions that were submitted to the Council from FOHC - we e-mailed versions in and have now submitted a signed hard-copy to the Council House following the Horfield "Show of Strength of Feeling" that took place on College Green prior to the final BCC Cabinet meeting before the end of the consultation period.

The responses have been informed by the public meetings that FOHC has hosted over the summer, feedback from local people and other users of the field and common at the FOHC Summer Picnic & Picnic for the Parks in Wellington Hill Playing Field and by feedback through the website and facebook as well as conversations on the Common - keep on letting us know what you think!

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Councillor Gary Hopkins visits Horfield Common to engage with local people, to see for himself the spaces that are under threat, and to meet with representatives of local groups...

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Councillors for Horfield, Bishopston and Henleaze have all fully engaged with our campaign to save Wellington Hill Playing Field & to explore how the Ardagh can be invested in and maintained for use into the future.

Councillors Ann, Levy, Morgan, Knott and Willingham have all attended meetings, talked to local residents and other users of the Common and supported the campaign to date. Executive Member Gary Hopkins came to the Horfield area to see for himself the spaces that are under threat through the AGSP. He met with representative of local groups including Geoff Stock from Horfield Young People's Club and Kay Thomson, Chair of FOHC. The visit was constructive and those who met him appreciated the time that Councillor Hopkins made to come and find out for himself what the issues in this area are. FOHC believe that the Council is genuinely listening to the feedback that residents are giving - please keep on making your views on the AGSP known.

For more information about this visit, see Councillor Pete Levy's blog

Local groups submit statements to the Council's September Cabinet meeting to protest against the sale of Wellington Hill Playing Field...

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Local residents and members of local organisations submitted statements to the Council's Cabinet meeting on 30 September 2010 and went to the meeting to ask for a response to the questions that they had about the proposals to sell off Wellington Hill Playing Field for development. Read the Evening Post's report of their contributions here: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Youth-groups-speak-save-field-sale/article-2710153-detail/article.html

Well done to all who attended and ensured that their voices were heard in the current AGSP consultation.

See left for information about our joined up "Show of Strength of Feeling" on 28th October at 17.15 on College Green - ALL WELCOME!

Save Wellington Hill Playing Field and the Ardagh Tennis Courts and Bowling Green

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FOHC have been actively campaigning to ensure that local residents and other users of the Common and the Field are aware of the current Area Green Space Plan proposals for the Horfield Common Area, and the accompanying SADMOD consultations.


THIS CONSULTATION IS NOW CLOSED - Details below are just for info!

To ensure that your views are heard you need to comment on both before 5pm on October 29th 2010.

Below are details of both consultations....if you have views about these proposals - pick up your pen (or mouse!) & get involved in the debate - the decisions that are made on the basis of these proposals will affect the local area well into the future.....



Consultation 1
Full details of the AGSP plans can be seen here: www.bristol.gov.uk/agsp

You can respond to the AGSP plans here: http://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=127618207182

Or you can write to the Council to comment at: Area Green Space Plan Consultation (AG/Col33), Freepost BS4341, PO Box 595, Bristol BS99 2BR,  
or E-mail: Park.Strategy@bristol.gov.uk

Consultation 2
The SADMOD consultation is a separate process which considers whether the field should be sold, and, if it is, how it should be developed in the future.

To comment on the SADMOD proposals see:  http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Environment-Planning/Planning/planning-policy-documents/bristol-development-framework/site-allocations/site-allocations-and-development-plan-document-fsis/24---horfield-and-lockleaze.en

Or write to the Council at:  Site Allocations (CD/BH), Freepost   BS6529, BRISTOL. BS1 5BR

Or E-mail: bdf@bristol.gov.uk 



VILLAGE GREEN STATUS FOR WELLINGTON HILL PLAYING FIELD! YES! YES! WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!


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