Open Spaces in Downend and Bromley Heath

Open Spaces

The Open Spaces in our Parish are owned by South Gloucestershire Council but the Parish Council works very hard to support local people to enable them to share in the management of these spaces. The Open Spaces Committee has responsibility for parks, footpaths, dog bins and litter bins.

The Skate Park at Bromley Heath Playing Field Skatepark

The Skate Park was set up in 2004 through the hard work of a group of local young people called BRAG. They worked with South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) and the Parish Council and raised grants to install the equipment. The site can be accessed from the playing fields off Queensholm Crescent in Bromley Heath or from the cycle track alongside the A4174 Ring Road.
The Parish Council now leases this site from SGC and pay for maintenance and to have the equipment safety checked. It was painted in the summer of 2008 and has had an extra litter bin installed to try to reduce the litter problem at the site.
It is generally a very well used resource, well positioned and much enjoyed.

Bromley Heath Park

Bromley Heath Park, off Queensholm Crescent is managed by a Friends Group. This group is well supported and well led by Kevin Chapman who can be contacted on bromleyheathpark@aol.com
The Friends Group helped to get the play equipment improved and is to be congratulated on raising money for the new kick about football area. It has been well used from the day it was put in. Some new trees have also been planted around the Children's Play Area.
For their next project, the Friends are raising money to improve the accessibility of the park from the cycle track. At the moment there are some very steep and unfriendly steps which they hope to replace with a gentle slope. They are pursuing a Lottery funded grant for this.
There have been ongoing issues of litter and maintenance which the Friends regularly work with SGC about.

Leap Valley Leap Valley looking West

Leap Valley is a hidden Open Space off Badminton Road. It is owned by South Gloucestershire Council and managed by the Friends Group. It forms part of a wildlife corridor linking the River Frome through to Emersons Green. The best ways to access it is through footpaths from Badminton Road (just along from the Methodist Church), Aintree Drive/Beverley Avenue on the David Wilson Estate or from Fouracre Crescent/Bury Hill View.
The Friends of Leap Valley have recently published a Nature Journal for this local site of nature conservation interest. We are so lucky to have such a beautiful and interesting open space in our parish. This site is important for wildlife because it has such a variety of habitats - woodland with bluebells in the spring, wetland with snipe and water rail, a pond and stream, as well as lots of grassland and hedgerows. In the summer it is buzzing with life and on sunny days lots of bees and butterflies can be seen feeding on the flowers.
The Nature Journal is for all age groups and all users of the valley but particularly for families and children. It contains 'I-Spy' pages and 'Things to do' pages as well as lots of information about the habitats, the seasons and all the animals and plants that can be found there.
Several local schools and cub groups are visiting the site this summer and using the Nature Journal to help the children get familiar with the wildlife and wild places they will find there.
The Friends recently are holding a Bird Box Making Event on July 11th. Some of these nesting boxes will be put up in the valley in the autumn. Their next event is a Bat Walk on September 18^th. They are also planning to plant fruit trees in Baugh Barn meadow in the autumn to form a Community Orchard.
For more information watch the notice board in the valley or contact Mary Lewis marylewis@blueyonder.co.uk .

Lincombe Barn Park and Woods

This open space can be accessed from Lincombe Barn car park off Rockland Road/Overndale Road.
There is a new and enthusiastic Friends Group helping to manage this site (e-mail contact astley52@btinternet.com).
They have held a Bat Walks attended by 50 people and the bats turned up on cue! They have had an Autumn Clean and a Spring Clean and spent a morning clearing brambles and planting young hazel whips.
They are working on access issues and had a new path put in to get down to the board walk which was installed last year. They have high hopes of further access work. They have also installed 3 seats.
They are having a Management Plan produced for the woods, giving guidance for future maintenance of the area to enhance it for the benefit of wildlife and local people.
The Parish Council put in a notice board at Lincombe Barn which can be used by the Friends, the Barn and the Parish Council.
The children's play area has been designated as one of the sites to be improved in 2010 as part of the 2^nd year of the SGC Playbuilder Government Grant and the Friends are looking forward to working with local parents on what they would like to see there.

King George V playing Fields

These playing fields between Westerleigh Road and Farm Road/Sutherland Avenue are well used by sports teams. The Parish Council are disappointed that we have not been able to progress work here. We hope that the Community Led Planning process might assist to move this forward and get local residents more involved in the management of the park in the near future.

Footpaths

We continue to push for resurfacing of some paths, such as the one between Badminton Road and Oakdale Court and between Badminton Road and Fouracre Crescent.
We are looking at the process of registering some well used paths as Public Rights of Way so that they appear on the Definitive Map and will not be lost.
We have pushed for better signage of several paths

Dog Bins

The Parish Council continue to maintain 2 dog bins within the parish. Both are well used! The others are maintained by SGC. We are always glad to hear of places where new dog bins are needed.

Litter bins Fouracre litter bin

At the request of local residents this year we have put bins at the end of Oakdale Walk and on the path between Badminton Road and Fouracre Crescent. Another is planned for the path from Queensholm Crescent to the Cycle track. We continue to maintain 4 other bins at Quakers Road, Fouracre Road, Somerfield car park and North Street.
Several other locations are being monitored and we welcome suggestions from members of the public about where bins are needed. However it does cost over £400 to install a litter bin and £160 a year to have it emptied!

Easy Access Trails

The Easy Access Trails booklet, part two, is available to download from the South Gloucestershire Council website. This includes circular walks around Alveston, Charfield, Downend & Bromley Heath, Marshfield, Pilning & Severn Beach, Siston, Stoke Gifford, Thornbury, Wick & Abson and Wickwar.

The Parish Access Trails have been brought about by a publicly funded project through which Parish Councils were given the opportunity to create an easily accessible circular walk in their parish that reflects the character and heritage of the area. The main focus of the trails is to remove physical barriers such as stiles and replace them with kissing gates and hand gates to allow a larger user group to enjoy the countryside.

To view the walk through Downend & Bromley Heath, click on the link below. http://hosted.southglos.gov.uk/acrobat/easyaccess2/downend.pdf