The new Liberal Democrat Cabinet in Bristol have moved quickly to acquire Stoke Park (the land around the Dower House) from developers. This is an 18th century landscape right on the M32 gateway into Bristol. This will secure the land for future generations, and in time I believe this will be seen as a land acquisition as important to Bristol as the decision to buy Ashton Court in the post war decade.
Detailed plans are still at an early stage, and Muriel Cole and I would welcome any feedback on what could be done. It looks like there may be some land set aside for allotments, which is good as these are always in demand. An imaginative proposal that has caused some comment is the plan to graze cattle on the land rather than use a diesel lawnmower to cut the grass!. Whilst Bristol is not going to be a big beef producer, this is an idea which has attracted much interest, and seems to be an environmentally friendly way of keeping the land in good condition.
People in this part of Bristol really value the open space they have like Eastville Park, and Snuff Mills. Acquiring this 'green wedge' of open space for the people of is good news for our city and for north east Bristol in particular.
