“What a debacle!!
3500 is what was needed to make the council look at this again. In the event they got double this, 7000 and still they ignore the will of the people.
This duplicious and hypocrital lib dem administration has let the power they yield go to their heads. At the meeting you had councillor, Steve Comer, heckling the public , when it was their legitamite right to talk and yet when councilor Hopkins was heckled, you had the spectacle of the leader of our great council in Bristol, wailing like a banshee, that they were voted in and had the right to speak on behalf of their constitieunts however hypocrytical that may seem. What a blimming farce!
I have a message for Barbera Janke. Take your ragtag and bobtailed collection of councillors and GET OUT!
and let the good people of Bristol elect councillors that are ' FIT FOR PUPOSE!”

“"The P&GSS aimed to make sure that the areas that were going to be built on were the lower quality ones and from areas which had the most green space - that is why it set a standard for the area of green space per person. It is why no spaces are listed for disposal in the centre or Barton Hill for example."

And Clifton, Redland and Stoke Bishop?”

“Indeed, Rob, and the reason they want to build on the city's green spaces is because the council tax on those houses will come into BCC's coffers.

If the new building is done on sites in the Toytown council areas, it won't be available for BCC's vanity projects.”

“Lib Dems or Labour or for that matter Cons, Pot and Kettle and all that, What and where was your Green Space Strategy for Ashton Vale?”

“Paul,
You are wrong, all the Council's assessments of housing land since 2006 have assumed that some of the land will come from parks and green spaces. Look at the documents under www.bristol.gov.uk/bdf The Framework is putting together a plan for the whole of Bristol and identifying all possible land for housing, exactly what some people on here have been asking for. It was partly that strategy that led to the development of the P&GSS and set the timetable for it.

The P&GSS aimed to make sure that the areas that were going to be built on were the lower quality ones and from areas which had the most green space - that is why it set a standard for the area of green space per person. It is why no spaces are listed for disposal in the centre or Barton Hill for example.

Before the strategy the council were selling off bits of land without any form of consultation or overall plan. Remember that the last Labour administration wanted to build on a large part of Castle Park. That threat hasn't gone away. The developers responded to the AGSP consultation saying they still wanted to build on it. Perhaps if the LibDems are voted out they will get their chance?”

“It was a lovely day today. I walked across Ashton Vale fields and on my way back home met a cyclist who appeared to be lost. He said he wanted to try and get over the mountain, I realised he meant Failand and explained he could walk with his bike through one field and could then cycle easily across the next field to the Long Ashton Park and Ride and into Long Ashton. He was a young German man who said it was very flat where he lived and he was just cycling around the area on a lovely warm spring day. I said I would show him the way across the fields. He commented on how lovely it was, to be so close to the city and yet within a short distance he was in open fields. Overhead the Sparrow hawks and Buzzard fought for territory and a huge nesting Heron landed by the brook. He noted how lovely it was and how lucky I was to live near somewhere so beautiful. I did not have the heart to tell him that this was one of the most contentious pieces of green land in Bristol and that in a short time if developers and Bristol City Council had their way it would be develped within an inch of its life and everything he had seen would be gone. There was no mention of it being a landfill or scrubland, it was as it always is, a lovely green open space, near to the city, a treasure and somewhere to enjoy an afternoon walking. I was just pleased he had seen it as we do and hoped he would enjoy it while it is still here. I saw him cycle off in the distance across the land where the stadium is earmarked and saw that he stopped and talked to someone else walking their dog along the way. It was a blissful day.”

“"LIB Dems running Bristol City Council tonight (Tues 22nd) launched a new dialogue with the city¿s residents over possible sales of green spaces."

Sorry, Jon, but that's total nonsense. Sending out a letter saying why you were right all along is NOT a dialogue. Look up 'monologue' in the dictionary.

And I heartily agree with DW's first post. It's a pity some people who've been arguing against it seem incapable of reading it and understanding his distinction between expansion of the city and filling in the green spaces.

As to AV, I shall vote against it; anything that puts more LD's in power has to be bad, given their local and national records.”

“La, la, la, we've got our fingers in our ears, we can't hear you.

By the way, BEP, why isn't this on the first page? Or doesn't it look important from London?”

“Over 7,000 residents said the Libdem green space sell off plans were wrong, cross-party scrutiny said the plans were flawed & needed a rethink, 18,000 people took part in the original consultation last year, many of them critical of the plans.

So just how many petitions & letters/emails will it take to get the Libdem cabinet and their Cllrs to do the right thing for Bristol?

Sadly, we saw more Libdem arrogance at the Council meeting yesterday-using their majority to block any review & shouting down members of the public daring to question the Libdem policy.

Labour gave a pledge (we keep ours) to stop these mad sell-off plans in their tracks and to give neighbourhood partnerships the final say over any land disposals, if any are needed.

Gary Hopkins is now going to write to 7,000 people telling them they're wrong and he's right. Save the stamps (and the £2000+ it will cost the Bristol Council Tax payers).

At the Council meeting (and shown on the webcast) Labour gave a firm pledge to the people of Bristol that these flawed plans will be halted if Bristol has a Labour administration after 5th May 2011.”

“Well said Paul from Bemmy Down,

This is not about choosing between building on the Green Belt or building on green spaces, this about not allowing either of the above to be built upon until the large amounts of brownfield land and the large numbers of empty homes are brought back into use.

Bristol City council has identified that we could build over 26,400 homes without impacting upon either the Green Belt or the city's green spaces and that is without counting reuse of empty homes or "windfall" developments from small sites and subdivisions.

However what it needs is a council willing to stand up to the more unscrupulous developers who simply want the few extra slithers of margin they can get from using virgin "green" land. Unfortunately we've got the Lib Dems.”