Occupy Bristol: 'We want to clean up College Green ourselves'
OCCUPY Bristol protesters have told the Evening Post it was never their intention to hand over cash towards repairs to College Green.
Instead, they want to use the "several hundred" pounds they say they have raised to do the job themselves.
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The clean-up gets underway at College Green.
City council staff are still assessing the damage and may take several days before deciding how much the final cost of repairs will be. The council has previously estimated the bill at about £13,500 but it will depend on how much grass can be re-seeded and how much must be re-turfed.
Tony Cripps, one of the protesters, said: "It's not a case of handing the money over – it's a case of doing the job ourselves.
"We have got a landscape gardener who has been and had a look at it and come back to us with a price of £1,500 for re-seeding.
"If you look at the surface of College Green, there is not that much damage. Obviously, it still needs a bit of a tidy up but until the council allows people on there with rakes, there is not a lot we can do. Hopefully, it should all be done within a week or so."
Council spokesman Peter Holt said: "Now we've finally cleared College Green, over the coming days we'll be assessing the scale of the task to restore the grass. Happily, grass is resilient, but some small areas of heavily polluted mud (for example around the toilets) may well need to be dug out.
"It's too soon to put an accurate cost on the further work, but we have asked Occupy Bristol to make good on their earlier promise to help restore the Green. They say they have raised money to help meet these costs, so if they want to be taken seriously and to be allowed a role in the work to repair the damage they've done, they should hand over the cash straight away."
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by Arjimlad
Monday, February 06 2012, 10:36AM
“They had long enough to do it - they could have left a month ago & repaired the damage.”
by bobob3
Friday, February 03 2012, 2:50PM
“Just one thought on this story
If a few hundred young people wanted to camp on the downs for a long weekend in the summer , play music and party I assume the police would shift them pretty smartish , like with an illegal rave.
However , if they congregated and stated they were making a four day occupy protest , whilst playing their music and having a party , then I assume they would be allowed to stay.”
by DazzyBoy
Friday, February 03 2012, 2:00PM
“Council Tax payers will be picking up the bill for this one without doubt, and if you can save £10,000 by seeding rather than turfing, then surely that is the best option and means £10,000 can be spent on something more important!
I am certainly not a supporter of Occupy, and I didn't agree with the way they protested and the mess they have caused, but in a democracy you can't stop people protesting; at the end of the day the majority of people probably agree with what they were protesting about, the big bonus culture has not stopped.
Seeding is the cheapest and most sensible option!!”
by Dingslady
Friday, February 03 2012, 3:56AM
“@Maximum.."Occupy is also happening in Europe and America. These are all happening alongside other global sustainability activist groups working to bring the world together for the common goal of species sustainability before it is too late."
Occupy tried the same thing outside City Hall where I live in South Carolina...The Governor allowed them to make their point during the day but ran them off at night as she had the foresight to know they would despoil the area if allowed to camp. They got their 'airtime' but didn't get a chance to do a "Bristol" and wreck a public space.”
by PJB_1972
Thursday, February 02 2012, 5:14PM
“Maximus,
Yes I'm sure the homeless and the drug users were 100% behind your cause and weren't just there for the free food, the company and shelter. Still, it swells the numbers doesn't it. Quite a long way short of the 99% though eh?”
by DazzyBoy
Thursday, February 02 2012, 5:06PM
“Yes it may be too cold to re-seed at the moment, but in about months time it would be OK. The council say it will cost £10,000 to put right, but I do agree with Occupy on this one, you could easily re-seed for a fraction of that cost, and the green would be as good as new by late spring.
I don't see the need to put turf down at huge cost if you can wait a few weeks and seed it.”
by Maximus2012
Thursday, February 02 2012, 4:50PM
“PJB_1972. Thanks for clarifying, but that doesn't answer the question. Every member of society is invited to the occupy movements across the globe and as we know, the homeless and drug users are members of society.”
by harry12911
Thursday, February 02 2012, 3:37PM
“Its just a bit of grass.”
by PJB_1972
Thursday, February 02 2012, 3:22PM
“Maximus,
I think you're missing some rather important points.
Firstly, there are ways to go about achieving an aim and encouraging the local homeless and drug users to squat in a communal space and wreck it does nothing to help the cause.
Secondly, the occupiers made it clear that they would repair any damage and claimed to have significant funds available to do so. Now they have all cleared off and the taxpayer is left to pay the bill, there by destroying any tiny amount of public sympathy and credibility which may have been left.
Thirdly, these people claimed to represent 99% of the population. Something which immediately alienated many of us as we didn't want to be associated with such a motley crew and their moronic methods.
So yes, temporary damage to the grass but permanent damage to your 'cause'. Hope that helps to clarify.”
by Maximus2012
Thursday, February 02 2012, 3:07PM
“Why not see the bigger picture? Occupy Bristol is part of the Occupy Britain movement, which sees movements taking part in pretty much every major city in the UK. Occupy is also happening in Europe and America. These are all happening alongside other global sustainability activist groups working to bring the world together for the common goal of species sustainability before it is too late. These movements recognize the world as one system and the human species as a singular unit, sharing a common habitat. Today our very stability as a civilization is now in question and, if left unhindered, it threatens us all, regardless of one's position in the modern feudal hierarchy. Does temporary damage to a small area of grass in the centre of Bristol really matter, compared to the reasons behind the occupation?”