Highlights from Westbury Forum
1st October 2024
1st October 2024
Those present – the meeting was attended by 28 residents, together with our three councillors – Caroline Gooch, Stephen Williams and Nicholas Coombes – and two representatives of the police, PCSO Azeem Wazir and PC James Allford
Crime Statistics and Policing Issues - Malcolm projected the figures for July 2024 (the latest available at the time of the meeting) and those for July 2023. Most figures were comparable, but there had been a marked rise in two categories – “Shoplifting” and “Violent Crime”.
Azeem and James then talked through these and other concerns…
Shoplifting – the main perpetrators are known to the police and have been arrested and are currently on bail. They are banned from going into stores in Westbury.
Theft from vehicles – we are urged not to leave any valuables in parked cars, where they might be the subject of opportunistic crime.
Violent crime – this category includes a range of offences from verbal abuse at home to violent behaviour in public. The vast majority of incidents are between people who know each other, and it is very rare for a member of the public to be involved.
Scooters etc - The problem of E scooters and bikes being ridden on the pavement was raised. As has been mentioned before, the police are not allowed to follow them or attempt to stop them, in case there is an accident. Instead, they try to gain information as to where the perpetrators live and then follow up at their homes. We are urged to report use of illegal scooters and bikes via 101 or the police website to assist the police intelligence department which is monitoring it. Malcolm thanked Azeem and James for coming and asked Azeem to give our best wishes to Steve Harding who will be retiring shortly.
You can contact Azeem by email at or via the police website.:
Councillors’ update.
Malcolm welcomed our new councillors and invited them to share their news…
Van dwellers on the Downs: The new administration wants to do something about this citywide problem. They do not want to clear one area, just to cause the van-dwellers to move to another area. Council officers have carried out an audit of van dwellers and found that many of the van-dwellers are renting vehicles from Bristol residents. Often the living conditions are dreadful, with no running water, no sanitation and no heating. These are being rented out by the equivalent of slum landlords but there is a gap in the legislation and enforcement powers compared with that for houses in multiple occupation. The council is trying to find temporary “meanwhile” accommodation in suitable empty buildings, including some owned by the Council. The planning permission process needs to be speeded up to enable change of use applications for these buildings to be dealt with promptly. One example is that St Ursula’s now houses 24 residents until redevelopment of the site takes place. The vast majority of van dwellers are in work and many are paying tax, (although not council tax). The current 5 hour parking limit around the Downs was initially provided because of the Zoo, and there are proposals to reduce this time to 2 or 3 hours. The Council is deliberately not pursuing an aggressive policy of moving vans on from the Downs, as the effect would simply be to move them to those residential streets where there are currently no parking restrictions. Although there is some anti-social behaviour, this is caused by a small minority of people; where this can be proved, the perpetrator is prosecuted and made to move on. If it takes place on a large-scale, then the whole encampment will be moved on, as happened recently at St George’s Park. Van owners can be traced through their registration plates and vans are subject to parking restrictions, whereas the owners of unattached caravans cannot be identified in the same way. There is an abandoned coach in Westbury Park where the previous owner has been identified and the matter is being dealt with. As always, please report any concerns to the Councillors to enable them to collate information and pass it on to the relevant officers - eviction teams, waste collection etc.
The question was raised why the people who were going round carrying out the audit weren’t reporting issues, such as an abandoned caravan, on their return so that some action was taken. Stephen responded that, while such communication did happen, it had in the past been inconsistent; in the new structure, there are two councillors with responsibility for this area and there should be better inter-departmental communication.
Hilary Long asked about the possible role of Downs Rangers in this process. Stephen will follow this up.
Car Park charges: The proposal to introduce charges was voted down 5-4 by the Transport Committee.
The key arguments that affected the decision were: We shouldn’t charge people to attend the health centre, the churches and the community centre and the detrimental effect on local shops, where Westbury on Trym is already struggling to attract people. Any introduction of charges would lead to increased congestion due to on-street parking which is not chargeable. These views were backed up by surveys carried out earlier in the year by the Transport Group and the Westbury on Trym Society showing that the vast majority of people stayed for under 2 hours (so undermining the argument that charging would reduce long-term parking) and that many would either park on the roadside or go elsewhere. The loss of the expected income from the proposed charges will have to be offset and this could come in part from income from the Clean Air Zone charges.
Transport update: The roadworks on Falcondale Rd are to enable cable laying to link the four sets of traffic lights between Stoke Lane junction and Henbury Road junction. This will allow synchronisation and CCTV cameras. They should be finished by the end of November.
Waste collections:
The website has had a number of issues. There is a disconnect between reports of missed roads and subsequent collections – one would expect that roads that were missed one day would be collected from the next day, but it appears that a number of roads have been missed for several weeks. The company is owned by Bristol Council, but is a separate entity, and their budget for last year was reduced by £500,000, meaning that the workforce was reduced and the company had to restructure its collection routes. A second issue is that the recycling lorries have fixed compartments for each category of waste, and the amount of cardboard now being collected means that the lorries often have to return to base earlier than planned. One possibility is to reduce the frequency of collections of black bin (general waste) to enable some of those lorries, which are fitted with compactors, to carry out cardboard collection. Bristol Waste has a new Managing Director and their contract is up for renewal so the Council has to decide the way ahead in discussion with the directors of the company.
Stoke Lodge Village Green
Cotham School is going to court again with a date set in January 2025 to fight the Village Green status. Stoke Lodge will need a barrister to speak for them and although the Open Spaces Society is providing substantial financial support, they still have to raise £100,000 to cover their legal costs - every pound they raise will go towards these costs. When the school converted to an academy, it automatically gained a long lease of use of the ground, but Bristol wrote in a number of restrictions into that lease, to ensure public access to the area. As an academy, the school also has complete control of their budget and can spend it on litigation if they wish. At a previous hearing, the Council was told that they could not appear on both sides of the argument – supporting Stoke Lodge’s Village Green application while also supporting Cotham School’s wish to fence off part of the area… The new Council is supporting Stoke Lodge’s position, but have their own barrister - his arguments will be slightly different from those of the Stoke Lodge barrister although the two will co-ordinate their approach. The rights of way committee are convening a special meeting at the end of November to discuss the creation of four rights of way for the public across the grounds which may affect the situation and make it less attractive to Cotham School. For more information, visit https://stokelodgevg.co.uk/we-love-stoke-lodge/
Quick Updates
Replacement Post Box: As most people are probably aware, a new postbox has been installed on Westbury Court Road, opposite the Sorting Office, and this provides a last collection time of 5pm, Monday to Friday. You can also post letters and parcels at any time at the Post Office in Costcutter Stores in Canford Lane.
Crime Statistics and Policing Issues - Malcolm projected the figures for July 2024 (the latest available at the time of the meeting) and those for July 2023. Most figures were comparable, but there had been a marked rise in two categories – “Shoplifting” and “Violent Crime”.
Azeem and James then talked through these and other concerns…
Shoplifting – the main perpetrators are known to the police and have been arrested and are currently on bail. They are banned from going into stores in Westbury.
Theft from vehicles – we are urged not to leave any valuables in parked cars, where they might be the subject of opportunistic crime.
Violent crime – this category includes a range of offences from verbal abuse at home to violent behaviour in public. The vast majority of incidents are between people who know each other, and it is very rare for a member of the public to be involved.
Scooters etc - The problem of E scooters and bikes being ridden on the pavement was raised. As has been mentioned before, the police are not allowed to follow them or attempt to stop them, in case there is an accident. Instead, they try to gain information as to where the perpetrators live and then follow up at their homes. We are urged to report use of illegal scooters and bikes via 101 or the police website to assist the police intelligence department which is monitoring it. Malcolm thanked Azeem and James for coming and asked Azeem to give our best wishes to Steve Harding who will be retiring shortly.
You can contact Azeem by email at or via the police website.:
Councillors’ update.
Malcolm welcomed our new councillors and invited them to share their news…
Van dwellers on the Downs: The new administration wants to do something about this citywide problem. They do not want to clear one area, just to cause the van-dwellers to move to another area. Council officers have carried out an audit of van dwellers and found that many of the van-dwellers are renting vehicles from Bristol residents. Often the living conditions are dreadful, with no running water, no sanitation and no heating. These are being rented out by the equivalent of slum landlords but there is a gap in the legislation and enforcement powers compared with that for houses in multiple occupation. The council is trying to find temporary “meanwhile” accommodation in suitable empty buildings, including some owned by the Council. The planning permission process needs to be speeded up to enable change of use applications for these buildings to be dealt with promptly. One example is that St Ursula’s now houses 24 residents until redevelopment of the site takes place. The vast majority of van dwellers are in work and many are paying tax, (although not council tax). The current 5 hour parking limit around the Downs was initially provided because of the Zoo, and there are proposals to reduce this time to 2 or 3 hours. The Council is deliberately not pursuing an aggressive policy of moving vans on from the Downs, as the effect would simply be to move them to those residential streets where there are currently no parking restrictions. Although there is some anti-social behaviour, this is caused by a small minority of people; where this can be proved, the perpetrator is prosecuted and made to move on. If it takes place on a large-scale, then the whole encampment will be moved on, as happened recently at St George’s Park. Van owners can be traced through their registration plates and vans are subject to parking restrictions, whereas the owners of unattached caravans cannot be identified in the same way. There is an abandoned coach in Westbury Park where the previous owner has been identified and the matter is being dealt with. As always, please report any concerns to the Councillors to enable them to collate information and pass it on to the relevant officers - eviction teams, waste collection etc.
The question was raised why the people who were going round carrying out the audit weren’t reporting issues, such as an abandoned caravan, on their return so that some action was taken. Stephen responded that, while such communication did happen, it had in the past been inconsistent; in the new structure, there are two councillors with responsibility for this area and there should be better inter-departmental communication.
Hilary Long asked about the possible role of Downs Rangers in this process. Stephen will follow this up.
Car Park charges: The proposal to introduce charges was voted down 5-4 by the Transport Committee.
The key arguments that affected the decision were: We shouldn’t charge people to attend the health centre, the churches and the community centre and the detrimental effect on local shops, where Westbury on Trym is already struggling to attract people. Any introduction of charges would lead to increased congestion due to on-street parking which is not chargeable. These views were backed up by surveys carried out earlier in the year by the Transport Group and the Westbury on Trym Society showing that the vast majority of people stayed for under 2 hours (so undermining the argument that charging would reduce long-term parking) and that many would either park on the roadside or go elsewhere. The loss of the expected income from the proposed charges will have to be offset and this could come in part from income from the Clean Air Zone charges.
Transport update: The roadworks on Falcondale Rd are to enable cable laying to link the four sets of traffic lights between Stoke Lane junction and Henbury Road junction. This will allow synchronisation and CCTV cameras. They should be finished by the end of November.
Waste collections:
The website has had a number of issues. There is a disconnect between reports of missed roads and subsequent collections – one would expect that roads that were missed one day would be collected from the next day, but it appears that a number of roads have been missed for several weeks. The company is owned by Bristol Council, but is a separate entity, and their budget for last year was reduced by £500,000, meaning that the workforce was reduced and the company had to restructure its collection routes. A second issue is that the recycling lorries have fixed compartments for each category of waste, and the amount of cardboard now being collected means that the lorries often have to return to base earlier than planned. One possibility is to reduce the frequency of collections of black bin (general waste) to enable some of those lorries, which are fitted with compactors, to carry out cardboard collection. Bristol Waste has a new Managing Director and their contract is up for renewal so the Council has to decide the way ahead in discussion with the directors of the company.
Stoke Lodge Village Green
Cotham School is going to court again with a date set in January 2025 to fight the Village Green status. Stoke Lodge will need a barrister to speak for them and although the Open Spaces Society is providing substantial financial support, they still have to raise £100,000 to cover their legal costs - every pound they raise will go towards these costs. When the school converted to an academy, it automatically gained a long lease of use of the ground, but Bristol wrote in a number of restrictions into that lease, to ensure public access to the area. As an academy, the school also has complete control of their budget and can spend it on litigation if they wish. At a previous hearing, the Council was told that they could not appear on both sides of the argument – supporting Stoke Lodge’s Village Green application while also supporting Cotham School’s wish to fence off part of the area… The new Council is supporting Stoke Lodge’s position, but have their own barrister - his arguments will be slightly different from those of the Stoke Lodge barrister although the two will co-ordinate their approach. The rights of way committee are convening a special meeting at the end of November to discuss the creation of four rights of way for the public across the grounds which may affect the situation and make it less attractive to Cotham School. For more information, visit https://stokelodgevg.co.uk/we-love-stoke-lodge/
Quick Updates
Replacement Post Box: As most people are probably aware, a new postbox has been installed on Westbury Court Road, opposite the Sorting Office, and this provides a last collection time of 5pm, Monday to Friday. You can also post letters and parcels at any time at the Post Office in Costcutter Stores in Canford Lane.
Canford Park Pond:
As had been mentioned previously, the pond had become infested over the summer with Azolla, which is an invasive aquatic fern. After investigation by Bristol University, the decision was taken to introduce weevils into the pond, which will eat the Azolla and this was due to happen at the beginning of October. By mid October, the Azolla was no longer in evidence, owing to the colder weather. However, the pond is still fenced off and the notices are still being displayed, as the use of weevils and the consequent eradication of the Azolla is now being delayed until the Spring..
Planning Update
Jill Kempshall summarised developments in the 15 Westfield Road saga. While planning permission has been granted for the erection of three detached 4/5 bedroom houses, with one parking space per dwelling, a parallel application for two pairs of semi-detached houses has been refused, as has a subsequent appeal.
There has been an application to convert the Barclays Bank site into three flats
An application for change of use of the Nat West Bank site to make the upper floor into four flats and convert the ground floor into a retail/commercial unit was agreed. The latest Application seeks to provide appropriate access to the four self-contained apartments and to regularise the layout of the ground floor for its future commercial use.
Numbers 47 and 49 High Street (located behind the main High Street buildings). The application for redevelopment of number 49 has been refused because “The proposed erection of 3 dwellings represents a significant over-development of the back-land site, with the resultant building by virtue of the cramped, awkward layout, siting, design, quantum, scale, shape, form, footprint, density, height and massing appearing incongruous, overly prominent and poor quality within this part of the Westbury-on-Trym Conservation Area which would appear out of keeping with the immediate back-land context and surrounding properties”. However, the fate of the application for number 47 has yet to be determined.
Open Forum
The Act of Remembrance will be happening again at the War Memorial in Westbury Village. The Parish Church has taken on responsibility for making arrangements with the police, organising a sound system and providing the required public liability insurance. They have set up a donation website for anyone who would like to make a contribution towards these costs: https://givealittle.co/c/HTCRD
SusWoT (Sustainable Westbury on Trym) are organising a Warmer Westbury Homes Fair at the Village Hall from 10am to 4pm on 16th November 2024, in partnership with Retrofit West. The event aims to provide information and advice to local people who are interested in improving the energy efficiency of their homes and to enable discussion with providers and also people who have already installed items in their own homes. For more information, visit www.suswot.org.uk
A question was raised about possible allotment rent rises. The original plans included both rent increases and changes to the terms and conditions for allotment holders. These will now be separated, with rent rises being decided at a committee meeting on October 11th and decisions on changes in the terms and conditions being deferred until next year, following discussions with the allotment holders.
A question regarding mandatory housing targets concerned whether the Council could include student accommodation in their calculations? The councillors responded that they couldn’t be sure, but thought that they should be. They will investigate and report back… And the answer is: Student accommodation counts towards targets on a 2.5:1 basis – e.g. every two and a half beds counts as one home for target purposes. In the draft local plan, there are various areas where a cap on student accommodation is proposed, and in those cases the student bed numbers are separated out from estimates on supply of other accommodation types.
In a discussion about the current state of Council Finances, councillors were asked about the large amount of “uncollected debts”. Quite a lot of these debts relate to situations where there is no possibility of payment, such as traffic cases where the DVLA is unable to identify the owner of a particular vehicle registration. Councillors have asked for these cases to be removed and for a breakdown of the remaining debts, distinguishing between “can’t pay” and “won’t pay”. The council is not as seriously in debt as it was and, although the situation is still pretty bad, there is no likelihood of Bristol Council declaring bankruptcy. They are waiting for the October 30th Budget to determine whether they can raise council tax above 3% next year and also hoping that Government settlements to local councils will increase. However, even if the Council Tax was raised by 10%, that would only bring in an extra £19 million, while the budget hole is over £50 million. The cost of external consultants was raised and this is something that is being looked at by councillors.
One of the many calls on Council funding is the need to provide foster homes for children and more foster parents are always needed – if foster parents can’t be found, placing a child with complex needs in private care can cost up to £12,000 per week and the Council is currently spending around £50 million per year on private care homes, mostly outside Bristol. If anyone feels that they, or someone they know, would be able to take on this role, they are encouraged to contact the Council for more information. You can visit their website at https://www.bristol.gov.uk/foster-with-bristol-city-council
WoTSoc (The Westbury on Trym Society) is organising a working party to tidy up the Sunken Garden in Canford Park, with the first session planned for the morning of Friday October 25th, from 10 until 12. If you would like to be involved, either on the 25th or on future dates, please let them know by email at: westburyontrymsociety@gmail.com
Hilary Long invited people to join in a tree planting ceremony on the morning on Friday 15th November. An oak tree will be planted in Canford Park by the Lord Lieutenant of Bristol, Mrs Peaches Golding to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.
The meeting closed at 9:40pm
The next Forum meeting will be held at the Library on Tuesday January 7th. Details will be circulated nearer the time.
Crime Statistics Summary
