Ward profiles: Hengrove & Whitchurch Park – ‘Green spaces are threatened by development’

The sound of planes taking off from the land once home to Whitchurch Airport is long gone, to be replaced by the shouts of children playing.

Opened by HRH Prince George the Duke of Kent in 1930, the grassy flat in front of South Bristol Community Hospital saw its last flight – a ‘honeymoon special’ – take off in 1957 and nowadays just a graffiti-flecked board marks the existence of the airfield.

After some years as a landfill site, the vast green patch was transformed into Hengrove Mounds Nature Reserve for people of all ages to explore and discover the wildlife on their doorstep. It’s a constant in an area undergoing plenty of changes.

Just past Hengrove Leisure Centre – which is due to reopen on Monday – work is well underway on the new advanced construction skills centre next to City of Bristol College, which it is hoped will stand local people in good stead for new jobs in the region.

On the corner of Whitchurch Lane, scaffolding and hoardings surround the new ‘Urban Quarter’ development while just down the road, luxury one and two-bedroom apartments are for sale from £145,000 at Boulevard View.

The new advanced construction skills centre is due to open in September 2021

Tim Kent, a current Lib Dem councillor for Hengrove & Whitchurch Park, says the neighbourhood is a great mix of people but there is concern locally about development in an area where services are already stretched and public transport inadequate.

“Hengrove and Whitchurch Park has great access to the countryside and open spaces although this is threatened by large-scale development,” Kent tells Bristol24/7.

“The closure of the cinema, with proposals to demolish it for housing, is a real blow. The stress on the local doctor surgery and the provision of new housing leaves people very concerned about accessing doctors.

“The threat of closure of the library brought the community together to save it – we now have an active Friends of Whitchurch Library group. And during Covid, the local voluntary response team has been one of the most active in the city.”

Kent argues there is a real need for more places for young people to go, especially since the closure of the cinema in Hengrove and nearby Hartcliffe City Farm – which is due to reopen under new management, with plans for the site to be revealed this summer.

He has submitted a plan in the hope to release funding to rebuild, improve and deliver four new play areas in the ward.

Hengrove play park and cafe are used by people from across south Bristol

On Wednesday afternoon, the café at Hengrove Play Park is doing a steady trade in hot drinks and sandwiches while children make the most of their school holidays in the outdoor playground and skate park opposite.

“People come from all over to use this play park,” says the woman behind the counter as she expertly pours out hot chocolates.

This site may be well used but the number of people in the ward who make the most of green spaces in their area is lower than most of Bristol, with only 37 per cent stating they visit parks and green spaces at least once a week, compared to a citywide average of 53 per cent, according to Bristol City Council data.

Only six per cent of the population in Hengrove & Whitchurch Park feel they can influence decision-making in their local area, compared to 18 per cent across Bristol.

Back up on Whitchurch Lane, traffic flows past two of the areas big employers – Matthew Clark and The Bottle Yard Studios – the latter is undergoing an ambitious £11.8m expansion, incorporating new units on nearby Hawkfield Business Park that it is hoped will help accelerate growth in the city’s film industry and create 1,000 new jobs.

In Whitchurch, fresh fruit and veg are displayed outside the convenience store and the takeaways are starting to prepare for the evening trade.

Rocky Chakir of Palermo Pizzeria says the local community is supportive of independent businesses

Inside Palermo Pizzeria, Rocky Chakir is busy behind the counter. He opened the restaurant just four months ago and although he has only been able to offer takeaway, he says the local community has been really supportive.

“It’s a good neighbourhood and the community supports local businesses,” says Rocky.

“We’re really looking forward to people being able to come in to eat.”

He has little bad to say about the area but agrees with many who argue plans for a ring road would be detrimental to the neighbourhood.

This is something Max Thrower, a Green councillor candidate for Hengrove & Whitchurch Park, is hoping to address.

“The over-development of Hengrove Park has seen the council ignore the locally developed neighbourhood plan, in order to destroy more of the park for housebuilding,” says Thrower.

“This is a part of a trend in south Bristol where unprotected green spaces are seen as ripe for development by this council.

“As your councillors, we will work hard to protect your green spaces and will listen to your views, making sure that local needs are addressed first and foremost and aren’t overshadowed.”

Thrower will stand alongside fellow Greens Tabitha Stanmore and Lela McTernan. For the Lib Dems, Andrew Brown and Sarah Classick will run alongside Kent.

Labour hopefuls Caroline Jenkins, Rory Casey, Martin Golding are also in the running, as are Tory candidates Daniel Fear, Karen Brown and Edmund Hunt.

Tim Kent says there is a need for more facilities for the community in Hengrove & Whitchurch Park

All photos by Ellie Pipe

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