News / KNowle West
Man starts to create new youth facilities without permission
A man has started to create new youth facilities on an unused piece of land in south Bristol – despite not having permission to do so.
Nick Haskins has begun to make a football pitch and BMX track on the former Filwood Swimming Baths site, where there are plans for a housing development.
The city council is “strongly urging” the 61-year-old to stop what he is doing on the land it owns on Filwood Broadway.
is needed now More than ever
But Nick, who calls himself “the voice of Knowle West”, vows to continue his work even if he is arrested.
Nick Haskins is, without permission, creating a new football pitch and BMX track at a fly-tipping hotspot on Filwood Broadway in Knowle West – photo: Charlie Watts
“I’m a Knowle Wester, and this is how Knowle Westers work,” said Nick, who was born and bred in the area.
“[The old pool site] has been derelict for about 20 years and nobody’s been allowed to use it. Well, not anymore!”
The retired landscaper’s first job has been to clear the overgrown grass on the site, which is also a fly-tipping hotspot.
Nick says a football pitch is needed because a ball court – which is part of the site but due to be removed when houses are built on it – is too dangerous to use.
He says a BMX track is also needed because one proposed in another part of Knowle West is yet to be built.
The former Filwood Swimming Baths site has been undeveloped since the pool was closed in 2005 and demolished.
But housing association LiveWest now has plans to build 29 new homes on the land – all of which will be “affordable”.
Nick says he would be happy for the facilities he is creating to be removed if the construction of houses does start on the site.
He says he would also be happy for them to be removed when proposed improvements to nearby football pitches are complete.
The council has up to £300,000 for the provision of floodlights at Filwood Playing Fields and potentially a new ball court there.
The former Filwood Residents Association chair says a ball court, which is part of the former Filwood Swimming Baths site, is too dangerous to use – photo: Charlie Watts
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “With substantial investment being allocated to this important area in south Bristol, this is an exciting time for Filwood Broadway, and we want the local community to be a big part of shaping the plans for improvements to the area.
“As part of our commitment to delivering 1,000 new affordable homes each year by 2024 to help meet the need for high-quality, sustainable new homes in the city, housing development on the former Filwood Swimming Baths site will make sure that council land is best used to create value for Bristol’s citizens.
“We will continue to engage with the community of Filwood Broadway and would strongly urge anyone who is undertaking unpermitted activity on council-owned land to stop.”
But Nick says he cannot be stopped. He added: “Even if they come along and put padlocks on the gate, I’ll cut them off and put my own on.
“And if I’m arrested and taken to the police station, when they release me I’ll come back and change the locks again.”
He hopes to have his facilities up and running in time for the six-week school holidays.
Charlie Watts is reporting on Knowle West as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo: Charlie Watts
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