Councillors Take Further Action to Protect Bradley Stoke Way

Bradley Stoke Town Council fully supports the previous decision to install wooden posts to ‘deter’ the return of the encampment; however this was sadly to no avail. It was a proportionately measured response hoping that the persons, who decided to establish the unauthorised encampment, would respect our green space and would get the message not to return. The council stands by the initial efforts; as the cost of the posts were of considerable good value, the posts were never intentioned to stop persons returning to the site but rather slow them down, acting as a deterrent and assist the legal process where criminal damage would have to be committed to gain access, expensive ground works that could have been implemented would have been reversed within a short timeframe; as the installation of a bus lane that is scheduled to pass through the area subject to South Gloucestershire Council’s planning approval.

Addressing the pressing question of why boulders were not initially installed after the posts, but rather two trees? This is because, this stretch of the public highway is South Gloucestershire Council’s land and their responsibility, they felt installation of the trees was just as satisfactory and could be achieved a lot faster. Bradley Stoke Town Council had little choice but accept this view. However as this has proved a false economy, Councillor John Ashe and Bradley Stoke Town Council officers had a site meeting with an officer from South Gloucestershire Council and insisted that, as the trees failed, South Gloucestershire Council must provide boulders.

The current installation of boulders means they can be used on the site until the point of further development (i.e. the installation of a bus lane) and can be moved to other parts of the town to protect areas that are assessed to be of risk to the establishment of unauthorised encampments.