Preservation Society News

Mid-year Report (in lieu of a summer meeting)

By the time this June edition of FCN is being delivered at the end of May, it is widely expected that we will be only 3 weeks from the last milestone on the ‘Roadmap’ to final release from Lockdown.

However, at the time of writing this report (10th May) although some inside venues are expecting to reopen, it is too soon to assume that a return to any kind of ‘normal’ can be taken for granted. So, reluctantly it is a fairly logical decision that we will have to hang on until the autumn before trying to organise an actual - as opposed to virtual - meeting. But watch this space in future editions!

Meanwhile, the ‘Frenchay Members’ on Winterbourne Parish Council (namely Paul Kembery, Charlie Watkins, Adrian Collins and myself) have continued to meet via ‘Zoom’ twice a month for the last 12 months or so. Thus a cross-section of your committee have been able to keep abreast of events and deal with various issues which continue to arise in and around Frenchay. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has meant that many things are taking longer, including the anticipated hand-over of the ‘Voluntary’ Village Green lands from North Bristol Trust to the Parish Council.

Finally, thanks to the excellent working relationship which has been developing with Frenchay Residents Association over recent years, I can keep this report short and refer readers to the FRA report No.79 and, indeed, all the reports written by Adrian Collins and his team. I trust that everyone will manage to stay safe and well and be able to enjoy summer in Frenchay.

Hugh Whatley (Chair, FPS)