The following article appeared in the Annual Review for 1998, the Society's 25th anniversary year.
In March 1973, when it was seen that the roofs of two splendid houses less than eight years old were being removed at 153 and 155 Redland Road, enquiries were made which showed that a planning application for a block of offices and penthouse flats had been submitted. The planning register showed also an application for a block of flats at 52/54 Coldharbour Road.
Three friends, realising that they had no means of being forewarned of such applications, invited the residents of St.Oswald’s and Canowie Roads to a meeting to discuss the implications for the Redland Green area of the pressure of property development. The idea was put forward in the invitation that there might emerge a ‘Redland Green Preservation Society’ whose function would be primarily one of informing its members of planning applications in their areas.
There was an enthusiastic attendance at this meeting on 13th March 1973, at which an ad hoc committee was elected to arrange and publicise an Inaugural Meeting of a ‘Redland Green and District Amenities Society’ which was held in St Alban’s Church Hall on 17th April 1973. Over 3,000 invitations were distributed, and about 150 people attended the meeting. Dr B A Cottle gave an illustrated talk on ‘The History and Character of Redland’, and many volunteers came forward to offer their help in various capacities to launch the activities of the Society. At the meeting some people from Cotham, who had been contemplating a similar activity, expressed a wish to participate, and it was agreed that a constitution should be drawn up for a Society to be registered as a charity with the title of the ‘Redland and Cotham Amenities Society’. So the Society was born, with a constitution modelled upon that of its older and highly successful neighbour, the Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society.
The first Annual General Meeting of the Society took place at the Friends Meeting House in Hampton Road, on Monday, 1st October 1973, just six months after the meeting of the three friends who proposed the plan. At the time of this meeting the basic structure of the Society had evolved, groups of volunteers had been organised to read the planning register every week, sift the applications and notify members of proposed developments. A committee was elected to maintain the organisation and finances of the Society, and it held its first meeting on Tuesday 9th October 1973, electing its own chairman in the manner prescribed by the constitution. The committee formed sub-committees which co-opted further members as their work required, and as volunteers presented themselves, charged with the following tasks:
Planning
Parks and Gardens
Roads and Traffic
Membership and Finance
The purposes of the Society were defined from the start:
To keep its members informed of planning applications within the boundaries of Redland and Cotham, and in particular to notify every member of any such application in the immediate vicinity of his house. Wider notice would only be given for applications of very general interest, such as proposals for very large buildings, or those which might affect open spaces and so on.
To encourage the improvement and maintenance of open spaces, and the preservation and replanting of trees.
To encourage members to improve the amenities and appearance of the district.
To exchange information and activities with similar societies in the neighbourhood, with the Bristol Civic Society, The Visual Environmental Group, and to correspond as necessary with the City Planning Office.
To arrange meetings at which discussion of matters concerning the environment of Redland and Cotham can take place.
The ways in which these objectives are pursued have evolved gradually, but follow the original plan of the Society very closely.
The Committee meets six times per year, and reviews the work of the planning sub-committee, particularly corresponding with the City Planning Officer so that where a planning application seems to be at variance with generally accepted opinion in the Society, this can be made known. Usually, however, the view of the Society has been that objections to planning applications should be made by individual members, and that the Society’s function is to inform its members rather than act on their behalf.
The Committee also organises three or four meetings in each year, circulates three or four newsletters, and has undertaken various other activities, such as the raising of money for the planting of trees to replace those destroyed by Dutch Elm Disease, the promotion of the Whiteladies Road Conservation Area, and more recently Redland Fair.
From the outset it was clear that the voluntary service of many members of the Society would be the principal support of its activities, and that a modest subscription would be sufficient if we continued to receive that support.
It’s fair to say that we have remained true to these principles over the 25 years since that first meeting. Our sub-committees are perhaps less formal these days, each consisting usually of two ‘specialists’ who discuss their joint topic as required between main committee meetings. These cover Planning, Parks, Trees, and Membership. Other areas are covered by individuals. There is a complete listing of committee members’ responsibilities at the beginning of this booklet. Our membership has increased to the point where we could no longer notify concerned members of every planning application, but we still draw members’ attention to large or contentious proposals.
We still have a few founder members, and we would be delighted to hear from them if they have any interesting reminiscences to share with the rest of us.