Packer's Field is a seven acre area of green land that nestles between the Whitehall, Easton and Greenbank districts of Bristol. For generations it has been used by local people for recreation and leisure. But for how much longer? Bristol City Council have leased the field to the nearby City Academy school who plan to erect a fence around it and use a large proportion of the site for their own sporting activities. It is almost certain that local people would be charged a fee of some sort to access a resource that has hitherto been theirs to use for free. Even worse, the Council are also planning to build an athletics stadium on the site that would create a huge rise in traffic and pollution. If Bristol City Council get their way one of the last remaining green areas in East Bristol will be concreted over and lost forever...
Read The Community Use Agreement By Clicking Here.
Judging by the building work going on at Packers, and the lack of news, you may have thought that the long-running campaign had finally finished. In fact, the work of local campaigners trying to maintain free public access to Packers has continued throughout this period, and is to be rewarded with the implementation of a Community Use Agreement, which was written and proposed by residents themselves. This CUA upholds the right of local people to continue to use the site for informal sport and leisure, as they have done for generations. This is good news for local residents of all ages and backgrounds, in advance of the field re-opening in April, and demonstrates that organised campaigning does work.
Click read to read the Packers Field March 2008 Bulletin.
Packer Field social evening
Sunday 30th March
The White Hart pub
Whitehall Road (just up from the Plough)
8pm till late
A social evening to celebrate the Community Use Agreement, which guarantees continued free, informal use of Packers Field. The night is a chance for anyone who has supported the Packers campaign to come and enjoy the fruits of their hard work. This includes the many Cowboys and Cowgirls who signed petitions, wrote letters and attended the fun days on the field. Live music courtesy of Eirlys Rhiannon (http://www.thebluesequoias.com/) and DJ Willy Digger, and maybe a special guest or two on the night! No entry charge but donations appreciated for running costs of campaign. All welcome.