Revised proposals for a weekly parkrun in Bradley Stoke’s Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve are to be discussed at the town council’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday (17th May 2023).
Following an abandoned attempt to establish the event back in 2016, rekindled efforts were made earlier this year by a group of volunteers who made a presentation to the town council in March.
Permission to use the nature reserve must come from South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), which owns the land, but the town council is invited to submit comments prior to a decision being made.
At the time of the March meeting, town councillors gave a less-than-enthusiastic reception to the proposals and they agreed to “consult with the local community” before sending a formal consultee response to SGC. They added that any such consultation would have to wait until after the local elections on 4th May 2023.
In the meantime, the parkrun volunteer group has submitted its formal application to SGC, albeit with a revised run route compared to the one that was previously discussed (see below).
Revised route
Participants will assemble and leave bags at the ‘triangle’ near the lake, where the pre-race briefing will be held. They will then walk up to the start point, located at the bottom of the steep path up to the Tump. Once started, at 9am, they will initially head north, going as far as a point just short of the wooden bridge, where they will make a U-turn and head back south. After reaching the lake, they will head west, under Stoke Bridge (Bradley Stoke Way), to a second turning point. From here, it’s up to the wooden bridge once more and back again before making a final U-turn and heading back to the lake.
The Journal understands that the route was amended to address concerns about its proximity to houses and also to avoid crossing the wooden bridge and using the narrower and potentially muddy paths in the north of the nature reserve.
A source within the volunteer group told the Journal:
“The parkrun team want to provide an event primarily for the local community. We want to work collaboratively with all groups which have an interest in the area and in particular with the Three Brooks [Nature Conservation Group]. We are happy to wait until the town council has completed local consultation and [will] discuss any concerns with them.”
“We hope to have a walking meeting of the route with council members on a Saturday morning at the time parkrun would operate – on a date to be agreed.”
An officer report published ahead of Wednesday’s meeting (see below) includes answers supplied by the parkrun volunteer group to queries submitted by the Three Brooks Nature Conservation Group.
Related links
- Agenda for the town council’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday 17th May 2023 [MS Word on Dropbox; 86kB]
- Officer report: Update on possible commencement of Park Run on Three Brooks Nature Reserve [MS Word on Dropbox; 495kB]
The Annual Meeting takes place at the Jubilee Centre, Savages Wood Road, Bradley Stoke BS32 8HL, starting at 7pm.
Editor’s note: The public are invited to attend all council meetings. You can have your say during the 15-minute ‘public questions’ session at the start of each meeting.
Town council debate (May 2023)
UPDATE added 2nd June 2023.
Two members of the parkrun volunteer group were given an opportunity to address the Annual Meeting of Bradley Stoke Town Council on Wednesday 17th May 2023.
Councillors asked a number of questions and made some observations including:
- Footpaths on nature reserve are not adequate to support this level of use and numbers of people attending each week and it may be dispiriting for the volunteer group who carry out amazing works on the reserve, if the good works they do are then damaged by runners.
- There will be a loss of additional parking spaces with the new building due to take place at the Willow Brook Centre and the car park is already very busy on Saturday morning; also with the starting point in the middle of the reserve, people may be tempted to park in Juniper Way and other surrounding roads rather than the main Willow Brook Centre car park.
- Clarification of start times.
- Guidance needed on likely numbers attending each week.
- Public consultation and a public meeting need to be carried out prior to town council making any formal response to SGC.
- Councillors are in favour of encouraging the local community to get active, but have significant concerns as to whether the nature reserve is the correct location.
- Councillors acknowledged that not all parkruns take place on tarmacked surfaces, some are across grass etc.
Following discussion, Cllr Jon Williams proposed setting up a working group to formulate the public consultation and a public meeting, seconded by Cllr Ben Randles, carried unanimously, with the working group comprising of Cllrs Roger Avenin, John Bradbury, Natalie Field, Jenny James, James Nelson, Kulwinder Singh Sappal and Ben Randles.
