The Bradley Stoke Journal

The Bradley Stoke Journal has learned that tonight’s Special Meeting of Bradley Stoke Town Council [agenda] has already attracted the attention of the local media. A source within Northavon Bowls Club has told The Journal that a reporter and cameraman from the Bristol Evening Post will be at the meeting. The source also revealed that the Club has been asked to take part in a discussion on Radio Bristol tomorrow (Friday) morning at 8:15am.

The Special Meeting, which takes place at 7:30pm in the Jubilee Centre, Savages Wood Road, has been called to discuss the ongoing bowls dispute and issues surrounding the new town centre development.

Tesco representative Dan Bramwell is expected to attend for the town centre discussion.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has approved a “controversial” planning application for advertising signage in Bradley Stoke’s new town centre development. As reported in The Journal’s article on 30^th April, Bradley Stoke Town Council’s (BSTC) planning committee unanimously agreed to oppose the application at a meeting on 23^rd April, but the committee apparently overlooked the fact that SGC’s consultation period for the application had already expired on 15^th April.

An online objection was lodged by The Town Council on 28^th April, followed by a written objection (also received by SGC on 28^th April). However, a decision to recommend approval of the application had already been made by the SGC case officer with the issuing of a Circulated Schedule Report on 25^th April. The final decision to approve was made on 2^nd May after no requests were made by SGC councillors (or BSTC) to “call in” the application for a site visit or for determination by the SGC planning committee.

Quite why none of the SGC councillors representing Bradley Stoke chose to “call in” the application remains a mystery, particularly when four of these councillors are also members of the Town Council, including two (John Ashe and Sarah Pomfret) who sit on the BSTC planning committee that opposed the application.

The new town centre development is one of two topics to be discussed at a Special Meeting of Bradley Stoke Town Council on Thursday (8^th May). The ongoing dispute between the Town Council and Northavon Bowls Club over the Baileys Court rental agreement is also on the agenda. The press and public are invited to attend the meeting, although it is noted that recent deliberations on both of these matters have taken place “in camera” (i.e. the press and public have been asked to leave the room during the discussions).

Sunday’s dramatic events at Baileys Court bowling green, reported first here on the Bradley Stoke Journal have sparked a hurge surge of interest from the local, regional and national media. The Journal’s exclusive photos [album, slideshow] of the stand-off between bowlers and police officers have been a key factor in the momentum behind the story.

Once things have quietened down, we will be compiling a comprehensive review of the media coverage. In the meantime, here is a summary of the reports we know about:

Tuesday:

• Radio Bristol – on-site reports in the breakfast programme
• Bristol Evening Post – front page, inside page plus editorial comment (*) & online
• Western Daily Press – front page, two inside pages plus editorial comment (*) & online
• ITV West News – TV feature (*) & online (*)
• BBC Points West – TV feature (*) & online (*)

Wednesday:

• BBC Radio 2
• BBC Radio 4
• BBC Radio 5 Live
• Daily Express – print (*) & online
• Daily Mirror – print (*) & online
• Daily Mail (*) – print (*) & online (*)
• Daily Telegraph – online
• London Evening Standard – online (*)

Items marked (*) make use of exclusive photos supplied by The Bradley Stoke Journal.

Please let us know if you have seen coverage of the story elsewhere.

Read all the “Battle of the Bowls” stories here on The Bradley Stoke Journal.

The dispute between Bradley Stoke Town Council and Northavon Bowls Club, brought to a head by an invasion of the Baileys Court bowling green on Sunday, is featuring extensively this morning on the “Breakfast with Richard Wyatt” programme on BBC Radio Bristol. Local bowls hero Tony Allcock, Chief Executive of Bowls England was heard just after the 7am news voicing support for the Bowls Club and calling on the Council to be more more proactive in encouraging community sport. An interview with Bradley Stoke Town Council is expected to be broadcast later in the programme.

In dramatic scenes at Baileys Court bowling green on Sunday afternoon, police were called after a group of approximately fifty bowlers and supporters from Northavon Bowls Club entered the ground in defiance of an order imposed by Bradley Stoke Town Council. The bowlers began to set out equipment for an “open session”, but were soon interrupted by the sound of police sirens and the arrival of officers from Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Gates to the green had been padlocked two weeks ago by the Council, but the chain on one of the gates was mysteriously severed sometime earlier on Sunday. This allowed the group to enter the premises at around 2pm.

The Club is in dispute with the Council over proposals for a new rental agreement at the ground and following the breakdown of negotiations between the two parties, the Club has been banned from the green and pavilion and instructed to remove all its effects by 1st May. [see earlier report in The Journal]

A total of seven police officers and PCSOs attended the disturbance and they are understood to have requested that the group leave the premises as they were committing an unlawful act of trespass following an incident of criminal damage. Heated discussions ensued, with some members of the club commenting that the strength of the police response was “over the top”. The group eventually left the ground after being there for about forty-five minutes.

More photos from this story may be found on The Journal’s PicasaWeb pages [album, slideshow]. Related posts: bowls