Stoke Gifford councillor Brian Allinson has repeated his demand for a separate pedestrian and cyclist tunnel to be constructed alongside Parkway railway bridge following another vehicle strike incident.

The bridge is actually formed of two separate structures, a steel deck bridge to the Hatchet Road side and a brick arch bridge to the Brierly Furlong side.

While the steel deck bridge has constant height across the carriageway, the brick arch bridge has a lower clearance, both in the centre of the road and more so towards each side.

As well as the usual warning signs on and before the bridge, lines painted in the road are intended to remind drivers of high vehicles that they need to move towards the centre of the road when passing under the structure.

An incident in December 2018 saw the whole roof of a double decker bus sheared off under the bridge. There were no passengers on board the bus at the time, and the driver was reported to be “unhurt but shocked”. Fortunately, there were also no pedestrians passing along the narrow footways under the bridge; if there had been, the outcome might have been much more serious.

The recent incident, on 10th September, saw a First Bristol number 19A bus become jammed under the bridge because the driver had failed to move the vehicle towards the centre of the road where the clearance is greater. There were no reported injuries.

In addition to the dangers posed by bridge strikes, Cllr Allinson says the narrow footways under the bridge put pedestrians and cyclists at unacceptable risk on a daily basis.

Speaking at a meeting of Stoke Gifford Parish Council, Cllr Allinson said he was aware that plans for a parallel pedestrian tunnel at the site had been drawn up some years ago when the cost was estimated at £10m but following the recent electrification of the railway line this had risen to £20m.

More: South Glos Council is "assessing options" for the bridge »

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A herd of goats, that were until recently munching their way through brambles around the old gun emplacements on Purdown (Stoke Park), has taken up residence at a site near Bristol Parkway railway station.

The animals, managed by community urban farming group Street Goat, have returned to scrubland alongside the Parkway Park & Ride facility in Hunts Ground Road.

They are being deployed as part of a ‘conservation grazing’ initiative which aims to restore grassland and encourage the growth of wildflowers on sites that are important for wildlife.

The aim of the grazing at Parkway is to increase the population of the small blue butterfly (cupido minimus), which is classified as a ‘priority species’ in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. This species of butterfly feeds solely on a wildflower called kidney vetch which grows at this location.

With the goats clearing the brambles and shrubs, this makes way for more kidney vetch to grow, which will then hopefully increase the numbers of small blue butterflies.

As previously reported, Street Goat first introduced goats to the Parkway site in January 2018. They were subsequently transferred to Goblin Coombe in the spring but made a second visit to Parkway in the summer.

The goats are very friendly and members of the public are more than welcome to visit them, although Street Goat requests that you don’t feed them as they have sufficient natural food to keep them healthy.

The animals are expected to be at the Parkway Park & Ride site until December or January.

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer goat herder, which involves helping to monitor the goats and reporting any issues to Street Goat, is invited to get in touch via their website: www.streetgoat.co.uk

More: View our map showing the area that the goats are grazing »

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The 2nd Stoke Gifford Rainbows and 1st Stoke Gifford Brownies celebrated the Stoke Gifford Toy Library’s first anniversary on Saturday 7th September with a party on The Green.

They used the occasion to raise money for Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) as part of a challenge badge the units will be working on this term.

The girls loved meeting Charlie the Critical Care Bear, who borrowed a toy from the library, and did a fantastic job selling cake. Donations on the day came to around £120, which is fantastic and will be used to fund the amazing work done by GWAAC.

The toy library has been a fantastic success and become a well used community asset. The toys rotate regularly as do the decorations and it ensures there is always something new at the phone box. We have supported local and national events though our decorations and the toy Library has enjoyed dressing up for Halloween and paying its respects to our fallen heroes on Armistice day.

The Rainbows and Brownies really enjoy making the decorations for the toy library and have lots of imaginative ideas. They have been working all summer to produce over 300 pom poms for an upcoming theme … watch this space!

Michelle, Rainbows leader

The toy library, located at The Green, Stoke Gifford BS34 8PE, works on a self-service basis and is unlocked by volunteers each day.

More information and related links:

• Stoke Gifford Toy Library on Facebook
• Stoke Gifford Rainbows and Brownies on Twitter

This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of the Stoke Gifford Journal magazine (on page 16). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to over 5,000 homes in Stoke Gifford, Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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Popular sports facilities and public open spaces in Stoke Gifford and Little Stoke are to receive a boost of more than £230,000 in developer funding.

Of the sum awarded by South Gloucestershire Council’s Conservative-run Cabinet in July, £172,000 will be invested into Little Stoke Park and playing field for pitch enhancements and changing room improvements, as well as upgrades to the cricket nets and tennis court at the Trust Ground on North Road.

This follows an initial £13,000 of S106 funding, which was awarded to the playing field last year last year from the Filton Airfield development.

A further £59,000 is also being awarded for toddler play equipment at New Road in Stoke Gifford, following the receipt of wayleave from Network Rail.

Section 106 funding is raised through contributions from developers in negotiation with South Gloucestershire Council and is used to support open space infrastructure that would benefit the new residents and those in existing communities nearby.

Welcoming the funding were Stoke Gifford’s three district ward councillors, Brian Allinson, Ernie Brown and Keith Cranney.

Cllr Allinson said:

“This is great news for our community. South Gloucestershire Council’s Conservative administration has prioritised our public places as one of its main focuses and we are pleased that residents will soon be able to enjoy these enhancements.”

More: Reactions from the other ward councillors »

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