Former Botanical Gardens reopened
remember, remember, the fifth of november...

Bracken Hill House, North Road, Leigh Woods, BS8 3PL welcomes its new tenants!

As the smoke from bonfire night clears up, Bracken Hill House, North Somerset, is found housing surprising new tenants. A group calling themselves “The Bracken Hill Estate Conservation Group” have taken up lodging in the abandoned former Botanical Gardens. They are opposed to plans to develop the mansion and grounds into new upmarket dwellings. The planned building works could endanger some of the rare species still present in the gardens, the group says. They want to preserve the estate in its present state and reopen it to the public as a sustainable community centre.

“We believe that the development would be ecologically and socially detrimental to the area” a spokesperson of the group says. “Not only is there a very special ecosystem on the land itself, it also lies in the middle of a conservation area”. But not only ecological reasons motivate the action “The gardens used to be open to the public. Now they are getting converted into luxury homes for a fortunate few for profit. This at a time of public spending cuts and unaffordable housing”.

Bracken Hill Estate was controversially put up for sale by the University of Bristol in 2004. The purchasers, a property developer specialising in high-end conversions, want to erect new dwellings and a road on the land. The development has sparked concern after members of the public claimed that it endangered some of the rare animals and plants that remain in the gardens. A campaign against the planning application however failed in 2009. Building works are planned to start in 2011 .

The new tenants plan to reopen Bracken Hill House as a Community Centre housing horticultural and economic research and education as well as arts projects. “All our activities will be free of charge and open to all”.

Contact:
The Bracken Hill Estate Conservation Group
email: brackenhill@ymail.com
web: http://brackenhillcommons.wordpress.com/
phone: +44 (0)785 5089008

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