Brislington Meadows: The Broken Promise to Protect Our Green Spaces
In a city that claims to prioritise green space, the story of Brislington Meadows stands out as a broken promise.
Tucked away between School Road and the Brislington Trading Estate, Brislington Meadows is a 9.1-hectare Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) — a patchwork of rare grassland and historic hedgerows that has existed since the enclosure of Brislington Common in 1778. For those who know it, it’s one of the neighbourhood’s best-kept secrets: a quiet refuge for wildlife and local walkers, bordered by Victory Park and Broomhill Road.
In 2020, the site was sold to Homes England, the government's housing agency, with the intention to build around 300 homes. Despite its protected status and local ecological value, the land had already been earmarked for development in the 2014 Local Plan — a decision that has since become a flashpoint for Bristol’s wider conflict between housing growth and environmental stewardship.
What Happened to the Council’s Green Commitments?
In September 2021, the Green Party put forward a significant amendment to a Conservative Party motion aimed at protecting the Green Belt and Bristol’s green spaces. The amendment was wide-ranging — urging the Council to:
Halt redevelopment of wildlife-rich agricultural land;
Prioritise brownfield over greenfield sites;
Avoid designating SNCIs for development;
Preserve wildlife corridors;
And crucially, adopt Brislington Meadows as a Local Green Space under national planning guidelines.
The motion, with the Green amendment, passed.
It looked, at the time, like a landmark moment for environmental protection in the city. But since then, that commitment has quietly unravelled.
The Silence Since the Vote
In the years following the 2021 vote, little visible action has been taken by the Council — or the Green Party, now in administration — to follow through on those promises.
In December 2024, Brislington East councillor Tim Rippington (Labour) directly questioned the Green Leader of the Council, Tony Dyer, at Member Forum, asking whether the administration would oppose building on Brislington Meadows — especially since the site had been removed from the Draft Local Plan as suitable land for housing.
The response was clear — and disappointing:
“The Outline planning consent overrides the emerging local plan. As such the whole of the site can be developed to the extent that the outline permission allows this… A reserved matters application is expected sometime in the first half of 2025.”
In short: the planning permission granted in the past still holds weight, and no commitment was made to stop development.
No mention was made of lobbying Homes England. No use of the motion’s mandate to pursue Local Green Space designation. No public statement opposing the imminent bulldozing of a cherished natural space.
A Missed Opportunity for Leadership
If passed council motions like the one in 2021 don’t translate into action, what’s the point of them?
Brislington Meadows could have been a flagship example of green protection — a site with heritage, biodiversity, and community value. Instead, it may become yet another cautionary tale of how environmental priorities are promised, but not delivered.
Green Party councillors helped draft and pass a motion that could have protected the meadows. They are now leading the council. But the silence on this issue — from the party and administration alike — speaks volumes.
This is why Brislington Meadows has been added to the Bristol Promise Tracker: a public record of where good intentions have not yet turned into meaningful outcomes.
If the Council and the Green leadership want to retain trust, they should act swiftly — or at the very least, transparently — to explain what they are doing to uphold the promises they made to the people of Bristol.
📌 More on the Bristol Promise Tracker .