Taps to open for additional community support in Bristol
- Wessex Water and Bristol City Council agree funding partnership
- Support to be focused around city’s parks and green spaces
- Initial £200,000 to be made available for local projects up to 2030
Communities in Bristol are set to reap the benefits of a partnership between Wessex Water and Bristol City Council to enhance the support for and use of parks and green spaces.
The regional utilities firm today announced an initial £200,000 to support community projects and activities through a new Bristol Green Spaces Fund up to 2030.
This fund will provide support for community initiatives within Canford Park, Old Quarry Park and St George’s Park, plus green spaces within the St George’s West and Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze wards where Wessex Water is investing to improve river water quality and protect the environment.
The fund will focus on projects helping to improve the environment, accessibility, safety and participation opportunities for local people most in need of support.
In addition, the two organisations are working together to deliver a wider package towards the enhancement of green spaces and parks over the next four years.
That further support, the subject of a Bristol City Council committee decision due later this summer, would be targeted at the discretion of the city authority.
Both initiatives will support Wessex Water’s wider investment of more than £50 million throughout Bristol to improve river water quality and protect the environment by reducing the discharge of untreated water from sewers via storm overflows.
That programme, managed by YTL Construction UK and delivered by contractors Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, will see additional sewer capacity created via a number of projects across Bristol to store excess water that builds up when rain enters the network and mixes with sewage from homes and businesses, threatening to overwhelm it.
Historically, storm overflows have protected homes and businesses from the threat of flooding by automatically releasing the excess water prior to treatment.
The planned investment in Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze, as well as Shirehampton and St George will expand storage to allow it to be held back before being returned to the system for treatment later.
Working in partnership with Quartet Community Foundation, organisations will be able to apply for two-year grants from Bristol Green Spaces Fund to deliver activities and projects within the parks. Further information about the fund and the application process is expected to be outlined in the coming months.
Wessex Water chief executive, Ruth Jefferson, said: “We know how important parks and green spaces are to communities across Bristol, both for people and for nature.
“As we continue our major investment programme across the city to improve river water quality and protect the environment, we also want to create lasting benefits for local communities.
“The Bristol Green Spaces Fund will help community organisations deliver projects that encourage greater participation, improve access and create safer, more welcoming spaces for local people.
“We are delighted to be working alongside Bristol City Council and Quartet Community Foundation on this initiative.”
Councillor Stephen Williams, Chair of the Public Health and Communities policy committee at Bristol City Council, said: “Climate change is contributing to increasing incidents of heavy rainfall, leading to flooding, overwhelming of our drainage system and spills of filthy wastewater into the Trym and other city rivers.
“The investment Wessex Water are making in new infrastructure to manage this risk and reduce the impact of excess water created by storms is welcome.
“The creation of the Bristol Green Spaces Fund forms part of our shared desire to create investment in our parks and green spaces to go hand in hand with these necessary infrastructure works.
“Through this new fund communities will have the support to bring new projects to their local park and green spaces, building on the excellent work of many groups who are doing wonderful things to enhance the quality and enjoyment of these valuable spaces.”
Wessex Water is investing more than £500 million across the region by 2030 to reduce the environmental impact of storm overflows and improve water quality in rivers and coastal waters.
The new Bristol Green Spaces Fund builds on existing community support delivered through the YTL Wessex Foundation, which has already provided more than £100,000 in grant funding through the Avonmouth Area Community Fund.
This fund was set up in conjunction with Wessex Water’s £100 million investment to expand the water recycling centre serving the city of Bristol based in Avonmouth.
As well as the expansion of the water recycling centre at Avonmouth, which is scheduled for completion in 2029, a £34 million expansion of Saltford Water Recycling Centre between Bristol and Bath, is due for completion this summer.
Launched in 2020 in partnership with the Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset and Quartet Community Foundations, the YTL Wessex Foundation - the charitable arm of the regional utility company - provides funding to projects taking place in the communities and environment where we work that are in most need of support.
More than £700,000 is donated to community and environment-related projects every year through these funding programmes.