Troopers Hill Field
(Malvern Road Open Space)

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Troopers Hill Local Nature Reserve

 - Introduction
 - Hill Photos
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 - The Field
 - Photo Survey

To get to the top of Troopers Hill LNR from the adjoining streets it is necessary to cross a large flat grass area with a dilapidated play area in one corner. This area is officially known by Bristol City Council as 'Malvern Road Open Space' and this name was used in the Action Plan.

Most local people consider the area to be part of Troopers Hill and don't refer to it by any other name. Those who do differentiate have several names that they use including 'Troopers Hill Park'; 'Top of the Tump'; 'Troopers Hill Flat' and many more. The most popular names though are 'Troopers Hill Field' or simply 'The Field'. The use of Troopers Hill in the name is also historically correct since the area was part of Troopers Hill Farm; it was purchased by Bristol City Council on 24th March 1932 for use as allotments. It was agreed at our 2005 AGM that we would use the name Troopers Hill Field from now on.

On this page:
Site Plan    New Gates    Consultation    New Play Area?    Restoring a View    


Troopers Hill Field - Site Plan

Troopers Hill Field is the area bounded in red on the sketch to the left. Access is from either Summerhill Terrace or Malvern Road. At the south-west corner there is access to Crews Hole Woodland through a kissing gate and to the north there is a footpath which provides access to Summerhill Road (A431) at the historic milestone.

Access on to Troopers Hill LNR is through a gate at the south-east corner by the play area.


New Gates

At the beginning of 2004 there was no restriction on access on to Troopers Hill Field by motorbikes. On occasions they had then been able to get on to the Hill itself. One of the priorities of the Action Plan was therefore to get gates and fences installed to prevent this.

The photos below are before and after shots to show the results. The gates are designed to allow pushchairs through and can also be opened by key to allow whelchair access. All the work was funded by Bristol Parks and installed by their contractors.


Consultation

Although Troopers Hill Field is not part of the Local Nature Reserve it is important to the impression given to the public of the site overall. Its management was therefore included in the Action Plan when this was produced in 2004.
As part of the plan the Friends of Troopers Hill carried out a survey in the Spring of 2005 to get people's views on the future of Troopers Hill Field, click on the image to see the results.


New Play Area?

It was very clear from the survey that the Play Area was the aspect of Troopers Hill Field that most people wanted to see improved. The current play area consists of a frame for swings - with no swings - and a slide. There is no fencing to keep out dogs. Many people also suggested that the play area should be relocated. Some wanted it removed altogether.

To get things moving the Friends of Troopers Hill organised a meeting on 28th July 2005 of those people who had said in the survey that they were willing to organise events, notes of the meeting are here (pdf).

This was followed by a meeting on Troopers Hill Field with Bristol Park's Play Officer to discuss the options.

Invitations were then sent to those who completed the survey to attend a larger meeting to discuss the way forward. There was a very disapointing turn out for this meeting with only three people turning up in addition to the organisers. The low turn out could at least in part have been explained by the very wet weather that evening but it does seem to show that this not high on people's priorities.

The situation was discussed at the Friends of Troopers Hill AGM and it was decided that as a group we would take no further action. However, we are still keen to see the play area improved so if you would like to start your own group to to improve the play area you would have our support. If you are interested please email us at or contact Susan on 0117 947 5037 we would be pleased to hear from you.


Restoring a View

Provision of benches was the second most requested improvement in the survey and two concrete foundations exist from previous benches. Provision of benches is also included in the Action Plan for Year 3. Following discussions at our meetings it was agreed that if benches were to be installed, then we should also try to re-establish a view.

As recently as the early 1980s it was possible to see across Bristol from Troopers Hill Field and it was a popular spot to watch the balloons. Since then trees have grown up and you have to walk on to Troopers Hill to get a view.

We agreed with Bristol Parks that we could cut down a small number of the trees in Crews Hole Woodland to create a sight line. The trees were cut down in June 2006, having been checked for nesting birds in accordance with the Council's protocol. In the winter, we shall clear an area of bramble at our work parties to create a new glade in the edge of the woodland. A new bench has been ordered and will be installed looking towards this area on the existing foundation. We have also ordered a second bench for the other existing foundation.

This project has been funded by donations received from a local resident and Cromadex, part of Akzo Nobel. See Friends' Funds for details.

Up to:
Site Plan    New Gates    Consultation    New Play Area?    Restoring a View    

Friends of Troopers Hill
Website produced by the Friends of Troopers Hill

www.troopers-hill.org.uk