Natural England

It is easy to take things for granted. My meeting with Natural England reminded me what extraordinary natural habitats and features Bristol North West is host to - from the Severn Estuary ( Above, as seen from the superb Kingsweston House. The ideal venue for a coffee-with-a-view!) with its enormous variety of bird life, to The Downs and the Avon Gorge (below) which hosts plant species unique to the Gorge itself.

There is always a balance between preserving what already exists, and making way for progress. Thankfully now there is more emphasis on sustainable progress - changes that are not so detrimental to the world around us that they destroy the environment that makes everything possible in the first place - but that balance is still very hard to get right.

Natural England explained their role in both protecting bird species in the Severn Estuary, and recognising the enormous importance of Avonmouth to the economic prosperity of the city; It was a morning very informatively spent - and it's made me look again at the 'natural assets' our city possesses.

Southmead's picnic protest

Despite a shabby August, it has been a summer of big picnics. But that's because this summer is the time to respond to the Council's consultation on the Parks and Green Spaces strategy. The strategy's aim was to sell off disposable land in order to raise money to enhance the rest. Nothing wrong with that. Except that much of the land that the Council has earmarked as potentially 'disposable' and up for development is anything but to the communities who live in the area.

The old Dunmail School site on Lanercost Road is a case in point - a school that the area now would much need was demolished, but now the Council have earmarked the land for possible housing or traveler site development.

The community turned out in force to make the point that the site is not of low value or disposable - the community is doing all it can to make its voice heard. The Council has said it is listening to local people - the community is hoping that listening will mean acting on what they have to say.

UPDATE

The good news is that at a meeting with the Council Officer in charge of the process, I asked whether the Council's very impenetrable consultation forms were the only form of response that the Council would accept. Thankfully he confirmed that the Council would accept any form of submission to the Consultation.

The Council told me that the most helpful thing is to look at the strategy ( you can see it at local libraries, and online) and comment on specifics, with your opinion always backed up with facts ( eg. traffic, access, local infrastructure etc) - and also put forward some positive ideas of your own. - That's the best way to get your voice heard.

Upper Horfield's blooming Housing Association

I have watched the development of Upper Horfield for several years now, and the local housing association, Bristol Community Housing Foundation ( BCHF) have always been at the heart of what's going on in the area. They provide a very good model of what is meant by 'The Big Society' - they are helping to create a good community not by thousands of rules and regulations, but simple things like encouraging people to take ownership of small plots of green space on their street; community clear-ups, and by giving Sue Moon, pictured here, the bulbs, space and most of all freedom to share her gardening expertise with the rest of the street by planting out the communal flower beds. She also makes a mean blackberry jam from local blackberries ( thanks Sue!).
If you want to see an alternative to using thousands of rules and regulations to create a healthy, good community, you could do a lot worse than visit BCHF at 400 Filton Avenue...

RAF cadets

I was very honoured to be invited to give out achievement awards at the RAFA Club in Westbury on Trym.

I am always struck by the discipline and respect that cadet forces like these display. I've already spoken in Parliament about supporting our cadets, since they are so valuable in instilling those values that made Great Britain, well, Great, and which are still being displayed by our armed forces abroad today.

The RAFA Club in Westbury on Trym also boasts a very good selection of proper British Ales, and has won the the regional CAMRA ( Campaign for Real Ale) Club of the Year award.

Great to see people across the generations working together in a club like this!

Horfield Health Centre

I was very keen to visit Horfield Health Centre, and talk to GPs about the plans contained in the Government's White Paper, to hand commissioning over to professional GPs. My dad has been a surgeon for over 30 years, so I've got a special interest in listening to what professionals have to say, and the valuable input they can provide in turning a policy into practice. It was a really constructive, encouraging and interesting meeting.

Horfield Health Centre is a real success - and with a growing population on its doorstep, is only going to be getting busier!

Rookie mess-ups!

It can be quite intimidating for a newbie, Parliament. The air is thick with protocol, and written and unwritten rules. The potential for messing up is gloriously huge.

On Wednesday, I did my first Westminster Hall debate (on Local Education Partnerships, (LEPs) based on the issues I'd seen with them in relation to academies and Elmlea School.)

Hansard records mess-ups beautifully - and I thought you might like to see Hansard's version of one of mine...!

21 July 2010 : Column 140WH
Local Education Partnerships
4.44 pm

Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con): Thank you, Mr Speaker. This is my first Westminster Hall debate, so if I mess up the protocol-

Mr James Gray (in the Chair): You addressed me as Mr Speaker, which is flattering, but incorrect. I am not yet the Speaker. Mr Gray is perfectly sufficient.

Charlotte Leslie: Thank you, Mr Gray. That was my first mess-up.

Tea(Street)Dance with mum

At the beginning of the year, I brought a Street-Dance team to Henbury's Emmanuel Chapel to start trial street-dance classes for local young people.

The classes were a huge success, and 9 weeks later, a significant group of young people had put together an excellent street-dance routine which they performed in front of the community (including their parents.) And the young people loved it so much that one of them anonymously, and unbeknownst to us, applied for Aspiring Communities funding themselves to continue it.

And my mum ( Who has always had a bit of a thing for street-dance) took it upon herself to fundraise to get enough money to secure the street-dance classes for the future. A few years ago she took up cycling, and recently won the European Triathlon Championships in her age-group - so she decided to do a big sponsored Bike Ride around the Bristol area to raise money for the street dance group.

This is just one of the fundraising events organised around her Big Bike Ride - A beautiful tea put on by Cynthia Reynolds and Carole Lye ( both pictured behind the tea table!) .

If you are interested in sponsoring my mum's bike ride for Henbury Street Dance, email my mum at janeleslie@hotmail.com for more details.

Proud of Pubs Day

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am quite genuinely very proud of our nation's pubs - so it was a particular pleasure for me to take part in the national "Proud of Pubs" day yesterday.

I paid a visit to the only pub in Stoke Bishop - The Mill House, to chat to staff and the pub's area manager, and to talk about the future of our great British pub trade.

We agreed that cut-price, high-strength drinks like alco-pops and super-strength ciders are a problem, and that supermarkets should not be able to sell them below cost; and that there is a real problem of young people getting very cheap alcohol to consume at home before they go out to the pub.

But when I was at the Mill House, there were a good number of people there, enjoying the sunshine, enjoying a responsible pint and a bite to eat.

But if you're concerned about the threat to our great British pubs, sign up to the campaign to Back our Pubs HERE!

Stoke Lodge Adult Learning Centre Open Day ( or, 'the near death of a parliamentary career')

My parliamentary career very nearly took a turn for the worse today as I almost enrolled upon a French Speaking course, a course in wine-tasting, painting, life-sculpture and a cake-decorating course after some moments of extreme enthusiasm at Stoke Lodge Adult Learning Centre's open-day.

I was shown around the centre, which had on show exhibitions from a number of its varied adult learning courses.

I saw some really impressive pieces of work, saw work from people who started off as a hobby, who are well on their way to making a career out of their skill, and I also saw how adult learning courses like this can be a gateway to further education for those initially a bit intimidated by the formality of an F.E course.

I had also not previously appreciated how the courses take place across Bristol, from St. Pauls to The Greenway Centre in Southmead - it was fantastic to see the talent of local people from across Bristol under one roof - thanks to the organisers, and congratulations to all the contributers. Your work almost inspired me to drift from my parliamentary focus and pick up paint brushes and old french books!

Maiden no-longer

I only just found my maiden speech on youtube... here it is for the benefit of anyone who wasn't, er, sitting glued to the Parliament channel...