News / Turbo Island
Save Turbo Island supporter admits ‘hyperbole’ at village green hearing
A public inquiry is underway to determine if Turbo Island can be registered as a village green.
After the hearing, a taxpayer-funded barrister will advise Bristol City Council on whether the campaigners’ application should be approved.
Campaigners must demonstrate that the plot of land on the corner of Stokes Croft and Jamaica Street has been used for “lawful pastimes” continuously for 20 years.
Objectors include advertising firm and site owners Out of Hand, Avon & Somerset Police, and the National Grid.
Witnesses Benoit Bennett (left) and Hannah Hugh-Jones (to his right) attend the hearing held at St Paul’s Learning Centre with solicitor Daniel Bennett (to the right of Hugh-Jones) and Douglas Edwards KC (to his right) – photo: Sam McEvans
On the first day of the hearing at St Paul’s Learning Centre on Tuesday, the opposition’s solicitor, Ross Crail, cross-examined two witnesses who gave evidence in support of the application.
Crail accused witness Hannah Hugh-Jones of “exaggerating” a statement that Turbo Island was “visibly in use by members of the public, all the time, for more than 20 years before the application”.
Hugh-Jones recognised this as “hyperbole” but insisted that Turbo Island is used daily and without any sense that anyone might not be allowed to use it.
Hugh-Jones detailed Turbo Island’s use by musicians, ravers, artists, charity fundraisers, New Year’s Eve and solstice revellers, buskers, and circus performers.
Rave on Avon, Food Not Bombs and Drum & Bass on the Bike were all named.
Hugh-Jones called Turbo Island “an area with significant cultural things going on”.
“I’ve had a connection to the place for years. This application is important and matters to me.”
Crail asked the Hugh-Jones to comment on news stories that paint an “unflattering” picture of unlawful anti-social behaviour on the site known for its regular fires.
“This isn’t an everyday picture,” Hugh-Jones said. “Over the time that I’ve used it, there’s been lawns, grass, flowers and community art.
“Things like parks and picnics and barbecues don’t always make it into the media.”
Scenes at Turbo Island before the grass was removed – photo: People’s Republic of Stokes Croft
Douglas Edwards KC, the barrister paid for by Bristol City Council, confirmed that during his inspection of Turbo Island on Monday, he observed an accumulation of litter and the remnants of a bonfire on the land.
Benoit Bennett from the People’s Republic of Stoke’s Croft was quizzed about fires on Turbo Island and the local population of people experiencing homelessness.
Bennett said that he typically sees small fires started by a range of people including both students and rough sleepers who do not want to return to their tents in the cold.
He acknowledged that on one occasion, the advertising billboard overlooking the site caught fire.
But Bennett claimed the firefighters he speaks to regularly do not consider the bonfires a hazard as long as they are controlled and are not burning toxic materials.
Bennett, who founded the Save Turbo Island campaign, added that he has never been assaulted or felt threatened by people experiencing homelessness in the area.
Hugh-Jones was also asked to comment on the use of Turbo Island by people abusing substances, and warned against generalisations and the use of “unhelpful and unprogressive” stereotypes.
The applicants hope village green status will protect Turbo Island from development.
“It’s a space where lots of communities who might not otherwise meet get to interact,” added Bennett. “A lot of local people do see it as a default public space.”
The hearing will run for up to three days.
Main photo & videos: Martin Booth
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