News / Turbo Island
The battle for Turbo Island rests on questions about morris dancing and fried chicken
The future of Turbo Island rests on questions like whether eating fried chicken counts as a picnic, or whether a rave is similar to morris dancing.
A public inquiry into registering the corner of Stokes Croft and Jamaica Street as a village green finished on Friday, with a decision due in October.
Registering a plot of land as a town or village green means it’s protected from development and the public must have access.
The application was made by Benoit Bennett from the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft. Out of Hand, the advertising company which owns the land and the billboard, objected to the application as did Avon and Somerset Police and National Grid.
Councillors in the public rights of way and greens committee will have the final say on whether to approve it.
The bizarre law behind town and village greens was intended to protect against more innocuous activities like children playing football or throwing a garden fete for charity.
What happens at Turbo Island on any given night of the week isn’t quite in that ballpark.
Turbo Island has a strong place in the folklore of Bristol as a place for bonfires, beer and raves – photo: Colin Moody
Daniel Bennett, representing the applicant, said: “If someone is playing music for people dancing and it’s a community activity, fitting with the cultural and historical nature of the area, it’s not a licensed music event.”
He was arguing that when people turn up to Turbo Island with sound systems, they might not need a temporary event licence from the council. That would mean the activity was lawful and could be considered in the final decision.
There are exceptions in the law for garden fetes and morris dancing, and “events of a similar nature”.
Douglas Edwards, the barrister chairing the inquiry, said: “Are you suggesting that either morris dancing or dancing of a similar nature was undertaken on Turbo Island?”
Ross Crail, representing Out of Hand, said: “I don’t believe there’s anything which would relate to anything similar to morris dancing.”
She also said that eating fried chicken did not count as a pastime, a key test in the law.
Whether you can register a plot of land as a village green depends on if local people have been able to use the area for “lawful sports and pastimes”, which is wide open to interpretation.
Turbo Island is a popular spot for people to gather around a bonfire, drink alcohol and have impromptu parties.
However these activities are rather different from examples given in case law such as flying kites, playing cricket, having picnics and picking blackberries.
Bennett’s response was that many people enjoy eating fried chicken at Turbo Island and the activity is a pastime because it is “pleasurable”.
Arguments were also held over whether bonfires were an illegal nuisance or a way to bring people together, and if homeless people should count in the number of local people spending time there because they are transient.
Main photo: Alex Seabrook
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