WELCOME TO QUEENS PARADE
ABOUT BHRA
The Brandon Hill Residents Association (BHRA) is an informal association of residents who mainly live on streets bordering the southern sides of Brandon Hill Park: Queens Parade, Brandon Steep, and York Place.
Our website aims to provide the local community with general information, points of contact for any questions or issues, and to celebrate our neighbourhood’s history, nature and wildlife, culture, and community spirit. It is complemented by a Facebook page which has more up to date and changing news (Brandon Hill Residents Association).
MEMBERSHIP
BHRA is open to membership to all residents of Queens Parade, Brandon Steep and York Place.
Membership benefits
Meet neighbours
Join community meetings
Support the neighbourhood
Contribute to the website blog and gallery
There is no fee for membership but members are asked to make a donation towards the costs of running the Association. It is suggested that each household make a £10 per annum donation (£5 for an individual).
Click here to read or download our constitution giving full details. You can contact us about membership via the web site and also download our Membership Application Form here and post it to 14 Queens Parade.
Officers are elected annually at the AGM. Currently they are: CHAIR Paul Shelley, SECRETARY Maggie Weber, TREASURER Matt Griffiths; Rhys Walden, Mike Birkin, Paul Buckley, Caroline Relton, Ellen Hart
ABOUT QUEENS PARADE
Queens Parade, Brandon Steep and York Place are a charming group of Georgian streets bordering Brandon Hill Park, in BS1, Central Bristol. It is a conservation area and most of the houses are Grade II listed.
Just across from the Cathedral, Central Library and Council House, this area should be among Bristol's proudest and best kept. It comprises a principal terrace of 14 houses dating from around 1795, the historic Brandon Cottage, once home to the Bristol Savages, the grand and imposing park side Brandon House, and Bristol's smallest school, St Georges's Primary School.
The main terrace in Queens Parade consists of five and six storey houses with rear gardens, some with rear terraces, and all with views of the park. Most of the houses have been restored in recent years. This combined with the convenience of a city centre location within walking distance of all amenities means that Brandon Hill has the potential to be one of Bristol's most desirable residential areas, full of the resonance of Bristol's history and heritage.
Over the years, the neighbourhood residents have made considerable improvements to the area. These include splendid floral displays along the streets and amazing sculptures embedded in the walls. Queens Parade has won prizes for Bristol in Bloom on many occasions, and the sculptures have become a destination, listed in a number of city guides.
The residents would like the Council to: introduce a parking scheme which reflects the 100% residential nature of these streets (they are coming round to this way of thinking); ensure that absentee landlords comply fully with the requirements of listed building consent and of the conservation area; and ensure that the public realm elements here - the park, railings, pavements, street lights, road surfaces, etc - are properly restored and maintained. This latter is especially problematic with the recent freeze on spending in Bristol City Council.
It is one of the objectives of this website is to draw attention to these issues.
With major world issues - including climate change, the economy, housing shortages and demographic changes - residential areas in the inner city have an important role to play. People living in city centres have far lower car usage and often represent a higher proportion of home workers. Restoring older housing stock can be environmentally much more friendly than building new. Restored and well-maintained streets add to the tourism attraction of the city overall. And the historic heritage that is all of ours is then protected and handed on to future generations.
City centres with residents are much safer and livelier than those where people only go for work or leisure. These streets are an important residential element of Bristol city centre and the residents wish to ensure that they are well-maintained and attractive for all.
