Bristol City Council Ban Climbing On Popular Crag

We have just recieved this update from Dave Turnbull, The CEO at The BMC after he got in touch with the Bristol County Council on Monday 7th April.

Dave Turnbull - BMC CEO
© BMC

"I've just called Bristol City Council (BCC) to try to find out exactly what's happening with access to the Suspension Bridge Buttress (SBB). I spoke to the property division - they are in charge of the land around the base of SBB.

Although I'm still not 100% clear about the background to the situation - what I got from the conversation was as follows:

A. A few months ago BCC decided to put up a new fence to stop the public accessing the base of the Suspension Bridge; this was apparently done for 'normal property management reasons' (i.e. because they felt a new fence was needed) - rather than any specific change in Council policy.                                                                                                                     

B. To the best of the property division's knowledge - the Council's position on access to SBB has not changed. There has never been a formal right of access or a legal access agreement permitting climbing on the Buttress.

C. They mentioned that when the new fence was put up, several people called BCC's offices asking about access to SBB; he said that it was likely they would have been told that the Council's position was that there was no legal right of access to the Buttress. This is probably how the rumour that BCC had banned climbing got started (i.e. new fence + confirmation that there is no legal right of access = ban).

I got the impression from the conversation that it is a case of business as usual as far as climbing on SBB is concerned.

If anyone knows differently please keep the BMC office (me and Guy) informed. The planning department did mention that it was possible (although they were not aware of it) that some other part of BCC may also have an interest in the site.

I suspect its worth keeping the e-petition going to help emphasis the importance of SBB to climbers."

Dave Turnbull - BMC

Bristol City Council Ban Climbing On Popular Crag

Climbing on the very popular Suspension Bridge Buttress at the base of the Clifton Bridge in the Avon Gorge has been banned by Bristol City Council; it appears for concerns over safety and liability. It’s a retrograde step that’s angered local climbers as well as those further afield and is hopefully not a pointer to the future.

The British Mountaineering Council and their local representatives have contacted the council who have confirmed that they have indeed banned climbing on this buttress. They have also pointed out that there is a contract in place to ensure the prohibitive fence is maintained and that they will be employing security guards to patrol the site and climbers will be asked to leave.

As part of efforts to encourage the Council to re-think their actions local climbers have organised an e-petition, details at http://www.thebmc.co.uk/News.aspx?id=2499, and also petitions are in place for you to sign at the local climbing walls.

So if you want to maintain important access to the buttress and have the chance to climb classic routes such as Limbo (E1 5b), The Earl of Perth (E1 5b) and Hell Gate (HVS 5a and one of the best in the gorge) then sign the petition and makes your feelings known.

Source: BMC

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