36-626: The Avon Wildlife Trust aims to protect and promote wildlife in the area of the former county of Avon – now Bath and North East Somerset , Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire , in England. It has its headquarters in Bristol and runs wildlife centres at Folly Farm, Somerset and Grow Wilder, Frenchay, North Bristol. The trust was formed in 1980, has 17,500 members, and manages 35 nature reserves, ranging from salt marshes and reedbeds to wildflower meadows and ancient woodlands , covering
72-489: A 12-acre neglected former sports facility transformed into a wildlife haven of wildflower meadows, native woodland, hedgerows and ponds in time for Bristol as European Green Capital 2015 . Once open, the plan is to use the new Bennett's Patch and White's Paddock Reserve to encourage people to create new homes for wildlife in their own gardens. The Nature Reserves include: (* = Reserves designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest ) Avon Wildlife Trust also run Grow Wilder
108-569: A Greater Bristol, but... the interests of the Tory party were put before every other consideration and we do not think there is any endeavour to conceal the fact. Under the Local Government Act 1888 Bristol was constituted a county borough , exercising the powers of both a county and city council. The city was extended to take in some Gloucestershire suburbs in 1898 and 1904. The Local Government Boundary Commission appointed in 1945 recommended
144-492: A campaign against the use of 5 acres (20,000 m) of the hill as a storage depot for heavy equipment and lorry access for construction of the Avon Tramway. In 1991 campaigns to save Royate Hill in Bristol from development resulted in the first compulsory purchase of a wildlife site in England. In another Bristol campaign, the trust fought Bristol City Council against the extension of the quarry next to Ashton Court . In 1997
180-542: A charter constituted the area as the County of the Town of Bristol, although it continued to fall within the jurisdiction of the two counties for some purposes. The appointment of a boundaries commission in 1887 led to a campaign for the creation of a county of Greater Bristol . The commissioners, while recommending that Bristol should be "neither in the county of Gloucester nor of Somerset for any purpose whatsoever" , did not extend
216-422: A jointly agreed policy in the development plans of the successor local authorities. In 2016 the government proposed that the four local authorities that replaced Avon come together in a West of England Combined Authority with a " metro mayor " who would oversee a new combined authority, to create a "Western Powerhouse" analogous to the government's Northern Powerhouse concept. North Somerset council rejected
252-466: A network of staff and over 500 volunteers. The first development following the formation of the trust in 1980 was the establishment of England's first urban nature reserve at Brandon Hill , bringing hay meadows, wildlife ponds and butterfly gardens into a formal city park. In 1981 Stockwood Open Space came under the trust's management to encourage a range of wildlife and have been particularly successful with common spotted orchids . Other early work in
288-556: A total of 7 square kilometres (3 sq mi) including 12 Sites of Special Scientific Interest . The trust also provides advice to local authorities and landowners on land management and conservation, and provides educational visits for school children and lifelong learning for adults. The Avon Wildlife Trust is part of the Wildlife Trusts partnership of 46 wildlife trusts in the United Kingdom, and carries out its work through
324-425: A variety of ways for people to get active in their own neighbourhoods through talks, walks, and events, including wildlife gardening workshops and practical volunteering work. At its Portbury reserve, nearby residents pay a levy of £70 a year to the trust for the reserve's upkeep; this has generated some criticisms over the trust's transparency, with some residents saying that the trust has not told them what it spends
360-504: A wildlife-friendly food growing project. County of Avon Avon ( / ˈ eɪ v ən / ) was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England that existed between 1974 and 1996. The county was named after the River Avon , which flows through the area. It was formed from the county boroughs of Bristol and Bath , together with parts of the administrative counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset . In 1996,
396-496: Is a 31.07 ha (76.8 acres ) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the North Somerset Levels , near Puxton , North Somerset , notified in 1994. It is a large area of pasture land networked with species-rich rhynes , now owned and managed as a nature reserve by Avon Wildlife Trust . The rhynes contain rare plants such as frogbit and rootless duckweed , along with many scarce invertebrates such as
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#1732848299610432-523: Is integrated with social, cultural and economic activities". Each winter since 2000/2001 the trust has organised a birdwatch. Between 2000 and 2007 this demonstrated falls in the starling and sparrow populations, with great spotted woodpeckers and jackdaws on the increase within the area. In 2008 a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund resulted in an award of £396,000 for the new 'Wildlife – it's all about us!' project which will offer
468-467: The Local Government Act 1972 came into effect. The new county consisted of the areas of: The county was divided into six districts: To the north the county bordered Gloucestershire , to the east Wiltshire and to the south Somerset . In the west it had a coast on the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel . The area of Avon was 520 square miles (1,347 km ) and its population in 1991
504-470: The "County (or Councils) that Used to Be Avon", was coined to refer to the Avon area after abolition of the county. The term Severnside is sometimes used as a substitute for "Avon", although the term can also be used to refer to the stretch of shoreline from Avonmouth north to Aust , or from Newport to Chepstow . " Greater Bristol " is also used. The Forest of Avon is a community forest covering part of
540-868: The 1980s included taking over the management of Littleton Brick Pits near Littleton-upon-Severn , an artificial lagoon once the site of clay extraction for brick making, and reintroducing reedbeds close to the Severn Estuary , as a feeding and resting place for migrating birds. Since the 1980s the trust has campaigned to save wetlands in the Gordano Valley in North Somerset where Clapton Moor (40 hectares of grassland) near Clapton in Gordano , Weston Big Wood , (38 hectares of ancient woodland), and Weston Moor (59 hectares of wet grassland) near Weston in Gordano and Walton Common north east of Walton in Gordano are now rich in birdlife. The installation of sluice gates in
576-494: The 1990s raised the water levels and encouraged lapwing to breed. At Dolebury Warren Iron Age hillfort , special grassland and rare butterflies have been encouraged by the trust's scrub clearance work. In 1987 the 250-acre (1.0 km) Folly Farm was purchased from the Strachey family to be developed as a nature reserve with traditional farm operations. The purchase was made possible by an anonymous donation of £250,000, which
612-728: The Avon Coroner's District, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust , the West of England Strategic Partnership, Intelligence West, and until 2006 the Avon Ambulance Service, when it merged with the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services to form the Great Western Ambulance Service , which subsequently merged with South Western Ambulance Service . The former county and its southern neighbour form
648-676: The area covered by Avon and Somerset Constabulary (governed by the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner ). Though there is no longer a single council, the four unitary authorities still co-operate on many aspects of policy, such as the Joint Local Transport Plan . Currently, the term " West of England " is used by some organisations to refer to the former Avon area, such as the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership. Avon continued to be used unofficially in boundary reviews for parliamentary constituencies . The term CUBA ,
684-590: The area of the four local authorities. Other relics of Avon's existence include the Avon Cycleway (first designed and promoted by Cyclebag ), an 85-mile (137 km) circular route on quiet roads and cycle paths, which was a precursor of the National Cycle Network . Also, Avon County Council helped fund Sustrans ' first cycleway, the Bristol and Bath Railway Path . The Avon Green Belt has continued in place as
720-690: The city's boundaries. The commission's timidity was attacked by the Bristol Mercury and Daily Post , who accused them of using the "crude method of the Procrustean bed " . The newspaper went on to attack Charles Ritchie , the President of the Local Government Board , and the Conservative government: Everyone who considered the question on its merits was convinced of the justice of the demand for
756-487: The coats of arms of the incorporated areas. The shield featured a dragon from the arms of Somerset divided into gold and red by a chevron from the arms of Gloucestershire. The crest combined the unicorn of Bristol with the sword of St. Paul (one of the patron saints of Bath Abbey ) and the crown of King Edgar , who was crowned King of England by St. Dunstan in Bath Abbey. The sea-stags were created for Avon to represent
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#1732848299610792-495: The county was abolished and the area split between four new unitary authorities : Bath and North East Somerset , Bristol , North Somerset and South Gloucestershire . The Avon name is still used for some purposes. The area had a population of approximately 1.08 million people in 2009. The port of Bristol lies close to the mouth of the River Avon which formed the historic boundary between Gloucestershire and Somerset . In 1373,
828-497: The creation of a "one-tier county" of Bristol based on the existing county borough, but the report was not acted upon. The next proposals for local government reform in the area were made in 1968, when the Redcliffe-Maud Commission made its report. The commission recommended dividing England into unitary areas. One of these was a new Bristol and Bath Area which would have included a wide swathe of countryside surrounding
864-498: The databases of large corporations as part of addresses in the area. Some private organisations such as the Avon Wildlife Trust choose to retain their name. The Royal Mail indicated that it is not necessary to include Avon (or any other postal county) as part of any address as it had abandoned their use in 1996. Some public bodies still cover the area of the former county of Avon: for example, Avon Fire and Rescue Service ,
900-409: The facade of Buckingham palace. In 2000 access was unilaterally withdrawn pending the results of a mine inspectors report on the safety of the mines. This report was required because of the health and safety at work act which affects employees/volunteers of the trust who might have to enter the mine to count the bats. These legal requirements do not affect leisure access by cavers. Prior to 2000 access to
936-592: The historic importance of the Avon ports and the Royal Forest which covered a large part of the County. As a heraldic badge , a sea-stag continued to be used by some organisations in the geographical area. Avon was one of the counties in the "first tranche" of reviews conducted by the Banham Commission in the 1990s. The Commission recommended that it and its districts be abolished and replaced with four unitary authorities . The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995
972-655: The mine was controlled by the CSCC and cavers had coexisted with a thriving bat population with voluntary restrictions on the access during the bat roosting season. There is no evidence of caving activity adversely affecting the bat population. Since 2000 the trust has been a leading partner in the Avon Biodiversity Partnership which aims to create "A landscape rich in wildlife, where species and habitats are part of healthy, functioning ecosystems that are well-managed and valued by everyone; where conservation of biodiversity
1008-575: The money on. On 25 April 2022, Avon Wildlife Trust announced the relocation of its headquarters from 32, Jacobs well road to 17, Great George Street ( 51°27′13″N 2°36′14″W / 51.45363°N 2.60375°W / 51.45363; -2.60375 ). The former headquarters was listed in June of the same year, and eventually sold at auction in February 2023 for £850,00. Avon Wildlife Trust's newest nature reserve, Bennett's Patch and White's Paddock will see
1044-490: The mostly urbanised borough of Kingswood into it) were rejected. The demise of the County of Avon was the focus of a BBC documentary called The End of Avon , produced by Linda Orr and Michael Lund and broadcast in 1996. In 2006, the BBC Somerset presenter Adam Thomas, in a BBC One regional programme Inside Out West , investigated why Avon refuses to die. Systems inertia means that the county continues to be included in
1080-490: The proposal but the other three authorities accepted the deal; the combined authority was subsequently established in 2017, with the inaugural mayoral election taking place in the May of that year. As of 2024, a multi-operator unlimited travel daily or weekly bus ticket called AvonRider covering the former county area was still available, supported by local councils. Puxton Moor Puxton Moor ( grid reference ST412630 )
1116-470: The setting up of a "Save Our Somerset" campaign. By the time the Local Government Bill was introduced to Parliament , the county had been named "Avon". The boundaries of the new county were cut back during the passage of Local Government Bill through Parliament. The Local Government Act 1972 received Royal Assent on 26 October 1972. The county came into formal existence on 1 April 1974 when
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1152-657: The trust bought Puxton Moor to prevent it being converted into a golf course and holiday resort. Other campaign have included preserving breeding space for skylarks at Hengrove Park. The oldest greater horseshoe bat ever recorded in Britain, "Boris", was discovered at Brown's Folly in January 2000. The mines themselves are of great speleological and historical interest. They are extremely well decorated and contain many delicate stalactites and examples of gull formation (caves features formed by landslippage). The mine provided stone for
1188-537: The two cities, extending into Wiltshire and as far as Frome in Somerset . Following a change of government at the 1970 general election , a two-tier system of counties and districts was proposed instead of unitary authorities. In a white paper published in 1971, one of these counties, "Area 26" or "Bristol County", was based on the commission's Bristol and Bath area, but lacked the areas of Wiltshire . The proposals were opposed by Somerset County Council , and this led to
1224-403: Was 919,800. Cities and towns in Avon included (in approximate order of population) Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare, Yate , Clevedon, Portishead, Midsomer Norton & Radstock , Bradley Stoke , Nailsea , Yatton , Keynsham , Kingswood , Thornbury , Filton and Patchway . The coat of arms created for the county featured six blue and white waves representing the river Avon and parts of
1260-515: Was debated in the House of Commons on 22 February 1995. The Order came into effect on 1 April 1996. The four authorities that replaced Avon are: For ceremonial purposes, the post of Lord Lieutenant of Avon was abolished and Bristol regained its own Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff , while the other authorities were returned to their traditional counties. Suggestions to alter Bristol's boundaries (either by drawing new boundaries or by merely incorporating
1296-569: Was followed by grants and donations from the South West of England Regional Development Agency , and Biffaward supplementing local fund-raising efforts with the centre finally opening in April 2008. The trust was one of the first to carry out garden wildlife surveys. One of these revealed the astonishingly rich flora that existed in Narroways, St Werburghs , an inner area of Bristol, and was used as part of
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