A leading councillor has called on the people of Bristol not to use disposable barbecues on the Downs - and is also urging shops in the area around the famous open space to stop selling them too.
Cllr Paula O’Rourke, a Clifton councillor who was Lord Mayor of Bristol last year, said the risk of a fire on the tinder-dry grass was too great, and people should leave them at home.
Barbecues are already banned in a number of Bristol’s parks and open spaces, including around Ladies Mile on the Downs, but people have been using them in a lot of the area there. Last year, disposable barbecues were responsible for a number of grass fires in parks across Bristol, including on the Downs, in Greville Smyth Park at Ashton Gate, at Stoke Park next to the M32, Hengrove Park and in Castle Park, during the record-breaking heatwave that took over Bristol in July and August.
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Cllr O’Rourke (Green, Clifton) was the chair of the Downs Committee last year too, and said she had already heard reports of people having to ‘stamp out burning embers’ from barbecues that had been left on the Downs.
She is also calling on shops around that area to stop stocking them.
“As the recent chair of the Downs Committee I am concerned that we will have a repeat of last year, when a fire took hold of an area and left unsightly scorched earth,” she said. “I have already had reports of very many scorched patches from disposable barbecues this year and been told that passers-by have had to stamp out burning embers.
“We want people to use the Downs for leisure, as that is one of the main purposes of the common land, but as common land we must all respect that it is there for everyone to use and not spoil it. In these long dry periods, we need to be extra vigilant. If a small blaze were to get out of control it could put people’s lives at risk, as well as causing harm to animals and birds.”
“I am also calling on shops near the Downs to do their bit and to not sell these disposable barbecues. The Downs Committee aims to keep the Downs open and free and that includes not having lots of warning signs everywhere, so we rely on people's good judgement and common sense. Putting hot coals anywhere near tinder-dry grass is likely to lead to fires,” she added.
Last summer, Bristol City Council and Avon Fire & Rescue Service effectively banned people from having disposable barbecues in public spaces - or at least issued advice that people should not do it - because of the record-breaking temperatures that left the city sweltering close to 40C. Many shops voluntarily stopped selling them. It was so hot last August that hot air balloons couldn’t fly at the Balloon Fiesta, and firefighters were inundated with calls to wildfires across the city.
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