Nightingale Valley Nature Reserve is a place of natural beauty, a rural idyll in the heart of Brislington. 

However, it is marred by the presence of a large quantity of rusty tar barrels that ooze tar into Brislington Brook.  With rising temperatures, the problem has become ever more pressing.  Not only are the tar barrels an eyesore, they are an environmental hazard, not to mention a fire hazard.  The problem is worse in the summer, when the melting tar becomes sticky and runny.  Brislington Brook is a playground for children and dogs, who invariably emerge with a coating of tar. 

The tar barrels have been there for decades, which is not a reason to be complacent.  There are several theories regarding how they came to be there, none of which are conclusive.  

To provide a historical context, in 1881, Mr Thomas Harding, a Paint Manufacturer, purchased Wick House and 60 acres of pleasure grounds, much of which was in Nightingale Valley.  His business, Colhurst & Hardings, was situated at the Paintworks - then known as Pheonix Wharf - which was built in 1850 for that purpose.  Thomas Harding died in 1900 and his two daughters occupied Wick House until 1924.  The land was then sold off in a piecemeal fashion. 

In 1924, Bristol City Council (then Bristol Corporation) took on Nightingale Valley.  For reasons that are not clear, it did not take on the section directly behind Wick House where the tar barrels are situated.  Here lies the problem.  Bristol City Council argues that it is limited in terms of what it can do as it cannot trace the landowner, despite holding the City's records at Bristol Archives! 

This is where you come in.  We - that is, Brislington STOP (Stop Tar and Oil Pollution) - are calling on you to sign this petition.  We feel that the people of Brislington deserve better, and that if we raise the profile of this environmental disaster, a Government body, whether it be Bristol City Council or the Environmental Agency, will have to act.  It cannot be kicked into the long grass forever.

Thank you,

Brislington STOP 

* Photo credit to Emma Holbrook @theholpicture