South Bristol Sports Centre - a surprise among the winners of this year's Civic Society awards. I'd not linked the centre with environmental excellence before.
Perhaps it was the construction energy that fooled me - all those lorry journeys bringing rubble (from old Broadmead?) to build a landraise site, replacing the gently sloping playing fields of the Imperial Ground into state-of-the-art billiard table pitches that the kids can no longer have scratch kickabouts on.
Perhaps it was the damage done in the process to the roots of the poplars along the Wells Road edge, a big factor in their having to be felled.
Perhaps it was the huge area given over to car parking where before there was just been grass.
But mostly it was the experience of trying to get in on foot. From the Stockwood end, the old entry has been sealed off, so you have to walk all the way up West Town Road, and in at the main car entrance, where there's not so much as a footway to protect you from the motoring sportsmen, then all across the car park to reach the mock tudor clubhouse.
Mental note - check for bike stands. At least if they have those, they're doing better than the Whitchurch sports hall!
Anyway - it's given me a nominee for next years 'brown lentil' awards.
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