Previous newsletters can be found at the bottom of this page
VPAG Newsletter – May 2026
🎉Funding award – we are delighted to announce that VPAG has been awarded £2000 from the Wessex Water Environment Fund and Quartet Community Foundation. This will be used to support the voluntary gardening and wildlife work in the park.
🔥No barbecues, thanks – Please don’t light barbecues in the park. Following the recent heat wave, we’ve had some near misses. Disposing of hot barbecues into the bins can also cause fires and is highly dangerous. Thanks for your understanding and support with this.
🏡Lodge news – Thank you to those of you who contributed to the consultation. Submissions are now closed.
🐝Wildlife News – VPAG wildlife leads and Cllr Ed Plowden met with Nature Conservations officers and the South Bristol Parks Coordinator from the City Council to discuss mowing schedules for the wildflower beds. We presented the case for the large bed to be left unmown to protect overwintering insects, which the council has agreed to.
It may not be possible to keep the smaller beds this year, however, it is hoped that going forward, we may be able to arrange a rotation of beds to be kept intact over winter. Mowing is scheduled for the second half of August this year.
If you would like to join the Wildlife Volunteer WhatsApp group, follow this link.
You may have heard about an increase in ticks in green spaces this year. The council has advised us that the risk is low in urban parks such as Victoria Park. More information about ticks and how you and your dog can stay safe, can be found via this link.
🌳Bristol Parks Forum – is an umbrella organisation for community park groups. They recently won an award from BCC for their continued contributions and expertise when supporting city parks. They are currently campaigning for a larger park in the St Philips development. To take part in the St Philips Masterplan consultation, click the link below. Consultations end on 28th July. https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/StPhilipsMasterplan/
Planning matters – Bristol City Council are inviting members of the public to a meeting to help design improvements to Windmill Close. The event will involve an augmented reality workshops and will take place on Wednesday 22nd July at 9.30 and 2.15. See the attached flyer for details.
🎪VPAG summer festival, September 19th – VPAG is a voluntary organisation and it takes a lot of work to run events such as the summer festival and bonfire. We rely on donations, so if you would like to support us, you can make a contribution here. Contact hello@vpag.org.uk if you are interested in volunteering, taking part or running a stall at the festival.
📆Dates for your diary
Thursday 5th November – VPAG Bonfire Night event
7-9th August – Bristol Balloon Fiesta – watch the balloons from our wonderful park!
Saturday 12th September – Windmill Hill City Farm Golden Anniversary Fayre
Saturday 19th September – VPAG Victoria Park Festival including Dog Show
The next VPAG meeting will take place on Monday 3rd August at 7.30 at a venue TBC. All welcome.
*You can make contact via this link: https://vpag.org.uk/contact-us/