Master of Merchant Venturers defends society’s control over Downs

The Society of Merchant Venturers has hit back at critics who want them to give up their half of the Downs and their role in managing the public common.

Campaigners, backed by a Green councillor, are demanding the ancient organisation give Clifton Down to the city of Bristol and be removed from the statutory committee set up by a Victorian act of Parliament to manage it and Durdham Down.

They say the Merchant Venturers have been “exercising power without responsibility for too long”, having a 50 per cent say in how the Downs are run but no obligation to pay for any of it.

But master merchant David Freed defended the society at a meeting of the Downs Committee on Monday, saying its members originally bought Clifton Down to protect it from housebuilding and get “absolutely no benefit” from their continued involvement.

“The fact is the Merchants, under the terms of the 1861 Act, committed Clifton Down, which they owned, irrevocably to be kept as open space for the benefit of the people of Bristol, at a time when others were making a fortune out of developing houses all around,” he said.

“In fact, they bought the land specifically to stop that from happening and have sought throughout the history of the Downs to protect it.

“As a result of that commitment, any income received from any activity on Clifton Down has always gone to the Downs Committee.

“The Merchants put a great deal of time and effort into the Downs, care about it deeply, and gain absolutely no benefit from their involvement.

“There’s a very positive collaborative relationship with the councillors on the committee, who I believe find our involvement very beneficial.”

The Society of Merchant Venturers has hit back at critics who want them to give up their half of the Downs – photo: Merchant Venturers

Committee chair, Conservative lord mayor Steve Smith backed up Freed’s assertion, saying: “I’ve found that the Merchants make a really positive and helpful contribution.

“They bring skills and experience, not to mention a great deal of time and effort for which they’re not rewarded.”

The Downs Act 1861 requires the Merchant Venturers and Bristol City Council, which owns Durdham Down, to contribute seven members each to the Downs Committee, including the lord mayor of Bristol who acts as the chair and the master merchant who holds the role of vice-chair.

The committee is bound by the act to keep the Downs “for the public resort and recreation of the citizens and inhabitants of Bristol”.

It makes the money it needs to manage the Downs by renting out space on the land for events, but the council underwrites any debt.

Pressure group Downs for People have long accused the Downs Committee of “secrecy” and are fighting it for information about how much public money was spent unsuccessfully defending a legal challenge the campaigners brought over zoo parking on the Downs.

The group won £72,000 in an out-of-court settlement last year and estimate about £360,000 of public money was spent on the unsuccessful defence by the committee and the council.

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Read more: Campaigners call for release of ‘confidential report’ into zoo parking on the Downs  

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Member Susan Carter, who is leading the charge for the Merchants’ removal from the committee, told the meeting: “Council tax payers have a right to know how much of their money was squandered on a hopeless court case.”

Green councillor Christine Townsend, who is backing the campaigners’ demands, claims the Merchant Venturers “led on the decisions” that were contrary to the Downs Act 1861 and forced the committee to settle out of court.

Speaking at the meeting on Monday, Freed accused the campaign group of “needlessly” driving up the costs of the case by pursuing the court case “unnecessarily”.

Freed gave no indication the Merchant Venturers were reconsidering their role on the Downs Committee, other than promising to abide by the same principles of public life that govern the behaviour of city councillors.

He said: “I can give an absolute assurance that the society is committed to collaborating with all interested groups who want to move forward constructively, and I also can say that we’re very happy to be bound by the Nolan principles, even though we’re not a public body.”

Freed made his comments after hearing in person from Carter and Townsend, who summarised the written statements they put to the committee last week, which can be found in full on the council’s website.

The meeting also heard from resident Andrew Lynch, who called on Merchant Venturers to quit the committee if they live outside Bristol.

“These members enjoy representation without taxation,” Lynch wrote in his submission, referring to rules introduced by the council last year preventing people who live outside the City of Bristol from addressing members in City Hall.

“To those members who do not pay council tax in Bristol, I say: you should look to your consciences and resign with immediate effect,” he wrote.

Carter said: “This committee needs to start behaving like the statutory body that it is, and not the cosy private landowners’ club that some members have declared it to be.

Her written statement said: “We can see no reason for the Merchant Venturers’ continuing involvement. They have been exercising power without responsibility for too long. We are calling on them to give Clifton Down to the city, with a significant financial dowry.”

Downs for People are fighting the Downs committee for information about how much public money was spent unsuccessfully defending a legal challenge over parking – photo: Downs for People

Townsend said: “The Society of Merchant Venturers need to hand the Downs over, remove themselves from the governance structures of Bristol, and, if necessary, they need to be removed.

“Only those of us with a mandate from the people are in a position to make decisions about how public money and public spaces are managed.”

Amanda Cameron is a local democracy reporter for Bristol 

Main photo: Ellie Pipe

Read more: Renewed calls for Merchant Venturers to relinquish control of Downs 

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