The Dings - north east of Temple Meads

Image: © Anthony O'Neil Taken: 9 Dec 2010

This is now a busy route for pedestrians and cyclists to and from Temple Meads railway station, using the recently installed Meads Reach footbridge. The "city village" of The Dings has been transformed by new and refurbished housing and is unrecognisable from the formerly run-down Victorian enclave. The strange name is of uncertain origin: some sources say that it meant "a market" in Medieval times. Under the EU-funded VIVALDI PROJECT, Sustrans and the City Council worked with the local community to develop a HOME ZONE in the Dings. Involving local people in the design process was seen as an essential aspect of creating the home zone, yielding a sense of ownership over the spaces and places concerned. To deliver the master-layout, the City Council successfully bid for additional funding from Bristol's 'New Deal for Communities' programme - "Community at Heart". Construction began in September 2004 and was completed in January 2006. Cyclists, who follow the street ahead, quickly reach the start of the Bristol/Bath railway path, which itself was a SUSTRANS project.

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