A youth centre in Easton wants to use its limited resources over the next couple of days to offer a shady spot to those who may need it most. Baggator at the Pickle Factory on All Hallows Road has announced that its shady garden space will be available for booking.
The offer, which has been published today across social media, states that ‘priority will be given to those living in tower blocks’. The youth centre and community building will provide a ‘no frills’ service where families can book the shaded garden for a maximum of two hours.
An extreme heat warning has been issued for Bristol that could bring 'danger to life'. The amber weather warning has been regarded as a rare occurrence by the Met Office which reportedly could lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure.
READ MORE: Heatwave updates as Bristol set for hottest day on record
The weather forecaster predicted the Bristol region and other parts of England could experience exceptionally high temperatures today - in the region of 36C. Similar levels are expected tomorrow, too, before the mercury drops back down to 24C on Wednesday, where showers are forecast to arrive.
What is set to be the hottest day on record today is only set to get even hotter tomorrow. Red and amber weather warnings are in place across the country and in the South East temperatures could reach as high as 43C tomorrow.
There will be no staff on site at the youth centre but garden users will be able to have access to toilets and tap water. Baggator chair Stuart Phelps said: “We’re calling it ‘mutual shade’. Right now people are roasting in their flats.
“There’s no escape, the sun’s shining into the windows. They’ve got no garden, the kids are going to get irritable, we all know the temperature is getting to dangerous levels.
“Those of us lucky enough to have gardens, know how priceless sitting outside in the shade is right now. Any building with a large garden could be doing this and it could be Bristol wide.
"I’m sure somebody could be doing better than us. You wouldn’t want somebody from Avonmouth coming all the way to Easton to get a bit of shade, they’d be cooked by the time they got here.”
Mr Phelps said that Baggator’s offer is one that any community building could be offering. The open ended offer, will be available throughout the summer and will develop according to feedback from families who use the service.
A church in south Bristol has already followed suit. They announced on Twitter this morning that their church building which is naturally cooler than outside will be open to the community until 4pm today for those struggling to stay cool.
St Paul's Church in Southville tweeted: "Our building isn't air-conditioned however it's naturally cooler than outside. We'll be providing cold drinks, feel free to bring your lunch, book, knitting or puzzles."
The community and youth centre tucked away on All Hallows Road in Easton offers regular free sessions for children and youth people on a Monday and Thursday with food included. In addition, a super club is run for adults on a Wednesday evening and they run women only groups, gardening sessions as well as pop-up fairs from time to time.
If you would like to book the garden or are interested in volunteering with Baggator please email: office@baggator.com
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