Bristol City Council had proposed to cut the Twinning budget by half the coming year and in full by 2013. This would have meant that BITA (Bristol International Twinning Association) which oversees all twinning activities would have ceased to exist. However, there followed a massive campaign across the city, supporting all seven of our city partnerships, with attendance by representatives of all twinnings present at three Council meetings. At the final one on January 26th, the leader, Councillor Barbara Janke announced that it had been decided to withdraw the plan for the coming year, and to revisit the work of BITA with a view to changing the way in which it worked, and she would initiate discussions with the coordinator, Alix Hughes, the Chairs of BITA and the twinnings to discuss the way forward. In the meantime, Pete Levy, Councillor for Horfield Ward, has started to attend our committee meetings, and has expressed great interest in our activities. Our grateful thanks are due to all those who supported us in the campaign!
