Along with its three sister titles in the North Bristol Journal Series of community news websites, the Patchway Journal (PJ) has now been retired.
No further news articles will be posted on the PJ website, however the site will remain live for the foreseeable future to serve as a historical record.
Founded in May 2011, the PJ website built on the success of the neighbouring Bradley Stoke Journal (BSJ) website which began three years earlier and built up a strong following.
The PJ website covered a broad spectrum of topics that included news from our local councils, the police, schools and myriad community groups, as well as being responsive to issues affecting residents as they arose on a day-to-day basis.
The first year of operation saw 58 posts (news articles) published on the PJ website. Topics covered included consultation on plans to close Highwood Road to general traffic, discussion surrounding plans to close Filton Airfield and consultation on plans for a new police complex on Gloucester Road.
The Patchway Journal launched a Twitter feed in July 2011. A Facebook page followed in October 2011, which went on to attract more than 2,000 followers.
The following year, 2012, turned out to be the most prolific of the PJ website’s lifespan with 117 posts being made. Topics covered included a petition to keep Highwood Road open, disappointment at Patchway Community College missing out on government funding for repairs and consultation on a proposal to split Stoke Lodge from [the parish of] Patchway.
The number of posts published on the website dropped steadily from 2013 onwards as your editor focused his efforts on launching the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine in May 2013, which proved a great success. This was followed by the Stoke Gifford Journal magazine in October 2018.
From 2018 onwards there were only single digit numbers of posts made on the PJ website each year, generally being stories that had relevance to the wider north Bristol area, such as the redevelopment of Filton Airfield (now known as Brabazon).
Overall, the period 2011 to 2024 saw a total of 367 posts published on the PJ website, along with 58 information pages. The website incorporates 544 photos, diagrams and other images. Additionally, more than 360 photos may be viewed within shared albums on the PJ’s Google Photos account.
Our archive
The best way to find something specific on the website is to use the Search function, accessed via the magnifying glass icon in the navigation bar. You can also browse the archives via the following entry points shown in the navigation bar and on the homepage:
Tip: Once you have found an post of interest, you can use the ‘category’ and ‘tag’ links at the bottom of the post to find related posts.
Sister publications
The North Bristol Journal Series of community news websites consists of the Bradley Stoke Journal (founded 2008), the Patchway Journal (2011), the Stoke Gifford Journal (2012) and the Filton Journal (2012).
The South Glos Post (2009), in the same ownership, was established to give a platform to press releases and news articles that had a wider geographical area of relevance.
Read more about the North Bristol Journal Series of websites and magazines in this extended article on the BSJ website: Bradley Stoke Journal website retired after serving community for 17 years