This from the UK Telegraph regarding some difficulty being encountered by the City Council of the City of Bristol in the U.K.
Plans to clear undergrowth from gay sex spot branded discriminatory
By Richard Alleyne
A council has been accused of discriminating against homosexuals over plans to clear undergrowth from a notorious gay cruising spot.
Bristol City Council wants to prune bushes and remove cover from an area known as the Downs to improve the landscape and encourage rare wildlife.
But its own gay rights group has opposed the move, claiming that cutting back the bushes was "discriminating" to homosexual men who used the area for late night outdoor sex known as dogging.
By Richard Alleyne
A council has been accused of discriminating against homosexuals over plans to clear undergrowth from a notorious gay cruising spot.
Bristol City Council wants to prune bushes and remove cover from an area known as the Downs to improve the landscape and encourage rare wildlife.
But its own gay rights group has opposed the move, claiming that cutting back the bushes was "discriminating" to homosexual men who used the area for late night outdoor sex known as dogging.
Work on the beauty spot has been temporarily delayed while talks with gay rights groups take place to try and break the deadlock.The area of the Downs sits at the top of the Avon Gorge, in the upmarket Clifton suburb of Bristol and is home to various species of rare plants and wildlife.
But councillors said it had become overgrown over the past 20 years.
Thick bushes cover the secluded area next to a street known Circular Road which has become a mecca for gay men and couples cruising for sex.
The area hit the headlines last year when four firemen who disturbed an outdoor gay sex session were reprimanded and fined after they shone torches into the undergrowth.
The Downs Committee commissioned a report as part of ongoing improvements to the shrubland and have proposed cutting back a lot of the undergrowth.
The move was strongly backed by local residents who complained about "inappropriate sexual activity" and safety concerns in the area.
But during the consultation period last year "equality" concerns were raised by the council's Rainbow Group - an action group of lesbian, gay and bisexual council employees - about the threat to gay rights.
A report on the plans states: "As part of the consultation, concerns were expressed by the council's Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Group (and a small number of other consultees) that this action was potentially discriminating against gay and bisexual men, whose activities on this part of the Downs were objected to by other members of the local community and Downs users."
Council officials have been forced to consult with the police and gay rights group the Terence Higgins Trust to ensure there was no discrimination.
Peter Wilkinson, the council's Head of Parks, said: "The general public are unhappy about people taking part in lewd behaviour in public spaces, whether it's between men and women or people of the same sex.
There are sooo many comments Ole' Pecoz could make here, but I reckon I'll pass and let you make your own whilst I just sit here and grin !!!
I do gotta wonder who those "Consultee's" are that they need to talk to. Looks to me like all that's left are the Beastie Boys........
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