Yate Youth Venue and Cafe - the Armadillo is coming!

Chris Willmore explains the building and the way the Youth Venue and Cafe will be run

Several of the key committee members at the launch

Representatives of local organisations examine the plans

Yate Youth Venue and Cafe project was officially launched at two very well attended sessions last week, when representatives of local organisations and councils came to Poole Court to hear the details of the project.

This striking new building, which has already been nicknamed "The Armadillo", will be constructed on the side of the Leisure Centre and extend towards the roundabout.

Cllr Chris Willmore explained that it is not intended to be a youth club - it will be a cross between a students union and a social enterprise cafe, with young people very involved in running it. Young people have already been very involved in the design and the steering group.

This is a joint project of Yate Town Council and South Gloucestershire Council. The core funding is secure to build the venue and to provide core opening hours, but they are now seeking sponsorship for many of the facilities within the building and to have more sessions each week.

Work has just started on the ground and the building should open in April next year.

Local Councillor Claire Young took the opportunity to discuss how young people from the rural areas can access the cafe, especially in the evenings. Watch this space for more on that.

Mine shaft collapse update

Your Focus Team has now met a representative of the Coal Authority to look at their plans for tackling the collapsed mine shaft in Woodend Road.

The work is due to start on Monday 26th July with the aim of completing it in the school holidays as the diversion will send traffic past Highcroft School. Notice has been short because of the time taken to confirm the problem was caused by coal mining and to secure the funds for the repair.

The road will only be closed between the Ridge and Badminton Road (some people have been misled by the closure warning sign being located the other side of the Post Office). You will still be able to access both the Post Office and the NISA by road if coming from the Lower Stone Close direction. Initially the route will be closed to pedestrians as well as vehicles but they hope to open up a path on one side of the road or the other once they've established exactly where they will be working.

Having confirmed the position of the shaft, they will fill it and dig trenches around it to fill with concrete to form a "collar" on which the shaft cap can sit. There will need to be a break of several days to allow this concrete to cure before the rest of the work can be completed, so if they seem to have abandoned work, don't assume they're taking a long tea break! The road will be fully reinstated before they leave.

If are not one of the residents or business owners that has been contacted directly by the Coal Authority and you have any queries in the next couple of weeks, please contact Claire Young.

Perrinpit Road closure extended

The temporary closure of Perrinpit Road has had to be extended due to unforseen circumstances. The road is now expected to re-open on Thursday 29 July.

Charfield Station - tell South Glos what you think

Thank you to everyone who responded to our survey on the possibility of re-opening Charfield Station (pictured left, with John and Sandra O'Neill). Many people supported the idea, but others raised concerns about parking problems, increased congestion in the area and road safety, particularly on Station Road and at the junction of Station Road and Wotton Road. Some suggested alternative sites.

South Gloucestershire Council is currently consulting on its Draft CoreStrategy, a planning blueprint for the area until 2026. In the Draft Core Strategy, the Council is proposing to safeguard 0.84 ha of land at the former Charfield Station and adjoining land to the S.E. for a station and car parking. It is included in the Rural Package covered in PolicyCS7 on page 52 and described on page 58 in para 7.9. The possibility of re-opening Charfield Station is also mentioned in the RuralAreas section in para 16.12 on page 146.

You can view the Draft Core Strategy on the South Gloucestershire Council website and hard copies are available to view in libraries and One Stop Shops. You have until 6th August to make your comments.

Mine shaft repairs to close Woodend Road

Woodend Road will be closed to pedestrians and vehicles between Badminton Road and The Ridge for up to 6 weeks starting on Monday 26th July. This is to allow the Coal Authority to repair a collapsed mine shaft. Your local Focus team will be meeting a representative from the Coal Authority to discuss the repairs later this week.

Badminton Road pavement resurfacing

On 26th and 27th July there will be disruption for traffic on Badminton Road between the Stover Road and Westerleigh Close junctions due to the pavements being resurfaced. Work will start at about 8am and end at about 5pm each day.

Perrinpit Road closed this week

Perrinpit Road will be closed this week for urgent repairs. Access to properties will be maintained at all times. The alternative route will be B4427 Old Gloucester Road, B4059 Latteridge Hill, B4058 Bristol Road and vice versa.

Driver prosecuted for breaking Westerleigh weight limit

A lorry driver from Weston-Super-Mare has been fined £115 and ordered to pay £583 in costs for driving a 13 tonne heavy goods vehicle through the 7.5 tonne weight restriction in Westerleigh.

Read more on the South Glos website.

Go wild at Woodfest! - Ridge Wood Sunday 18 July 11am - 5pm

This popular woodland festival returns thanks to South Glos, the Friends of Ridge Wood and Hanson Aggregates.

Once again Woodfest will feature a wide variety of free woodland based workshops, walks and events for people of all ages. You can try out traditional woodland crafts such as wood turning using a pole lathe, stone carving (booking required), willow weaving and charcoal making. Many of the workshops will involve using a variety of green woodworking techniques to make products from fallen timber in the woodland.

There will be lots for for families, including bush craft workshops, storytelling, children’s forest school activities, flag printing, guided walks, talks, nest box building and woodland barbeques.

More details are available from South Glos on 01454 863725.