Have your say on out-of-hours GP services in our area

BrisDoc, who currently provides the GP out-of-hours service for South, Central and North Bristol is hoping to expand into South Gloucestershire in the future. They would like to gather your thoughts and views on the planned urgent care services. If you would like to contribute, there is meeting on Sunday 11th March, at 10.45am, after the 10.00am service, at St Michael the Archangel Parish Church, Church Lane, Winterbourne BS36 1SE. Please let Caroline Hawkins know if you can attend by emailing caroline.hawkins2@nhs.net or by ringing 0791 747 4732. If you can not attend but would like to express your views please email caroline.hawkins2@nhs.net with your comments.

Still time to demand fast broadband - but hurry!

Don't forget that Wednesday 29th is the deadline for filling in the South Glos broadband surveys to show there is demand for superfast broadband in your community. You can find both the resident and business surveys on the South Glos website.

Woodlands Farm campaign hits the front page

The campaign to save Woodlands Farm from development hit the front page of the Gazette this week. Well done to Richard Merrick, organiser of the Save Woodlands Farm action group, and all the residents who turned out at very short notice.

Parish Review - South Glos call for suggestions

South Glos is carrying out a Community Governance Review, also known as a Parish Review. This is a legal process where the Council consults electors and other interested parties on the most suitable ways of representing local communities. It is an opportunity to review parish boundaries and the electoral arrangements within parishes and to consider whether Parish Councils should be created in the currently unparished areas.

At this stage, they are asking for suggestions of which areas should be reviewed. The deadline is 12th March. You can find out more on the South Glos website.

Do it online!

South Glos Council has a number of online forms to make it quicker and easier for you to contact them about waste collection and Street Care issues. There are even interactive maps so you can pinpoint an exact location. To use the forms, go to the South Glos website and click on "Report it", "Request it" or "Apply for it" as appropriate. Revenue and benefits forms should go live later this year.

The new system should save money and time, but there is one quirk. In December Claire Young asked the Cabinet Member responsible why you have to provide a postal address when reporting an issue like a pot hole if you want officers to be able to feedback or ask you for clarification. It would surely make more sense to record your email address or phone number. The Cabinet Member says that the priority is to sort out serious delays in the development of IT to support Street Care but he will ask the team to look at this issue when they are developing the service further later in the year.

Have your say on parking in new developments

South Glos Council is looking for your views on the number of parking spaces that should be provided with new homes. There have been widespread concerns that in recent years too few have been provided, causing problems on nearby streets. To have your say, complete the questionnaire online by the 2nd March 2012. Responses will be used to inform the drafting of a Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document, which will be subject to further public consultation before being adopted by the Council.

Update on cycle path from Yate to the railway path via Westerleigh

It was reported at the recent Joint Cycleways meeting that there has been no physical progress on the cycleway link because Network Rail haven't yet signed consents. Believe it or not, it's because of the main line electrification! They are considering using some of the land near the oil depot for training concerned with the electrification work, but they don't yet know how much land they need.

All other landholder agreements have been finalised for the first phase from Coxgrove Hill to Broad Lane, and land negotiations for the Broad Lane – Shireway second phase have just started.

Creating an additional link from the Nibley Lane corner to Westerleigh would cost over £50,000 and therefore will be considered for inclusion in South Glos's Local Transport Capital Programme for 2012/2013, along with all the other schemes competing for funds.

The next meeting of the Joint Cycleway Group will be in mid-April. Watch this space, as they say...