Frampton End Road - formal advertisment

The formal notice for the Traffic Regulation Order for the closure of Frampton End Road and the road to Mayshill has been published. You can find the details on the council's website.

Summer safety advice

The Avon Fire and Rescue Service have published some summer safety advice on their website.

Stop and search consultation

The Home Office wants to know your views on the police powers of stop and search. They are looking at whether stop and search is used appropriately and fairly and how it can be better targeted and more intelligence-led. To find out more and respond go to the PCC website. . You have until 12 August 2013 to comment.

Westerleigh smell recurrence

Thank you to those who have reported the smells coming from the sewers in Westerleigh in recent weeks. Unfortunately there have been problems with hydrogen sulphide gas in the sewers. The Environment Agency, Wessex Water and Tulip (the owners of the abattoir) are all working to find a solution as quickly as they can. If you want to report an incident, please call the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60. This is free to call from landlines and operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Would you like to join a wood buying group?

Do you use bought-in logs for heating? Would you be interested in joining a wood buying group to use bulk purchasing to reduce prices?

Westerleigh resident Stephen Knowles, pictured above left, is hoping to set up a wood buying group in the village. If you are interested, please email him at stephen.knowles@bristolenergy.coop and let him know how many cubic metre bags of wood you use per year on average.

Says Court Farm site visit

Yesterday the DC (West) planning committee visited Says Court Farm. At the entrance to the farm, the applicant, local councillor Claire Young, Westerleigh Parish Councillor Eve Carey and a representative of local objectors all had the opportunity to speak. The members of the committee then went on a tour of the farm and surrounding viewpoints so they could consider the visual impact of the proposals and ask questions.

There is still some work to be done before the application can go to committee. It definitely will not be considered at the next meeting, on 1st August.

The Frampton Festival - tomorrow!

Why not get along to the Frampton Festival at the Centenary Field on Saturday 20th July? The field opens at 2pm, entertainment starts at 3pm, and the day finishes at 10pm with the fireworks. You can find out more on their Facebook page.

Nibley Lane to close for cleaning

Nibley Lane, from its junction with Westerleigh Road to its junction with Badminton Road, is expected to close for cleaning from 9.30am until 2.30pm on Friday 19th July.

Says Court Solar Farm - site visit 19th July

South Marston Solar Farm near Swindon

The site visit for the Says Court Farm solar farm project will take place on Friday 19th July, with an expected arrival time of 2.20pm. Being at the end of a long list of site visits, there is obviously scope for delay. It is proposed that everyone meets at the entrance to Says Court Farm and that those speaking will do so there, residents will not go on to the site. Members of the committee will then be driven around the site and to various vantage points to allow them to assess the visual impact of the proposal. 

You can view both the full agenda and the Says Court Farm report online. At this stage the officer has not made a recommendation to members to approve or refuse the application. The report simply asks the committee members to inspect the site and view it from the surrounding area.

In preparation for speaking at the site visit, local councillor Claire Young has visited two solar farms, one near Swindon and one near Bradford-on-Avon, with one of the Westerleigh Parish Councillors. Although AEE Renewables gave Claire details of where the sites were, she did not tell them when she was going and they were not accompanied by anyone from the company, so the visits were done entirely independently.

While visiting the site, Claire took some pictures. There was a public footpath at the South Marston site, not far outside Swindon, so it was possible to walk about and get right up to the fence. AEE Renewables had said that the concrete foundations are not what is planned for Says Court, so that isn’t representative of this application, but the site did demonstrate fencing, buffer zones etc. The site near Bradford-on-Avon was more tucked away, but it was possible to take pictures over the wall of the neighbouring cemetery.

The pictures hopefully give some idea of the visual impact of the site. Noise was not a problem in either case - you could hear the transformers when you were very close to them but moving away the sound soon became inaudible. If you would like to visit the sites yourselves, the postcodes are SN3 4SF and BA15 1TR. You can also find out more from the AEE Renewables website - there are pages for the Bradford-on-Avon site, the South Marston site and the recently approved solar farm neighbouring the South Marston site.

Have your say on council tax reduction scheme

South Glos Council is asking local people to comment on proposals for a new local council tax reduction scheme to be introduced in April 2014. The council tax reduction scheme replaced Council Tax Benefit from April 2013 but there is a shortfall in funding. Although it was possible to cover this in other ways in 2013/14, it will not be possible to do that in future years without raising the Council Tax. People who are eligible for state pension credit are not affected as they will continue to be assessed under the national scheme.

You can find out more and have your say by going to www.southglos.gov.uk/counciltaxchanges. The deadline for comments is 16th September.

Search for "Best on the Beat"

If someone in Avon and Somerset Police has gone the extra mile for you, why not nominate them for the Neighbourhood Policing Awards? You can find out more information and make the nomination online.

Update on Dodington Parish part-night lighting

During the recent consultation on part-night lighting in Dodington Parish, local councillor Claire Young queried the accident record at the junction where the road to Chipping Sodbury meets the B4465 by Wayleaze Cottages.

Officers checked the accident records and have confirmed that although there have been 2 loss of control personal injury accidents at the junction since January 2010, both were in the daytime (and in wet conditions). They will therefore be including the lights there in the part-night lighting scheme as there is no road safety reason not to do so.

Get involved in decisions

The latest meeting of the Frome Vale Area Forum is this Thursday, 11th July, at 7pm in the Shire Way Community Centre. Come along and have your say on a range of topics.

South Glos is currently reviewing how it works with residents, community groups and Parish Councils to involve them in making decisions and tackling local issues. You can have your say on the council's website. The results will help shape the future of Safer Stronger Community Groups and Area Forums.

Woodlands Farm refused

Objectors outside the council offices

This afternoon the Development Control (West) Committee unanimously refused the Barratt Homes' application to build on land at Woodlands Farm, Coalpit Heath.

Local councillor Claire Young said, "Thank you to all who came to the meeting today and to everyone who has turned out at the many events to show their opposition to these plans. A special thank you to Richard Merrick for leading the action group and all those members of the group who have helped spread the word and demonstrate just how strongly local people feel."

Barratt Homes now have the option to appeal against the decision. We will of course keep you informed if this happens.

Steve Webb MP with objectors at the site