Merry Christmas from your Focus Team

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from your local Focus Team.

New footway on Manor Road

Construction of the new footway on Manor Road, between Chaingate Lane and Tanhouse Lane, is due to start on 4th January (weather permitting) and is expected to take 4 weeks to complete.

Unfortunately, due to the narrow width of the road, Manor Road will need to be closed to motorised vehicles for the duration of the works, although a pedestrian and cyclist route will be maintained. An alternative route using the B4058 and B4059 will be signed for diverted vehicles. The existing bus service will continue, but will take the following diversion route:-

Manor Road (North) – Chaingate Lane – B4058 – B 4059 – North road (including a U turn south of Tanhouse Lane) – Yate town centre.

The island at the junction of the B4058 and Chaingate Lane will be removed to enable buses to make the necessary movements.

Rubbish and recycling collection update

Thanks to icy roads and pavements, delayed starts and traffic problems, the problems with bin collections continue. Because Saturdays are already being used to catch up on Christmas public holidays, SITA won't be able to use them to catch up on the weather-related delays. Therefore black bin and green box collections are being prioritised for collection before Christmas Day and green bin collections are being suspended, except for households on the food waste trial.

If you are awaiting a collection, please leave your black bins and green boxes out if it is safe to do so, otherwise take them in and set them out again by 7.00am each morning.

At this stage the Sort It Centres remain unaffected by the weather.

New Council offices - cycling and pedestrian links

As well as consulting on parking restrictions around the new Council offices on Badminton Road, the Council are asking for your views on improvements to cycling and pedestrian facilities in the area. You can find more information online.

Refuse collections in snowy weather

Although all of SITA’s collection crews worked today, they have been unable to complete all their collections due to the bad weather. Slippery road and footpath surfaces, lifting mechanisms freezing on the vehicles and drivers of other vehicles not driving with sufficient care and attention have all combined to cause problems.

Black bins have not been collected from some roads in Coalpit Heath and Frampton Cotterell and Dodington Ash and parts of Engine Common have not had their recycling collection. Leave your bins out and the crews will collect them as soon as possible.

Recycling over Christmas

The SORT IT centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day but will otherwise be open as normal, including on Bank Holiday Monday. Don't forget you can recycle your real Christmas tree either cut up in your green bin or at your local SORT IT centre. Unfortunately you cannot recycle Christmas cards or wrapping paper but there are often bins for cards in local supermarkets.

Litter - could you help?

It was clear from the survey that Steve Webb and your local Focus team carried out in June that clearing our streets and open spaces of litter is very important to many of you. We asked South Glos Council's Street Care team to tackle a number of locations, which they did. Unfortunately, all too soon the litter returned.

The Manor School playing field was highlighted by a number of people as a litter hotspot and was also raised at the last Safer Stronger Community Group meeting. Could you spare some time to help pick litter on the field with other volunteers? If so, please contact claire.young@southglos.gov.uk .

Frampton already has a litter picking team up and running - to join, please ring 864222 or email villageaction@blueyonder.co.uk .

Watch this space for news of The Big Spring Clean 2010, South Glos Council's annual litter campaign.

Reminder - get involved in improving health servicse

A quick reminder that the South Gloucestershire LINk (Local Involvement Network) now has a website where you can find out how to get involved in improving health and care services locally. On the site you can find out more about the LINk and all the events it is organising.

Have your say on new parking restrictions

South Glos Council have announced plans to introduce waiting restrictions on roads around their new Badminton Road Council offices.

Claire Young and other local Councillors recently met officers to discuss plans to tackle the impact on traffic of the new offices. With just over 300 parking spaces for around 700 desks, there are worries that employees will park on local roads despite attempts to encourage them to use other forms of transport.

The Council's answer to this is to introduce parking restrictions and they want to hear your views now. For more information and to make comments, go to the consultation on the South Glos website. Let Claire know what you think too by emailing claire.young@southglos.gov.uk.

Have your say on Westerleigh crossing plans

Last December, the Frome Vale Area Forum voted to support the creation of a new crossing on Westerleigh Road by Westerleigh's Old Post Office.

After a pedestrian count showed that numbers were too low for a zebra crossing to be viable, officers drew up plans instead to narrow the road, provide a length of new footway by the bus stop, adding tactile pavement areas and using bollards to prevent parking on the footway. You can now have your say on these plans on the South Glos website.

Lane in Coalpit Heath to be closed

The lane that runs from Coalpit Heath Post Office through to Bell Road will be shut from today until 21st December inclusive so that drainage works can be carried out. Residents will still be able to access their properties. There has been a long history of flooding at this site and your Focus team has been pushing for it to be sorted.

Frome Vale Area Forum - this Thursday

Frome Vale Area Forum starts at 7pm on Thursday 3rd December, in the Shire Way Community Centre. As well as an open session to talk about issues that concern you, there will be presentations on waiting restrictions around the new Council offices and fly tipping. The Committee will be making decisions on local transport schemes.