Latest on the Westerleigh crossing scheme

You may recall that following the strong response from local residents, officers agreed to fund the white lining on Shorthill Road from a separate budget. They have now announced that despite the fact the contractors will need to close the road for up to three weeks for safety reasons, there is enough money in the crossing scheme budget to extend the kerbing for 60m. The work will be done in April and more information about the road closures will be sent to local residents and businesses nearer the time.

Don't forget - consultation on parking restrictions ends Friday

The consultation on the proposed parking restrictions around the new Badminton Road Council Offices ends on Friday. Have your say on the South Glos website.

Claire Young asked about the details of the permit scheme. Officers have suggested that it will offer two permits per household, one of which could be given to visitors, workmen etc providing that you don't need both for your own vehicles. Deliveries can be loaded and unloaded, they are not affected by the restrictions. The fine detail of the permit system is still to be developed and Claire is awaiting further information from officers.

Church Road crossing

After complaints about fast traffic making it difficult to cross Church Road, South Gloucestershire Officers are investigating a pedestrian refuge near the School Road junction. They will be painting the dimensions on the road so that residents can check whether they would still be able to get in and out of their drives.

Windmill Green update

The last hope of stopping the proposal for 220 dwellings in the fields between Heather Avenue and Park Lane has gone.

South Gloucestershire Officers agreed to explore the possibility of a judicial review of the Government Inspector’s decision to overrule the local decision to refuse the planning application. Sadly the top legal advice was that the Council would not be able to make a strong enough
case.

The trees around and through the site are protected by a tree preservation order. Please get it touch with the Council or your FOCUS TEAM if they are being damaged in any way.

Area Forum on Thursday

The Frome Vale Area Forum takes place this Thursday, 25th February, in Chipping Sodbury Town Hall. The committee will be deciding on grants to local organisations, there will be presentations on emergency planning and an update of the Compact with voluntary organisations and an open session for you to raise issues that concern you.

Have your say on speed limit

After many years of waiting, the promised review of the speed limit along Old Gloucester Road is happening. Local residents have been suffering from large amounts of fast traffic heading for work and the motorway junctions for far too along. Pat Hockey has told South Gloucestershire Officers that she believes 40mph should be the maximum speed on this narrow country lane with consideration given to a 30mph limit on the section covering the Trench Lane, Swan Lane and Northwood and junctions. You can have your say on the South Glos website.

Urgent - have your say on new nuclear plant

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is currently consulting the public on six draft energy ‘National Policy Statements,’ which will eventually help to set out how the country generates energy for its future needs. One of the documents is the draft Nuclear National Policy Statement (NPS), as part of which the Government is consulting on a list of potential sites for new nuclear power stations, including land next to the existing Oldbury Power Station.

You can find out more information about how to respond to the Government on the South Glos website. Don't delay - the consultation ends on Monday 22 February!

Safer Stronger Community priorities agreed.

This week's Frampton Cotterell, Westerleigh, Iron Acton and Coalpit Heath Safer Stronger Community Group agreed as priorities the problem of HGVs using Latteridge Road and anti-social behaviour in Iron Acton. Police are also looking into an outbreak of vandalism in Westerleigh village.

Nibley Lane closed Mon 22 and Tue 23 February

The first part of Nibley Lane as you turn off the Badminton Road to go towards Westerleigh will be resurfaced on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd February. This will involve excavating and planing off the existing surface of the road, then resurfacing it. The road will be closed while the work is going on and traffic diverted. Access to properties fronting the site will be available at all times.

The works will be carried out from approximately 8am to 5pm each day. Adverse weather or other problems could change the times and dates. The Council advises that you watch the local press for further news and avoid the area if possible for the duration of the works.

Making the Council more open

Your Focus team are campaigning for a more open Council. At January's meeting of full Council, Lib Dem Councillor Alan Lawrance won backing for all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests to be published on the Council’s website. Today Laddenbrook Councillor Howard Gawler is asking the Leader of Council to support the publication of any Council contracts or payments over £25,000, as is the case in some other Councils.

Cycling City - route via Westerleigh and into the future

Detailed design work for the Cycle Path / Footpath from Yate to the Railway Path via Westerleigh is underway, including an appraisal of the Nibley Lane junction, and the planning application will be submitted shortly. Cycling City is aiming for the first phase (Railway Path to Westerleigh) to begin as soon as possible and be completed by October 2010.

Cycling England are hoping the project will be extended for another 3 years in 2011 and local councils are starting to consider future potential projects. Initial “strategic routes” being suggested are:

• Yate/Sodbury to the north fringe and linking to the cycling network at Winterbourne;


• Yate/Sodbury to Pucklechurch;


• Yate/Sodbury to Wickwar;
  

Another ambition is to identify a route from Chipping Sodbury to Yate, to be accessible to cyclists and users of mobility scooters.

Can you suggest any other strategic routes or links that need to be provided in the area? Please let us have your ideas.

Reminder - Frampton Safer Strong Community Group meeting on Tuesday

Don't forget the Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath, Westerleigh and Iron Acton Safer Stronger Community Group meeting, postponed due to snow in January, will now take place on Tuesday 16th February at 7.30pm in Iron Acton Village Hall. Go along and raise any issues you have on building a safer and stronger community.

Pot hole alert

The recent bad weather has left terrible pot holes on our roads and your local Focus team has been reporting them to the Council's Street Care department. If you would like to report a pothole directly to the Council you can do so online here.

A chance to tackle litter

The disappearing snow uncovered a great deal of litter and fly-tipping. South Glos has tackled some hotspots but it’s a never-ending job. Why not get involved in The Big Spring Clean 2010 campaign, which runs from 1 Mar - 30 April? If your group organises a community event, the Council will collect the litter you pick up and you can have free gloves, refuse sacks and skips. Supplies are limited, so register your Big Spring Clean event and requests for equipment with the council by Friday 26 February 2010 at the latest. More information is available on the South Glos website.

Westerleigh Road resurfacing now starts Friday

Due to unforeseen circumstances the resurfacing of Westerleigh Road, Yate has had to be rescheduled. It will now start on Friday 12th and hopefully be completed on Saturday 13th February.

Last chance to have your say on parking restrictions

South Glos Council has published the formal notice before bringing in parking restrictions near the new Badminton Road Council offices. They have made some changes based on responses to the last consultation. They are now proposing no waiting 9am-5pm Mon-Fri without a permit anywhere in South Avenue and there would be no waiting on Stover Road except for a short stretch outside the houses where there would be no waiting 9-5 Mon-Fri.

Claire Young asked officers for more information on the permit scheme. The details are still being worked on, but officers suggest there will be two permits per household and one could be used for visitors, people working on the house etc during the day time. Deliveries can be loaded and unloaded as per normal waiting restrictions.

You can view the plans and have your say on the South Glos website. But don't delay - you only have until 26th February.

Roadworks around the new Council offfices

During February and into March, there will be roadworks around the new Council offices as the roads are resurfaced. The roads affected are Stover Road, from Badminton Road to the north of the road-over-rail bridge and Badminton Road, from North Road to the roundabout outside the new Council offices. It was decided not to resurface these roads until the construction work had finished, to avoid construction traffic damaging the new surface.

School merger approved

The proposed merger of Brockeridge Infants School and Highcroft Junior School has been approved by the Independent Adjudicator. Initially, the new school will continue to use the two existing sites.

Local Councillor Dave Hockey (pictured outside Brockeridge with Pat Hockey and Claire Young) said, “Local parents should be congratulated on making their views very clear. Parents did not want all the children on the Highcroft site until a new building is provided. The existing buildings are unsuitable and no one wanted to see more temporary classrooms on the site. The Adjudicator said that people were right to be concerned about funds being available for a new school in the current economic climate and seems to have looked very closely at the plans for one school on two sites before approving them.”

Cllr Pat Hockey said, “Both schools are very popular with parents and many will be delighted that, for now at least, they can still opt for their children to start school in the small-school Brockeridge setting, even though it will be part of a larger primary school. A lot of parents would have preferred Brockeridge Infants School to be kept separate from Highcroft Junior School but at least they have won their battle to ensure children at Brockeridge School do not move onto the Highcroft School site until proper, permanent provision is available”.

The existing schools will close on August 31 this year and the new school will re-open, on the existing separate sites, on September 1st.

Crossing scheme update

Thank you to everyone who responded with their views on whether the remains of the crossing budget should be spent on white lining in Shorthill Road or extending the kerbing to the north of the bus shelter. It soon became clear there was strong demand for both options, a view backed by the Parish Council. The good news is that having seen the feedback from residents, officers have now agreed to fund the white lining from a different budget. They cannot yet make a decision on how much kerbing can be provided, as they are still in negotiations with the contractors about the final costs, but hope to decide in the next few weeks.

Latest on bin collections

As blogged here, SITA went back to using the standard collection calendar on Monday 25th January and as of Saturday 6th they have now completed a full two week cycle on black bins, green bins and green boxes. Because some householders may not have placed their bin out on the timetabled day, due to all the disruptions, SITA crews will continue to collect side waste for the next two week cycle.

The Council is aiming to learn from this experience and has reviewed its plans for coping with difficult situations such as the one faced in January. In future, they hope to keep residents better informed during disruptions.

Westerleigh Road, Yate to be resurfaced

Part of Westerleigh Road, Yate is due to be resurfaced, starting on Wednesday 10th and finishing on Friday 12th Febrary if all goes to plan. The works will involve planing off the existing surface on the carriageway, followed by resurfacing and traffic will be controlled with a two man Stop and Go operation. Work will take place between 7.30am and 5pm. South Glos Council are advising people to use alternative routes where possible.

Nibley Lane closed on Tuesday

Nibley Lane, between the A432 Badminton Road and Holly Hill, Iron Acton will be closed on 9 February 2010 between 9.30am and 2.30pm to allow street cleansing and drainage maintenance works to take place. Access for residents and other frontagers will be maintained.