Tour of Britain returns to South Gloucestershire

The Tour of Britain in 2014

Next week the Tour of Britain cycle race returns to South Gloucestershire. On 8th September rolling road closures will be in place between around 2.30pm and 3.30pm, with the event at any one location likely to last around 25 minutes.

The route through South Gloucestershire is: From Gloucestershire boundary, B4060 Station Road, Wickwar, B4060 High Street, Wickwar, B4060 Sodbury Road, B4060 Wickwar Road, B4060 High Street, Chipping Sodbury, Culverhill Road, Bowling Road, Dodington Road, Claypit Hill, Gibbs Lane, Sodbury Lane, B4465 Codrington Road, Wapley, B4465 Westerleigh Road, Abson Road, Pucklechurch, Naishcombe Hill, Wick, A420 London Road, A420 Church Road, A420 Riding Barn Hill, A420 Homeapple Hill, A420 London Road, Bridge Yate, A4175 Bath Road, A4175 High Street, Oldland Common, A4175 Barry Road, A4175 Cherry Garden Road, A431 Bath Road, Bitton, A431 High Street, Bitton, A431 Bath Road to Bath and North East Somerset boundary

Footpath to close for railway works

The footpath that goes from the end of Broad Lane in Westerleigh past Dodmoor Farm, left along the railway and then heads off towards Frog Lane Farm will be closed in the autumn for railway works to take place. The diversion will be along the Broad Lane Restricted Byway, up the path that goes across Ha'penny Bridge to Frog Lane Farm and then back south east. The closure order will be in operation from 30 September 2016 for up to six months but the closure is only expected to last for 11 days.

Alerts from Neighbourhood Watch

We're lucky that there are a number of Neighbourhood Watch groups in our area. To see if you are covered by one, you can use this post code checker:

http://www.ourwatch.org.uk/

One of the benefits of membership is receiving regular updates on crimes and scams to watch out for in your area. Recently these have included:

• A burglary between 7.20 and 10pm on Sunday 21st August on School Road, Frampton Cotterell. Entry was gained by forcing the rear door and it is thought that a garden tool has been used. The Police recommend that residents restrict access to the rear of their property wherever possible, and secure any tools or ladders that could assist a burglar.
• Between 3 and 4pm on Monday 22nd August, an unknown male approached the front door of a residence on Badminton Road, Coalpit Heath. While he tried to get one of the residents to go round the side of the house with him, another male went to enter the front door but he was put off by the dog, who started barking at him. At this point both men left. Please ensure that all elderly or vulnerable neighbours, relatives or friends are made aware of this type of crime.

If you have any information on these crimes,  please contact the Police on 101. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

National alerts are also passed on. Recently, for example, there was this warning not to be a "money mule".

You can find out more about Neighbourhood Watch Schemes on the Avon and Somerset Police website.

Walking beat surgery - Frampton Cotterell

Between 5pm and 7pm on Friday 26th August, the local Neighbourhood Policing beat team will be doing a walking beat surgery in Frampton Cotterell. Feel free to stop them to discuss any issues or queries you may have.

Update on ring road closures

Last weekend's planned closure of the A4174 ring road for resurfacing had to be postponed due to the wet weather and will have to be rescheduled.

The following closures to the A4174 ring road will still take place:

• Full overnight closure of the eastbound carriageway between Wick Wick and Lyde Green roundabouts between 8pm and 6am, which started on 22 August and runs to 1 September and then again from 7 to 9 September. This road will be fully open during the day and at weekends.
• Full overnight closure of the westbound carriageway at the Hambrook traffic lights from 8pm on Monday 5 September until 6am on Tuesday 6 September. This road will be fully open during the day.

This work is part of the Challenge Fund project, and will involve removing the existing road surface and laying a new one. Advance warning signs will be displayed and alternative routes will be clearly signed throughout the duration of the closures. For further information please visit www.southglos.gov.uk/challengefund

Bank Holiday rail disruption

Network Rail is carrying out further work in South Wales and the South West this August Bank Holiday weekend, to install new signalling as part of their Railway Upgrade Plan.

The work will take place from 27th to 29th August and will require a temporary closure of the lines in both directions between Bristol Parkway and Swindon, Newport, Bristol Temple Meads, Gloucester and Severn Beach. Trains will be diverted and in some cases replaced by buses. More information is available here.

LED lights coming to Church Road

The concrete lighting columns in Church Road are due for replacement. In addition to this their overhead cables and locations do not meet current design standards. This means Council Officers have decided to take the opportunity of redesigning the layout and converting the lights to LED ahead of the rest of Frampton Cotterell which is scheduled for 2018. LED lights are the energy efficient more focused lights, already installed along Badminton Road. Officers have calculated that there will be a 76% reduction in energy use and therefore cost.

Safety on the roads around the Manor School

Last year South Glos carried out an informal consultation on introducing a 20mph limit on the residential roads to the east of Badminton Road, Coalpit Heath.

Based on the results of that consultation, officers decided to go ahead with the formal advertisement. That was supposed to happen in May but it was delayed and will now run from 29th August to 22nd September.

The formal advertisement of the waiting restrictions around the school, which is a separate piece of work, has been delayed by the departure of the official dealing with it. We'll let you know when it's time to have your say.

Yate Spur cycle path update

Work on the section of the cycle path between Nibley Lane and the Shire Way railway viaduct (pictured left) was completed earlier this summer.

In recent weeks, it’s been confirmed that South Glos has secured £400,000 for further work this financial year.

In September the council will be starting a consultation on a pedestrian refuge at the Nibley Lane junction, the path under the viaduct and the Shire Way section. The council is also working towards securing land for the Westerleigh Road to Broad Lane section.

While it’s good to see further progress being made, more funding will be needed in future years for the construction of the path between Dodmoor Crossing and Nibley Lane. This is arguably one of the parts of the route that will bring the biggest safety improvements.


We need to keep up the pressure to make sure this important cycle route is completed. If you haven’t done so already, you can sign our petition at tinyurl.com/cyclelink

20mph for Ram Hill feasible

We reported in May that South Glos would be carrying out traffic monitoring in Ram Hill as part of an investigation into a possible 20mph limit.

Highways officials have now analysed the data from that traffic monitoring and have concluded it would be feasible to go ahead with a 20mph speed limit without further traffic calming measures. The proposal will now go on a list of possible traffic schemes to be implemented when funding is available.

Resurfacing works on ring road

The council will be carrying out essential maintenance on the A4174 at Hambrook traffic lights/ Bristol Road junction and between the Wick Wick and Lyde Green roundabouts from Friday 19 August to Friday 9 September as part of the Challenge Fund – road improvement project.

These roadworks will require the following closures:

1. Full closure of the westbound carriageway at the Hambrook traffic lights from 8pm on Friday 19 August to 6am on Monday 22 August and from Friday 2 September to 6am on Monday 5 September.
2. Full overnight closure of the eastbound carriageway between Wick Wick and Lyde Green roundabouts between 8pm - 6am from 22 August to 1 September and from 7 to 9 September. This road will be fully open during the day and at weekends.
3. Full overnight closure of the westbound carriageway at the Hambrook traffic lights from 8pm to 6am on Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 September. This road will be fully open during the day.

The work has been scheduled to take place when traffic flow is low, before the school and university terms start and avoiding the Bank Holiday. For further information on the project and diversion routes please visit www.southglos.gov.uk/challengefund If you have any queries email challengefund@southglos.gov.uk or call 01454 868000.

Nibley council offices - car park extension

Earlier this year, we reported that the Conservatives were considering closing the Kingswood Civic Centre and extending Badminton Road to accommodate a council chamber and extra staff.

They are now proposing to keep the council chamber at Kingswood but move the staff to Nibley, which still requires the car park to be extended. Your Focus Team requested and received plans that demonstrate this will still leave room for the planned Park and Ride.

Reminder - Youth Club now open

Frampton Cotterell Youth Club is now up and running at the Brockeridge Centre!

Years 7 & 8 can go along on Tuesdays from 6.30pm to 8.30pm and for Year 9 and upwards it’s Thursdays 7pm to 9pm. Both sessions cost only 50p and will give young people a chance to talk and do fun activities.

The youth club is open 48 weeks per year. It closed for the first two weeks in August and will also close from 19th December - 2nd January. For more information call 01454 868570 or 0117 9693811, email Loriramsay@southernbrooks.org.uk or see the Facebook page.

Tell Claire your views

Claire is taking her Tell Claire survey out and about across the Thornbury and Yate constituency, including to Westerleigh village last weekend. You can also complete the survey online at claireyoung.org.uk/tellclaire

Dodington Road latest

Traffic calming may be on the cards after a reduction in visibility due to the railway bridge works was identified. Network Rail are looking at various alternatives for mitigating this before they complete their work.

Cuts for buses to Southmead, Parkway, UWE

First Bus has announced cuts to bus services from our villages to Parkway Station, the University of the West of England Frenchay Campus and Southmead Hospital, starting 4th September.

You can see the full details of the changes on the South Glos Council website here - you need to look at the sections about services 81, 82 and 16 in particular.

The section of the 81 service between Yate and Parkway will be withdrawn, meaning that people living in Yate, Coalpit Heath and Frampton Cotterell will only have service 82 to get to Parkway, giving them a less frequent service. Those living in the villages between Wotton under Edge and Chipping Sodbury will no longer have any direct link to Southmead Hospital and Parkway Station.

In addition almost all the direct buses from Yate, Coalpit Heath and Frampton Cotterell to the University of the West of England will be cut, leaving just one "school time" direct service per day in each direction, and that will only run on school days. Otherwise passengers will have to change buses.

Things will be even worse for people who live in the villages in between Chipping Sodbury and Wotton-under-Edge. They will have to change buses in Yate as well, taking longer and pushing up travel costs. People in our area fought long and hard to get decent buses to Southmead when Frenchay Hospital closed, and now many of these services are being taken away.

These cuts will:

• deter people from using public transport, making parking and congestion at Southmead and Parkway worse
• waste time for people whose trains do not coincide with the bus schedule
• restrict employment opportunities
• deter students from going to their local university
• make life more difficult for the many people who are not students or staff who use UWE's Frenchay bus station as an interchange

Please sign our petition against these cuts.

Family Nature Day and Picnic

Avon Wildlife Trust are holding a Family Nature Day and Picnic at Says Court Solar Farm from 10am to 12 noon on Tuesday 30th August.

The event will offer a morning of nature based exploration including bug hunting, blackberry painting and much more. You can bring a picnic to enjoy in the wildflower meadow that's been created by the solar farm. There will be a mix of led and free play activities available that will be suitable for all ages, though children must be accompanied by an adult. Booking is essential - please email Nicole.daw@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk

Nominate a voluntary group for an award

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK and it is now open for nominations.

Any group of 2 or more people, where the majority are volunteers, can be nominated for the award. The work they do should provide a service and meet a need for people living in the local community. It should be supported, recognised and respected by the local community and the people who benefit from it and it should be run locally. The group must have been running for 3 or more years.

You have until midnight on 16 September 2016 to nominate a group for the 2017 awards. More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/queens-award-for-voluntary-service

Ring road night closures

The A4174 Ring Road will be closed between the Siston Hill Roundabout and the Dramway Roundabout at Emersons Green from 8pm to 6am every night until 17th August.

M5 closure

The M5 Southbound will be closed from 8pm Thursday until 6am on Friday 5th August, due to roadworks at Junction 17 A4018 Cribbs Causeway.