Taking up your concerns

Thanks to everyone who has filled in our survey recently - you can fill it in online here.

We have been busy following up the issues you raised. Claire Young took up the issue of anti-social behaviour at the bottom of St Saviour's Rise with the police beat manager at the Community Engagement Forum. He assured us the police will be keeping an eye on this location as the weather warms up.

Residents living alongside the drainage channel on Park Farm where oak trees were axed were furious that their local environment had been trashed without any notice or discussion.

Pat Hockey and Dave took the matter up with South Glos Council’s Tree Officers as they had put a blanket tree preservation order (TPO) on all oak trees on both Park Farm and The Meads estates before the sites were developed – Pat and Dave had not realised that oak trees by drainage channels were not covered by the TPO.

Officers confirmed that just one other oak tree by a drainage channel was still at risk - they agreed to put a Tree Preservation Order on it as a matter of priority to protect it.

Anti-social behaviour in Boundary Road area?

Local councillor Claire Young has received a complaint about anti-social behaviour in the Boundary Road area and on Thursday found this empty canister lying on Ridgeway at the junction with Boundary Road. If you have any information, you can contact the local police beat team via their web page. You can also report a crime online but if a crime is ongoing or someone is in danger you should call 999 for an urgent response.

Have your say on how the council helps keep our communities safe

South Glos is asking for your views on the future of its Community Safety and Anti-social behaviour team. You can find out more and have your say here until the 24th December.

More consultations on savings proposals

Regular readers will have noticed that every week there are new proposals coming out for ways to save money from South Glos Council's budget. By April next year, the council will have saved £43m from its annual budget – with around another £36m to be cut by 2020.

We have to make these savings because the council tax we pay only covers part of the coucil's costs. Most of the rest comes from central government grants, which are being reduced as part of tackling the deficit.

Some of the latest consultations include:

• A review of the council’s Private Sector Housing service, including landlord accreditation and empty homes management, with a target saving of £168,000 - the deadline for comments is 10 October 2014.
• Proposals for saving £50,000 from the Trading Standards service, including Lorry Watch, consumer advice and trader approval - the deadline for comments is 5 November 2014.
• A review of the council’s Community Engagement service, including the priority neighbourhoods scheme and safer, stronger community groups, with a target saving of £200,000 - the deadline for comments is 30 November 2014.
• Options for cutting £277,000 from the Community Safety and ASB team - the deadline for comments is 5 December.

You can find all current South Glos Council consultations online. 

All the political parties on the council agreed the savings targets when we set the budget in February. Wherever possible we want to make the savings by making things more efficient – better use of IT for example or cutting senior managers – but that alone is not enough. We have to make difficult decisions and the Lib Dem Focus Team wants to make sure this is done as fairly as possible. We want to protect the most vulnerable, work with you to find new ways of doing things and we want to know what you think are the most important services to save.

There will also be the usual budget consultation later in the autumn – keep an eye on this blog for more information.

Targetting hate crime

Have you been the victim of hate crime or harassment? Do you live in fear of physical attack or damage to your property?

The "Working together to stamp out hate crime and harassment" conference aims to bring together individuals who are at risk with representatives of public bodies that can help protect them. It takes place between 9am and 1pm on Monday 12 May 2014 at BAWA, Southmead Road, Filton. You can register online or by calling 01454 868224.

Problems in lane between Wayleaze and Alexandra Road

Claire Young shows Pat and Dave Hockey drugs bags found in the lane between Wayleaze and Alexandra Road. She has reported the bags
to the police and Safer Stronger South Glos. People living nearby are concerned about the vandalism and antisocial behaviour that goes with the drinking and drug taking. Please report any incidents to the police on 0845 456 7000. Claire asked Street Care to deal with some stones that were removed from a wall and left in the lane.