Well done to South West in Bloom winners

The South West In Bloom awards included some fantastic results for locations in Westerleigh ward.

The Dodington Allotments Association (pictured left, who put in the hard work on the new allotment site this year) gained Level 5 Outstanding in the Neighbourhoods on the Pennant Route category.

Wapley Common & the Orchard for the Future (pictured below) also got a Level 5 Outstanding. Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve got a Level 3 Developing in the Neighbourhoods Awards.

Last night the certificates for these and all the other winners in the Yate and Dodington area were presented at a volunteers' evening at Poole Court. Congratulations to all concerned!

North Road closure

North Road is expected to be closed from its junction with Armstrong Way to the bridge over the River Frome between 6am and 8am on Monday 12th December so that the road can be cleaned. This is necessary to avoid flooding.

Orchard planting day a success



Claire Young, Paul Hulbert and Graham White (front left to right) with Parish Councillors, members of Wapley Bushes Conservation Group and local people at the orchard planting



On Saturday, local South Glos councillor Claire Young joined Dodington Parish Councillors, members of Wapley Bushes Conservation Group and local people to plant a community orchard on Wapley Comon and nearby.



More than 40 trees were planted, with those on the Common being local types of apple plus a few plums of a rare local variety.

"It's good to do something so traditional yet so future-looking", said Dodington Parish Cllr Paul Hulbert, who organised the event. "We're very grateful to expert Graham White - known locally as Mr Fruit - who guided us through the planting."

Claire Young commented, "This was a great way to spend a beautiful spring morning - fresh air, good company and exercise with a legacy that should last years."

The planting was jointly funded by Dodington Parish Council and South Gloucestershire Council. Claire explained, “When South Glos transferred its council houses to Merlin Housing Association, there was a small amount of money left in the Housing Revenue Account. Each South Glos councillor has been able to choose schemes that would benefit people in their wards, so when local people suggested a community orchard I thought that it would be just the right project for the rural Wapley area. Not only will local people be able to pick the fruit in years to come, this is also going to be an important gene bank, helping to protect local varieties that may have useful traits.” 



Pedestrian crossing in Coalpit Heath fixed

A resident reported to Claire Young yesterday that the pedestrian crossing on the Badminton Road in Coalpit Heath near the junction with Woodend Road was cycling through the phases even when no pedestrian was there. Claire passed the details on and the lights have now been fixed. If you spot any further problems with these or any other traffic lights in the area, please call Siemens directly on 0800 854229. The line is open 24 hours a day 365 days a year and is the quickest route to getting a problem fixed.

Resurfacing of the A432 in Yate

From today, Stover Road will be closed and the lights at the junction with the A432 Badminton Road will be replaced with temporary ones so that the road can be resurfaced and the detector-loops cut. The estimated completion date is 17 November.

Similar work is being carried out at the junction of Station Road and Cranleigh Court Road. It's hoped this will finish by Sunday.

Badminton Road resurfacing

Claire Young has been given the following dates for the resurfacing work on Badminton Road and Station Road in Yate:

Station Road, Yate: From its junction with Westerleigh Close to North Road
20:00hrs on Friday 29th October - 06:00hrs on Monday 1st November 2010

Station Road, Yate: At its junction with Cranleigh Court Road
20:00hrs on Wednesday 3rd November 2010 - 06:00hrs on Thursday 4th November 2010
20:00hrs on Thursday 4th November 2010 - 06:00hrs on Friday 5th November 2010

Badminton Road, Yate: From the new joint at North Road down to the roundabout outside the new offices (inc. remaining area in Stover Road)
20:00hrs on Friday 5th November 2010 - 06:00hrs on Monday 8th November 2010

Badminton Road, Yate: From the new joint at North Road down to the roundabout outside the new offices (inc. remaining area in Stover Road)
20:00hrs on Friday 12th November 2010 - 06:00hrs on Monday 15th November 2010

Safer Stronger Community Group on Tuesday

The next meeting of the Frampton Cotterell, Westerleigh, Coalpit Heath and Iron Acton Safer Stronger Community Group is on Tuesday 28th September 2010 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm in Iron Acton Village Hall. There will be reports on previous priorities, including the light switch off trial between Wayleaze and Alexandra Road and the chance to set some new priorities for the coming months.

Stover Road lights

If you've found yourself stuck in long queues at the Stove Road/Badminton Road junction lights, there is hope that the problems may be fixed soon.

When Claire Young passed on complaints from residents, they informed her that all the vehicle detecting loops for the traffic signals are damaged. Although Siemens have made some temporary alterations to alleviate the situation, they have only been partially successful and the traffic signals are not functioning at their optimum. The loops will be repaired in October when Badminton Road is resurfaced.

Better disabled access at polling station

On 6th May, people who tried to use the disabled access at the Manor Hall polling station found it was locked due to the pre-school operating in an adjacent room. Staff would unlock it on request, but this clearly wasn't helpful for those who turned up without someone able-bodied to access the building via the steps to ask on their behalf.

Claire Young took up the complaints and it has now been agreed that the polling station will move to the Newman Room, with the pre-school moving to the Jubilee Room. This means that the door at the top of the concrete ramp can be left open at all times and everyone should have good access.

The count will still be held in the larger Jubilee Room, as more space is needed and at that time of night the pre-school obviously won't be operating.

Joint Waste Core Strategy - the next stage

The four authorities that used to be Avon have been developing a Joint Waste Core Strategy (JWCS) setting out where new waste processing sites should go. On 30th July 2010 they submitted the JWCS Submission Document to the Secretary of State for independent examination. The Secretary of State will appoint a Planning Inspector to examine the ‘soundness’ of the Core Strategy, considering the representations received.

As part of the examination, the Inspector is likely to hold a public hearing. This is currently expected to take place in November 2010, but will be subject to confirmation from the Planning Inspectorate.

The Joint Waste Core Strategy and other supporting documents are available to view on the West of England Partnership’s website.

Mine shaft repairs to close Woodend Road

Woodend Road will be closed to pedestrians and vehicles between Badminton Road and The Ridge for up to 6 weeks starting on Monday 26th July. This is to allow the Coal Authority to repair a collapsed mine shaft. Your local Focus team will be meeting a representative from the Coal Authority to discuss the repairs later this week.

Driver prosecuted for breaking Westerleigh weight limit

A lorry driver from Weston-Super-Mare has been fined £115 and ordered to pay £583 in costs for driving a 13 tonne heavy goods vehicle through the 7.5 tonne weight restriction in Westerleigh.

Read more on the South Glos website.

Buses to be rerouted while Station Rd Yate is closed

Station Road, Yate will be closed in 3 phases between from 1-26 June (see previous story).

This will affect bus services 327, 329, 342, X27 and X42.

According to the First Bus website:
"Throughout the period services 327, 342 and X42 will not be able to serve Station Road adjacent to Yate Shopping Centre and will use Kennedy Way instead."

"During Phase 3 of the closure between 21-26 June, services 329 and X27 will also be diverted. Both will be unable to serve the normal section of route along Station Road, Church Road, Greenways Road and Gravel Hill Road. All buses will use Goose Green Way as an alternative between Peg Hill and Kennedy Way at this time. Temporary bus stops will be sited on Goose Green Way at the currently redundant bus shelters."

"For more information please contact Customer Services 0845 602 0156 or call Traveline 0871 200 22 33 (calls cost 10p per minute plus network charges)."

Obviously it's the 329/X27 diversions that will have the greatest effect on passengers. We do not currently have information about rerouting of other bus companies' services, but we expect that they will make similar arrangements.

Coalpit Heath to host mining conference

From 4th to 6th June 2010, the National Association of Mining History Organisations (NAMHO) will be holding their conference, "Fuelling the Industrial Revolution", in South Gloucestershire.
The conference is being hosted jointly by South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group (SGMRG), Hades Caving Club and Friends of Ram Hill Colliery (FoRHC) and will be based at the Miners Institute in Coalpit Heath. You can find out more information and book your place online.

Chance to have your say on local issues

The next Frampton Cotterell, Westerleigh, Coalpit Heath and Iron Acton Safer Stronger Community Group meeting will take place at 7.30pm on Wednesday 7th April in Westerleigh Village Hall.

More local roads being resurfaced

Down Road, Winterbourne Down will be closed from 29th March to 1st April so that it can be resurfaced. This will involve planing off the old surface and laying a new one between Kendleshire Farm and the western side of the bridge over the river.

There is also a great deal of work going on around the new Council offices, with both resurfacing and pedestrian/cycle path works on Badminton and Stover Roads.

On Westerleigh Road in Westerleigh there will be temporary traffic lights on Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 31st March so that the road can be repaired.

Did you see accident in Coalpit Heath?

Police are appealing for witnesses and information after a cyclist and a silver Mercedes Vito panel van collided in Coalpit Heath on Monday (15th March).

The collision happened on the Badminton Road about 25-50m away from Southview Crescent, opposite Woodend Road at around 7pm. The cyclist is in a serious condition in Frenchay Hospital. Anyone who was in the area at the time is asked to contact the road policing unit at Almondsbury on 0845 456 7000.

New bus services

On 4th April, some new and changed bus services start to support the Green Travel Plan for the new Badminton Road Council offices:

• Service 85 Emersons Green – Yate (proposed service 688) will operate every half hour Mondays to Fridays via Blackhorse and Coalpit Heath. A few evening peak journeys will also extend to/from Chipping Sodbury.
• Service 86 Kingswood – Yate – Wotton-u-Edge: Service renumbered from 686 with only minor timetable changes.
• Service 87 Longwell Green – Chipping Sodbury (proposed enhancement to service 686) will operate during peak times only. It will also serve Kingswood, Emersons Green, Coalpit & Yate.
• Service 88 Chipping Sodbury – Iron Acton (proposed service 630) will operate hourly Mondays to Fridays via Yate Shopping Centre, North Yate and Station Road.

The new services for Coalpit Heath and Iron Acton are very welcome, especially as the 88 will pick up in Iron Acton High Street where the X27 no longer goes. Your Focus team continues to campaign for a bus to link Westerleigh with Yate station.

Wapley Road to be resurfaced

Parts of Wapley Road, Codrington are to be resurfaced on 18th and 19th March. The traffic will be controlled with a Stop and Go operation throughout the works and people will still be able to access their properties. The work will take place between 8am and 4.00pm and motorists are advised to consider alternative routes. As always, bad weather or other factors might delay the work.

Update on IVC

All seems to have gone quiet on the future of the In Vessel Composter planned for Tormarton. A Scoping Opinion, which is is required before a full application is submitted, has been submitted. Alternative technologies could be the way forward, but to date no further news is available on the future of this site.