Campaigners welcome new cycle path link

Cllrs Claire Young (left) and Paul Hulbert (centre)

joined cyclists Kate Kelliher, Denis Butterworth 

and Bob Keen and horse rider Ann Fay on the new section

Campaigners who have been pushing for the completion of the "Yate Spur" cycle path are celebrating the opening of the latest section, which is designed for use by horse riders and walkers as well.

The off-road cycle path will eventually link Yate to the Bristol Bath Railway Path, opening up the cycle network to many more people. The latest section links Broad Lane, Westerleigh with the cycle crossing point on Westerleigh Road.

Paul Hulbert and Claire Young with 

 the cycle path petition in 2014

Cllr Claire Young, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Thornbury and Yate, started a petition in 2014 calling for the completion of the cycle path. She said:

"It is fantastic to see another important link in this route open. Hundreds of people showed their support for completing the path by signing our petition. When finished it will make commuting to work by bike an option for more people as well as being a great way for families to get out into the countryside."

"We will keep pushing for the final sections to be completed. The link from Dodmoor Crossing to the Nibley Lane junction and the section under the railway bridge by the Shire Way roundabout will bring some of the biggest safety improvements. I look forward to celebrating the opening of the finished path."

But there's disappointing news too. Paul Hulbert, chairman of the Joint Cycleway Group, said:

"The JCG has just been told that the next leg - from Broad Lane to Nibley Lane Corner - will cost more than is available in the current spending round because of drainage and access problems. We've asked South Glos to look at alternative ideas and funding sources. However we have been told that some small improvements we requested on the A432 Kennedy Way will be done this financial year"

Latest section of Yate Spur cycle path open

We are delighted that the latest section of the Yate Spur cycle path, from Westerleigh Road to Broad Lane, Westerleigh, is now open.

Call for regeneration action

Local councillor Claire Young has called upon South Gloucestershire Council to kick-start the regeneration of the “western gateway to Yate.”

Although on the edge of Yate, most of the industrial estates are in Westerleigh and Iron Acton Parishes. With the Conservatives proposing thousands of new homes in the area, it's vital we have the jobs to go with them and an improved Yate station that links all the different forms of transport together.

The recent sale of Stover Road Trading Estate and the development of the new Local Plan make this the ideal time to look again at this issue. At last week's council meeting, Claire asked the Leader of Council to bring together the owners of all the trading estates and involve local councillors in the process. He was non-committal but your Focus Team will keep pressing for action.

Yate Community Engagement Forum

The next Yate Community Engagement Forum, which covers an area including the rural part of Dodington Parish, is being held at 7pm on Thursday 15 February at St Nicholas Church, Chargrove, Abbotswood, Yate BS37 4LG.

The meeting will include a drop in event on Your Community Cares before the Community Engagement Meeting at 6.30pm where you can speak to representatives from the Police, Neighbourhood Watch, Next Link (domestic abuse), DH&I (drug and alcohol service) and the Anti-Social behaviour team.

For more information see www.southglos.gov.uk/cef

Temporary closure of North Road for cleaning

North Road, Yate, from its junction with Armstrong Way to the bridge over the River Frome, is expected to close from 6am to 8am on 23rd November so the leaves can be cleaned away.

Volunteers start major tree planting programme at Wapley Bushes

Wapley Bushes Conservation Group is carrying out a major programme of tree planting this autumn and winter, to deal with the threat of Ash Dieback Disease. This disease is carried by a fungus. Mature trees are the most affected - they lose their leaves and the crown dies back. It's within a dozen miles of Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve. If something isn't done now, within twenty years we will have lost all the high canopy in Wapley Woods.

The Conservation Group has come up with a scheme to plant other large native species throughout the woodland. This season they will be planting 90 to 100 trees - Oak, Lime, Black Poplar, Whitebeam and Wild Service trees. They are all native to the West of England area.

Hopefully members of the local community will come along and help preserve this wonderful woodland. Families with children are particularly welcome - it's really planting for the future. The Conservation Group supply the trees, the tools and gloves, people just need to wear wellies or stout footwear.

The first planting morning will be at 10.00 am on Saturday 18 November at the Shire Way entrance to the Nature Reserve, opposite the road entrance to Cherington, BS37 8US. There will also be planting sessions on Sunday 18 February and Saturday 18 March. The trees and preparation work are being financed by the landowners, Dodington Parish Council.

Yate, Chipping Sodbury and Dodington Community Engagement Forum 16 November

The Yate and Chipping Sodbury Community Engagement Forum will be meeting 7 pm – 9 pm on 16 November at Poole Court, Poole Court Drive, Yate BS37 5PP.

This is your chance to talk directly to local Police and Fire and Rescue representatives, and Town/Parish and South Glos Councillors about issues of local concern.

There will also be a presentation about the work done by Abbotswood Action Group and the progress made in the Abbotswood area.

Yate Spur cycle route - latest update

Here's the latest update about the long-awaited cycle track between Yate and the Railway Path, the cycling "superhighway" between Bristol and Bath. At the moment the Yate Spur only comes out as far as the T junction on Westerleigh Road south of Westerleigh.

• Westerleigh Road T junction to Broad Lane (Cornerways) - inside the farmer's field up to the former Cornerways Nursery - You will probably have seen the fencing and the signs, with not much work going on lately. They struck a sewage pipe that wasn't on ANYBODY'S maps, and they've had to do some redesign. Work should start again shortly for completion in the Spring, together with appropriate direction signs. 
• Broad Lane - has already been upgraded. 
• Broad Lane to Nibley Lane Corner - the "Westerleigh bypass" - being designed, awaiting funding. This will probably be the last stretch of the whole project. 
• Nibley Lane Corner improvements - recently consulted about - on hold until Spring 2018 because of extra traffic during the Bromley Heath Viaduct work. 
• Section under railway viaduct to Westerleigh Rd mini-roundabout - detailed design nearly complete, awaiting funding 
• Westerleigh Rd mini-roundabout to Yate Common - on hold until January 2018 because of railway embankment work near Chedworth 

Once the section alongside Westerleigh Road to Cornerways is done, there will be a continuous link from the Railway Path to opposite Wot Not at the north end of Westerleigh. We are pressing for any outstanding maintenance to be carried out between Broad Lane and Wot Not - it tends to get overgrown from time to time.

When the rest of the path is approaching completion there will need to be proper direction signs for the full length. We are also asking for the narrow part of the path across Yate Common to be reviewed. This will help disabled users too - there are now "Radar" key gates at both ends, but parts of the path are too narrow for two motorised scooters to pass each other. The details of the widening will of course be discussed with the Friends of Yate Common and Yate Town Council because of the enviromental sensitivity of the area.

We'll keep you posted on Yate Spur progress every few months.

Early closing at Yate MIU

Thank you to everyone who has responded so far to our survey about the Yate Minor Injuries Unit closing when it gets too busy. 

It was very clear from your experiences how frustrating and worrying it is to find the service closed when you are in distress. In some cases people had travelled from Thornbury or even further away, only to find they had to drive miles in the other direction to Southmead instead.

There is also confusion about which is the right service to use for different problems. One person described the NHS A and E coverage as "poor, inadequate, and confusing". Some did not realise the MIU cannot deal with illnesses. Only one mentioned having used their GP Minor Injury Service as an alternative. 

On Wednesday Claire used your responses when she questioned local health chiefs on the closures at the South Gloucestershire CCG AGM. They said that if people were travelling a long way they should ring to check first - though one person in our survey had done just this and got no response. When they got to the MIU it was closed, even though it should have been open.

Health chiefs also said that all GPs are now offering a Minor Injury Service during their opening hours and that this is advertised in the surgeries, in surgery newsletters and on their websites. Claire pointed out that if you're not a regular user of your surgery you won't see these notices. You have to ring your surgery to book an appointment.

The CCG are promoting their Right Care First Time page. This has links to find out where your nearest GP, Minor Injury Unit, pharmacy and other services are but does not have clear advice on which service to use when. If you're not sure ring 111.

We think the NHS needs to start thinking about it from a patient's point of view.

If you have an experience to share, please do complete our survey - it will only take a few minutes.

Urgent consultation - Yate Town Centre Waiting Restrictions

South Glos Council is consulting on waiting restrictions in the streets around the Town Centre and about reducing the Leisure Centre and Kennedy Way car parks from 12 to 4 hours maximum stay.

You can find the full details and a plan of the proposals here - you need to give your views by THIS FRIDAY, 18 AUGUST.

STOP PRESS - They have extended the consultation until 1 September because some of the consultation letters were returned marked undeliverable.

The roads affected are: Broadway, Church Road, Cleeve Road, Elmgrove Crescent, Firgrove Crescent, Gleneagles, Highway, Home Orchard, Kennedy Way, Lawns Road, Link Road, Melrose Avenue, Orchard Close, Painswick Drive, Ridgeway, Stanshawe Crescent, Station Road, Sundridge Park, Swan Field, The Glen, Tree Leaze, Turnpike Close, Walnut Avenue, Westerleigh Road.

Whatever your views about this scheme, it's yet another example of inadequate consultation by South Glos:

• Virtually no publicity for a significant consultation
• Only 3 weeks to comment
• Over the summer holidays, so many people will only have a week to respond
• Only accepting comments online - what about people who don't have internet?

What's the point of consultations if you don't do them properly?

Let's Get Yate Moving

What's more, Yate has now got to a size where it needs a decent size "two-way" Park and Ride site, with all-day parking for people travelling to Bristol and the North Fringe, plus parking for people working or spending long times in the Shopping Centre and the public buildings nearby.

The Liberal Democrat Focus Team has been running a 'Let's Get Yate Moving' campaign since 2014 to ensure that the Yate and Chipping Sodbury area gets the transport infrastructure it desperately needs. If you support this too, please do sign our petition at www.southgloslibdems.org.uk/letsgetyatemoving and pass it on to friends and family members.

Cutting waiting times by shutting out patients

Your Focus Team was shocked to learn that Sirona, who run the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) in Yate, are being allowed to shut the doors to new patients when they're busy so they can meet their waiting time targets.

Of course there is no guarantee if you're redirected to A&E that you'll be seen any more quickly there than if you'd been allowed to wait at the MIU. Neither Southmead or the Children's Hospital are easy to get to from Yate, especially when injured. This seems to be about meeting targets, not meeting the needs of patients.

Claire Young is asking for your experiences of being turned away by the Yate MIU during the advertised opening hours. Please fill in our short survey  - the more evidence we have, the better we can speak up for you. We have already heard from a number of disgruntled users, including someone who travelled from Thornbury with two young children, only to be told they would have to go to Bristol Children's Hospital, and another who found the unit closed 2 hours early.

Yate Spur cycle route progress (and delays)

There's good news and bad news about the long-awaited cycle track between Yate and the Railway Path, the cycling "superhighway" between Bristol and Bath. At the moment the Yate Spur only comes out as far as the T junction on Westerleigh Road south of Westerleigh.

• Westerleigh Road T junction to Broad Lane (Cornerways) - inside the farmer's field up to the former Cornerways Nursery - Construction starts this month, taking 4 months 
• Broad Lane - has already been upgraded 
• Broad Lane to Nibley Lane Corner - the "Westerleigh bypass" - being designed, awaiting funding 
• Nibley Lane Corner improvements - recently consulted about - on hold until Spring 2018 because of expected heavy traffic during the Bromley Heath Viaduct work 
• Section under railway viaduct to Westerleigh Rd mini-roundabout - being designed, awaiting funding 
• Westerleigh Rd mini-roundabout to Yate Common - on hold until January 2018 because of railway embankment work near Chedworth

Once the section from Westerleigh Road to Cornerways is done, there will be a continuous link from the Railway Path to opposite Wot Not at the north end of Westerleigh. We are pressing for any outstanding maintenance to be carried out between Broad Lane and Wot Not - it tends to get overgrown from time to time.

Yate Spur cycle path - Westerleigh Road to Broad Lane

Work on the Westerleigh Road to Broad Lane section of the Yate Spur cycle path has now been scheduled to start on 3 July 2017. It's expected to last for four months.

Flood risk plans now online

At the Environment Agency's drop-in exhibition on the risk of river flooding in the Yate and Chipping Sodbury area in March, local councillor Claire Young asked them to make the plans available online for those who couldn't attend.

They have now published the plans on their website. If you would like to make comments, you can email them to mark.goldingay@environment-agency.gov.uk

Advice about money and debt

Did you know you can get advice about money and debt as well as council services at the Yate One Stop Shop? Talking Money and South Glos Council are working together to provide advice on issues including benefits, debt and housing. You can drop in between 2pm and 4pm on Thursdays and find out more about this and other services online.

Yate, Chipping Sodbury and Dodington Community Engagement Forum

The next Community Engagement Forum for Yate, Chipping Sodbury and Dodington (which includes the rural part of Dodington Parish) is at 7pm on Monday 27th March at St Nicholas Family Centre, Abbotswood, Yate BS37 4LG.

Flood risk drop-in

Last week local councillor Claire Young and a number of her colleagues attended an Environment Agency drop-in looking at the risk of river flooding in the Yate and Chipping Sodbury area and options for reducing it.

One of the at risk areas identified was Nibley. There they were suggesting property-level measures such as flood gates and non-return valves, as larger scale measures are not considered viable at this point.

On other sections of the river options included widening the channel and creating flood storage covering up to 20 hectares, with capacity equivalent to 80 Olympic-size swimming pools. Claire took the opportunity to discuss how this would affect properties downstream at places like Frampton Cotterell and was assured that the flood storage area at Tubbs Bottom would reduce the risk downstream.

The Environment Agency stress they are at a very early stage of their study and they do not have funding to implement any options at this stage. The majority will have to come from other public or private sources, including developers. Claire asked the agency to make the exhibition materials available on their website.

Barn Dance for St Nicholas Family Centre

At 7.30pm on Saturday 4th March there will be a Barn Dance at St Nicholas Family Centre, Yate BS37 4LG. Tickets are £8 for adults and £5 for children under 12, with they money going towards making further improvements to the family centre. While there for the dance, you will have a chance to see the new kitchen plans. Phone 07788111626 or 07879680118 for tickets, or pay on the door.

Temporary swimming pool at Yate for 6 months

Because of essential maintenance work at Yate Leisure Centre, both swimming pools will be closed from the end of March until the Autumn. Public swimming WILL still be available using a temporary swimming pool.

The pool and plant equipment requires essential maintenance work for it to remain in operation. The pool pipework and plant will be replaced with new environmentally friendly equipment.

Our Yate colleagues contacted Circadian Trust for more details about the temporary pool, and they told them: "It will be 18m in length X 10m in width X 1m deep. The frame will be constructed mainly of wood, then lined with a sand based and a pool liner. The whole structure will be secured in a marquee in the rear of the Kennedy Way car park. Customers will access the pool from the corridor of the main building (customers will not be outside, there will be an enclosed walk-way). The admission costs and opening times will be the same as normal and a specific pool timetable will be created for this period. All swimming lessons will continue and lesson days and times will remain UNCHANGED."

Yate Spur cycle consultation - still time to make comments

Cllrs Paul Hulbert and Claire Young at the exhibition

It was good to see so many people at last week's Yate Spur cycle path drop-in session at Shireway Community Centre. You only have until Sunday 15 January to have your say. Full details of the scheme and how to comment are on the South Glos website.