End of Nibley Park and Ride?

As you may have read in the Evening Post, the new Conservative administration on South Glos Council has decided to shelve plans for a Park & Ride at Nibley. For more information, watch this space.

Don't lose your vote!

You'll shortly be getting the Register of Electors form from South Glos - the form that makes sure that you can vote at elections. It also gets checked if you want to apply for credit.

If there aren't any changes from last time it takes literally just a minute to fill it out (maybe a little longer to fold it!). This year you can even avoid that by making a telephone return.

Remember to tick the right-hand column if you don't want your details used for marketing.

Please fill it out or make that phone call now and make life easier for the hardworking people in the Election Office.

More information on radio masts

Tonight National Grid Wireless made a presentation at Westerleigh Parish Council regarding the proposed relocation of masts from Emerson's Green to Tubb's Bottom. I asked a number of questions and requested a follow-up site visit to the existing masts.

National Grid Wireless said that in their search for a site, they went through a "sieving process" and this was the only site considered worthy of detailed investigation. Construction would take approximately three months and they would enter into routing and working hours agreements with South Glos to minmise the effect of the work on residents. I queried the access to the site, as Frampton End Road is narrow and twisty, but was told that the masts came in sufficiently small sections that they could be carried on typical HGVs, no abnormal loads required. They would need to access the site every couple of months for maintenance but that would be an engineer in an estate car.

The installation would be well within health guidelines and the mast could not be shared with, for example, mobile operators as it is live. They were considering planting to mitigate the visual impact on the footpath that runs past the site.

What's made of plastic, paper, and foil and is not recycled in South Glos?

Answer - lots of those "paper based liquid food and drink cartons". The sort that you buy fruit juice in, and maybe milk from the corner shop. They're actually rather clever multilayer cartons, but this makes them hard to recycle. The manufacturer has set up a dedicated recycling plant - big enough to deal with a fifth of all the liquid food and drink cartons used in the UK.

They offered local councils FREE recycling bins but the Tory administration at South Glos initially turned them down.

Emma Bone (Prospective Lib Dem MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke) said "I'm simply astonished... Lib Dem Councils up and down the country have already signed up to this free win-win scheme”

Lib Dem Councillor Peter Tyzack (Pilning & Severn Beach) commented “I am amazed and appalled that the Conservative administration didn't sign up to this free scheme to recycle them. We get fine words from them promising to improve on the previous Liberal Democrat led Council’s recycling rate but no real action!"

It is now reported that the Executive Member for Communities will meet the company next week.



Emma Bone and Peter Tyzack with cartons that could be recycled

Radio mast relocation

National Grid Wireless, who own and operate public broadcasting infrastructure, are proposing to erect two 50m radio masts with a building at the base, all in a fenced compound, at Tubb's Bottom near Iron Acton. These would replace two currently sited at Emerson's Green on land that is due to be developed.

The proposed site is on the border between Westerleigh and Frampton Cotterell Parishes. I asked National Grid Wireless to attend the Westerleigh Parish Council meeting at 7.15pm on Monday 3rd September to give a presentation on the proposals. Members of the public are as always welcome at the meeting. I also intend to make a site visit with their representatives.

Beech Hill Farm tipping application

Our sister blog has a very comprehensive post about the Beech Hill Farm tipping application, including a useful aerial view of the site. Full details of the application, including the replies received so far during the consultation, can be found here on the South Glos website.

Survey at Wapley Bushes

A recent survey by experts found that the wide range of species at the Lower Meadow at Wapley puts it in the national top grade of grassland. It's of a standard to be considered a Site of Special Scientific Interest, but this is only done if the site is at risk.

Paul Hulbert, a member of the Wapley Bushes Conservation Group, said “This is great news, and confirms that our management plan is working”.

“However, some local people have asked why the Lower Meadow has been cut earlier than usual. This is based on expert advice to stop the spread of meadowsweet and other invasive plants. It's a compromise - some of the valuable species have only partly set seed, but they could be in danger of being strangled”.

The next Wapley work morning will be on Sunday 2 September – for further details contact Paul Hulbert on 01454 315851 or Isabel Ryan on 01454 313055.

Wapley Bushes also has its own blog (online diary) with lots of photos of the reserve – see www.wapley.blogspot.com.