Grants for local organisations

If you are involved in a local charity or community group, you may want to apply for a South Gloucestershire Council Small Grant. You have until 19th November to get your application in and can apply online. The Grants will be allocated at the Frome Vale Area Forum in March.

Unusually at the September meeting the Capital Grants had been undersubscribed so there is a small pot of money still available. The Council is therefore running a second round of Capital Grants at the same time as the Small Grants.

Lib Dem Leadership - have YOUR say

If you've been thinking about joining the Liberal Democrats, and you would like a say in who the new Leader will be, now is the time to join. Our understanding is that if you join before 4pm on 31 October you will be able to vote in the leadership election.

You can join the Lib Dems online here or you can contact any of the local Focus Team.

Local Democracy Week

This week is Local Democracy Week - you can learn more at the Local Democracy Campaign website. Yesterday Claire Young visited a local primary school to compare notes with members of the School Council and see if there was anything they could learn from each other. Afterwards there was a chance to sample a school dinner.

Detailed plans for new Council offices

The detailed plans for the new Council offices at the junction of Badminton Road and Stover Road are now available online. You can view them using the Search planning applications service on the Council's website. The reference number is PT07/3002/R3R.

Consulting the over 50s

South Gloucestershire Council are currently running a consultation on their draft strategy for the over 50s. You can find it at http://www.southglos.gov.uk/Over50Consultation. The consultation runs until 20 Dec 2007 and a photo and poetry competition is being run as part of it.

Applying for a school place?

If you're applying for a school place for next year, it's vital that your application meets the deadline of 4.30pm on Friday 19 October, otherwise it will be treated as a late application and dealt with after those received on time. With further postal strikes possible, the safest bet is to apply online at www.southglos.gov.uk/admissions or hand deliver your form to Student Access and Support Team, South Gloucestershire Council, Department for Children and Young People, Riverside Court, Bowling Hill, Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire BS37 6JX.

There's also another alternative - if forms are handed in to ANY main South Gloucestershire office they can be put into the internal post, which is collected and delivered twice a day. You can save your time/petrol and go to the nearest main office, for example Yate One-Stop Shop.

Civic Service

The five South Gloucestershire Councillors from this area attended the Civic Service at Tortworth Church on Sunday. Sandra O'Neill (Charfield) is currently Chair of Council and the host for this event. As well as Councillors and Council officers, there were representatives from the emergency services and a whole range of community organisations. The collection was split between the church and Paul's Place, Sandra's chosen charity for the year, which has its base near Coalpit Heath.

Afterwards attendees were able to take a tour of Leyhill Open Prison.