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.” 



New Road, Rangeworthy to be resurfaced

New Road, Rangeworthy will (weather permitting) be resurfaced from Tuesday 15th to Thursday 17th March. The work will start at around 7am and go on until 5pm each day and traffic will be controlled with Stop/Go signs.

Census day coming soon

The 2011 Census will take place on Sunday 27th March. It will provide a snapshot of the population that will be really important in deciding how much funding our area receives for schools, health services and so on. Your questionnaire should be with you by 12th March - if not, please contact the helpline 0300 0201 101.

You can complete the census or get help or more information on the official 2011 Census website.

Clothing Collection Leaflets

South Gloucestershire Council's Trading Standards officers and neighbourhood police are warning people to be wary of door-to-door leaflets asking for unwanted clothing.

There is currently a red and white flyer asking to collect clothes for a charity called ‘Breaking the Waves’. The website on the flyer does not exist and the telephone number provided does not connect. The police have some concerns and are currently investigating.

The only way to guarantee that donations benefit good causes is to deal only with charities you know are genuine, or take unwanted items direct to a charity shop.There are concerns that some clothing collections are just done for commercial gain and that the public are being misled by false claims.

If you are in any doubt about door-to-door flyers like this, or any others offering goods or services, contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

Composting facility proposed in Mayshill

An application has been submitted for a small-scale in-vessel composting facility next to the Mayshill Industrial Estate. The technology proposed uses Ag-Bags (usually used for storing animal feed) as the enclosed container. You can view the plans and make comments on the South Glos website. You have until 16th March to make comments.

Celebrating Age Festival - get bids in now

South Gloucestershire Council, Age Concern, the Senior Citizens Forum and Southern Brooks Community Partnership are staging the second South Gloucestershire Celebrating Age Festival, for people aged 50+ from Saturday 18 June to Friday 1st July 2011.
The organisers are aiming to have a wide range of activities and events during the festival, the goal of which is:

• To provide a range of fun, enjoyable, informative and stimulating events for older people many of which link to ongoing activities
• To encourage older people to take part in activities in their local community
• To celebrate the positives of ageing and the range of activities older people can take part in South Glos.
• To raise the profile of older people in our community
• To reach a mix of older people from different communities

One way you can get involved now is to bid for funding for an event or activity. The organisers say:

Events that receive funding will be publicised in the festival programme. The sorts of events to think about are: trips out to places of interest, lunch events, arranging talks, arranging taster sessions of different activities, musical or dance events. The emphasis should be on existing members enjoying the event as well as attracting new people. We welcome applications from all sorts of groups…you might be a craft group, a sports and social club, a group attached to a place of worship, a dance group, a skittle group, a darts team, a carers group, a group for older people from an ethnic minority….applications are welcomed from all, and we are keen to see a wide range of events funded across South Gloucestershire.

Application forms must be returned to Denise.swain@southglos.gov.uk by 31st March 2011.

Big Spring Clean 2011 events

Could you spare an hour or two to help clear up one of the litter hotspots in our villages?

As part of the Big Spring Clean 2011, there will be events on the Manor School Playing Field, Coalpit Heath and Park Farm, Frampton Cotterell.

The Manor School playing field is used not only by school children but also footballers and the local community. Come along at 2pm on Saturday 19th March to lend a hand. Gloves and black sacks will be provided.

The ducks on the village pond at Park Farm are thriving. They give a lot of pleasure to so many people of all ages who love to see them. But litter is a problem, not only in and around the pond but also amongst the trees which border Heather Avenue, around the Village Green and along the public footpath. If you can spare an hour or so to help clear litter fromn this lovely spot between 10.30am and 1pm on Saturday 26 March, that would be great. Gloves and black sacks will be provided along with a skip for the litter.