Local youth services saved

At last night’s Frome Vale Area Forum, your Focus Team voted to protect youth funding for the Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh area and support a new project at Transition Skate.

Following the controversial closure of the Brockeridge Youth Club at the end of last May, Frampton Cotterell Parish Council has had to hand back more than £3,000 they were granted by the Area Forum to provide the service throughout 2014/15. Your Focus Team won the backing of their colleagues to earmark this money for youth provision in 2015/16 in Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh, rather than being spent elsewhere.

Dave Hockey said, “Having been closed for nearly a year, it’s going to take a real effort to kickstart the new club. This is likely to need some outreach work to make contact with young people when they are out and about around our villages. Frampton Cotterell Parish Council has invested in local young people since the Brockeridge Youth Club was opened in May 2000. The working group was hugely impressed by what we saw at Chipping Sodbury Youth Club, I hope it’s opened my Parish Council colleagues’ eyes to what can be achieved and that they will put in a really strong application to make best use of the funding that we agreed to earmark.”

Claire Young said, “Last year I investigated where the young people from my ward were going for youth activities, so I know the Brockeridge Youth Club was attended by people from Coalpit Heath as well as Frampton Cotterell. It would be fantastic if outreach work could help the young people in the surrounding rural areas too.”

Councillors also voted to give £3750 to Transition Skate, based in the old Fromeside Youth Centre, to run a project working with local schools and providing a mentoring service. The project would engage with young people with challenging behaviour or at risk of being excluded.

Revitalising the rural economy

On the same afternoon that the Westerleigh Village Energy Day was taking place, delegates at the Liberal Democrat Conference voted to support a motion "Revitalising the Rural Economy" which touched on some of the same issues, such as high fuel prices.
The motion set out a clear Liberal Democrat vision to build thriving rural communities and called for:

• Investment in rural high-speed broadband
• Fair trade for British farmers, through a more transparent market and further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy
• A sustainable rural jobs fund

You can find out more on the party's website. If you share the same aims and would like to get involved in setting party policy, you can join the party online.

Parking problems to be tackled

Parking restrictions around the Station Road area of Yate are to be reviewed after the Frome Vale Area Forum awarded funding last week.

A resident of North Road spoke at the meeting about the problems she had experienced since the no waiting areas on the roads around the Badminton Road council offices had been extended. With staff no longer able to park on the trading estates, many were opting to park on North Road instead, leaving the residents who have no off-road parking unable to park near their homes. The resident spoke of having to leave her car a mile or more away and then walk two young children along a treacherous route to her home. She asked councillors to back the scheme so that either the restrictions on the estate could be removed or a residents' parking scheme introduced for North Road.

Local councillor Claire Young said, "I'm pleased we were able to fund this review. It's only right that if the council is contributing to a problem it does what it can to tackle it. Changing parking restrictions involves a lengthy legal process. I will make sure residents are kept informed on progress."

North Road closed on Sunday

North Road, Yate is expected to be closed on Sunday 17th March so that utility works can be carried out.

Safer Stronger Community Group tomorrow night

The latest Frampton Cotterell, Westerleigh, Coalpit Heath and Iron Acton Safer Stronger Community Group meeting is at 7.30pm on Wednesday 13th March in St Saviours Church Hall, Coalpit Heath. Items on the agenda include a presentation on the First Contact Scheme and a chance to discuss local community issues.

Westerleigh Energy Day success

Kieran Highman (centre) of the Centre for Sustainable Energy discussing renewable energy with a Westerleigh resident

There was a good turnout for the Westerleigh Village Energy Day. It kicked off with a workshop where Keiran Highman of the Centre for Sustainable Energy used a large model to illustrate different types of sustainable energy that communities could consider. This was followed by a drop-in where people could get advice on installing solar panels and wood burners, getting grants to improve their insulation and keeping warm and well in their homes.

Local Councillor Claire Young (pictured on the right in the picture above) said, "It was good to see so many local residents at the event. Rising home fuel costs are a concern, especially for those living in communities like Westerleigh with no mains gas supply. The workshop and stalls sparked a number of ideas and I look forward to supporting residents with any future energy projects. Thank you to everyone involved in organising the day."

Waste Forum - another chance to have your say

Tomorrow night's Waste Forum gives you another chance to have your say on the South Glos draft waste strategy.

The meeting starts at 7pm on Tuesday 12th March in Thornbury Council Offices. If you cannot make the meeting, you can have your say online or in writing or attend the Frome Vale Area Forum at 7pm on 16th May in Frampton Cotterell Primary School.