Have your say on how planning consultation works

South Glos Council has to produce something called a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). This sets out how local people are involved in preparing planning documents and how they are consulted on planning applications.

The first SCI was adopted in May 2008, since when both laws and the council's internal processes have changed. The council now needs to update its SCI to reflect this and wants to hear your views.

The Draft SCI is available to view at http://www.southglos.gov.uk/planningSCI.

Printed copies of the Draft SCI 2014 are available for inspection, 8.45am - 5pm Mondays to Wednesdays and 8.45am - 4.30pm Thursdays and Fridays, at the Council’s One-Stop Shops, including the Yate one (Kennedy Way, BS37 4DQ - access via West Walk). Electronic versions of the SCI can be viewed at all South Gloucestershire libraries (http://www.southglos.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/libraries/).

Comments can be made by email to PlanningLDF@southglos.gov.uk or by letter to Strategic Planning Policy and Specialist Advice Team, South Gloucestershire Council, Environment and Community Services Department, PO Box 299, Civic Centre, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 0DR. If possible, indicate the page number and section number to which your comments refer. Please note that the responses received, including personal details, cannot be kept confidential. If you would like to be notified when the SCI is adopted, please say.

The deadline for comments is 5pm on 13th October 2014. All the responses will be taken into consideration in preparing the final version, which will be presented to the Planning, Transportation and Strategic Environment Committee for adoption in early 2015.

Touch Card launched

First Bus has launched the first phase of its smart card programme. Instead of paper tickets, passengers will be able to use a Touch Card to store up to three FirstWeek or two FirstMonth bus tickets.

The Touch Card, which is free from First’s travel shops or by ordering online, will be available to adults using FirstWeek or FirstMonth inner or outer zone tickets in Bristol. In the coming months use will be expanded to include other passenger groups in the region. To enable users to track what tickets they have stored on their cards and track usage, Touch Card users are given access to their own account via the website: www.touch-card.co.uk.

Further developments are planned including allowing customers to top up their cards online. First is also working with the West of England Bus Operations Association and local authorities to enable passengers to use their Touch Card on all bus operators.

To order your Touch Card online go to: www.touch-card.co.uk

Footpath diversion at Wapley

South Glos Council is seeking views on diverting a length of public footpath LDO 3/20 at The Old Rectory, Wapley. You can find out more on the council's website. The deadline for commenting is 30th August.

Are you eligible for free childcare?

If you have a two year old and your household income is less than 16,190 then you may be entitled to up to 15 hours of free childcare a week, which will be available from September 1.

The Lib Dems in Government introduced the scheme to improve the outcomes of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The free childcare can be in a nursery or pre-school setting or with a childminder.

For more information see www.southglos.gov.uk/childcare or call 01454 868008. You will need your National Insurance number to hand.

Major delays on ring road at Bromley Heath

Following a burst water main, there are major delays on A4174 Ring Road in Bromley Heath. The water company are on site dealing with the problem but there are expected to be substantial delays throughout the day and possibly into tomorrow, particularly for traffic approaching the ring road from Bristol and Coalpit Heath on the A432 Badminton Road.

You can keep up to date on the situation using the BBC Radio Bristol traffic news online .

Consultation failure on Church Road scheme

Your Focus team was horrified to discover that a "signing and lining" scheme including a new cycle path had been implemented on Church Road this week without any consultation with residents.

Earlier this year Dave and Pat Hockey raised concerns with officers when plans for the scheme arrived out of the blue, with the implication that it was already decided and going ahead. Dave and Pat made it clear that it would be totally inappropriate for it to go ahead without full consultation. Any plans also needed to be compatible with a traffic calming scheme for Church Road that had been investigated by another officer and was on the list for funding in the future.

However, without any warning or any assurances that the two schemes were compatible, the lining scheme went ahead this week. Pat went down on Thursday to see the problem for herself and talk to the residents affected. An officer has now apologised saying:

...our consultation framework shows that for minor signing and lining schemes of this nature, at the very least, information letters should be sent to frontagers 2 weeks before the works are carried out. Therefore I agree that the consultation that was carried out falls short of our own standards and I can only apologise for this error.

The officer goes on to explain:

The scheme involves offsetting the centreline by installing a cycle lane in order to take out the straight line that tends to encourage speeding. It also includes installation of a vehicle activated speedvisor sign and removal of the illegal 30mph roundels that had been painted onto the surface of the road. Other elements include 3 junction warning signs, 2 direction signs and installation of 2 bus stop markings.

We can assure local people that:

• there are no plans to raise the speed limit on Church Road 
• although the 13T structural weight limit on the bridge will be removed when its replacement is in place, the 7.5T environmental weight limit on the whole of Church Road will remain in place
• this is a "signing and lining" scheme, not the full traffic calming scheme that is still awaiting funding - there will be a full consultation on that when it is funded

The officer has now agreed to send a letter of apology to residents and seek their retrospective views on the scheme.

Is self-build housing for you?

South Glos Council is currently carrying out a survey on self-build housing in South Gloucestershire. They want to find out how many people are interested in building their own home, and what help is needed to achieve this. The information provided will help the council to understand the demand for self-build in South Gloucestershire and inform the development of planning policy to support self-build in the area.

Self-build housing can be described as any instance where a person is involved in some way in the production of their new home rather than buying from a speculative home builder. The level of involvement can therefore vary greatly, from simple purchase of the site and appointment of a contractor, to greater project management of design and construction and undertaking all the construction work oneself. There are also examples of community self-build where a group self forms or is brought together by an organisation. Participants either work on each other’s homes until all the units are complete or subdivide land into plots and organise the construction of their home individually, sometimes collaborating to bulk buy materials etc.

Such is the possible scope of involvement in the construction process that the term ‘custom built’ housing is now also commonly used.

You can find out more and complete the survey online. The closing date for comments is Friday 15th August.