Nibley Lane to close for cleaning

Nibley Lane between Badminton Road and Westerleigh Road is expected to close for cleaning from 9.30am until 2.30pm on 24th October.

Electricity works in Westerleigh

Yesterday Claire Young contacted Western Power Distribution after a Westerleigh resident complained that their contractors had stopped her accessing her drive and that the bus stops were suspended. I was reassured by a council officer that the bus services are still operating, picking up and putting down as close to the original stops as it is safe to do so.

Today Claire has spoken with the person responsible for the works in Westerleigh village. Normally the contractors would have notified residents verbally if they were doing work that would obstruct access, so he will follow up on this. He also explained that the purpose of the work is to reinforce the network, to increase capacity and make it more robust. These works are part of a wider programme covering a wide arc from Coalpit Heath via Henfield, Ram Hill and outlying areas around the abattoir, through Westerleigh and ending up at Says Court Farm. Hopefully it should mean fewer power cuts in future, though you can never eliminate problems entirely.

Unsure? Close the door

A nasty scam, this one...

Age UK South Gloucestershire has been made aware of an incident where a bogus caller, claiming to be one of their representatives, cold called an older person offering to undertake some home decorating and repairs.  The rogue caller then asked for money to buy materials.

Age UK South Gloucestershire want to remind older people across the area that they never make unsolicited cold calls to people’s homes.  Their representatives help many older people, either their volunteers who offer a befriending service or their Information and Advice workers who help with benefits advice and form completion.  However, their visit will never be unexpected.  Age UK's professionals always make appointments and never cold call.

In addition Age UK South Gloucestershire will never ask for any money for their advice.  Neither will they ask if you keep money in your home.

Their professionals carry official identification and will encourage you to scrutinise it.  If you are ever unsure about a caller who claims to be from Age UK South Gloucestershire please close your front door and call Age Concern's office number.  The professionals will not be offended if you are cautious.  If you feel unhappy or intimidated please call the police on 999.

If you think that you or someone you know has been a victim of a bogus caller please contact Trading Standards, Age UK South Gloucestershire or the police on 101.  However if you feel a crime is in progress call 999.

NEWS FLASH - Buses still running in Westerleigh despite bus stop suspension

Due to work being carried out on behalf of Western Power Distribution (WPD), some bus stops in Westerleigh village have been suspended with very little notice. The bus services are still running though and will be picking up and putting down as close to the bus stops as they can.

Local councillor Claire Young has contacted WPD to find out why no notice was given to householders who are affected by the works. We will update as soon as we can.

Nominate your sporting heroes

There is just over one week left to nominate for the 2014 South Gloucestershire Council Sports Awards. These recognise the achievement, dedication and contribution of local people involved in playing, coaching and organising sport across South Gloucestershire.

The closing date for nominations is Sunday 19 October. If you know someone who deserves to be recognised for their achievements please visit www.southglos.gov.uk/sportsawards to nominate them.

Reading Well success

In a week where Nick Clegg announced new mental health waiting time standards, there was also positive news closer to home. Today is World Mental Health Day and the council announced that over 1,000 people locally have benefitted from the ground-breaking Reading Well Books on Prescription programme.

This involves the library service working closely with LIFT Psychology, part of the South Gloucestershire Wellbeing therapies service, to offer book-based therapy for common mental health conditions. GPs and health professionals prescribe books through the scheme, but they are also available for anyone to borrow from any public library.

South Gloucestershire Council was the lead authority for the bid to the Arts Council England which resulted in the national scheme being implemented and then rolled out to public libraries across England. Since launching in June 2013, the national Books on Prescription scheme has reached around 275,000 people across England and has played an important role in helping to meet the huge need for mental health support.

Following the success of the programme, a new Reading Well Books on Prescription for dementia scheme will be launched in South Gloucestershire libraries in January 2015.

For more details of the scheme pick up a leaflet from your local library or visit www.southglos.gov.uk/readingwell

Young people join in the political debate in Yate

A packed house attended a special meeting in Yate to discuss getting young people more involved in politics. The visiting speaker was Cardiff Central MP and Government minister, Jenny Willott, who was first elected to Parliament at the age of 31, and at the time was one of the youngest MPs in the country.  In addition, the meeting also heard from Eva Lily Fielding, aged 20, from Alveston, and Liam Monsell, also aged 20, from Thornbury who explained how young people see politics and why they believe it is important for them to get involved.

Jenny Willott talked about her experiences of campaigning as an MP in a university town with a predominantly young electorate, and the need to make political campaigning fun and a social activity as well as tackling serious issues.  The meeting featured a lively question-and-answer session where a number of people said that they felt that schools were not doing enough to prepare young people to understand politics and how government works.  A number of the young people who attended the meeting were already members of the local Liberal Democrats and others joined on the night.

The meeting was chaired by Thornbury and Yate MP Steve Webb who said, after the event, “It was great to hear not only from a fellow MP but also from local young people about their passion for getting involved in politics.   Although we keep hearing that young people are not interested, I find that many local young people care very strongly about a range of issues, from the very local to the global.   I think that politicians have sometimes put people off from getting involved when instead we should be making it easier for people to try to change things”.

The meeting was organised by the local Liberal Democrats as part of an annual series of events in memory of former Avon County Councillor, Heather Larkins, which raises funds to enable a local young person to attend the Lib Dem conference and learn more about politics.