Parents concerned as academies seek new sponsors

The Ridings Federation, which runs Winterbourne International Academy and Yate International Academy (including Woodlands Primary School and Nursery) is looking for a new Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) to take over to tackle its leadership and financial problems. The Federation is projected to have a £1million deficit at the end of the academic year and is currently without a Chief Executive Principal.

Concerned parents and staff from WIA are holding a public meeting on Tuesday 22nd November from 7-9pm in Zion United Church, Woodend Road, Frampton Cotterell.

Meetings were held at both secondary schools this week at which the Chair of the Board answered questions from parents, teachers, students and community representatives, including local councillor Claire Young. Three MATs have expressed interest - Oasis, Greenshaw and one as yet unnamed as they wish to communicate with the parents at their existing schools first. The Chair explained that after the Board had decided to "re-broker", it was the Department for Education that sought the expressions of interest, not the Board, and it was up to the MATs whether they made proposals for one or both schools.

Academies are regulated by the Government, not the Local Education Authority, so South Glos has no role in deciding what happens next. Normally the decision about which MAT should take over would be taken by the Regional Schools Commissioner, but due to a conflict of interest the decision is being made by one from another region. There is no formal consultation and parents will not see the proposals from the MATs. The Board will be putting out a questionnaire for parents and concerned members of the community to feed in their views through them. The decision is expected to be made before Christmas, with the new arrangements in place by September 2017 at the latest.

Police plea for information

Avon and Somerset Police are appealing for information about the following incidents in our area:

• At some point between the 1st and 10th of November, a residence on St Anne’s Drive, Coalpit Heath, was burgled, when the offenders have smashed a key safe from the wall. It is not known at this time if anything has been stolen.
• Between 7 and 7.30pm on Thursday November the 10th, unknown person(s) have used items in the rear garden to smash the rear patio doors and gain entry, and have then stolen property from a residence on Lower Chapel Lane, Frampton Cotterell.

The Police recommend that residents restrict access to the rear of their properties whenever possible and lock away any tools or other items that could help a burglar get into your home.

If you have any information regarding these incidents, please contact the Police on 101. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

The police are also asking for residents to report any suspect vehicles that appear to be checking out possible burglary targets on 101.

Devolution set to go ahead

Despite the opposition of your Focus Team, on Monday South Glos Council voted to go into the new devolution deal, where a single Mayor will make decisions covering a wide area of the West of England, but without North Somerset. The Metro Mayor will be elected on the first Thursday in May next year.

We were not against a combined authority for the West of England, but thought it was a poor deal that gives us only a fraction of the money needed to fix our transport problems, let alone anything else. We saw no need for the imposition of a Mayor and thought it made no sense without North Somerset on board. We wanted to work with the Government to bring them back in, because none of the problems facing our region - housing, transport and skills issues - end just south of Bristol.

To give one example of the problems of North Somerset being excluded, the Joint Spatial Plan that is setting out where thousands of new homes should be built covers the whole of the West of England but the Mayor is required to have a spatial plan of their own covering only the area of the Combined Authority. The last thing we need is any more planning uncertainty while that is resolved.

Study into new motorway junction

At last Wednesday’s Environment and Community Services committee, it was agreed that South Gloucestershire Council would accept £500,000 funding from the Government to carry out a feasibility study into linking the M4 with the Avon Ring Road (A4174) with a new junction 18a. The study has to be completed by spring 2018.

Ahead of the meeting, we asked officers to clarify whether this would also look at the link road to Yate proposed in the Joint Transport Study (JTS). We were advised that the offer of funding from the Department for Transport is very specifically for a new motorway junction and link to the ring road, but the study would consider interaction with other potential schemes emerging from the JTS, such as a link to Yate. We tried unsuccessfully to get an amendment clarifying this but it will have been minuted.

Time to have your say on housing plans

It's now time to have your say on the proposals for thousands of new homes in our local communities.

You can find the Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) consultation at: 

https://www.jointplanningwofe.org.uk/consult.ti/JSPEmergingSpatialStrategy/consultationHome

and the Joint Transport Study (JTS) consultation here:

https://www.jointplanningwofe.org.uk/consult.ti/JTSTransportVision/consultationHome

We have been pressing for more information about where the houses would go and have been told repeatedly that this is a high level planning document talking about broad locations only, more detail would come in future consultations. We were therefore somewhat surprised to find at the drop-in exhibition in Chipping Sodbury a map of Yate and Chipping Sodbury with the countryside around it divided into sections and text headed “Potential Development Areas”. On further investigation, we found that maps were available for all the areas identified for housing.

The information is also available online, hidden away in a document at the end of the list of technical papers. You can find it here:

https://www.jointplanningwofe.org.uk/gf2.ti/-/756738/23264517.1/PDF/-/Towards_the_Emerging_Spatial_Strategy_Assessment_of_Strategic_Development_Locations_Beyond_Settlement_Boundaries_Location_Dashboards.pdf

On the page for Coalpit Heath it says:

Given good proximity to employment opportunities and other services in the North & North East Bristol Fringe, Yate rail station & the Badminton Road, there is considered potential on relatively unconstrained land from the rail line northwards, west of Roundways to Frog Lane at Coalpit Heath for up to 1,500 dwellings and supporting facilities

Given that west of Roundways is in the existing village, we can only assume that is a typo and they mean east.

On the page for Yate/Chipping Sodbury it says:

• Northwest Yate has good proximity to the rail station, Badminton Road and existing employment areas, hence there is considered potential in a broad band sweeping from fields north of Yate Town Football Club & south of Mission Road around to the B4059 and turning south to Nibley Lane and the river Frome and continuing south across the Badminton Road including fields west of the Business Park. 
• Chipping Sodbury remains relatively compact with good proximity to the High Street from the periphery. Fields either side of Trinity Lane (north of St.Johns Way) but respecting the common and recreational facilities, and south of the railway between Dodington Road/Claypit Hill and north of Kingsgrove Common are therefore also considered to offer potential. 
• In total it is considered up to 2,600 dwellings could be delivered in these 3 locations within the plan period.

There are also maps for Charfield, Buckover and Thornbury.

It's also important to understand that although the JSP and JTS are being consulted on together, they are two separate documents. If you want to see what they think are the transport mitigations needed to support the development, they are set out in the JSP in Table 1: Strategic Development Locations and the rationale for inclusion in the emerging spatial strategy. For the Yate/Chipping Sodbury development, those are:

• Station improvements 
• Metrobus 
• Park and Ride 
• Pinchpoint schemes and junction improvements 
• Winterbourne Frampton Cotterell bypass 

For Coalpit Heath the list is the same, but minus the station improvements. There is no mention of the new M4 motorway junction or the link road from there to Yate being needed to mitigate the development. However in the Joint Transport Study it says: “The new road to Yate and the MetroBus extension form a package, with road space on the A432 prioritised for public transport and cycling.”

Don't forget there will be a drop-in at Coalpit Heath Village Hall (The Miners) from 1pm to 7pm on Monday 21st November where you can speak to planning officers.

Woodlands Farm drop-in

On Monday, many residents and your Focus Team attended the drop-in exhibition at the Manor Hall on Barratt Homes' "Blackberry Park" proposals for up to 215 homes on Woodlands Farm.

The plans on display differed from those posted through people's doors. You can download a PDF of all the exhibition boards here.

Barratt Homes are hoping to submit an outline application by the end of November.

Police appeal for witnesses to Bonfire Night crash

Avon and Somerset Police are appealing for witnesses after a collision on Westerleigh Road, Westerleigh, on Bonfire Night.

The single-vehicle collision involved a red Vauxhall Omega and was reported at about 8.50pm on Saturday 5 November. A passing motorist called the emergency services after being alerted by two young men who were waving their arms and then coming across the car on its roof. No one was in the vehicle but a man was standing nearby.

They are keen to trace anyone who was travelling along the Westerleigh Road on Saturday night between about 8.30pm and 9.30pm who may have seen a red Vauxhall Omega being driven before the crash. They would also like to hear from the two young men who were alerting approaching traffic, anyone else who stopped and anyone who may have seen a man walking along Westerleigh Road at about that time.

Anyone with any information which could help is asked to get in touch through their website, or by calling 101, quoting reference 5216246855. Alternatively ring the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. They never ask your name or trace your call and you could qualify for a reward.