Phone mast - good news!

The planning committee agreed with local residents and voted overwhelmingly to object to a mast being erected where Vodafone proposed, beside Badminton Road near the junction with Woodside Road. Many thanks to all who have campaigned so hard for this, especially to those who carried out the petition, delivered leaflets telling people about the proposals or who spoke for the residents at the committee meeting.

Now we will have to wait and see what Vodafone's next move will be.

This Thursday is decision day for mast application

The fate of Vodafone’s application to erect a 12m 3G mobile phone mast beside Badminton Road in Coalpit Heath will be decided when the planning committee meets on Thursday (31st).

Members of the public can attend the Development Control (West) Committee meeting, which will start at 3pm in Thornbury Council Offices. You can view the agenda online. As you can see, this will be the first application to be considered, the previous item being simply noted.

There is limited parking at the offices but there are free public car parks nearby in the town centre.

Local residents will present a petition to members of the committee and urge them to object to the siting of the mast just metres from neighbouring houses. Claire Young will also have a say as the local Councillor.

Vodafone have informed Claire that they are still considering alternative sites but are letting this application take its course.

Parish Plan Open Day a Massive Success

Frampton Cotterell's Parish Plan Open Day proved a great success, with over 250 local residents of all ages taking the time to view the displays and make constructive comments.

“The sun shone on us on Saturday in more ways than one," reports Jen Dunford, a member of the Parish Plan Steering Group that organised the Open Day. "Even before the designated opening time, residents were already eagerly thronging through the door. The cafe was filled to overflowing for a brief explanatory talk of what Parish Plans are all about and the coffee and bountiful home-made cakes were a sell-out."

She added, “The large numbers attending were beyond our expectations. The comments they attached to the Happy Hedge and the Weeping Wall have certainly made a challenging start for the Steering Group to inform our Parish Plan.”

“It was wonderful to see so many residents from Frampton Cotterell and Coalpit Heath getting together and sharing their interests, hopes and concerns with other parishioners” said Steering Group Member Bob Thomson. “The Parish Plan is about having a stronger, better and safer community in which people can live, work and play."

Dave Hockey, who currently Chairs the Steering Group, said, “It was great to see the members of the Brockeridge Youth Group serving refreshments in the café. The takings were £112, enough to cover the cost of the pool table they want”.

He went on to add, “Let’s hope we get a very high turnout for the special meeting at Crossbow House at 8pm on Thursday to find a way to keep our Community Centre open and flourishing. This is the first major challenge to be tackled for our villages."

Jacqui Ward from Community Action, who supports Parish Plan Projects in rural areas across the former Avon area, is analysing the feedback from Saturday’s Open Day. Ten residents came forward on Saturday to join the Steering Group, doubling its size. The next stage is to seek further input from hard to reach groups in the community and to draft a report identifying priority improvements for consultation with residents.

Frampton Cotterell Parish Plan Open Day tomorrow

Don't forget the Frampton Cotterell Parish Plan Open Day is happening between 10.30 and 3.30 on Saturday 26 January at the Brockeridge Centre. If you live in Frampton Cotterell or Coalpit Heath (which is split between Frampton Cotterell and Westerleigh Parishes) come along to have your say on what you love about the area and what you'd like to see improved.

In-Vessel Composting plans now online

You can view the plans for the proposed In-Vessel Composting facility here.

Crossbow crisis meeting

Frampton Cotterell and District Community Association's Crossbow House have arranged an extraordinary general meeting on January 31 in a last ditch attempt to save it from closure. You can read more here.

Flooding update

Following the recent flooding in The Quadrangle, Westerleigh, on Monday Claire Young met with a local resident, the Chair of the Parish Council and South Glos officers to look at the problem on site. It proved a very useful meeting, the officers recognise that The Quadrangle is a "hot spot" and propose putting in new gullies and dealing with a blocked drain as a first attempt at fixing the problem. Fingers crossed this does the trick.
Picture - flashback to the flooding last summer