Good news at Frome Vale Area Forum

Last night's Frome Vale Area Forum had a packed agenda:

• Schemes to introduce 40mph limits on the B4058/B4059 Iron Acton and 20mph limits within Iron Acton and on surrounding roads including Nibley Lane were approved.
• We awarded New Homes Bonus money to Coalpit Heath Village Hall ("The Miners") to put solar panels on their roof and to Iron Acton Parish Hall for an extension to the entrance lobby
• Station Road, Coalpit Heath and Lower Chapel Lane, Frampton Cotterell were among four resurfacing schemes we chose for 2015/16.

Healthwatch issues report on Southmead Hospital

Healthwatch, the consumer group concentrating on health and social care, has been consulting patients and the public about their experiences at Southmead Hospital - their report is available here.

North Bristol NHS Trust has responded in fairly general terms - for example, they say "Parking is an area of continuous improvement for us whilst waiting for the completion of the phase 2 development in spring 2016"

The report concentrates on matters within the hospital, so it doesn't really touch on issues such as bus services. Please let Pat Hockey pat.hockey@southglos.gov.uk know about any excessive delays or missing services on the Southmead routes.

Warm Up South Gloucestershire

Are you the landlord of a rented property in South Gloucestershire? Is it cold and draughty? If so, take a look at the new initiative Warm Up South Gloucestershire which has been launched by the council this week.

The scheme offers landlords significant help to improve inefficient properties in a bid to protect tenants against cold, draughty houses. It offers a range of measures, including heating upgrades, cavity wall and loft insulation, draught proofing and double glazing. There is also a limited amount of additional support available to landlords for installing a new gas connection if required.

The initiative applies to landlords who own properties with an F or G energy rating, which means they’re very energy inefficient, and offers two thirds off, up to a maximum of £3,000, for home improvement measures.

The council has secured government funding to deliver the measures and work will be completed by a largely local small and medium sized enterprise (SME) supply chain to ensure that South Gloucestershire businesses benefit. The funding was secured in conjunction with Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council who are running their own Warm Up campaigns.

The funding for the scheme is limited, so you need to act quickly to take advantage of it.

If you're a landlord, go to www.warmupsouthglos.co.uk and call 0800 980 09 02 to find out more. If you're a tenant, speak to your landlord about the scheme.

Scrap the severn tolls campaign

A new campaign by local MP Steve Webb and the local Liberal Democrats to scrap the tolls on the two Severn Bridges has got off to a strong start. The ‘no more tolls’ campaign is calling for the toll to be scrapped on the two bridges once the construction costs of the bridges have been paid off in a couple of years’ time. At that point the bridges will return into public ownership and Steve Webb is arguing for remaining maintenance costs to be transferred to the Highways Agency budget so that the tolls can be completely scrapped. An online petition calling for the tolls to be scrapped attracted over 1,000 signatures within a week, with support coming from both sides of the bridge. Speaking to campaigners, Steve Webb said:

“We have always known that the tolls would be needed to pay for the construction of the two bridges. But once the bills are paid, there is no longer any need for a separate maintenance charge for the bridges. We already pay through our taxes for the maintenance of the rest of the highway network, including local motorways, and there is no reason for local people to go on paying for routine maintenance for the bridges"

“We have had a huge positive response to this campaign with people keen to see the tolls scrapped to make it easier for people who live and work on different sides of the bridge, or for those who have family and friends on each side of the Severn. Scrapping the tolls would be good for local businesses and the local economy and we will be stepping up our campaign in the coming months to get the tolls ended”

To sign the petition, or for more information on the campaign visit
http://nomoretolls-ldthornburyandyate.nationbuilder.com/

Smile campaign

South Glos Council is running a campaign to encourage people to think about the small things that they can do that will make a big difference to other people. Find out more at www.southglos.gov.uk/smile

Get more out of your library with new mobile apps

Libraries from across the West of England work together as LibrariesWest. They've just launched free apps for iPads and iPhones and for Android devices. Using the apps you can:

• Search the catalogue
• Place reservations
• Renew your loans
• Manage your library account
• Find your nearest library
• Access eBooks and online resources
• Follow LibrariesWest on Twitter

The app is available for iOS and Android devices, and Windows Phone and Kindle Fire versions will be available soon. To find out more, including the download links, go to http://www.librarieswest.org.uk/mobile/

Next Severn Vale Area Forum on 3rd December

The next Severn Vale Area Forum (covering wards including Charfield) is at 7pm on Wednesday 3 December in Turnberries Community Centre, Thornbury.. Why not come along and have your say?

On the agenda will be information about the council’s budget consultation, applications for the Positive Activities Subsidy (PAS) grants programme and New Homes Bonus (NHB) grant allocations. The Forum will also be asked to identify local roads and/or pavements for resurfacing.

You can view the papers here.