Distraction burglars posing as "Age Concern" staff

Age UK have warned that in a recent scam, people posed as "Age Concern" staff to gain access to older people's homes. Areas affected included Kingswood in South Gloucestershire.

The charity has urged all older people not to open their door to someone unless they are absolutely sure of their identity. If you’re suspicious or the caller won’t leave, call 999 and ask for the police. If you are specifically concerned about the credentials of someone who claims to be from Age UK or one of their founding charities – Age Concern and Help the Aged – then they would also urge you to contact their free advice line for further advice on 0800 169 65 65.

A free guide Staying Safe can also be downloaded from www.ageuk.org.uk. If you would prefer a paper copy, you can get it from your local Age UK Office or charity shop.

All local Age UK staff visiting older people in their homes are advised to take some form of identification, such as an ID card, or visit by appointment only. All collectors for Age UK shops are required to carry Age UK ID cards and present them if requested.

Contacting South Glos online

Increasingly South Glos Council is encouraging people to contact them online. This can save you precious time waiting for a telephone call to be answered. With Street Care problems, sticking a virtual pin in a map also means there's a better chance that the right problem will get fixed.

If you go to the council's home page and click on "Report" it will take you to a list of issues.

The issues are listed alphabetically and many are Street Care ones (it's worth noting that "Spillage and obstruction" includes the problem of a pavement being blocked by an overgrown hedge). You can also report waste issues, such as missed bin collections, and a range of others, including benefit fraud, noise and nuisance complaints and planning enforcement.

In some cases, such as where you're concerned about the safety of a child or vulnerable adult, you still need to make a phone call, but the page gives you a link to more information.

You can also apply for a range of services online, everything from blue badges to joining the library, free school meals to bus passes.

Time running out for central heating grants

Time is running out for households without central heating to apply for a grant of up to £4,500 to have a system installed.
The funding is only available until the end of August and will cover the complete installation, including the heating source, pipework and radiators.

To see how you could benefit contact the Warm and Well advice line on 0800 500 3076, or emailing warm&well@severnwye.org.uk or by texting ‘WARM’ to 83010.

Wapley Bushes wins major environmental award for fourth year running

Wapley Bushes has just won the Green Flag Community Award, the only such award in South Gloucestershire. Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve, Wapley Common and the Orchard for the Future form one of the very best green spaces in the UK – and that’s official. The green space is among a record-breaking 1,686 places that have received the prestigious Green Flag Award – the mark of a quality park or green space.

A Green Flag is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent facilities. The Community Award recognises sites that are largely managed by community groups, in this case the volunteers of Wapley Bushes Conservation Group.

The award, now celebrating its 20th year, recognises and rewards the best parks and green spaces across the country. Wapley's Green Flag was presented yesterday at the regional Green Flag Award event in Cheltenham. This is the fourth year running that Wapley has succeeded in gaining this award.

Have your say on Police and Crime Plan

The Police and Crime Commissioner wants you to help shape the Police and Crime Plan for Avon and Somerset. Have your say online before Tuesday, August 30, 2016.

Local councillor Claire Young to stand for Parliament

The Liberal Democrats in Thornbury and Yate have announced that their new Parliamentary Candidate is local councillor Claire Young. 

A well known local campaigner, she will lead the party's activity across the constituency, replacing Steve Webb who recently announced he would not be continuing in the role. Claire was elected following a ballot of members, in a strong field.

Claire said, "I am looking forward to continuing to fight for Westerleigh ward and the whole of the constituency. Over the summer I will be out and about with my 'Tell Claire' survey, finding out about people's concerns. If you have an issue to raise or would like to join my campaign, please get in touch."

You can read more on the South Glos Lib Dems' website.

Success in broadband campaign

Claire Young and Terry Barnaby with the petition
for better broadband in Codrington

Back in February we reported on the campaign for better broadband in Codrington and surrounding areas. We are pleased to report that South Glos Council has now announced an extra £1.49m investment in broadband, which is likely to benefit a number of villages including Codrington. However, it's important the money is spent wisely. BT Open Reach's standard approach of simply upgrading to fibre the lines going into the green cabinets doesn't work for many in our rural areas.

If you are connected to the cabinet by traditional copper wires, the further you are from the cabinet, the worse your service will be. Speed and reliability drop off dramatically with distance. In densely populated urban areas it's likely that the copper wire between you and the cabinet isn't that long, so running fibre into the cabinet can make a big improvement to the service, but it's a different story in the rural areas, where you might be several miles from a cabinet. Business owners there tell us that not only are the speeds too low, particularly for uploading, but also the reliability is poor. Some have suffered without internet for weeks after a heavy rainstorm has damaged the copper wires.

At a recent council meeting Lib Dem Focus Team councillors Claire Young and Sue Hope challenged the Tories running South Glos council to get the technology right and suggested they talk to councils that have already delivered future-proof pure-fibre solutions in conjunction with BT Open Reach. If the Superfast Cornwall project can deploy a pure-fibre solution to over 85,000 premises, why can’t that happen in our rural areas?

Claire also demanded greater transparency about how the money is being used. Local campaigners  want to know that tax payers’ money is being spent on technology that will deliver speed, reliability and value-for-money in the long term, not just stop gap measures. It's vital that decisions on spending the money are made in an open and transparent way.