Beware forged £20 notes!

Two forged £20 notes were passed at a Yate shop today - if you work in a small shop in our area you are recommended to look very closely at any £20 notes you are offered, or use a counterfeit detection pen.

Have YOU had problems getting the bus from Cabot Circus? An apology from First.

Have YOU been left standing at the bus stop opposite Cabot Circus, near the Spectrum Building, while a Yate or Chipping Sodbury bus drives straight past?

After our recent story "Save the hassle, take the bus to town", one of our readers commented:
"Having just read your article I would like to bring to your attention a few facts that you may be interested in concerning the Spectrum building designated pick up point for Yate, Chipping Sodbury. I work in Cabot Circus and have tried to use this Stop on a number of occasions as it should enable me to catch a bus that I would otherwise miss if I had to run to the bus station"

"Unfortunately this is not very often the case as the majority of bus drivers(x342 / x42) and their unions have taken it upon themselves to decide whether or not they stop at this designated stop. This is because they are disputing whether it is a safe place for them to stop to pick up. This I find laughable as the bus stop is big enough to accommodate 6 parked cars and if they were in their correct lane when coming off the roundabout it would be no more dangerous than any other bus stop"

"Unfortunately whilst this dispute still goes on the general public are the one's being forced to suffer the consequences of their actions. Resulting in the bus drivers ignoring the waving arms and cries of stop as these unfortunate victims try without success to get these buses to stop. So I ask you does this sound to you like a hassle free bus service from town or a humiliating experience for anyone who dares to use the designated stop?"

As soon as we got this, we contacted the manager at South Gloucestershire Council who deals with negotiations with the bus company, and he got straight on to First.

Alan Willoughby, the Assistant Operations Director for First Bristol, said
"I am sorry to hear that we remain with drivers not observing Stop C in Bond Street. The stop has been agreed, drivers and inspectors have been informed of the stop. Any individuals not observing the stop will be seen. My apologies to any passengers left behind, if they have details then we can identify and deal with individual drivers"

So if this happens to you because a particular driver isn't following instructions, please contact First's customer services by phoning 0845 606 4446 or emailing bath.csc@firstgroup.com with the details - day, time and bus service number should be enough (Yes, their Bath customer services deal with these routes) You might care to tell them "Mr Willoughby asked for details of any incidents like this".

South Glos has also told Bristol City Council about the problem because the services affect them as well.

Well done South Glos for very prompt action on this one!

Phone mast alley - the good news and the bad news

Giving phone masts the bird

The good news - following pressure by local councillors, South Glos has rejected Vodafone's notification of another phone mast on ten Rodford Way frontage of Blaisdon, just yards from the existing O2 mast (though Vodafone can still appeal against the decision) S Glos decided that "The addition of the third mast would be visually intrusive and the cumulative impact of the three masts would have a negative impact on the streetscene and would detract from the visual amenity of the area"

We've persuaded Vodafone to reconsider other sites they had previously rejected, and we're waiting to hear back from them. However - the bad news - in the course of investigations, it has emerged that "3"intend to use BOTH their approved sites - the Harescombe corner of Shire Way and the Merlin Way corner of Scott Way - to service their joint network arrangement with T-Mobile. So even if the Vodafone mast eventually goes somewhere else, we'll have three masts in a row anyway. We are NOT impressed by South Gloucestershire's handling of phone mast applications. They are not involving Parish or Town Councillors at an early enough stage, and they are pointing the phone companies towards locations that are totally unacceptable to local people. Watch this space for future developments.

Rush hour road works on the ring road

On Tuesday 21st October, work on widening the A4174 ring road at Hambrook will start at 9.30am as usual but will continue on beyond the normal end time of 3.30pm (weather permitting). This is because the surfacing work needs to be done in one go and cannot be completed in the restricted hours. There will be fewer lanes in use than normal and the traffic lights will be adjusted to keep traffic moving as best as possible but there will inevitably be delays.

Save the hassle, take the bus to town

Bristol's new Cabot Circus shopping development is attracting large numbers of visitors. Last Saturday the brand new 3000 vehicle car park was full, with queues at the entrances and traffic jams back up the M32 to the Inner Circuit Road junction.

Why not save yourself some hassle and catch the bus? You can get off near Cabot Circus, and as you can see there's a return stop at the Spectrum Building, just opposite the new shops.

Another alternative - up until 28 December - is the 984 Park and Ride on Saturdays and Sundays from the UWE car park off the roundabout in Coldharbour Lane, Frenchay (fare £2 return) - and this service picks up from the Spectrum Building stop as well. It runs every 15 minutes during the day.

Note that the 984 DOESN'T officially pick up at the Bristol Fashion, even if a driver tells you it does. If you wait there the bus may just sail past you. The stop before the Spectrum Building is further back towards the Centre in Lewins Mead (stop Hm).

No, not THAT Iceland!

Fortunately, as far as we know, this is the closest South Glos Council has got to the Icelandic banks crisis.

Government's online housing consultation held up "because Gary is on holiday"

Apparently recent comments on the governments proposal for massive housing developments in South Glos and elsewhere in the region are not being updated on the ministry website.

We do no better than quote Hansard for Steve Webb's speech to the House of Commons in this week's housing debate:

'One of my constituents, Ron Morton, who chairs the Shortwood green belt campaign, rang the Government office for the south-west and asked, “Why are there no more comments since 25 September?” He was told that the official consultation website is not currently being updated with participant submissions, because “Gary is on holiday.” [Laughter.]

'There is a serious point here. He has asked me to put to the Minister the following question: can the Minister extend the consultation period, this time by a period at least equal to Gary’s holiday, because given the crucial timing of Gary’s absence, the backlog of comments on his return is likely to be substantial?'

Green Belt protection "rigid and old-fashioned", says minister

During the House of Commons debate on the massive housing developments proposed for South Gloucestershire, Communities Minister Iain Wright described the principle that brown field (previously used) land should be built on before green belt as "rigid and old-fashioned", and said that what was needed was flexibility.

Speaking to the BBC outside Downing Street, Steve Webb MP said:

“Every MP who was at the debate was shocked by what the Minister said. He said that the green belt was fair game.

“We cannot tell developers to go to the brown field and developed areas first. They can go to the prime sites on day one. It was a disgrace.”

The debate was arranged by Steve Webb after the government raised the number of proposed houses by 50% despite already overburdened roads, inadequate bus services and minimal train services.

Steve describes the debate here.

Following the debate Steve delivered a protest petition to Downing Street.

Whether you signed the petition or not, it's still important to put in your comments to the government. The more voices they hear, the more likely they are to tone down their plans. You only have until 24 October - just over a fortnight including any time in the post. Just to repeat what we said the other day:

If you would like to object to the Government's proposals on housing, but don't know what to say, you can click here to download some suggestions: Word version

(Note - we've had occasional problems with this link - if it doesn't work for you, please email paul.hulbert@gmail.com for a copy)

Then:

1. Get the blank Government form online here
   - you can fill it in electronically or fill in a paper copy
   
2. Use our 'specimen' as a guide – but put it in your own words, because people take more notice of personalised objections
   
3. Send completed forms to the email or postal addresses on the form to reach the Government Office for the South West not later than 5.00pm on Friday 24th October (the deadline has been extended by a week)
   

This is important. Please do it NOW.

30,000 houses - latest news, how to object, and some suggestions

The main slides from Steve Webb's public meeting can be seen here.

View the slideshow to see just how big the impact would be on Yate and Chipping Sodbury.

If you would like to object to the Government's proposals on housing, but don't know what to say, click here to download some suggestions:

Word version

(Note - we've had occasional problems with this link - if it doesn't work for you, please email paul.hulbert@gmail.com for a copy)

Four steps to getting your voice heard

1. Get the blank Government form online here
   - you can fill it in electronically or fill in a paper copy
   
   
2. Use our 'specimen' as a guide – but put it in your own words, because people take more notice of personalised objections
   
   
3. Send completed forms to the email or postal addresses on the form to reach the Government Office for the South West not later than 5.00pm on Friday 24th October
   (Updated 09/10/08 - the deadline has been extended by a week)
   
   
4. Sign our petition at: www.stevewebb.org.uk
   

Reminder - public meeting on the 30,000 houses - 2nd Oct at King Ed's 7.30pm

Don't forget the public meeting at King Edmund School, Yate, tomorrow (Thursday 2nd October) at 7.30 pm. Come along and hear the latest from Steve Webb MP and local councillors.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO ABOUT IT?

(1) Sign our petition by Friday (3 Oct) so that Steve Webb can present the petition in the special debate in Parliament - you can do this online at http://www.stevewebb.org.uk

(2) Tell the Government what you think (by 17 Oct) by responding to their consultation:
- online at http://tinyurl.com/6z6pdz - register with the government "Consultation Portal" (click "Login" top left, then "Register") and then comment on section HMA1
- or on paper - get an official form from Poole Court or by ringing the government on 0117 900 1743. On Section B of the form, you should say that you oppose the Secretary of State's changes.