Last night the House of Commons voted for a Lib Dem motion rejecting Labour's stance on the Gurkhas. More on the victory in Steve Webb's blog.
They're willing to fight for this country.
They're willing to die for this country.
They should have the right to live in this country.
Just to let you know that South Glos Council has responded to our petition and all your emails. They've agreed to subsidise the X27. Key points are:
Good news:
- Hourly X27 service retained from Yate via North Yate, main road past Iron Acton, Winterbourne to Bristol.
- It will bypass Bristol Bus Station and continue to the Centre, which will be helpful for some people
- Still run by First, so no problem with tickets if you're changing to another bus in Bristol
Bad news:
- Only two X27 buses before 0900, instead of five (standing room only?)
- No X buses for South Yate loop
- South Yate / Birds drop from daytime service of two X buses plus one slow service per hour, to two slowcoach services only
We're expecting TV coverage on ITV local news tonight - watch it if you see this in time.
We'll post more details here in due course.
Residents are being invited to help take part in the annual spring clean-up of Ridge Wood on Sunday 26 April from 10am.
Organised by the Friends of Ridge Wood Community Group and South Gloucestershire Council, volunteers with a few hours to spare are invited to help clear litter and rubbish throughout the wood as part of continuing efforts to help managing the woodland.
Local schools use the wood as an outdoor classroom, which makes keeping it litter-free even more important.
You can also take part in other woodland management work, including digging out invasive Spanish bluebells and helping tidy around the woodland entrances.
South Glos Council will provide all the necessary gloves, bags and tools. If you're interested in taking part, people are meeting at 10am on Sunday 28 April on the public footpath at the top of Melrose Close entrance to the woodland.
Anyone who is interested in helping with the future management of the woodland, and those interested in the wildlife and historical features of the site, are welcome to join the Friends of Ridge Wood Community Group.
For more information you can visit www.ridge-wood.org.uk or contact the Friends of Ridge Wood Community Group/South Glos Council on 01454 863725.
When your car insurance is about to run out, you get a reminder.
When your car tax is about to run out, you get a reminder.
So why can't we have a reminder when our MOT is about to run out? It's all on a computer database, after all.
Part of Shire Way in Yate has recently been resurfaced, but we've still been asking for attention to the dinner-plate size potholes on the rest of it, especially a whole colony of them between Kingscote and Badgeworth.
We're glad to hear from South Glos that they should be repaired today and tomorrow.
For some time a dedicated band of local walkers and councillors have been working on a series of leaflets based on walks between local churches.
The leaflets will be launched at an open event in Chipping Sodbury Town Hall on Saturday 2nd May from 10 am to 12 noon. There will then be an organised walk from St John's to St Mary's Church in Yate.
Please come drop in, collect your FREE walks leaflets and maybe join us on the inaugural walk!
The Gazette is running a rather depressing bus story this week. (The coverage is good, but the details are depressing)
P.S. You can still have your say - email Cllr Brian Allinson, the Conservative Councillor who will be deciding about replacement services. His email is brian.allinson@southglos.gov.uk.
And please sign up to the Save Our Buses in South Gloucestershire campaign.
The bus campaign has now been covered in the excellent online magazine Bradley Stoke Examiner - many thanks for the coverage!.
Bradley Stoke lost some of its bus services in February when First Bus axed the 74 and X74 bus services.
Like our area they are vulnerable to future reviews of First's bus services.
Remember, the petition is still going at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/southglosbuses.
The two clother retailers are part of the same group but will trade as separate units. They are expected to open in June.
There was a good article about the campaign in the Evening Post today - "First urged to cut Bristol bus fares"
It's attracted a few readers' comments - you might like to add to them.
South Glos now has to make its mind up how much it wants to spend towards plugging the gaps left by First Bus. The person who will make the decision is Cllr Brian Allinson, the Conservative South Glos cabinet member responsible for transport issues.
PLEASE EMAIL CLLR ALLINSON URGENTLY SO THAT HE KNOWS THE DEPTH OF YOUR FEELINGS.
His email address is brian.allinson@southglos.gov.uk
Tell him –
- Where you live
- How you and your neighbours and friends are affected by the bus cuts
- What you want him to do about it
DON’T DELAY, DO IT TODAY, BEFORE THE DECISION IS MADE.
You may have seen on ITV's West Country Tonight last night that the first stage of our bus cuts petition has been handed to South Glos Council. The petition is ongoing - if you haven't signed up yet, do it now!
The 400 name petition, calling for immediate action to restore adequate bus services for the areas affected by the First Bus cuts to the services from Yate and Chipping Sodbury through Iron Acton and Winterbourne, was presented to the Council's transport select committee by Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Hulbert. He said, "The effects of this are profound. People have contacted me saying that because of the lack of buses some people will have to move house and move away from their communities. Some people will have to give up their jobs or will have much reduced employment opportunities."
"There are elderly people who are now mobile but will be trapped because they cannot walk far enough to reach the nearest bus service."
"Many people will spend much longer every day getting to work and back. And there are hidden price rises too - even if there are some replacement services, many people will have to pay more to travel because different companies won’t accept each others’ tickets."
In just over three weeks 400 people have signed up to the Save Our Buses in South Gloucestershire petition on paper, online and on Facebook. More than 80 people have left individual messages on the petition at ourcampaign.org.uk/southglosbuses explaining the effects on their lives and their communities.
There is particular concern about the disappearance of the X27 service. Steve Webb MP said "Whilst South Glos has not yet committed any money, it has invited local bus companies to say what they would charge for running a service, possibly on a somewhat reduced timetable. The Council will shortly decide whether or not to fund this 'emergency' tender."
"It is therefore vital that anyone who wants to see the X27 maintained contacts the councillor in charge of transportation, Brian Allinson (brian.allinson@southglos.gov.uk), as a matter of urgency to let him know how important it is that the Council finds the money."
"We do not have long to act if we want to ensure that the service continues after May 10th, so please ensure that Cllr Allinson knows how much local residents want the Council to find the resources to keep the bus on the road."
Cllr Hulbert commented, "What we need is a bus service that actually meets community needs, not just what suits First, with South Glos papering over the more obvious cracks. We will continue to collect signatures to keep up the pressure."
An article in the Mail highlights a Government underfunding of £30 million for bus passess, leaving councils to pick up the difference. Some of the biggest shortfalls affect councils in popular tourist areas.
The Government is also restricting the services on which passes can be used, so that you can't now use them on routes where more than half the seats can be booked, such as long-distance services, and buses 'intended primarily for tourism'.
Not something that is likely to affect this area too much, but you may not get a free ride on a seaside open-top bus any more.
Today's Evening Post (Saturday, April 04, 2009) carries a report on a meeting between Steve Webb, First, villagers at Iron Acton and local councillors (click link for full story) including Yate and Frampton Cotterell. Hope for some services, provided that South Glos can be persuaded to subsidise.
At the meeting First's commercial director Simon Cursio was told how axing of the X27 on May 10 would affect local people.
Students told how they would be unable to get to college and others said that older people without their own transport might have to move house.
South Gloucestershire Council has put out an emergency tender to replace the X27 and despite not yet finding the money to pay for it, hopes to have a bus back on the road, though at a reduced frequency - it sounds like they considered a full replacement service but felt the council couldn't afford it.
Steve said: "This was a very productive meeting. As well as highlighting the damage that the loss of this route would cause for local residents, we concentrated on how we can fight to keep it going after May 10.
"It is vital that the council finds the cash to keep the service going, routes it through Iron Acton as before and in the longer term consults with local residents in Yate and along the route about the timings which would be of most value to them."
"Residents stressed they would be cut off if the service was to cease, both in north Yate and in Iron Acton.
"One young resident said the end of the service came right in the middle of her A-level exams and that she would have to live somewhere else in order to be able to get to college"
Mr Cursio was also presented with seven pages of detailed comments and views that people had sent in to the Save Our Buses in South Gloucestershire campaign website.
As promised after the fatal accident in November, South Glos Council will be carrying out two lots of surveys on Rodford Way near Abbotswood.
There will be speed surveys (in both directions for 7 to 10 days starting in the week commencing 20th April, and a count of pedestrians crossing the road (including approximate age and where they cross) is programmed for 27th April.
 Giving phone masts the bird | You only have a few days left to object to Vodafone’s appeal to put yet another phone mast on Rodford Way, just yards from the existing O2 mast. Bad news - the closing date is next Wed, 8 April. Good news – you can now do it online. Here's how. First write out your objection. Write a letter with this reference on it: They know the site as “Highway Land Junction of Rodford Way and Shire Way, Yate” |
Our campaign "Save Our Buses in South Gloucestershire" now has its own Facebook group. If you're on Facebook or know anyone who is, please look at / join the group.
A quick link to get you there is www.tinyurl.com/sgbus - you'll need to sign in with your Facebook ID.
Also - or if you're not on Facebook - please visit the campaign website and petition at ourcampaign.org.uk/southglosbuses where you can sign the petition online, join our email group and print off petition forms.
There are also regular updates here, and on our sister Focus blog for Charfield, Frampton Cotterell, Ladden Brook and Westerleigh wards www.ladden-frome.blogspot.com
and of course on Steve Webb's blog www.webbsteve.blogspot.com
Please spread the word!
