Serious graffiti attack at Kingsgate Park - can you help police?

Last night (Thursday/ Friday) a considerable amount of graffiti - some of it obscene - was painted onto the play equipment in Kingsgate Park.

A lot of cream emulsion was painted (using brushes/ rollers) onto some of the wooden items, and black paint was used to write and draw on the end walls of the football/ basketball court. Blue gloss was poured onto the basketball  back-boards, and dripped onto the tarmac floor.

It would appear the culprits were well organised and no tins were found in the park.

A big thank you is due to Yate Town Council's Estates Team who have spent today working hard cleaning off the paint. Most has been removed with just a small amount of inaccessible material remaining.

Did you see anything suspicious in or near Kingsgate Park last night or early this morning? If you can help, please contact the police and quote crime reference number 53981/14.

Charity art exhibition in Yate Shopping Centre this week

Juan Nuevo of Chipping Sodbury Lions Club,
the organiser of the exhibition

There's an interesting art exhibition this week in the shop next to Halifax Bank on West Walk. It's called "Art By Yate, 8 by 8" and local artists and photographers are presenting their views of the area in an 8 inch by 8 inch format. There's a wide range of ideas and techniques.

Entry is free and all the work is available for sale, with the proceeds going to Lions Club charities. The exhibition is open all this week - it's well worth a visit.

Wapley Bushes footbridge update

Network Rail have withdrawn their "advance notification" for replacing the footbridge to Wapley Common so that they can take account of the various comments about their previous scheme.

We understand that they will be submitting new plans in due course - we'll let you know here when new proposals are available.

Don't forget Yate Railway Station reopening celebration this weekend!

Celebrate 25 years since Yate Railway Station was reopened! This Sunday (18th May) from 12.00 noon till 3.00 pm the Friends of Yate Station have organised a special event with stalls, a brass band, afternoon tea, vintage and railway display, and a heritage tent to share artefacts and memories.

 

Volunteer for the Summer Reading Challenge

Are you, or do you know, a young person who would like to help children to enjoy reading?

Every summer, South Glos libraries run a Summer Reading Challenge to encourage children to keep reading during the holidays. Over 7000 took part last year. South Glos is currently looking for volunteers to get involved in a variety of activities from talking to children about the books they are reading and helping them to choose what to read next, to helping with the summer activities and creating displays in the library. The closing date for applications is Monday 16 June. Volunteers must be aged 14 or over.

As well as being a great way to help others, being a Summer Reading Challenge volunteer is also an opportunity for young people to get new skills and experience for their CVs. This year’s Summer Reading Challenge runs from 12 July to 13 September, and the theme is Mythical Maze. Once again children are challenged to read six books to collect their very own medal and certificate.

For more information on how to get involved ask a member of staff at any South Gloucestershire library, phone 01454 868451 or email emma.fisher@southglos.gov.uk

Rodford School redevelopment - make your voice heard

Developers have submitted a planning application to build 49 houses and 9 flats on the former Rodford School site. The site is where the school buildings used to be, nearest to Barnwood Road. (The development does NOT affect the field between Chargrove, Glenfall and Prestbury)

Yate Town Council has objected to the housing on the grounds of design, layout and the density of the development.

There is also local concern about proposed works to remove Tree Protection Order status from some inconveniently located existing trees - presumably they would be cut down. The trees and hedges have historic value because they mark the old boundaries from before the estate was built. In fact we believe the hedges may date from at least 180 years ago.

The developers' own Ecological Assessment recommends retaining the more mature trees and two species-rich hedgerows, and Yate Town Council has objected to the trees being removed.

You can comment on the planning application here. From this page you can look at the plans and read all the relevant documents. Then you can click on the button "Make a Public Comment" to send your views to South Glos Council.

If you would like to talk to us about your concerns, please contact email Cllr Tony Davis on tony.davis@southglos.gov.uk or ring him on 01454 881415.

Apply for a grant

Local voluntary groups can now apply for a grant of up to £3,000 from South Gloucestershire Council to benefit their local community.

The old grant system has been streamlined and the Area Forums will be making a decision on grants up to four times per year. The grants are available to groups to develop specific projects and provide activities that meet local needs. Projects can include a range of topics including arts and culture, sport, children and play, community safety, developing communities, supporting vulnerable people to promoting equality and tackling poverty.

If you would like to apply for funding, applications for the first round can be made up until the closing date on Monday 2 June. For more information and to make an application visit www.southglos.gov.uk/grants Alternatively, you can call the helpline Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm on 01454 865865, or email grants@southglos.gov.uk

Westerleigh Road - temporary closure at approach to Ring Road rescheduled

The closure of Westerleigh Road between Cookes Lane and Coalsack Lane - roughly the stretch from Henfield Crossroads to the motorway - to enable drainage works to be carried out was postponed because the original date clashed with the Church Road closure.

It's now been rescheduled for one week starting from Friday 30th May. StreetCare will be working through the weekend to get the road reopened as soon as possible.

Have your say at Area Forum this week

The latest Frome Vale Area Forum meeting takes place on Thursday 15 May, 7pm, Frampton Cotterell Primary School, Frampton Cotterell . 

The Frome Vale Area Forum covers Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Frampton Cotterell, Laddenbrook and Westerleigh wards.

The meetings will include an open session where you can have your say on any issue affecting our area and you can also join in the discussions before any formal decisions are made. Councillors will be making decisions on the latest New Homes Bonus applications and receiving progress reports on local transport schemes.

For more information visit www.southglos.gov.uk/areaforum

Bin collection day changes

Watch out for your new bin calendar 'hanger' between 12th and 23rd May.

SITA are changing the collection rounds from 2nd June to accommodate the new materials you can now recycle and to cope with the major new developments being built around South Glos. It's important to read the hanger carefully because you may have a new collection day and there are changes to which items are put out on which weeks.

From 2nd June the fortnightly schedule will change so that black and green bins will go out together, with the green recycling box being collected in the other week. Plastics and cardboard will be collected on alternate weeks, the hanger will say which, while food waste will continue to be collected weekly.

If you don't get a bin hanger by Monday 26th May, please contact the council on streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or by calling 01454 868000. You can check your collection schedule online at any time via www.southglos.gov.uk/sortit

All systems go for Yate Cinema within 18 months!

"And... Action!" - Planners give
go-ahead for Yate Cinema

Planning permission has now been granted for the Yate Cinema and the associated retail development, a decision which has been hanging on a knife edge. The May 8th meeting of a South Glos committee gave the go=ahead after a detailed debate led by Focus Lib Dem councillors Pat Hockey and Alan Lawrence.

In the vote that followed the scheme was approved by five votes to nil, the Lib Dems being supported by Labour. The Conservative councillors on the committee felt unable to support the proposal, so they all abstained.

This is the culmination of a ten year campaign by Steve Webb MP and the Focus Team to get a cinema for Yate - what really swung the decision was the massive local support for the proposal, as demonstrated by Steve Webb's cinema petition.

The team at Yate Shopping Centre are to be congratulated on putting together a viable commercial proposal even in these difficult times. They say that building is scheduled to start next January, and opening around October 2015. So we could have our multi-screen cinema up and running within 18 months.