Church Road Frampton Cotterell reopening

If all goes well the Church Road bridge should be reopened around midnight tonight (Sunday)

All the civil engineering work has been completed. The road surface is temporary until the various utility companies have re-diverted their mains, and the final surface will be laid.

Temporary barriers and 3-way lights are being installed on Sunday night. The vehicle messaging signs will automatically update to say "Church Road now open" at midnight.

All ready for the new school term - well done to all involved.

Have your say on council solar schemes

Next week South Glos Council will be holding exhibitions on plans to install ground mounted solar PV schemes on land it owns next to the Badminton Road Council offices and between the M4 and the A4174 Ring Road at Moorend.

The schemes are much smaller than the commercial schemes in the area, approximately 2.5 acres at Badminton Road and 5 at Moorend, compared to over 100 acres at Says Court Farm for example. The aim is to supply electricity for the Badminton Road offices, reducing running costs at a time of rising energy prices and reducing carbon emissions by 700 tonnes a year. Both of the sites are only low grade agricultural land, having been used for landfill or sewage works previously.

The pre-planning consultation runs until 10th September. When the formal plans are submitted in late September there will be the usual opportunity for local residents to comment then too.

The exhibition will be in the reception area of the council offices on Badminton Road on Monday 1 September between 3pm and 7pm and on Tuesday 2 September between 3pm and 8pm.

Your Focus Team has already asked for assurance that the Badminton Road scheme won't stop the Nibley Park and Ride being built in the future.

Council Chairman to skydive for charity

The Chairman of South Gloucestershire Council, Ladden Brook Ward Councillor Howard Gawler, will plunge 10,000 feet from a plane on Sunday 7 September to raise money for charity.

Howard will be undertaking a tandem skydive to raise funds for the South Gloucestershire based Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC), one of his chosen Chair’s charities for the year. This will involve him free-falling through the air (without the parachute deployed) for 5,000 feet at around 120 mph, before safely parachuting to the ground. He will be harnessed to a professional parachute instructor at all times throughout the descent. Howard's niece Sarah Farthing, from Wick in South Gloucestershire, will also be taking part in the skydive.

Howard said: “I’m really looking forward to my debut skydive in aid of this very worthy cause, the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity. Any one of us may be thankful for the air ambulance’s life saving services at some point in our lives and I’m proud to give them my support."

“The charity doesn’t receive any government or National Lottery funding, which means they rely entirely on the generosity of local people to continue operating. I hope to raise as much money for them as possible, so please visit the dedicated Just Giving page to sponsor my jump or to make a donation.”

To make a donation please visit the Chair’s Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/ChairsCharity2014

You can find out more about the Great Western Air Ambulance at www.greatwesternairambulance.com

Have your say on Council Tax Reduction Scheme

South Glos wants your views on proposed changes to the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS).

In April 2013, CTRS replaced the national council tax benefit. Depending on their income and other factors, people may be entitled to money off their council tax bill. With reduced funding, last year the council had to make some difficult decisions about how best to protect the most vulnerable. The scheme for 2014/15 placed people into 8 income bands with an 80% discount for the lowest income band and smaller discounts as you went up the bands. The Lib Dems successfully proposed giving the maximum discount to those who would have qualified for a disability premium under the old scheme.

The council is now consulting on further changes. It is proposing to reduce the number of income bands and also wants yor comments on whether young adults leaving care who are liable to pay council tax and are eligible for a reduction in their council tax should receive the maximum discount. Those would have qualified for a disability premium will still get the maximum discount. Older people who are eligible for state pension credit will continue to be assessed under a national scheme and will not be affected by the proposed changes.

The consultation runs until Monday 22 September. You can find out further information and comment online.

Consultation on plans for footpath on Dodington Road

In March, the Frome Vale Area Forum awarded funding for a new length of footpath on Dodington Road, in response to safety concerns raised by local residents.

Local people now have an opportunity to comment on the proposals. You can view the plans online and email comments to transportservices@southglos.gov.uk - the deadline for comments is Tuesday 9th September.

Have your say on Private Sector Housing services

South Glos council is currently consulting on proposals which will affect the work of Private Sector Housing services as it looks to save £168,000 a year (approx. 24%) from its budget by 2015/16 as part of the council’s savings programme.

Services that could be affected include:

• Disabled adaptations
• Enforcement of housing standards
• Empty homes
• Home energy conservation
• Home renovations
• Licensing of houses of multiple occupation
• Landlord accreditation 

You can find out more at  www.southglos.gov.uk/psh and you have until 10th October to comment.

Check your smoke detector

Have you had a smoke detector fitted by Avon Fire and Rescue service? Unfortunately there was a faulty batch. If you test your smoke detector and find it isn't working please call the fire service on 0800 1412561 or email technicalsupport@fireangel.co.uk for advice. The fire service can't give a definite timescale for when the faulty ones were fitted, but the problems to date relate to some that were fitted more than 6 months ago.

Of course regardless of who fitted your smoke detectors, it's worth checking them regularly.

Free part time courses: South Glos Community Learning prospectus now available

The latest Community Learning prospectus for September 2014-July 2015 is now available offering a range of FREE part-time courses in our local area. These courses courses can help you gain a qualification, improve job skills, help your children's learning, and become more involved in your local community

Courses include Maths, English, computer and IT skills, job seeking and interview skills, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), confidence building, wellbeing and more.

How about "Getting the most from your tablet or iPad", for example? That's a 6 week course running at Yate Library.

Click here to view the prospectus with full details.

Don't lose your vote

By the end of this month, you should receive a letter from South Glos Council telling you if you need to take action to join the new Electoral Register.

Most people who are currently registered have been added to the new register automatically, and the letter will let you know if this applies to you. Some people have not been added to the new register automatically and these people will need to re-register. The letter will tell you if you are in this group, and what you need to do to re-register.

The letters are a result of a new registration system called Individual Electoral Registration (IER). The aim is to modernise the way people register to vote and help tackle electoral fraud. You may need to take action to join the new individual electoral register, even if you are currently registered to vote.

Under the new system:

• everyone is responsible for registering themselves (under the old system the ‘head of household’ could register everyone who lived at their address) 
• you can now register online 
• you need to provide a few more details to register (your national insurance number and date of birth). This is to make the electoral register more secure. These details are checked against government records to help make sure that registrations are genuine. 

If you're not on the electoral register, you won't be able to vote in next year's elections. You could also be at risk of an £80 fine if you don't respond to requests for information from the council and you need to be registered to apply for credit, as credit reference agencies use the register to prevent fraud.

If you are a South Gloucestershire resident and you haven’t received a registration letter by the end of August then please contact the electoral services team by calling 01454 863030 or by emailing electoral.services@southglos.gov.uk If you need to register or re-register please visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Touch Card launched

First Bus has launched the first phase of its smart card programme. Instead of paper tickets, passengers will be able to use a Touch Card to store up to three FirstWeek or two FirstMonth bus tickets.

The Touch Card, which is free from First’s travel shops or by ordering online, will be available to adults using FirstWeek or FirstMonth inner or outer zone tickets in Bristol. In the coming months use will be expanded to include other passenger groups in the region. To enable users to track what tickets they have stored on their cards and track usage, Touch Card users are given access to their own account via the website: www.touch-card.co.uk.

Further developments are planned including allowing customers to top up their cards online. First is also working with the West of England Bus Operations Association and local authorities to enable passengers to use their Touch Card on all bus operators.

To order your Touch Card online go to: www.touch-card.co.uk

Local bus service changes from 31 August 2014

First Bus and Wessex have announced the following changes to buses in the Yate / Sodbury / Dodington area:

FIRST BUS:

Service 46/ X46 (Bristol – Yate/ Chipping Sodbury)

• The timetable is being adjusted to provide additional capacity
• There will be earlier first Monday to Friday journeys on Service 46, and two additional early morning, Monday to Friday, journeys on Service X46 as well. 

Service 82 (Southmead Hospital – Chipping Sodbury)

• With support from South Gloucestershire Council, the route of Service 82 is being extended
  Buses will start and terminate in Chipping Sodbury (rather than Yate) operating via Station Road, Bowling Hill, High Street and Wickwar Road.
• These changes mean that there will then be a direct link from Chipping Sodbury to Cribbs Causeway and Southmead Hospital (but no direct services for South or North Yate, unfortunately)
• The timetable is also being adjusted to improve the punctuality and reliability of the service.

Service 81 (Kingswood – Yate) 

• The timetable is being adjusted slightly to improve the punctuality and reliability of the service.

WESSEX:

Service X27 (Yate – Bristol)

• This service is withdrawn after Saturday 30 August (As one of our readers comments, "Many commuters who have used the service for some years now and who work in the Anchor Road area are annoyed at the prospect of having to walk from Marlborough Street Bus Station or catch another bus")

Service 622 (Chipping Sodbury – Cribbs Causeway)

• On Monday to Saturday this service will be provided by another operator. Wessex will continue to operate the Sunday and Bank Holiday service.

USEFUL LINKS:

• You can download the First new timetables here 
• First Bus network map for Yate is available here
• Wessex timetables are available here
• For all companies' services, or to plan your longer journeys, check out the Traveline South West journey planner here

Are you eligible for free childcare?

If you have a two year old and your household income is less than £16,190 then you may be entitled to up to 15 hours of free childcare a week, which will be available from September 1.

The Lib Dems in Government introduced the scheme to improve the outcomes of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The free childcare can be in a nursery or pre-school setting or with a childminder.

For more information see www.southglos.gov.uk/childcare or call 01454 868008. You will need your National Insurance number to hand.

Footpath diversion at Wapley

South Glos Council is seeking views on diverting a length of public footpath LDO 3/20 at The Old Rectory, Wapley (near Wapley Church). You can find out more on the council's website. The deadline for commenting is 30th August.

Have your say on how planning consultation works

South Glos Council has to produce something called a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). This sets out how local people are involved in preparing planning documents and how they are consulted on planning applications.

The first SCI was adopted in May 2008, since when both laws and the council's internal processes have changed. The council now needs to update its SCI to reflect this and wants to hear your views.

The Draft SCI is available to view at http://www.southglos.gov.uk/planningSCI.

Printed copies of the Draft SCI 2014 are available for inspection, 8.45am - 5pm Mondays to Wednesdays and 8.45am - 4.30pm Thursdays and Fridays, at the Council’s One-Stop Shops, including the Yate one (Kennedy Way, BS37 4DQ - access via West Walk). Electronic versions of the SCI can be viewed at all South Gloucestershire libraries (http://www.southglos.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/libraries/).

Comments can be made by email to PlanningLDF@southglos.gov.uk or by letter to Strategic Planning Policy and Specialist Advice Team, South Gloucestershire Council, Environment and Community Services Department, PO Box 299, Civic Centre, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 0DR. If possible, indicate the page number and section number to which your comments refer. Please note that the responses received, including personal details, cannot be kept confidential. If you would like to be notified when the SCI is adopted, please say.

The deadline for comments is 5pm on 13th October 2014. All the responses will be taken into consideration in preparing the final version, which will be presented to the Planning, Transportation and Strategic Environment Committee for adoption in early 2015.

Let's close the cycle path “missing link” - please sign our petition

Cllr Paul Hulbert and bike with Cllr Claire Young
and petition forms. The existing cycle path ends abruptly
near the Kidney Hill junction on Westerleigh Road.

Liberal Democrat Focus councillors have launched a petition to gather support for a project to close the “missing link” on the cycle path from Yate and Westerleigh to Bristol and Bath.

At the moment there is a link from the Bristol-Bath Railway Path – the “M1” of the national cycling network – but it stops south of Westerleigh.

South Glos has been awarded some government money from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. The cycle path project was part of the bid, but as ever not enough money has been awarded to do everything. The council will be deciding which projects should go ahead next March.

South Glos Cllr Claire Young said “I am regularly contacted by cyclists wanting to know when this path will be finished. We're know there's strong support for the missing link and we hope to show that with this petition”

Dodington Parish Councillor Paul Hulbert said “I’ve been campaigning for a decent cycle link to the Bristol East Fringe for many years. This path would allow local people to get to the Emerson's Green Science Park, the nearby retail and distribution centres and many more employment and education opportunities”

The petition is available online at http://tinyurl.com/cyclelink. Paper copies are available from Paul by emailing paul.hulbert@gmail.com.

Is self-build housing for you?

South Glos Council is currently carrying out a survey on self-build housing in South Gloucestershire. They want to find out how many people are interested in building their own home, and what help is needed to achieve this. The information provided will help the council to understand the demand for self-build in South Gloucestershire and inform the development of planning policy to support self-build in the area.

Self-build housing can be described as any instance where a person is involved in some way in the production of their new home rather than buying from a speculative home builder. The level of involvement can therefore vary greatly, from simple purchase of the site and appointment of a contractor, to greater project management of design and construction and undertaking all the construction work oneself. There are also examples of community self-build where a group self forms or is brought together by an organisation. Participants either work on each other’s homes until all the units are complete or subdivide land into plots and organise the construction of their home individually, sometimes collaborating to bulk buy materials etc.

Such is the possible scope of involvement in the construction process that the term ‘custom built’ housing is now also commonly used.

You can find out more and complete the survey online. The closing date for comments is Friday 15th August.

South Gloucestershire Show this weekend

The South Gloucestershire Show takes place this weekend, Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd August, at the Windmill Fisheries off Westerleigh Road in Henfield. AA routing signs have gone up for both motorists and cyclists, but if you're travelling in the Westerleigh area be prepared for extra traffic.