Friday 26 August 2016

Yate Spur cycle path update


Work on the section of the cycle path between Nibley Lane and the Shire Way railway viaduct (pictured above) was completed earlier this summer. It'll make more sense, of course, when it's joined up at the ends.

In recent weeks, it’s been confirmed that South Glos has secured £400,000 for further work this financial year.

In September the council will be starting a consultation on a pedestrian refuge at the Nibley Lane junction, the path under the viaduct and the Shire Way section. The council is also working towards securing land for the Westerleigh Road to Broad Lane section.


While it’s good to see further progress being made, more funding will be needed in future years for the construction of the path between Dodmoor Crossing and Nibley Lane, to complete the "Westerleigh cycle bypass". This is arguably one of the parts of the route that will bring the biggest safety improvements.

We need to keep up the pressure to make sure this important cycle route is completed. If you haven’t done so already, you can sign our petition at tinyurl.com/cyclelink



Thursday 25 August 2016

Tour of Britain in our area Thursday 8 September


The Tour of Britain cycle race will be coming through our area on Thursday 8 September. As well as being spectacular, there will also be short-lasting road closures.

The riders will be coming through broadly north to south:
  • Wickwar
  • B4060 Wickwar Road
  • High Street, Chipping Sodbury
  • Culverhill Road
  • Bowling Road
  • Dodington Road
  • Claypit Hill
  • Gibbs Lane
  • Sodbury Lane
  • B4465 Codrington Road
  • B4465 Westerleigh Road
  • Pucklechurch
  • Heading towards Bitton and Bath
This will be a "rolling type" road closure starting at around 2.30 pm at Wickwar and finishing at around 3.30 pm in Bitton. At any one location the event is likely to last around 25 minutes - blink and you'll miss it!

Wednesday 24 August 2016

Bank Holiday rail disruption

Network Rail is carrying out further work in South Wales and the South West this August Bank Holiday weekend, to install new signalling as part of their Railway Upgrade Plan.

The work will take place from 27th to 29th August and will require a temporary closure of the lines in both directions between Bristol Parkway and Swindon, Newport, Bristol Temple Meads, Gloucester and Severn Beach. Trains will be diverted and in some cases replaced by buses. More information is available here.

Friday 19 August 2016

Ring Road closures this weekend postponed due to weather

The Gazette reports that the Ring Road closures this weekend are being postponed. Full details here

Wednesday 17 August 2016

Major resurfacing works on Ring Road


UPDATE 19/08/2016: The Gazette reports that the Ring Road closures this weekend are being postponed due to bad weather

The council will be carrying out essential maintenance on the A4174 Ring Road at Hambrook traffic lights / Bristol Road junction and between the Wick Wick and Lyde Green roundabouts from Friday 19 August to Friday 9 September as part of the Challenge Fund road improvement project.

These roadworks will require the following closures:

  1. Full closure of the westbound carriageway at the Hambrook traffic lights from 8pm on Friday 19 August to 6am on Monday 22 August and from Friday 2 September to 6am on Monday 5 September.
  2. Full overnight closure of the eastbound carriageway between Wick Wick and Lyde Green roundabouts between 8pm - 6am from 22 August to 1 September and from 7 to 9 September. This road will be fully open during the day and at weekends.
  3. Full overnight closure of the westbound carriageway at the Hambrook traffic lights from 8pm to 6am on Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 September. This road will be fully open during the day.
The work has been scheduled to take place when traffic flow is low, before the school and university terms start and avoiding the Bank Holiday. For further information on the project and diversion routes please visit www.southglos.gov.uk/challengefund If you have any queries email challengefund@southglos.gov.uk or call 01454 868000.

Tuesday 16 August 2016

Nibley council offices - car park extension

Claire Young and Ruth Davis at
the potential Park and Ride site

Earlier this year, we reported that the Conservatives were considering closing the Kingswood Civic Centre and extending their Badminton Road office to accommodate a council chamber and extra staff.

They are now proposing to keep the council chamber at Kingswood but move the staff to Nibley, which still requires the car park to be extended.

Your Focus Team requested and received plans that demonstrate this will still leave room for the planned Park and Ride. This now needs to be bigger than originally planned due to all the new homes being built in Yate.

Thursday 11 August 2016

Vacancy for Parish Council grounds staff member (part time)

Would you be interested in joining the team at Dodington Parish Council on a Permanent Part Time basis, undertaking caretaking duties at Play Areas, Open Spaces and Parish Hall?

Details are available here and you can find out more about Dodington Parish Council from their website.

The closing date is 31st August.

Keen cyclist? Try the Saddleback Sodbury Sportive!


If you fancy a cycling challenge, why not enter the Saddleback Sodbury Sportive, now in its 5th year. 100 miles of riding and 1700 metres of ascent, with alternatives of 60 miles and 30 miles, all through stunning countryside. The event is now so well established that it was featured in a recent edition of Cycling Weekly.

The event takes place on Sunday 21 August - you can enter on the Sportive website here

The Sportive is organised by the Members and Friends of the Rotary club of Chipping Sodbury - last year participants raised more than £20,000 for charity.

Monday 8 August 2016

Tell Claire - What issues matter to YOU?

As we reported recently, local councillor Claire Young is now the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Thornbury and Yate.

Of course she has already campaigned right across the constituency in a number of elections, but now she has launched a campaign "Tell Claire", asking local residents about their views on the most pressing local and national issues. Your views and opinions matter to us, as they help us to ensure we campaign for the things that YOU care about.

Please take a few moments to fill in Claire's survey here: www.southgloslibdems.org.uk/tellclaire.

Please do also pass this link onto any friends and family members who might be interested.

Saturday 6 August 2016

Save Our Buses petition launched


The Liberal Democrat Focus Team has launched a petition to get South Glos to work with First Bus to save our bus services from the major cuts planned for early September.
  • If you live in Chipping Sodbury or northwards, you'll lose your direct link to Southmead Hospital and Parkway station.
  • If you use the Yate buses to get to Parkway, you'll only have half as many buses.
  • If you use the Yate buses to get to Southmead, although the hourly direct service will stay, you'll lose many of the quicker options that involve changing buses on the way - so the service is effectively halved.
  • If you travel to UWE's Frenchay Campus, you'll lose ALL your direct buses except at "school start and finish times".
Please join our campaign and sign our petition here.

You can see the full details of the changes on the South Glos Council website here - please comment on this post if there's another service change that affects you.

Thursday 4 August 2016

Major cuts for buses to Southmead, Parkway, UWE


First Bus has announced major cuts to bus services from Yate and Chipping Sodbury to Southmead Hospital, Parkway Station and the University of the West of England Frenchay Campus, starting 4th September.

You can see the full details of the changes on the South Glos Council website here - you need to look at the sections about services 81, 82 and 16 in particular.

The changes will cause major difficulties for local people. The frequency of the buses from Yate to Southmead Hospital and Parkway Station will be halved, and Chipping Sodbury, Wotton under Edge and the villages in between will lose their direct link to Southmead Hospital and Parkway Station altogether.

In addition almost all the direct buses from Yate to the University of the West of England will be cut, leaving just one "school time" direct service per day in each direction, and that will only run only on school days. Otherwise passengers from Yate will need to change buses at Downend, and passengers from Chipping Sodbury will need to change twice.

These bus cuts are going to cause local people a lot of problems. Halving the buses from Yate to Southmead and Parkway will deter people from using public transport. It will make the parking and traffic situation worse at both destinations. Life will become even more difficult for people who have regular treatment at Southmead, and it will waste a lot of time for people whose trains do not coincide with the bus schedule. This change will also restrict employment opportunities.

Things will be even worse for people who live in Chipping Sodbury, Wotton Under Edge and the villages in between. They will have to change buses in Yate as well, taking longer and pushing up travel costs. People in our area fought long and hard to get decent buses to Southmead when Frenchay Hospital closed, and now many of these services are being taken away.

The savage cuts to the bus services from Yate to UWE will be a major deterrent for students going to their local university. People seem to have assumed that UWE students work school hours and days, which just isn't so. Many students have to juggle lectures with jobs, just to be able to survive. What is more, these changes will affect areas that include Priority Neighbourhoods, where far fewer young people carry on in education after 18.

UWE does not allow students to bring cars to the Frenchay Campus for environmental reasons. The least we can do is make sure that students have decent bus services instead. UWE's Frenchay bus station is also a major interchange used by many people who are not students or staff, often travelling to work.

Bus services in our area are already not as good as much of Bristol, and these changes will make things even worse.

Let's hope that South Glos is willing do something to alleviate the impacts of these changes.

Wednesday 3 August 2016

Major roadworks on Westerleigh Road and end of Shire Way - bus service impacts too



The following major roads are going to be closed from 8 to 11 August for resurfacing:

  • Shire Way - from Brockworth to Westerleigh Road
  • Westerleigh Road - from Rodborough to Nibley Lane
According to the First Bus website, the work will be from 7 am to 5 pm each day.

The 47 and X47 will NOT go along Shire Way during the closure, but WILL stop at the Pitchcombe bus stop on Rodford Way.

The X49 service will not serve Yate during the closure, but will start and end at Mill Crescent in Westerleigh. Passengers wanting to travel to Yate will need to use the 46, X46, 47, or X47 services.

The 620 service to Bath must also be affected, but there's no information on the Wessex Connect website.

Update 4th August: We asked South Glos Council whether there would be traffic lights, but they tell us: "This will be a total closure during the day, 7am – 5pm. We are hoping to open up the closure outside of these times if it is safe to do so"

Ring road and M5 night closures


The A4174 Ring Road will be closed for roadworks between the Siston Hill Roundabout and the Dramway Roundabout at Emersons Green from 8pm to 6am every night until 17th August.

The M5 Southbound will be closed from 8pm Thursday until 6am on Friday 5th August, due to roadworks at Junction 17 A4018 Cribbs Causeway.