Need to get to work, doctor or hospital by bus?

Paul Hulbert and Louise Harris at Yate Bus Station

The recent changes in the bus services have improved things for some people, but made them worse for others. For example, the Y1 bus now goes straight down the M32, which has made the service quicker and more reliable. BUT we still have to get to Yate Shopping Centre or Chipping Sodbury to get the bus to Southmead, AND there are fewer services to Frenchay and Downend.

Strangely the Downend issue is causing a particular problem for some patients of the Abbotswood medical surgery, because they are asking some of their patients to travel to their Downend branch to see a GP. This is fine if you have your own transport, but on the bus it's now TWO buses with a wait in between. And you STILL need two buses to get to Southmead or the East Fringe employment area from a lot of our town.

What's more if you're using a Diamond card to do one of these double journeys, South Glos Council is now being charged for 2 trips each way rather than one.

We've started a petition for the south of the town saying "We want a better bus service from Shire Way, The Birds and Abbotswood to Downend Surgery, Southmead Hospital and jobs on the East Fringe" - you can click here to sign it.

Of course if you live in another part of the town you may have different problems with the new services - please get in touch with Louise Harris.

Tern Inn appeal withdrawn - but what next?

Focus Team members Tony Davis, Louise Harris
and Paul Hulbert at the Tern Inn

Great news - the developers have withdrawn their appeal, so their plan to demolish the Tern Inn pub and build flats right across the car park is now dead in the water.

But does this mean that we've won? Not necessarily. It just means that the developers reckon that they have no chance of getting their CURRENT plan approved.

They might submit a slightly revised planning application, so that the whole process has to start again. They might "land bank" the site for a few years and see what the economic situation is like then. Or they might even be willing to sell the site to the community or a brewery.

So we need to wait and watch to see what the developers do next. Whatever happens, the Focus Team will continue to support all the hard work being put in by the Birds Resident Group and Dodington Parish Council on behalf of our community.

If you're on Facebook you can follow the Birds Resident Group here.

In memory of Gloria Stephen

As many of our readers will have heard from other sources, long-standing councillor Gloria Stephen died recently after a long illness. Gloria served as a Dodington Parish Councillor for 23 years, becoming Chairman of the Council. More recently she joined South Gloucestershire Council as a Councillor for the Dodington Ward.

Gloria was active within the community for many years, her particular passions being young people and the environment. She was a Guide Leader and a Governor of Raysfield Infants School. She was a committee member of the Southwold Branch of the Avon Wildlife Trust, and volunteered regularly on work sessions at Wapley Bushes and other local conservation sites. Gloria was also the Chair of the Tourist Information Centre, and served on many other groups.

Gloria's funeral will be held at Westerleigh Crematorium next Monday, 24 September, at 2.45 pm.

Our thoughts are with her husband Malcolm and their family.

Work starts to extend changing rooms at Sunnyside

Lib Dem Focus Team Councillors, Yate Town Council staff and contractors celebrating work starting work on extending the changing rooms for all the sports users of Sunnyside Lane and Yate Common using grants they worked hard to get.