Yate Heritage Centre summer events

Yate Heritage Centre is running a wide range of events aimed at young people during the school holidays:

• 7th August -Traditional Wash Day 10.30am—4pm
  Free drop in sessions. Children to be accompanied.
  Free Children’s Holiday Workshops 10.30am or 1.30pm
  Booking essential. Children to be accompanied.
   
• 8th August - Civil War Doctor & Craft
   
• 14th August - Heraldry Workshop
   
• 15th August - Roman Clay Workshops

Wapley Bushes gains eighth Green Flag Community Award in a row

Members of Wapley Bushes Conservation Group showing off their eighth Green Flag Community Award at one of the Bug Hotels during their July work morning on the Local Nature Reserve.

Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve and the Orchard for the Future have been recognised as one of the UK’s very best green spaces. Today, a record number of parks and green spaces collect a Green Flag Award.

This international award, now into its third decade, is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible environmental standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent visitor facilities.

Wapley Bushes has won the Green Flag Community Award, a category for green spaces that are managed by voluntary and community groups. There are only eleven Community Awards in the whole of the South West. In fact there are only two Green Flag Awards of any kind in South Gloucestershire, the other one being Page Park in Staple Hill.

Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve is an area of meadows and woodlands which is very popular with local people of all ages. It is managed by the volunteers of the Wapley Bushes Conservation Group on behalf of site owners Dodington Parish Council.

Committee member Paul Hulbert said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive a Green Flag Community Award for the eighth time”

“Our local green spaces really matter to residents and visitors. They make a major contribution to health and wellbeing”

“This award celebrates the dedication that goes into maintaining Wapley Bushes to such a high standard - the real credit goes to our hard-working volunteers, and to Dodington Parish Council for their unfailing practical and financial help”

"Our reserve is a mixture of flower-rich meadows, ancient woodland and younger plantations. We work closely with South Gloucestershire Council and the Southwold Group of the Wildlife Trust, who provide us with very valuable advice"

The next work morning on the Reserve will be Sunday 8 September, meeting at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, BS37 8US, 10.00am. Extra volunteers would be very welcome – please contact Paul Hulbert on 01454 315851 for more details, or just turn up.

Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (YOSC) athletics improvements open, astroturf project starting

Yate Town Council has announced that the refurbished and enhanced track and athletics facilities at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (YOSC) are now open for business. Local athletes can resume use of the now greatly enhanced facilities.

Councillor Chris Willmore, Chair of the Project Steering Group commented:

"We are delighted that local athletes now have access to a completely upgraded facility that will last another 25 years, and give disabled athletes, Brimsham Green School pupils and athletes of all ages international quality facilities.”

The first community event to take place at YOSC on the track was the annual Relay for Life on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th July 2019.

In August a Guinness World Record Attempt will be taking place at YOSC. The event will be held on the athletics track, with a relay of 105 people covering the marathon distance of 42,195m, combined with target sprint shooting.

This month sees the next big project at YOSC - Yate Town Council's AstroTurf refurbishment project. Yate Town Council has raised funds through Sport England, Ibstock & Entrust Communities and Suez Landfill Community Trust to replace the AstroTurf and to upgrade the current pitch to competitive standard. 

The works will take place during the summer holiday period and are due to be completed by the end of August 2019.

YOSC is a multisport site including an athletics track, grass pitches and a sand-based AstroTurf pitch adjacent to Brimsham School in North Yate.

Please vote for Kingsgate Park as UK's Best Park

Fields In Trust is the national group that champions and supports our parks and green spaces by protecting them for people to enjoy forever. Their annual UK's Best Park competition is now open for voting - you can see the parks and green spaces that have been nominated and cast your vote here.

Please consider voting for our lovely Kingsgate Park, which has something for everyone, or look for your other favourites. A vote for Kingsgate Park would be a lovely "Thank You" for all the Yate Town Council staff and the Friends of Kingsgate Park who work so hard to keep the park looking marvellous.

Kelston Close - consultation on waiting restrictions - revised plan

South Glos Council is consulting on replacing the existing unenforceable restrictions with a mixture of no waiting at any time (double yellow lines), no waiting during prescribed hours (single yellow lines) and no stopping on school entrance markings (yellow school zig zags)

Due to an administrative error South Glos uploaded the wrong plan. If you have already commented please look at the consultation and plan again. Any comments received on the incorrect plan - i.e. before 1 pm on 11 July - will be disregarded.


You can see the proposals and comment here. The closing date for comments has been put back to  31st July 2019.

British Lung Foundation Support Group for people with breathing problems opens in Yate

The British Lung Foundation Support Group for people with breathing problems is now in Yate.

Meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of the month (unless like July when we have 5 Tuesdays in the month)

So the meetings this year are Tuesday 23rd July, 20th August, 17th September, 22nd October, 19th November and 17th December in 2019.   The group meets in the Coffee Bar and lounge at the Armadillo. This venue is opposite Morrison’s which has good car parking, and also at the back of the sports centre which has ample parking too. Free refreshments are provided.

The support group is run by members, with speakers from the Sirona Team with to give advice or to answer your questions, they have the knowledge to help. It can be easy to feel you are on your own with your condition, but here you will find others who understand.

The group also has other guest speakers. So far they have had a visit from the Police to talk about how we can keep ourselves safe, and a wonderful man from Wapley Bushes Nature Reserve with ideas of places locally where we can go for a walk with ample parking facilities.

For further details please telephone Christine on 07973 637273 or 01454 882151.

Play Scheme at Abbotswood School during August

Four Towns Play Association will be running a free play scheme at Abbotswood School on Tuesdays and Thursdays during August - please see details below.

South Glos Waste Strategy consultation - change of emphasis

South Glos Council's proposed Resource and Waste Strategy is pivoting from the current emphasis on recycling - which has been very successful - to saving resources by reducing consumption. Examples are eliminating single-use items and reducing the amount of raw materials we all use.

There is a detailed strategy document and an online questionnaire, or you can download and print a paper version of the survey to post to South Glos or hand in at a local library or one stop shop. The consultation is open until Friday 27th September 2019.

There will be roadshows - our most local ones are:
02 July (Tuesday) at Waitrose, Chipping Sodbury between 10:00 - 18:00
28 August (Wednesday) at Yate Shopping Centre between 10:00 - 14:00

There will also be presentations at the coming Community Engagement Forums - the one for Yate, Chipping Sodbury and Dodington will be on Thursday 11 July at St Nicholas Church, Abbotswood, Yate BS37 4LG.

Consultation on weight limits for Sodbury and Dodington roads

There's a South Glos Council consultation aimed at stopping HGVs using the smaller roads as a short cut between Chipping Sodbury and the B4465/ M4 road network.  The idea is to to introduce an environmental 7.5T weight limit, with an exemption ‘Except for loading’ on the affected lanes and adjacent residential streets within the Dodington area.

You can see and comment on the proposals here - the consultation is open until Tuesday 16th July 2019. 

The full list of roads affected is:

• Bowling Road
• Catchpot Lane
• Chapel Lane
• Cherry Road
• Chestnut Drive
• Claypit Hill
• Culverhill Road
• Dodington Lane
• Dodington Road
• Downleaze Drive
• Elm Close
• Gibbs Lane
• Grassington Drive
• Gullivers Place
• Highfield Road
• Horseshoe Lane
• Jobbins Close
• Leaman Close
• Lilliput Avenue
• Lilliput Court
• Love Lane
• Meadow Road
• Mill Lane
• Old Parish Lane
• River Road
• Sodbury Lane
• Sodbury Little Lane
• Streamside Road
• Virginia Close
• Wistaria Avenue