Monday 20 December 2010

Archive December 2009

Waste collections Westmoreland

Bath & North East Somerset Council have made the following announcement today concerning waste collections in the Westmoreland area if your collection day was today or Monday then this applies to you so read on.
Council Refuse and recycling collection teams are working and collected from main roads this morning and will do from those side streets where pavements are not too icy later on. If residents' waste is not collected as scheduled today they are reminded to take it back off the pavement and put it out for next Tuesday's collection. The Council plans to catch up on those collections missed yesterday (Monday) later this week if conditions are suitable
 

Black Ice still on Paths

Don't be fooled by the clear paths that the council have been out gritting there is still a lot of black ice on many of our paths. The sun shinning may have fooled many but it is bitter cold again tonight and much of what has melted is freezing again.
So if you have to go out tonight or in the morning do not be fooled by the pavement looking clear please take care.

Bath Transportation Package Lower Bristol Road Widening

Bath & North East Somerset has served notice of the submission of a Listed Building Application to the local planning authority to enable the relocation of front boundary walls to the Charlton Buildings off Lower Bristol Road, connected with the widening of the highway to accommodate bus priority measures.

Cold Weather Warning

The weather is likely to continue to be dry and cold. No rain is expected. Cold temperatures are likely to continue throughout today and tonight. There is a strong possibility of snow and sleet this afternoon. It is predicted to be very cold with freezing temperatures overnight.
Bath and North East Somerset Council continues to monitor the forecast so that it can make any plans necessary, and will work alongside the PCT, fire, and Police services if needed.
Highways update
All main routes are clear having been gritted during the night and at 5am this morning. A full further gritting run on all main routes is taking place this afternoon, in anticipation of further snowfall. Drivers are urged to use caution on minor routes where there are some problems. Main walkways in city and town centre areas are clear but people should still be careful when out and about - this particularly applies to areas on higher ground where the snowfall was heavier and there is less footfall than cities, where a greater number of pedestrians and vehicles have circulated any salt used by the Council.
Some roads have experienced icy conditions and in particular Radford Hill, Radford Road, Timsbury.
The Council will continue to monitor road conditions and will provide additional salting and gritting when required. Motorists are advised to use caution on the roads where black ice could be a problem. Highways Inspectors are inspecting the condition of the roads following the weather conditions. Snow and ice can potentially damage the highway surface. The Council will seek to repair any problems as soon as possible.
Public space and Car Parks
All facilities are operating as normal. However, motorists are asked to use the sites with care due to settled snow and ice in some places of the parking areas.
Public Transport
All Park and Ride sites operating as normal.
Waste and Recycling
The current severe weather is disrupting service provision.
As a result, today's refuse collections will be from main roads only and side roads where they have been gritted. Most side roads are generally not fit for our vehicles or staff to operate in without significant risk of accidents and possible damage. We hope (weather permitting) to catch up on the missed collections later this week.
There will be no recycling (green box) or garden waste (organics) collections today. This will affect properties mainly in the Norton-Radstock, Peasedown, Timsbury, and Paulton area and some parts of Bath. We will not be able to arrange a catch up for recycling. Any household affected should take their recycling back in.
For information, collections were scheduled from the following wards today: Abbey, Bathavon South, Bathavon West, Kingsmead, Midsomer Norton North, Midsomer Norton Redfield, Paulton, Peasedown, Radstock, Timsbury, and Westfield.
Contact Numbers
All other enquiries should be made to Council Connect on 01225 39 40 41.  Further information will be on the Council’s website www.bathnes.gov.uk
Enquiries about Adult Care transport should call 01225 394371.

Take care on our Roads warn Police

Police are warning motorists to take care as icy conditions grip the Bath area and snow is more snow forecast this afternoon that could make the roads treacherous.
Our advice would be not to go out unless you really need to and to carry a de-icer, a hot flask and a blanket
The Police also remind people that stopping distances will be greater than usual and to make sure their windscreen is completely clear before starting their drive.

New planning application

We have just the one new planning application to bring to your attention this week and that is for the the erection of a two story side extension at 44 Lymore Ave.
If you want to know more about this application then please have a look at the application by following the link 44 Lymore Ave planning application.

Residents see red over blue bags

The new blue bags issued by B&NES Council for recycling cardboard are causing headaches across the district, according to Liberal Democrat Councillors.
Cardboard collections were switched from a fortnightly to a weekly rota on 30th November; residents are supposed to use a special blue bag to put out their cardboard and brown paper, rather than putting it out with the garden waste. However the bags have not been delivered to all homes across the district and the Council’s campaign to inform residents about the changes has apparently not reached everyone.
Many people are obviously having problems with the new system, either because they haven’t received their blue bags or because the information about when and how to use them hasn’t got through.
We have heard reports from across the districtthat blue bags have not been delivered to residents. And where people have not heard about the new cardboard collection bags being put out on the wrong day or have been left lying around in the street as people don’t know what they are for.
We believe the Cabinet member responsible must take action to ensure that the bags are delivered to all residents as soon as possible; he must also continue with the information campaign about the new services or else there is a risk residents will just give up saving their cardboard.
We have long argued for same day collections for waste and recycling as well for more items to go in the recycling rather than landfill. The weekly cardboard collection should have made life easier for residents, sadly the poor implementation of the changes have lead to confusion and annoyance.”
 

Core Strategy Consultation Period extended

As there has been considerable interest in the Core Strategy and given its importance in shaping the future of Bath & North East Somerset the Council has decided that it will extend the period within which it will accept comments on the Core Strategy spatial options document to mid-January.   
Any comments will therefore need to be submitted by 15th January 2010. It is hoped that this additional time will assist those wishing to make comments and further increase public involvement in the Core Strategy preparation process.
Core Strategy papers
 

Penny for your thoughts - toilet consultation launched

Residents across the district are being asked for views about the future of public convenience provision in a consultation launched by Bath & North East Somerset Council. The consultation will concentrate on standards for provision across the district, including the quality, quantity, and distribution of public conveniences.
With the lack of Public conveniences in our area we would hope that local people would respond to this consultation.
Some developers already incorporate public conveniences in their plans. Multi Development is building two sets of publicly available toilets in SouthGate at the Plaza and Railway Vaults. Amongst other issues, the Council wants people’s views on what facilities public conveniences should contain – like baby changing facilities, at what times of day they should operate, where any new facilities should be located, and how many facilities there should be.
The consultation runs until 5th February 2010. The results will be considered by the Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel at a later date. Anyone wanting to know more about the proposals and have their say can go to www.bathnes.gov.uk and under the ‘Of Interest’ link click ‘Public Convenience Provision – Consultation’.
 

Twenty Years on the beat

Local Beat manager PC Adrian Secker has been on the beat for Twenty years now as of this week so if you see Adrian Stop him and shake his hand at least Twenty times.