Friday 30 January 2015

Diamond Travelcard holders urged to check their passes

Holders of Diamond Travelcards issued by Bath & North East Somerset Council are being urged to check that they are using the pass most recently issued to them, if they have previously reported a pass as having been lost or stolen.
From February, smartcard readers on local buses will be rejecting bus passes that have been “hot-listed” because they have expired or previously been reported as lost or stolen.
Anyone whose pass is rejected by the smartcard readers will be asked to pay the normal fare for their journey and the bus driver will keep the rejected pass.
If you think you may be using a card previously reported lost or stolen, please visit your local Council One Stop Shop as soon as possible or call 01225 394041

Tuesday 27 January 2015

Western Riverside - Post collections

We are pleased to announce that we are currently in discussion with Royal Mail  concerning the potential for a post collection box to be installed at the Western Riverside.

There is nowhere close by for residents to send any post and following discussions with a number of residents and with the large number of properties in this area, we felt it would be a great addition.

We have a meeting arranged on site later this week and will confirm the outcome of our discussions shortly.

by Sarah Moore

Thursday 22 January 2015

Balancing the democratic right to vote

Councillor Sharon Ball attended a meeting today to ensure that the democratic rights of residents to vote near to their homes is maintained.

The meeting was called after a report that was sent to Council was withdrawn which proposed only two polling stations in Westmoreland with the Twerton village hall being deleted..

Sharon argued that the this would cause massive problems for residents and would also overload the other remaining polling stations. The argument was also put by Sharon that it was no good reducing polling stations but a fourth one was probably needed to cover the ever increasing size of the ward particularly with Western Riverside being more dominant than before.

The resolution of the meeting was that the status quo would remain and the three current polling stations at Twerton Village Hall, Oldfield Park Baptist Church & Ascension Church would remain for 2015 and consideration would be given for a fourth one for Western Riverside if a venue could be found.

Sharon said: "I am pleased that common sense has prevailed and that residents should feel comfortable to be able to vote near their homes without having massive hold ups".

Wednesday 21 January 2015

Free Fruit Trees for your garden


We've teamed up with More Trees for BANES to offer residents of Westmoreland a free apple tree to plant in your garden.  Various types available, but supplies are limited, so please contact them now to register your interest:

There is only a few weeks left so if you live in Westmoreland Ward you need to hurry to get one and contact.


07739 737274

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Priddy Close

It was good to be able to talk with residents and to pick up concerns about the trees and dumped rubbish in and around the Priddy Close area.

A meeting is being organised with Curo to look at certain trees that are causing a problem and to look again what we can do about the rubbish being dumped.

Friday 16 January 2015

Planning Application - High Street, Twerton





Existing view along the High Street
Proposed view along the High Street
We are pleased to see a planning application has been submitted on yet another derelict building within Westmoreland ward.  The site, 151-152 High Street, Twerton, was formally used as an office equipment supply business but has been derelict for over 5 years.

Plans have now been submitted to demolish the existing building and erect a property containing 9 x 1 bedroom flats with a small courtyard garden to the rear.

Your views are invited on this proposal with a deadline of 12th February 2015, full details can be found here on the BANES Website.

Thursday 15 January 2015

Roseberry Place - Redevelopment

Councillor Sharon Ball and I attended the initial consultation meeting at Roseberry Place yesterday afternoon to see the presentation and listen to plans for the redevelopment of a key area along the Lower Bristol Road.

The initial plans look very promising, with a mixture of one and two bedroom flats, small amount of local needs retail and an area for flexible employment opportunities.

There has been a large amount of time spent on the planning and research for this redevelopment and it is hoped we will see a formal planning application put forward to BANES Council during the Spring 2015. 

We will keep you informed of progress with this project and hope this will result in more of the derelict areas of our community being brought back to life and benefiting local residents.


Wednesday 14 January 2015

Community Fun Day - Oldfield Park

Councillor Sharon Ball and I recently met with representatives from Bath University Students Union, the Student Community Partnership and the Community Outreach Worker for Oldfield Park Baptist Church to start making arrangements for the third annual Student run Community Family Fun day.

The Fun Day is planned to take place at Oldfield Park Baptist Church, The Triangle, Moorland Road on Saturday 18th April 2015.

We are planning a number of activities including arts & crafts, stalls from small local businesses, information points, as well as a couple of competitions for all to get involved in, we will be posting more information about these during February.

We will be joining with both University's Student Unions, member of the Church and the Student Community Partnership for the organisation and running of a variety of events on the day, with student groups coming along to join with other community groups and share their music and other skills with the wider community.

Tuesday 13 January 2015

Beware of Council tax scam emails

Bath & North East Somerset Council is asking local residents to be aware of an email scam in operation in relation to Council Tax.
The Council has had reports of a bogus email informing Council Tax payers that they have an outstanding Council Tax debt. The email goes on to say that the Council has been unable to process their recent payment and that they should pay again by clicking on the link within the email. These emails are not from Bath & North East Somerset Council.
If you are unsure whether you need to make a payment, please contact us on 01225 47 77 77, or email counciltax@bathnes.gov.uk
If you have received a scam email:
  • Do not click on any links in the email.
  • Do not reply to the email or contact the senders in any way.
  • If you have clicked on a link in the email, do not supply any information on the website that may open.
  • Do not open any attachments that arrive with the email.
  • Report it to Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06.
  • If you think you may have compromised the safety of your bank details and/or have lost money due to fraudulent misuse of your cards, you should contact your bank immediately.

Monday 12 January 2015

Victoria Bridge and Destructor Bridge exhibition

A touring exhibition celebrating the history of bridge design is being hosted at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institiution in Queens Square, Bath from January 6th to January 15th. The exhibition is open from Monday to Saturday from 10am – 4pm.

The exhibition includes information about the recently completed works on Victoria Bridge and the planned restoration of the Destructor Bridge.  There is also an interactive exhibition including information about local and national bridges which encourages visitors to build their own model bridges using a variety of engineering structures.

There are three build-your-own bridge kits designed and produced by Bristol-based model makers Amalgam, that demonstrate how the components of arch, truss and cable structures can be assembled to produce six different bridge designs.   In addition, the family activity area will encourage young and old to design their own bridge in a Top Trump style for entry into a competition to find the potential bridge builders of the future.   The final set of Top Trump images will be exhibited during April with a chance to vote on your favourites.  


Free Family Fun Day

There will also be a free family fun day on Saturday 17th January, where engineering students and experts will help visitors to build bridge models to take home.
 

Friday 9 January 2015

Western Riverside - Road Signs

Working with Crest Nicholson we are close to being able to resolve the problem of signage where people are unable to find their way around.

Although the carved stone name plates for the roads look very nice residents have been telling us that they are not very practicable with delivery drivers and Taxi cabs not being able to find there way around.

Cllr Sharon Ball has been able to persuade Crest to look into highlighting the carved stones which would allow the road names to be very much clearer .

A recent communication from Crest tells us that a solution to the problem has been found and we will be seeing this with Crest in the next few weeks.
Cllr Sharon Ball and Campaigner Sarah Moore at Western Riverside

Wednesday 7 January 2015

Roseberry Place - Proposed Development

Deeley Freed (Penhalt) Ltd invite your input to emerging plans for re-development of the Roseberry Place regeneration site which adjoins Lower Bristol Road and Windsor Bridge Road, about 1km to the west of Bath city centre.

This brownfield, riverside site includes the former Dairy Crest Depot and Wessex Connect workshops, both of which have been unused for many years. Roseberry Place is located within the Bath City Riverside Enterprise Area and has been identified for regeneration in the adopted Core Strategy for Bath & North East Somerset Council.

The existing buildings would be demolished to make way for a new mixed-use development of up to 200 flats, 6,000 sq.m of flexible business employment space and 1,000sq.m of local needs shopping, together with construction of new access roads, a riverside walkway/cycle path, landscaping and tree planting.

Following initial discussions with B&NES Council the project team would now like to consult with key stakeholders and neighbours as the scheme is progressed prior to submitting an outline planning application later in 2015. Final details of the appearance, landscaping layout and scale would be submitted as reserved matters applications at a later date.

They invite you to attend the consultation event on:

Wednesday 14th January from 2 – 3.30pm
The Freedom Bath Building, 25-28 Roseberry Road, Bath, BA2 3DX

Key stakeholders are invited to attend a presentation/discussion session from 2 – 3.30pm, following which an exhibition of the proposals will be open to near neighbours and the general public as a drop-in style event from 4pm-7pm.

To assist with arrangements on the day you are requested to complete and return a form, a copy of which we would be happy to forward onto you if you contact us.

If you would like any further information or clarification on any aspect of the proposals please do not hesitate to contact Avril Baker Consultancy, 5 Lilymead Avenue, Bristol BS4 2BY.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

Coronation Avenue - Road Closure

Please be aware from 12th January 2015 for a period of up to a month the section of Coronation Avenue from the junction with Chestnut Grove up to Sladebrook Avenue will be closed for essential work by Wessex Water.

The road will not be closed off for the whole period and notices will be in place to confirm exact closure times and dates, but alternative routes may be required during this work.

Full details of the notice can be found on the BANES website here.

If you have any questions, please do contact us.

by
Sarah Moore