Bellotts Road Planning Application Appeal

We have received formal confirmation that the appeal lodged for planning permission to build 6 flats on the site of 21A Bellotts Road has been refused.

The full inspector's report can be viewed here.

If you have any question, please do get in touch.

Bellotts Road (Linear Way)

We are pleased to see the  completion of the Linear Way at the bottom of Bellotts Road that with the new bridge at the top of Bellotts Road make this route complete.

We will be watching however to ensure that this route is safely used and have agreement that speed with be monitored.

This will hopefully reduce the impact of Cyclists on the very Narrow Inverness Road.

Bellotts Road Bridge, (listed wall knocked down)

Although we are delighted to see the work going on to get the former metal bridge over the railway at Bellotts road back into use for both Cyclists and pedestrians we are concerned that the contractor has removed a listed wall at the site.

We have asked that this wall is reinstated as soon as possible and have asked the council how the removal of this wall was allowed to take place without planning permission.
We will update this article as soon as we hear back from the council with regards to how the contractor and council are going to proceed on this matter.


By Councillor Sharon Ball

Inverness Road residents

We had a very busy morning yesterday talking to local residents in Inverness Road and are now attempting to resolve some of the issues that were raised with us.

There is concern form some residents about the Linear Way that will soon be opened up via the old railway bridge about how the cyclists and pedestrians will respect the neighbouring houses.

Issues were also raised about graffiti and hedge cutting on the Linear Way and we are attempting to resolve these issues.

A matter of an empty house has been referred to the councils empty property section to resolve.

The matter of the lane from Bellotts Road to Brook Road has again been raised and we have asked for an investigation about having the graffiti removed from the buildings along this path.


By Councillor Sharon Ball

Bellotts Road safety

Councillor Sharon Ball and I are pleased to be able to confirm, following recent discussions and meetings, work will be starting shortly on the old footbridge over the railway line at the top of Bellotts Road to continue the two tunnels route, with a view to this being open before Christmas.

This will mean cyclists and walkers will be able to continue their journey along the route without having to travel the wrong way up the top end of Bellotts Road.

By
Sarah Moore

Seagull issues

It is great to see that following action by both Westmoreland ward Councillors, Bookers Cash & Carry have finally started to take action against the seagulls by putting netting on their roof.

This will hopefully prevent future nesting on the roof and help to decrease the numbers of seagulls in this particular area of the ward.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the residents in Brook Road and Bellotts Road that signed the petition that I organised and sent to both the local Bookers warehouse and their head office to ask for this action to be taken.

by 
Sarah Moore

Bellotts Road & Inverness Road road safety

We are pleased that the white lines that we asked for several weeks ago have now been placed at several locations in order to prevent parking on corners and remove obstructions to traffic in small roads.

This also helps prevent accidents and leads to improved road safety for both vehicles and also for pedestrians attempting to cross roads.

The white lines that are enforceable by the Police have been placed at the bottom of Bellotts Road and also at Inverness Road and Burnham Road.

Cycle Route Update

We are pleased to confirm that during last night's cabinet meeting the Liberal Democrat administration voted unananimously to accept the proposals to complete the remaining northern section of the 2 tunnels route, to provide a northern link to the Riverside Path and a local link to Claude Avenue. 

This means a ramp from the cycle path up to Claude Avenue, by Bridge Road can be implemented (subject to planning conditions being met)  making a safer cycling route to school for a large number of pupils.  Which will be funded by the LSTF WEST project.

and

Sustrans under licence to Network Rail will re-open the disused Somerset and Dorset Railway bridge at the top of Bellotts Road for pedestrians and cyclists on a temporary basis until the bridge is replaced as part of the mainline rail electrification works planned from 2015. The Council will look to enter into agreements with Network Rail for the adoption and maintenance of a new replacement foot/cycle bridge.

Subject to agreement with Sustrans and DfT’s Linking to Communities grant being accepted to complete the remaining off road section on Council land through the northern section of Linear Park, with the works to upgrade the existing permissive footpath to a permissive cycle track for use by pedestrians and cyclists to be constructed between the disused Somerset and Dorset Railway Bridge and Bellotts Road.

The link to the council paper is here

If you have any questions about this or other issues in the areas, please get in touch with us.

by Sarah Moore

Traffic and Parking in Westmoreland

Sharon and I spent some time this afternoon with an officer from BANES Highways team looking at and discussing traffic and parking issues around Westmoreland.

There are a number of roads where the junctions are extremely unsafe due to parking on the corners and close to the corners.

We have asked the officer to look at traffic restrictions in the following areas:

• South Avenue/Maybrick Road Junction
• South Avenue/Mayfield Road Junction
• Bellotts Road
• Inverness Road
• Burnham Road

We have also discussed ways to monitor and reduce speeding cars around the area.

We will keep residents informed of progress, however, if you have similar issues where you live, please get in touch with us.

by

Sarah Moore

Bellotts Road

I have today written to the new cabinet member for transport Caroline Roberts asking what has happened to the White keep clear lines for the bottom of Bellotts road that we were promised several years ago.

The lines we supposed to go in behind the two sets of flats that back on to Bellotts Road with Brook Road addresses.

Bellotts Road Litter

On a walk around in Westmoreland this morning I noticed how much litter that there was on Bellotts Road and how grimy the paths had started to look.

I have asked that the council have a good clean up of Bellotts Road and have suggested that a good brush up may help improve the area.

by Councillor Sharon Ball

Ponding at Lower Bristol Bus Shelter

I have asked for the council to deal with the issue of the flooding of the kerbside gutter at the Bellotts Road bus shelter.

This matter has been going on for some time now but the fact remains that rain water cannot reach the drain because the tarmac on either side creates a barrier.

It is not going to take a great deal of effort to resolve this problem and I hope that it will soon be sorted.

By Cllr Sharon Ball

Westmoreland Graffiti Update

The number of complaints received by residents about the grafitti around the area have increased recently and we are keen to get this sorted as soon as possible.

On Friday, Local Beat Manager PC Adrian Secker said: “Graffiti is a problem in the area and it’s something we take very seriously. It’s criminal damage, not art, and costs everyone in the community tens of thousands of pounds a year to clean up. We work closely with our partners at Bath and North East Somerset Council to investigate who is responsible, and we take a very robust approach to bringing them to justice. We have recently made some arrests, a number of people have been bailed and we are awaiting a charging decision from the Crown Prosecution Service. As ever, we rely very much on the public to be our eyes and ears – so my message to everyone is to be a good neighbour and tell the police if you know anyone who is spoiling your community.”

Since this statement was released, we are pleased to confirm that one individual has been formally charged and will appear in court shortly.  Investigations are on-going into the activities of other people and further updates will be provided when they are available.

by
Councillor Sharon Ball

Part of Bellotts Road to be Closed

Part of Bellotts Road will be closed for 1 day on 6th April due to a cycling event taking place.

A Notice issued by Bath & North East Somerset Council is below.

(BELLOTTS ROAD, BATH) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF USE BY VEHICLES) ORDER 2013

Notice is hereby given that the Bath and North East Somerset Council  in pursuance of the provisions of section 14 of the Road Traffic  Regulation Act 1984 as amended intends to make an order the  effect of which will be to close temporarily to vehicles that length  of Bellotts Road, Bath, extending from its junction with Lyndhurst  Road, in a northerly direction for a distance of approximately 200 metres.

This order is required because of a cycling event to be held on or  near the road and will be operative from the 6th April 2013   for a maximum period of one day. However, the restriction may  not be effected for the whole of the period but it is anticipated  that the road will be restricted as and when traffic signs are in  position and only for so long as is necessary for the event to  take place which it is anticipated will be for a period of ONE DAY  between 1 pm and 5 pm. ALTERNATIVE ROUTE – Ringwood Road, Millmead Road,  Dartmouth Avenue, Lymore Avenue, The Hollow, Lansdown View,  Jews Lane, A36 Lower Bristol Road, Bellotts Road (unaffected part).

Litter picking Bellotts Road to Brook Road

Litter picking yesterday

I spent nearly 3 hours clearing the litter from alongside the Cemetery at Bellotts Road and along the back path by the railway to Brook Road.

one of the bags I collected

I collected two very full bags, why people have to drop so much litter I do not know.

Linear Way Litter Bins

horrible mess

I have visited Linear Way this afternoon particularly the area that runs behind Bellotts Road.

how it should be

I am concerned that despite my requests earlier this week that the dog waste bins need to be emptied i came across this overflowing bin and also witnessed a dog owner not cleaning up after their animal.

I have again requested that these bins are emptied and monitored.

By Cllr Sharon Ball

Bellotts Road planning application

I have raised formal objection to the scheme to build six flats on the site of 21 Bellotts Road and have asked that if the planning officer is minded to approve the application that it is referred to the development control committee for determination.

I must stress that this application will only go to committee if a recommendation to approve is put forward if not it may be refused by the case officer without referral to committee.

I have used to following grounds to object.

1) The proposed scheme represents a harmful over development of the site.

2) The intensity of student use in this residential area that would harm the resident character and amenity of the area.

3) The Scheme would be overbearing and damaging to its setting within the world heritage site.

4) The development is contrary to Policies T24 and T26 of the adopted Bath and North East Somerset Local

Plan.

5) The development is on a dangerous corner after a narrow Bridge with a very poor sight line and additional pedestrian movement could prove dangerous at this point.

By Sharon Ball