The Week In - Issue 725 - 13th April 2022

THE WEEK IN East Bristol & North East Somerset

13th April 2022

Issue 725

FREE

Read by more than 40,000 people each week

Anger as health chiefs dismiss latest campaign for a minor injury unit at Cossham Hospital Health chiefs have refused to reconsider providing a minor injury unit at Cossham Hospital in Kingswood despite a petition with over 5,000 signatures.

The call was dismissed by regional health chiefs at their meeting last Tuesday. The petition highlighting the ongoing need for a minor injury unit (MIU), which was started by a local nurse and backed by readers of The Week In, had the support of South Gloucestershire Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee.

The campaign highlighted the problems people still face accessing healthcare for minor injuries in the absence of provision in the east Bristol area. Cossham reopened more than nine years ago after a major £19m refurbishment but without its planned MIU. The petition also flagged up how the alternative to the MIU –

Also in this week’s issue

a minor injuries service in every GP surgery in South Gloucestershire – had been ditched at the end of a twoyear trial because it had failed to reduce attendances at A&E departments. Instead funding was put into the Yate Minor Injury Unit. However, people heading there may find it shut as it has to close early at times of significant demand.

Lisa Manson, who is the director of commissioning at Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), read out a statement at Tuesday’s meeting saying petitioners would be aware that in 2015 the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) had confirmed the plans of then then South Gloucestershire CCG to not commission an MIU in Cossham - and it is not something the current CCG want to consider at

Council urged to apologise over Keynsham High Street controversy . . . page 5

Kingswood councillors barred from sitting on new town board . . . page 7

Cossham Hospital

this stage.

She said: “It doesn’t form part of our urgent care strategy and is not something we will be progressing. We continue to work closely with our partners and population to ensure that urgent care services best meet people's needs.

“One of our core challenges currently is workforce across the system and a fourth unit would mean we were in a position where we had further challenges in terms of being able to recruit, so to reiterate it is not something we would want to consider at this time.”

There is an MIU at Clevedon and the third unit is the Bristol Urgent Care Centre at Hengrove.

After Tuesday’s meeting, nurse Josh Ditte who launched the petition, condemned the decision. He said: “I’m deeply disappointed they would neglect the well-being and safety of their residents relying on a GP-based model that doesn’t exist.

“Yate is not close enough for a local MIU for Kingswood. The Continued on page 3

Hanham club breach rules banning flood-lit games after hours . . . page 9

Fears over 37,000 new homes planned for South Glos . . . pages 12 & 13

2

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Anger as health chiefs dismiss latest campaign for a minor injury unit at Cossham Hospital Continued from page 1 elderly, infirm, non-drivers will be at a huge disadvantage and ultimately will suffer.

“Recruitment is tough everywhere, I understand that. However, MIUs often recruit well due to stable working hours and would recruit many nurses who live in the local Kingswood area.

“The lives of residents are on their shoulders, their decision is

so. We should keep pushing and hopefully they will come to

a bad one.”

their senses.”

June Bennett, widow of the late Reg Bennett who led the previous campaign to get the promised unit, said: “It seems they have made up their mind like they did before and people’s views don’t matter. The minor injury unit is needed, very much

Health inequalities in Kingswood A report to the Clinical Commissioning Group’s governing body stated that no health inequalities impact assessment, nor equalities impact assessment had been completed in relation to the Cossham petition.

The CCG clarified after the meeting that impact assessments aren’t required for the governing body to receive a petition.

However, Kingswood’s health inequalities were laid out just the day before in a report presented to South Gloucestershire Council’s Cabinet about the regeneration of Kingswood. The report said the area has lower life expectancy than both the South Gloucestershire and England averages and rates of death from preventable diseases are above average.

The percentage of disabled people is 19.9%, higher than the South Gloucestershire average of 15.6%. Kingswood

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

also has the second highest proportion of people in South Gloucestershire stating their ‘day-to-day activities are limited a lot’ (10.2%).

A significant percentage of the Kingswood population is aged over 65 and the percentage of people aged over 75 in Kingswood is significantly higher than the district average.

Kingswood councillor Andrea Reid, who has been championing the petition, said she was “staggered” that the CCG decision was made without any debate or consideration given to health inequalities or equalities, “given that the need to address the ever-widening gap in those two areas is precisely why we are arguing for a minor injury unit at Cossham, and precisely why we so desperately need it".

She added: “I will update the Health Scrutiny Committee at our next meeting.”

The alternative that was trialled but dropped Back in 2015 health watchdogs in South Gloucestershire contacted then Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to say that the promised minor injury unit at Cossham was still not up and running and they were concerned that the Clinical Commissioning Group’s alternative proposal being put forward to trial a minor injuries service in GP practices would result in “inadequate provision”.

Mr Hunt asked the Independent Reconfiguration Panel to advise him - and agreed with their findings that local heath chiefs were right to consider an alternative because as new evidence emerges, thinking moves on, and what might have been considered the right course of action in 2009 when plans for an MIU as part of the Cossham redevelopment were drawn up, was not necessarily right for 2015. The CCG subsequently implemented the minor injury service in GP surgeries – but it was not continued after the two-year trial. The MIU service at Yate was extended instead still leaving the Kingswood area without an MIU service.

3

Drugs seized and man arrested in Kingswood A large quantity of illegal drugs were seized by officers after conducting a warrant in Kingswood.

Searches were carried out at a home in Downend Road last Thursday morning.

Suspected class A drugs, including cocaine, were found at the address, as well as cannabis. A quantity of cash and a knife were also seized.

A man in his 20s was arrested. He has since

been released under investigation as inquiries continue.

Temporary Police Sergeant Gary Westlake said: “A significant amount of illegal class A and class B drugs were seized by police, which I am sure will be welcomed by people living in Kingswood and surrounding areas.

“This warrant was only possible due to the intelligence gathered and reports from

members of the public. We’d like to thank those who have called in with information to make this proactive drugs seizure and arrest possible.

“Illegal substances can cause misery to innocent people living in those communities and we will continue to target offenders who seek to profit from their sale.”

10 trees to be felled THE WEEK IN Barrs Court, Bitton, Brislington, Cadbury Heath, Compton Dando, Corston, Downend, Emersons Green, Fishponds, Hanham, Hillfields, Keynsham, Kingswood, Longwell Green, Mangotsfield, Marksbury, North Common, Oldland Common, Pucklechurch, Saltford, Staple Hill, Stockwood, St George, Warmley, Whitchurch, Wick, Willsbridge.

Plans to fell 10 poplar trees at units 4 and 5 on the Bridge Road estate in Kingswood that are covered by a preservation order have been approved by South Gloucestershire Council.

The TPO was made in 1989, when the trees would have been relatively young.

As the trees have grown, the roots have undermined the foundations of the neighbouring buildings and caused cracks.

16,000 copies are distributed through retail outlets, libraries, pubs, community centres each week.

Verified pick-up rate of 97%.

The Week In Community Ltd, 8 Temple Court, Keynsham. BS31 1HA 0117 986 0381 www.theweekin.co.uk ISSN: 2052-9767 Publisher Editor Contributors

Stephen Rodgers admin@theweekin.co.uk Becky Feather 07403 273967 Christine Rogers

Advertising

Tracy Broderick 0117 986 0381 sales.theweekin@gmail.com @theweekineditor

No material in this publication, nor its associated website (www.theweekin.co.uk) may be reproduced without the written permission of The Week In. All rights reserved.

The Week In is regulated by IMPRESS: The Independent Monitor for the Press CIC. As such, we adhere to the IMPRESS complaints procedure. A copy of this procedure can be found on our website or can be sent upon written request to the address above.

4

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Audit of High Street is accelerated as council is urged to make public apology falling and injuring themselves.

Mr Godfrey says how sorry he is that Mr Lowe fell, acknowledging it was a “traumatic experience” for him and wishing him a speedy recovery. The chief exec also says he fully understands Mr Lowe’s desire to receive some compensation and has sent him a highways claim form.

In his letter Mr Godfrey outlines the checks that were carried out on the design of the High Street, saying the scheme complies with the legislation, specification and guidance that regulate the industries involved in both highway design and construction, including the new cycle infrastructure design guidance.

He says: “National guidance supports the provision of stepped cycle lanes in environments such as Keynsham High Street. The benefits to the High Street include: “A greater degree of segregation between all road users creating a safer and more comfortable streetscape.

“The narrowing of the carriageway, which in turn reduces the speed of motor vehicles, creating a traffic calming effect.

“The prevention of motor vehicles encroaching into the cycle lane and the footway.

“Space for the provision of street furniture, such as cycle hoops and One of the new signs in the High Street advising people about the new layout planters, that would otherwise be

An audit of the new Keynsham High Street layout is being speeded up, says the chief executive of B&NES Council, as a call has been made for the authority to issue a “public apology” to the town.

Will Godfrey has written to Michael Lowe, the man featured in our front page story last week about the ongoing concerns over safety in the High Street, where pedestrians have been

placed in the footway.”

Mr Godfrey continues: “Your comments have been fully noted and the information you have supplied will be passed to the auditors undertaking the Stage 3 Road Safety Audit. The Stage 3 audit is normally triggered upon practical Michael Lowe completion of a scheme. Whilst the project team continues to work through the final activities included in the construction programme, the Stage 3 audit has been expedited.

“In the meantime, as with all new public realm schemes, the council continues to monitor activity and encourages the public to use one of the three pedestrian crossings to cross the road safely. In addition to this we have recently installed temporary signage throughout the High Street to help draw people’s attention to the new layout.”

Meanwhile Keynsham town councillor Dave Biddleston, who chairs the local branch of the Labour Party, has called for B&NES Council to say sorry to Keynsham over the controversial new road layout.

In a letter to The Week In, he says: “B&NES Lib Dem-run council need to offer a very public apology to the town, accept responsibility and provide something so simple it beggars belief: a High Street residents can use without causing themselves serious physical injury.”

See the letter in full on page 10

More falls are reported Reports of falls and concern about safety in the High Street continue to be posted on the council’s dedicated website page for problems with road and pavements.

One woman posted last Friday that after leaving Coventry Building Society on 11th March, she had crossed the road between the red barriers to get to Coffee#1 when she fell on the new kerb.

She said she broke her wrist, grazed her face and twisted her ankle.” I feel very aggrieved as my right broken wrist may cause arthritis in the future, if even heals properly.”

Other recent reports include: “I’m afraid I also have tripped outside the post office crossing the street to the opposite side. I’m an able-bodied 63-year-old and was able to regain my balance somehow and didn’t actually fall.

This was on the day it was opened. There is some kind of optical illusion, there is a pale-coloured kerb and a pale coloured line that look exactly the same. Clearly everyone else is having the same trouble.”

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

And another person posted earlier this month: “Tripped and fell on the new road layout on 18th March. I fractured my elbow, bruised knee and sustained cuts on chin and lip.

It was on the road near the Methodist Church. Kerbs are similar to the white lines and go from level with road to a gradual slope. I’ve had to take six weeks off work and numerous hospital visits. With so many people falling, there must be a problem with the layout.”

5

Time capsule marks the way South Glos community united during the pandemic Schoolchildren have helped to bury a time capsule remembering the COVID-19 pandemic in South Gloucestershire.

Pupils from Little Stars nursery at St Barnabas Primary School in North Common and Raysfield Primary School in Chipping Sodbury joined the council’s COVID response team at a special ceremony recently.

The children had contributed items including pictures, photographs and their own memories of lockdowns, home schooling and the kind acts they did during the pandemic.

Many other schools also sent in items to be included and items were submitted from local businesses, care homes, community groups, town councils and churches. They included photo albums taken during lockdown, badges, painted pebbles, a handmade rainbow and poems.

Other items included in the capsule, which has been buried outside the council’s offices at Badminton Road in Yate, are materials produced by the council during COVID, such as posters, flyers, postcards, bags, pens and social media campaign images. A timeline, detailing national restrictions and the local response, was also produced.

Leader of South Gloucestershire Council Cllr Toby Savage said: “The time capsule gives us a chance to reflect and remember and provide social history for future generations.

It is two years since we first went into lockdown. In that time,

6

in South Gloucestershire, we have double vaccinated over 83% of everyone aged over 12, PCR tested a quarter of a million people and handed out nearly 75,000 lateral flow testing kits.

“We have come together during this pandemic and supported one another. It has been the hardest of times, but also made us stronger.

Now is a time to look forward and recognise what we can achieve as a community, to build upon the relationships formed between partners and organisations, to deliver and support each other for the benefit of all our residents.”

Director of Public Health for South Gloucestershire, Sara Blackmore, said: “We have been part of the national journey, but we have also experienced our own unique moments in South Gloucestershire, including two rounds of surge testing with a fantastic response from the community, and an incredible uptake of the vaccine.

“We are still living with COVID and need to continue to focus on living safely and on prevention, but this is a chance

for us to reflect on that journey and think about how we move forward, building on that resilience and the kindness we have shown so much of during the last two years.”

The capsule is marked by a plaque and is due to be opened in 30 years.

The council has also created an online book of memories to provide a space for everyone to share their stories of the pandemic and help everyone reflect on the last two years. You can contribute by visiting https://beta.southglos.gov.uk/southgloucestershire-remembers-covid-19

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Why Kingswood councillors have been barred from sitting on new town centre board The Labour councillors who represent Kingswood on South Gloucestershire Council have been barred from sitting on the new group set up to oversee the £25m regeneration of the town centre.

The Labour group have refuted the claim of the Conservative-controlled council that they are “missing in action” in Kingswood so don’t deserve to be included. They say it is a political move by council leader Toby Savage.

The new steering group, which is chaired by Cllr Savage, held its first meeting last month.

The group has various community representatives on it, including Kingswood Business Association, Connecting Kingswood, Kings Chase Shopping Centre, the Whitfield Tabernacle Trust, the Circadian Trust (which will run the proposed leisure centre), and Kingswood Youth Group.

Pat Rooney

Speaking at last Monday’s Cabinet meeting, Kingswood councillor and Labour group leader Cllr Pat Rooney told Cllr Savage: “From the very beginning, the Labour group has warmly welcomed the regeneration of Kingswood.

“You invited us to a meeting that was a precursor to the Kingswood town centre steering group. It was called the Kingswood Partnership meeting and it was held on October 13 last year.

“You recognised our stakeholder position given that we represent all six wards that make up Kingswood and the fact that we’ve been present at Unit 6 (pop-up shop at Kings Chase Shopping Centre) during the 14-week public consultation on the Kingswood masterplan, where we supported officers and helped to explain the various options to residents. Moving forward, you have now excluded us from the Kingswood town centre steering group. Why?” The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Cllr Savage said he was not familiar with the meeting Cllr Rooney referred to last autumn but continued: “You have had the opportunity as a Labour group to participate in the discussions about our future planning policy for several years now. We have had 17 meetings of the Policy Advisory Group (PAG) where we talk about planning policy, not just the Strategic Development Strategy (SDS) and the concerns that we’ve expressed today, which you haven’t been in the room to listen to or contribute to, but also our own Local Plan, various supplementary planning documents and then crucially the masterplans that are how we try to put some of those policies into action.

“So my judgement is that at this stage, the last thing the Kingswood masterplan needs is half-hearted participation from the Labour group who have been missing in action on too many meetings when we actually talk about these things and how to move things forward.”

Following the Cabinet meeting Cllr Steve Reade, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Environment & Strategic Infrastructure, told The Week In that Labour’s position on opposing a town council also showed an unwillingness to want to see the Kingswood masterplan succeed.

But Cllr Rooney said: “Mr Savage has shown he isn’t listening to our Kingswood residents by pushing ahead with a town council for the area, after the council’s own consultation demonstrated Kingswood didn’t want one.

“Now he’s gone a step further by excluding Kingswood’s own elected representatives from the steering group overseeing its £25m regeneration. It shows that he doesn’t know, or care about, Kingswood – only his own

Kingswood town centre will undergo a £25m regeneration

political ambitions.”

All three group leaders and planning spokespeople can attend PAG meetings which are described by the administration as “internal meetings”.

Bur Cllr Rooney said: “PAG meetings are

‘behind closed doors, confidential discussions’ and I and the Labour group do not trust Cllr Savage in meetings where minutes are not taken. I believe that Local Plans and the SDS should be discussed with all members and not just leaders.”

Toby Savage

7

Keynsham Town FC face disciplinary action over missed game Keynsham Town Football Club were unable to fulfil a fixture last week because of the distance they would have needed to travel on a week night.

The club, who play in the Western League Premier Division, were due to play away at Mousehole in the far west of Cornwall on Tuesday 4th April. The game was originally scheduled for a Saturday afternoon in February but was cancelled at short notice due to the storms which had made the pitch unplayable.

Many of the Keynsham players were already in or very close to Mousehole by the time the game was called off.

But when news came that the match had been rearranged for a Tuesday evening, the club were faced with a 400-mile round

trip with players having to take time off work to travel to West Cornwall and the prospect of not returning until around 3am the following day.

A statement issued by Keynsham Town claimed they had been badly let down by the Western League’s administration by expecting them to play the match, which they estimate would have cost them more than £2,000 in travel costs and wage compensation for time off work.

They also took aim at the current structure of the Western League, which includes teams from as far away as Wiltshire and Cornwall. Pointing out that Manchester is actually closer to Keynsham than Mousehole, the club are concerned at the amount of travel that is required in what is meant to be a

Tennis club wins approval to expand Cleeve Hill Tennis Club in Downend has been successful with its plans to create a third court with floodlighting and to extend its clubhouse which will include level entry access to encourage more wheelchair users to join.

The club has been going for more than 90 years with members aged from five to 80+.

The club has purchased land from a neighbour to allow for the new court. It had considered adding a fourth court but

8

decided was not feasible owing to protected trees. The scheme approved will still require the removal of four trees. South Gloucestershire Council received 44 letters of support for the plans and eight letters of objection raising concerns about noise and disturbance, lighting pollution, parking and and loss of mature trees and vegetation.

The council supported the plans, saying the proposal would not result in significant adverse impact.

regional competition.

Last Tuesday, the Western League issued the following statement: “This morning Keynsham Town Football Club released a statement concerning their inability to fulfil tonight’s scheduled League fixture at Mousehole Football Club.

“The Western League Board does not accept Keynsham Town’s version of events regarding the scheduling of this fixture or the conduct of the League concerning the postponement of the original League fixture between these two clubs, scheduled for 19th February.

“Failing to fulfil a fixture, which technically has not happened yet, is a serious matter and will be subject to a disciplinary procedure. The League will be making further statements on this matter, at the appropriate time, pending the outcome of this disciplinary procedure.”

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Hanham club breach rules that ban flood-lit games after hours A football club are facing enforcement action for breaching rules that ban them from playing under floodlights after hours.

AEK-BOCO play at Greenbank Road in Hanham, with one of the conditions being that there should be no illumination from April 1st-30th after 8.30pm to stop nearby residents being disturbed by light and noise.

But on Wednesday the club went over the

deadline in a Toolstation League match against Wincanton Town that kicked off at 7.30pm. It is understood to have been a rearranged league fixture. Residents say the floodlights were on until 9.55pm.

South Gloucestershire Council was swift in its response to a barrage of residents’ complaints, acknowledging that it constitutes a clear breach of the condition.

We understand that a formal breach of condition notice is being issued on the club, which will have the effect of making any future breaches a criminal offence. By law these notices have a minimum 28-day compliance period, so this will not have immediate effect.

It appears that the club do not have any further home evening matches scheduled this season.

One resident told us: “This is both a breach of a strict planning condition and also AEKBOCO’s lease and licence.”

The resident said this was the second time the club had breached the floodlighting rules, the first being on 15th September last year which was reported to the council, which owns the ground, at the time.

Both the council and the club have been approached for comment.

Tia wins Master Gymnast award Tia Collins from Longwell Green has earned the prestigious Master Gymnast award and is also celebrating her team’s gold success at the TeamGym British Championships.

Tia, who trains at Portsmouth School of Gymnastics, competed at the championships in Sheffield on 3rd April with her team winning the British champion title in the women’s senior micro competition. They totalled a score of 27.250 - almost four marks above the other teams.

Tia said: “I was also proud to be announced a Master Gymnast on this weekend. I have trained my entire gymnastics career for this so it was a very exciting moment for me.

“In Team Gymnastics, the title of BG Master Gymnast is only awarded to gymnasts who have represented Great Britain at three senior European championships.

“I first competed in the European

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Tia Collins

Championships in 2016 in Slovenia at the age of 17, followed by 2018 in Portugal and 2021 again in Portugal. I am currently training for the GBR selection event in the hope to compete at the European Championships in October 2022 and also the English Championships to be held on 8th May in Newcastle.”

9

LETTERS Don’t swamp us with unnecessary housing

challenging reduction of travel distances,

very critical of the way work progressed. I

Street is different and there will be teething

private car mileage, the essential provision of

remain appalled at the cost and inconvenience

problems until people get used to crossing the

an efficient and reliable public transport

of nearly a year of chaotic work to achieve so

road safely again.

Dear Stephen

strategy, fundamentally necessary to tackle

little.

What should have been done really and what

We are increasingly concerned that the Green

climate change.

I also think that the cycle lane is unnecessarily

worked so well in the various lockdowns we

Belt areas of South Gloucestershire, together

Alan Jones

elaborate with a wide white painted line, steel

had, is that the High Street should have been

with Bath & North East Somerset, will be

Chair, Hanham District Greenbelt

bollards and a stone kerb all to protect cyclists

pedestrianised, and the only vehicles allowed

swamped with new housebuilding in order to

Conservation Society

who, once leaving this short stretch of road face

down would be delivery vehicles that have to

a busy road with absolutely no protection

make deliveries between certain times; all other

Time for a public apology to our town

whatsoever.

motorised traffic should have been directed

However, I personally do not consider there is

around Ashton Way.

a trip hazard to pedestrians. I visit the High

Name withheld

Gloucestershire’s recent Cabinet meeting of 4th

Dear Becky

Street at least once every day and note that

April, WECA is seeking to impose extra houses

B&NES Lib Dem-run council need to offer a

there are now three completely level crossings

on South Gloucestershire, increasing their

very public apology to the town, accept

which enable me to cross the road safely. The

housing provision within their current new

responsibility and provide something so simple

problems arise when pedestrians dash across

Arrogant attitude of decision-makers

Local Plan, to a total of 37,000, with more

it beggars belief: a High Street residents can

the cycle path and then trip over the second

Dear Stephen

housing proposed across rural areas of

use without causing themselves serious

kerb.

Who would have imagined that five years after

B&NES.

physical injury.

I’d hope that those in authority will take note

the one-way system was imposed on the High

These housing numbers are claimed necessary,

I think local people and shop owners have had

of all the problems that occurred with the High

Street, with only 23% in favour of what we

to make up the shortfall in the housing

to put up with considerable disruption for over

Street work when it comes to the Temple Street

have, B&NES Council have decided to put up

allocation made upon Bristol City Council,

a year. It's been often said by many people that

‘improvements’ which I’m sure will go ahead

ANPR cameras to fine drivers who cross into

which they are apparently unable to satisfy. All

for a year of the High Street closure, we had

despite opposition from traders and the public!

Temple Street?

to the detriment of the green spaces and

very little work being done and then in the last

Hazel Powe, Keynsham

You may remember that out of the 53% of

designated Green Belt land, of their (so say)

couple of weeks before the opening deadline,

partners, in WECA.

there was a huge rush to complete it.

We as a society cannot understand how targets

Our Lib Dem councillors are very keen to take

for housebuilding can be mandated, without

meet the arbitrary housing totals being imposed by the Regional Mayor and West of England Combined Authority.

According

to

the

debate

at

South

those who were in favour of some form of oneway scheme, a fair percentage actually said

the responsibility for some local council

High Street should have been pedestrianised

detailed analysis of actual housing NEED

initiatives, such as the improvements to the

Dear Editor

surreptitiously. So, is it not ironic that the

throughout the region. It has been stated that

only if traffic is allowed to cross! This was ignored and the system signed off somewhat

park bridge, and yet other initiatives they are

I have been reading your paper for the last

council now want to make a profit out of

the Government allocation of increased

very keen to distance themselves from.

couple of weeks and have been astounded at

people’s frustration? As you drive along the

housing provision should not be regarded as a

This has been a complete Lib Dem fiasco

the amount of people falling on the High Street

High Street you are greeted with a sign ahead

‘target’ with each local authority being guided

compounded by COVID but resulting in huge

in Keynsham.

for the leisure centre, but you cannot drive that

by the relevant constraints and housing need

losses in revenue for our High Street retailers

I am also astounded at the number of people

way and must turn left. It would be more apt to

within their areas. To date, these criteria have

and now, in what appears to be a very poorly

who seem to think that now it is a one-way

say (polite version) 'Welcome To Keynsham.

been ignored, in the pursuit of political point-

thought-out design, residents are regularly

system for motor vehicles that it is OK to cross

Now Buzz Off!’

scoring, which may well result in South

suffering physical injury.

wherever they like rather than walking to one

Talking of new signs, we now have ones that

Gloucestershire being forced to exercise their

Dave Biddleston

of the designated points of crossing, i.e., the

say ‘New Road Layout'. Do they mean ‘layout’

veto and result in political chaos.

Chair of Saltford and Keynsham Branch

zebra crossing or the traffic islands either end

as in lay out in the road waiting for an

What is needed is the member authorities in

Labour Party

of the High Street.

ambulance after you have fallen off the kerb

When it was two-way traffic, it was much

edge? We also have helpful wording like

harder to cross the road and so it forced you to

‘familiarise yourselves’. Is that as in familiarise

use the crossing points or risk getting run over.

your head with the pavement or a euphemism

innovative Urban Living strategy within the

Learn lessons before starting Temple Street

At each of these points the pavement doesn't

for what they really think? They might as well

wider conurbation of Bristol. Only when an

Dear Editor

do a double dip and at each of these points you

have written ‘Don't trip on the kerb edge,

integrated plan is developed, will our region be

Readers of this paper will know that during the

are even reminded which way to look for traffic

stupid people'.

able to form a meaningful approach to

Keynsham High Street ‘improvements’ I was

both motor and pedal power. Yes, the High

Joking apart, this sums up the arrogant attitude

WECA to work together to understand the need of their individual districts and to agree an allocation that can be accommodated by an

10

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

LETTERS the decision-makers possess. It is all our fault,

are, a thousand thank yous).

ward colleague Cllr Paul Hughes and

not theirs! There's a circus coming to these

Also thank you to the car drivers who stop for

Kingswood MP Chris Skidmore to see it

parts this summer. Oh, I think it's already

me and the many people who stop for me on

restored.

arrived - or at least the clowns have!

the pavements. And the staff in Tesco and

We were delighted to have the support of The

Chris

HSBC are consistently friendly. What a

Week In as well as more than 1,000 local

wonderful community!

people who signed a petition, calling for the

Now for my whines, following the issues raised

service to be restored. Having based the

in Issue 723 (30th March). I am tripping and

decision on passenger usage during the

falling on the awful pavement outside the

pandemic, and not actually engaging with any

Dear Editor

British Legion, and the pavement beside it was

service users, shows how undemocratic and

Regarding the appearance of the Old Bank pub

blocked for a long time by a big yellow council

poorly thought through this decision was.

and the Conservative Club (Club@22) in

sign relating to the road alterations!

Despite having submitted the petition to the

Keynsham, do the inspector and B&NES

My final whine relates to the closure of

WECA Mayor at a meeting last December,

Council really believe that even one out of 10

Keynsham’s HSBC branch. I totally agree with

there has been no movement to restore the

people would prefer these two improved

Lionel Hutt’s letter. Yes, there are usually

service, with even more services being cut in

queues and occasionally going on the

South Gloucestershire, including the recent

pavement outside. I too feel sorry for the staff.

announcement that the T2 and Y2 in Thornbury

‘They’ have obviously determined to close the

and Yate would be coming to an end. This is

branch and care nothing for the staff and

despite South Gloucestershire Council’s leader

customers.

Cllr Toby Savage managing to secure a further

Winifred Rickard, Keynsham

£384,000 investment to support local bus

Blue frontages revitalise the High Street

looking façades would be better suited looking like Milward House, or indeed do they themselves actually honestly think so?

And if they cannot agree that the colour revitalises the High Street, is it not time for them to change jobs. Also, if they have the final say would they accept the façades being painted in the lighter blue - or are they just

Milward House

Why does anybody, councillors and inspectors alike, think that the façades do not revitalise the High Street and encourage visitors.

Surely, they should be encouraging others to follow suit, rather than promoting the looks of Milward House or the dull-looking red bricks

services as part of an amendment to WECA’s

above Bargain Booze and Wards Solicitors, and

Time for the Mayor to stop passing the buck

budget. Since the start of the pandemic, the

Dear Becky

yet the WECA Mayor has continued to say that

Having read in Issue 723 dated 30th March

cuts are the fault of the Government. He is the

Dear Becky

about the West of England Combined Authority

one at the helm of our region’s local transport

Other buildings are dull in comparison

Firstly, thank you so much for The Week In, by

Mayor stepping in to save a South Bristol bus

and is the one who makes these decisions –

subscription. Such good value and my first

service from cancellation, I remain confused

seemingly

feeling of being part of the community in two

and disappointed as to why he is refusing to do

consultation.

Dear Editor

years! Now I have some of ‘Winifred’s

the same in South Gloucestershire and save the

We need to be encouraging people to support

Having visited Keynsham High Street on a

wonders and whines’ to share with you.

Number 18, despite thousands of local people

public transport, not cutting services at every

drab Thursday (7th April) afternoon, I decided

Firstly my wonders at the kindness of strangers

calling for him to do so.

opportunity, if we are to see them thrive - and

to take time to see what all the fuss was about

to me; Keynsham is full of angels! I walk with

Having cut the service between Kingswood

it is time the Mayor stops passing the buck and

regarding the painting of the Old Bank pub,

two sticks so I’m not inconspicuous. I often fall

and Keynsham last year, a vital link for people

stops leaving communities across South

and the Conservative Club (Club@22) and

but would you believe it, I’ve always been on

in communities like Bitton, Oldland Common,

Gloucestershire in the lurch.

found their façades to be uplifting and chasing

the ground for only seconds before being lifted

Longwell Green and Warmley, readers will no

Erica Williams

away my blues.

up in the arms of strangers (you know who you

doubt recall the campaign led by myself, my

Councillor for Bitton & Oldland Common

being obstinate? Hopefully there is a chance to appeal their decision, or for local MP Jacob Rees-Mogg to get involved.

B Charles

other less attractive buildings.

B Chris

Wonders and whines

extra funding into keeping local buses running,

always

without

any

public

EASTER CHEMISTS

Sudoku 1-Easy

Government has invested more than £2bn of

Good Friday (15th April)

2 -Hard

Boots, Gallagher Retail Park, Longwell Green (8am-23.59pm) Boots, Emersons Green Retail Park (9am-5pm) Morrisons, 688-718 Fishponds Road, Fishponds (9am-6pm) Boots, 40 High Street, Keynsham (10am-4pm) Asda, Craven Way, Longwell Green (10am-4pm) Asda, Oatlands Avenue, Whitchurch (10am-4pm) Lloyds in Sainsbury’s, Emersons Green Retail Park (10am-4pm) Keynsham Pharmacy, Station Road (4pm-7pm)

Easter Sunday (17th April) Keynsham Pharmacy, 15 Station Road (11am-1pm) Chandag Road Pharmacy, Keynsham (3pm-5pm)

Easter Monday (18th April) Boots, Unit 1 Avonmeads Retail Park, St Philips Causeway (8.30am-6pm) Boots, 40 High Street, Keynsham (10am-4pm) Lloyds in Sainsbury’s, Emersons Green Retail Park (10am-4pm) Asda, Oatlands Avenue, Whitchurch (10am-4pm) Asda, Craven Way, Longwell Green (10am-4pm) Boots, Emersons Green Retail Park (9am-5pm) Morrisons, 688-718 Fishponds Road, Fishponds (10am-4pm) Boots, Gallagher Retail Park, Longwell Green (10am-5pm) Keynsham Pharmacy, 15 Station Road (4pm-7pm)

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

11

Fears over 37,000 new homes planned for South Gloucestershire Council is pushing back on a proposal to build 37,000 new homes in the district over the next two decades – almost 10,000 more than expected.

And local communities are also voicing their fears about green fields in the district being destroyed in order to meet arbitrary housing totals.

The blueprint being worked on for the West of England – the Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) has fallen behind schedule and has been hit by disagreement among the leaders of the three councils (South Gloucestershire, B&NES and Bristol) and Metro Mayor Dan Norris who leads the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

The draft SDS can only progress to public consultation and then a public inquiry once all of them agree.

Speaking at the South Gloucestershire Cabinet meeting last Monday, council leader Cllr Toby Savage said it was disappointing to be in the position where pushing on with the SDS has had to be deferred because of the lack of

Crossword

preparedness and engagement and collaboration across the region.

He said South Gloucestershire Council has shown nothing but willingness to work alongside WECA to ensure the success of the SDS, but the Metro Mayor had been resistant

Cabinet member Ben Burton added: “If they are indeed delaying due to the need for gathering more evidence, I can hardly say I am surprised due to the recent exodus of senior officers from WECA, including the directors of finance, legal and infrastructure, as well as the interim for the latter. I’m not

to meetings of leaders, “something we have continued to push back on a cross-party basis”.

Cllr Savage said they had now had a grand total of two meetings but it has ended up being “too little too late” to meet the original timescale for the SDS. He said: “Having seen the plans put forward by WECA and the 37,000 housing requirement for South Gloucestershire, which would see almost 10,000 more homes in South Glos than the Government’s standard methodology indicates, I can say without a doubt I am not supportive of what I have seen to date and as the representative for South Glos on the combined authority, I could not and cannot in all good conscience land our communities with unsustainable levels of new growth over the next 20 years.”

sure if this has been down to the toxic working environment or not, but I do have serious concerns that they are not equipped to handle the task before them.”

The SDS was not on the agenda at the WECA Committee meeting held on Friday but a campaigner raised concerns during public question time.

Colin Gardner, of the campaign group TRAPP’D (Thornbury Residents Against Poorly Planned Development), said the proposed figure of 37,000 houses for South Gloucestershire effectively exports up to 10,000 houses of Bristol’s unmet need: “I must convey our profound objection to this proposal.”

He said that 28,000, as suggested in South Gloucestershire Council’s own Local Plan, would be “just about manageable

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Completely sealed (8)

1. Grasp (4)

5. Podium (4)

3. Rubbish (5)

7. Large seabird (9)

4. Heals (5)

9. Channel (4)

5. Measured portion (4)

10. Every one (4)

6. Venereal disease (8)

11. Stage (5)

7. Study of sound (9)

14. Diving apparatus (5)

8. Nappy fastener (6,3)

15. Iron alloy (5) 16. Teams (5)

2. Thaw (4)

11. Italian staple food (5) 12. Assistants (5)

17. Group of eight (5)

13. Written composition (5)

18. Chasm (5)

14. Appalling (8)

19. Test metals (5)

20. Steps over fence (5)

22. Strike with foot (4)

21. Greek marketplace (5)

24. Appendage (4) 26. Punctuation mark (9)

23. Pavement edge (4)

27. Slick (4)

25. Cowshed (4)

24. Norse deity (4)

28. Waste away (8)

12

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

South Glos

without the need for any large-scale greenfield sites.”

He spoke about the impracticality of building homes in South Gloucestershire for people who need to travel to work to Bristol and would undermine efforts to tackle the climate emergency by incorporating unnecessary carbon emissions.

He urged the four leaders: “Please work together to agree an allocation that can be fully accommodated by an innovative urban living strategy within the wider conurbation of Bristol.”

Mayor Norris responded saying he has to balance lots of competing demands. He said there are issues over flooding that affect house-building in Bristol and he wants the Government to invest in dealing with that to take the pressure off the surrounding council areas.

Meanwhile in a letter published on page 10 of The Week In, Hanham District Greenbelt Conservation Society highlight their concern about South Gloucestershire having to make up Bristol’s shortfall.

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Race against time to implement climate emergency goals The West of England Combined Authority adopted its Climate Emergency Action Plan last week but now faces a race against time to implement its policies.

The action plan, agreed at Friday’s quarterly meeting of the Combined Authority Committee (comprising of Metro Mayor Dan Norris and the council leaders of Bristol, Bath & North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils) includes a 10% reduction of CO2 emission every year until 2030 with improvements to biodiversity increasing the abundance of wildlife by 30% during the same time.

Measures to achieve those ambitious goals include retrofitting 250,000 homes and 8,000 other buildings to improve insulation, reducing private car use in the region by 40% and improving pollinator habitats to protect wildlife.

Last week’s committee meeting approved spending of £4.7m on projects in these specific areas but Mayor Norris also made clear that the policy document included ‘key asks’ of Government in order to deliver the region’s aim of carbon neutrality in just eight years.

He said that local people were already well ahead of the Government on the issue of climate change. His views were echoed by B&NES Council leader Kevin Guy

who, in supporting the adoption of the action plan, said there had been enough talking and now it was time for action.

Ian Barrett, who chairs the West of England Nature Partnership and is chief executive of the Avon Wildlife Trust, spoke in favour of the Climate Emergency Action Plan. After the meeting he said: “I am delighted this was voted through. Now the hard work begins.”

Funding for transport projects The meeting also gave the green light for five specific transport projects as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS). Last October, it was confirmed that the West of England Combined Authority had won outline approval for more than half a billion pounds from the Department for Transport.

A business case for how that money would be spent was agreed by the Combined Authority committee in January and last week’s meeting approved five recommendations to allocate money to initiatives including the Chew Valley to Bristol and Bath corridor scheme.

Funding for other outline business cases include the A38 South Bristol sustainable corridor, the Portway Park & Ride and consolidation of the metrobus network.

13

New Changing Places Toilets for South Glos South Gloucestershire Council has successfully bid for £135,000 of Government funding to install up to six new fully accessible toilets in locations across the area that will feature a host of extra facilities for disabled people and those who need Cllr Rachael Hunt at them the most.

Grimsbury Farm The funding will be used to provide new accessible Changing Places Toilets in locations to be announced. locations for people who cannot use Cabinet Member for Communities & standard accessible toilets. The facilities Local Place Cllr Rachael Hunt said: “I’m will include special equipment such as delighted that our bid for Government hoists, curtains and adult-sized changing funding to deliver additional Changing benches, and will feature more space than Places Toilets in South Gloucestershire has standard accessible toilets to accommodate been successful.

“Changing Places Toilets make a real carers.

The toilets will be delivered with support difference to users and their families from Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK).

Locations that will host the new facilities include Grimsbury Farm in Kingswood, Page Park in Staple Hill and both Bradley Stoke and Yate Active Centres, plus a further two in Kingswood and Yate at

14

enabling them to take part in more recreational activities with dignity, confidence and freedom.”

South Gloucestershire currently has seven of these facilities but they are spread unevenly across the area.

Spotlight on abuse in police force area during lockdown COVID-19 led to an increase in reports of domestic abuse in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Somerset, according to a new study.

This research is part of Project Bluestone, a Government-funded initiative in England and Wales. Researchers from Middlesex, Suffolk and Bournemouth universities studied thousands of anonymised reports of rape and serious sexual offences and domestic abuse on the police’s crime reporting system between January 2018 and December 2020.

The project aimed to see how the pandemic impacted reporting rates of rape and serious sexual offences and domestic abuse, particularly during the lockdown.

Lockdown measures may have “shut down support systems” for people at risk and worsened domestic issues, according to the research report. It stated: “Financial strains, loss of work, food insecurity, worsened mental health, stress, reduced social support,

and alcohol abuse are well-documented risk factors for violence in the home that are likely increased by (lockdown) measures imposed.”

Dr Ruth Spence, a Research Fellow at Middlesex University who co-authored the report, said: “The lockdown was an extremely stressful time where people were kept indoors and unable to escape from one another as they normally would to diffuse arguments and tensions.

“The potential for confrontations with loved ones which could end in violence increased significantly because of this environment and this has been demonstrated in our research which shows a rise in reports of domestic abuse in Avon and Somerset (police force area) during the lockdown period. We would urge authorities and policymakers to be aware of this crime trend and put in place measures to protect those most at risk of domestic violence in the event of another lockdown.”

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Well-known alderman dies, aged 86 Alderman Malcolm Bridge, from Oldland Common, has died at the age of 86.

Malcolm, who had a varied career, served as a councillor on three authorities and was involved in many local organisations. His widow Maureen said this week: “He was a man who liked people.”

Malcolm’s parents met while working at Keynsham Paper Mill. The eldest of seven, he was born at the end of 1935 with the family moving to Oldland Common when he was a baby.

They lived in a rented cottage in The Barton, off West Street, and later moved to St Anne’s Lodge. They then moved to the new Park Estate in Cadbury Heath.

Malcolm attended St Anne’s Primary School and later Kingswood Grammar School after which he went to work at Fry’s in Keynsham as an apprentice engineer. He had the chance to attend an Outward Bound sea school, which he loved. For his National Service he served in the Army but wanted to be in the Royal Navy and was given permission to join on the condition that he did extended service.

After his service, he went back to Fry’s for a time but decided to retrain as a nurse and went to Stoke Park Hospital in Bristol where he cared for people with learning difficulties. He then went to nurse at nearby Glenside psychiatric hospital.

Malcolm met Maureen, who was on secondment to Glenside from Southmead Hospital, and the couple married in 1973, setting up home in the house in Westcourt Drive in Oldland Common that Malcolm had bought a few years earlier. They

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

had two sons - Matt in 1978 and Alex a year later.

Malcolm left nursing and became a purchasing manager with Parnall’s in Bristol. It was while he was off work after a fall that he decided to become self-employed and set up a furniture company with premises in Kingswood and Keynsham. He took early retirement at 60 because of heart problems.

Malcolm was active in politics, serving first as a Bitton parish councillor in the early 1980s, initially as a Liberal and then as a Liberal Democrat. He served on Kingswood Borough Council, representing Oldland Common as a Lib Dem, and then was elected to South Gloucestershire Council to represent Kings Chase as a Labour councillor. He was made a South Gloucestershire alderman in 2011.

When current West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris was Labour MP for Wansdyke, Malcolm was chair of the constituency party.

Malcolm was a governor at Sir Bernard Lovell School in Oldland Common and Warmley Park Special School. He was on the South Gloucestershire Over 50s Forum and coached rugby for both Bath and Bristol minis and juniors. He volunteered at Avon Valley Railway at Bitton, helping in the shop and on the trains during the Santa Special season.

In 1993, as a former chairman of Bitton Parish Council and a member of Kingswood Borough Council, he wrote a foreword to a book by local historian David Noble about Oldland Common, North Common and Bridgeyate. Malcolm

Malcolm Bridge

shared his memories of the bonfires and fireworks in Oldland on VE and VJ days and of the annual Methodist Church Sunday School outing to Weston-super-Mare.

It was Malcolm’s idea to erect a blue plaque at the house in West Street in Oldland Common where scientist Sir Bernard Lovell was born. It was unveiled in 2016.

Malcolm Bridge died at Southmead Hospital on 15th March.

He had been ill for some time but the grandfather-of-four had been able to enjoy a family Christmas.

15

Countryside charity to rescue 118km of South Glos hedgerows The Avon and Bristol branch of the countryside charity CPRE has received a grant for a pioneering project to help 118 kilometres of hedgerows alongside South Gloucestershire’s footpaths thrive.

David Worskett, who chairs the branch, said: “Our hedgerows are vital to our countryside and they could do so much more for the climate and ecological emergencies.

“Sadly half our hedgerows have been ripped out since the Second World War. Years of aggressive machine management techniques like flailing have left them battered and struggling to recover.

New Greggs store Bakery chain Greggs has been granted permission to open a branch at the Gallagher Retail Park at Aldermoor Way in Longwell Green in what was the old Carphone Warehouse store.

South Gloucestershire Council has agreed to the lifting of a condition which forbade any food sales.

A separate planning application for outdoor seating to complement the opening of Greggs has yet to be determined by the council.

16

“We’re really excited to be working with South Gloucestershire Council to explore how more sensitive, expert and people-powered management can help our hedgerows recover and thrive. This project can in due course provide a model for the rest of the country to follow.”

The charity is calling on local people as well as parish and town councils to join a team of Hedgerow Heroes who will learn how sensitively to manage hedgerows before getting out into the countryside to put their new skills to work by giving the hedgerows the care they so badly need.

Cllr Toby Savage, the council’s leader, said: “We are delighted to partner with CPRE Avon and Bristol for this exciting new hedgerow management project.

“Hedgerows are such an important habitat within our

4 houses approved Plans to demolish the former Brethren Meeting Hall at California Road in Oldland Common and build four detached houses at the site have been approved by South Gloucestershire Council.

Prior to its most recent use, the site was used by Bristol Water following its use as part of the California Colliery.

landscapes and are home to a variety of wildlife. Some of South Gloucestershire’s hedgerows date back hundreds if not thousands of years and protecting and enhancing them is part of our commitment to the climate and nature emergency. This project will focus on hedges owned by the council, and we look forward to working with town and parish councils and residents to understand our hedges better and ensure they are properly managed for the future.”

CPRE is calling on the UK government for a 40% increase in hedgerows by 2050. This will require adding more than 4,000 miles of new and restored hedgerow per year. The South Glos project, which will start in June, will provide a local response to this national ambition.

To register your interest in supporting the Hedgerow Heroes project visit www.cpreavonandbristol.org.uk/hedgerowheroes

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Memories of the Falklands – 40 years on As we mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflict, one Keynsham resident has very personal memories.

On 2nd April 1982, an Argentinian invasion force landed in Port Stanley on the Falkland Islands, a British dependency in the South Atlantic.

Devonport after a rapid refit for Ascension Island where much of the fleet assembled prior to heading for the South Atlantic.

The Argentine dictator, General Galtieri, had chosen to focus attention on the long-disputed sovereignty of the Malvinas to distract the growing civil unrest in his country and unite the population behind the cause.

Throughout May 1982, as British troops approached the Falkland Islands, the conflict started to take its toll on both sides. The Argentine battle cruiser Belgrano was sunk by a British submarine while the concerns that a naval task force would be a sitting target for air attacks also started to become a reality. HMS Coventry, HMS Sheffield and the troop carrier Sir Galahad were all destroyed by Argentine air force attacks while the supply ship Atlantic Conveyor was also a victim.

The death toll was significant on both sides.

Despite a team of scrap metal workers raising the Argentine flag on South Georgia, 900 miles to the east of the Falklands two weeks earlier, the British Government was caught unaware by the invasion.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s response was to assemble a task force to sail 8,000 miles to the South Atlantic to retake the islands. The first ships left four days after the invasion, on Monday 5th April. Over the coming weeks a flotilla of vessels followed. Not only were there warships but they were joined by a fleet of commercial and merchant vessels which carried troops and supplies. These ranged from requisitioned passenger ferries to the luxury liners Canberra and QE2. Among the supply vessels was the MV Contender Bezant, a container vessel which had been hastily converted into a refueling ship for helicopters and Harrier Jump Jets.

On board was 2nd engineer Allan Sinclair, then from Glasgow but a resident and business owner in Keynsham more or less ever since. The MV Contender Bezant was in Le Havre when it was requisitioned and set sail from

As the British landing forces approached the islands, the conflict intensified and the MV Contender Bezant had a vital role to play in refueling aircraft. Nor forgetting that like many of the British warships, it was something of a sitting target, laden with thousands of litres of aviation fuel and ammunition.

But the first British troops landed on the west side of the Falklands in early June and Port Stanley was liberated two weeks later. For the armada of vessels which had set sail from the United Kingdom, this was probably the longest they could have remained at sea before feeling the full effect of the South Atlantic winter.

For Allan Sinclair and the crew of the MV Contender Bezant, being one of the first lines of support behind the advancing

MV Contender Bezant

force, they were also one of the first to go ashore after Port Stanley had been taken. In the end, 649 Argentinians, 255 British and three Falkland Islanders lost their lives during the conflict. A total of seven British ships were also lost.

The MV Contender was later purchased by the Royal Navy in 1985 and converted to the aviation training ship RFA Argus. It was involved in the 1991 Gulf War, the UN operation in the former Yugoslavia and was also used as a hospital ship in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Allan has shared some of his original photos with The Week In in this fascinating picture diary.

Argentine soldiers surrender in Port Stanley A Harrier jump jet coming in to be refuelled

A victory fly past of Sea King, Wessex and Wasp helicopters

The Argentinians had land-based Exocet launchers in Port Stanley

Above: However far you travel, you are never far from Glasgow. Right: Coming home to Southampton in August 1982

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

17

Help for Keynsham people struggling to pay their energy bills Keynsham Community Energy has been helping Keynsham’s residents keep their homes warm over the colder months.

The group is a community benefit society set up to generate and promote affordable renewable energy in the town.

Thanks to a grant from the Bath and West Community Energy Fund, the group has helped more than 150 people to make their houses more energy efficient, by providing free draught-proofing products and advice leaflets.

Volunteers from the group hosted pop-up energy efficiency cafés, attended events and spoke at local clubs and societies. They gave away door, window and chimney draughtproofing, low energy lightbulbs, room thermometers and radiator reflectors. They also handed out leaflets about how to cut energy bills, use less water and fit loft insulation, and signposted people to other help and advice if they were struggling to pay their bills.

Keynsham Community Energy chair Nick

Coates said: “The last two years have been tough. First COVID-19 meant many people lost their jobs or were furloughed, putting strain on households. Then the cost of living started to bite, and energy bills have gone through the roof. There has never been a more urgent need to insulate our homes and lower our energy bills.”

Peter Capener, managing director of Bath and West Community Energy said: “Helping people make their homes more energy efficient is a win-win. It doesn’t only result in lower fuel bills. It also helps the country reduce our carbon footprint, because wellinsulated homes require less energy to heat them.”

Although the grant has now run out, Keynsham Community Energy is determined to carry on the good work. With energy prices set to rise twice this year, there will be many more people facing the terrible choice of heating their homes or eating.

The group currently has a crowdfunding campaign for people to support its work at

https://tinyurl.com/2p88ndrx Keynsham Community Energy is also working with Bath and North East Somerset Council to put community owned solar panels on the roof of the Keynsham Riverside

Ready, steady, race!

Recent lockdowns have led

imaginary

on

There is no charge for the

to a surge in starting or revisiting a range of hobbies.

And for some this has meant digging out the old Scalextric set and racing around tracks,

famous circuits, against friends and family.

Few homes allow for the permanent installation of a long multilane track. Instead tracks have to be built and packed away again after a few days, to allow normal family life to carry on.

Avon Slot Car Club in Oldland Common has a 30metre, four-lane slot car track with long straights and sweeping bends, used for friendly, but competitive racing.

Cars and hand controllers are available for first-time visitors and beginners to use.

first visit.

Standard Scalextric cars and handbuilt higher performance models are raced. If you decide to become a regular visitor and want to improve your modelling and racing skills, experienced and enthusiastic club members will help you to progress.

Avon Slot Car Club meets at 7.30pm every Wednesday at St Anne’s Hall, Barry Road, Oldland Common. You can find Avon Slot Car Club on Facebook or call 07854 809002 or email steve@lansdale.info to find out more

Bereavements

18

View apartment complex.

This project is in the advanced planning stage and will provide renewable electricity to the Keynsham Leisure Centre at a discounted rate.

or

based

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Developer loses appeal to build 15 affordable homes A planning inspector has agreed with South Gloucestershire Council that plans for 15 affordable homes close to the Pucklechurch border would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt.

Six semi-detached houses, two bungalows and seven selfbuild units were proposed for land at Hillcrest on Abson Road

by Skye Property Group.

The council had refused the application, saying the site is not within a defined settlement and the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt. The application also failed because of the absence of planning agreements to secure contributions towards affordable housing in the district and public open space.

Access was not being decided as part of the outline

Pétanque club to celebrate silver jubilee At the Annual General Meeting of Keynsham’s Ship Inn Pétanque Club, held at Compton Dando Village Hall, club president Alan Hulme reflected on the severe limitations of the last two years but also celebrated the fact that the club had completed many competitions in 2021, with 22 medals and five trophies being presented.

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

The club is looking forward to a positive and exciting future at The Ship Inn with new managers Joe, Kim and Kyra. This year, the club celebrates its silver jubilee. It all started in 1997 when a small group of enthusiasts, then playing at the Lock Keeper, decided to spread their wings and form a new club with a playing area created behind the Ship Inn in Temple Street.

The Ship Inn Pétanque Club gathered members and joined the local league. In a short time it had become a thriving addition to the local pétanque scene. Since that time many of the players have gone on to win regional and national honours. New players who would like to come and have a go are welcome. Ring Alan Hulme on 0117 9830119 to find out more.

The picture shows Alan presenting the 2021 Singles Trophy to Ben Parkinson King.

John Day. The Ship Inn Pétanque Club

application, nor layout. However, a site plan indicated that a new vehicle access would be provided to the east of the site, off Abson Road, with a further pedestrian and cycle link to Back Lane.

The inspector ruled that the scheme would harm the Green Belt and would not safeguard the countryside from encroachment; the developer also failed to meet the council’s exceptions for rural housing, and there was a lack of secured provision towards affordable housing and open space.

“Even though, I have found that the appeal site would be well related to the settlement of Pucklechurch, in other respects the proposal is not limited or modest in scale, while there is an absence of parish council support and evidence that justifies local demand for affordable housing,” said the inspector.

Previous plans for 15 self-build properties on the site, of which six would have been affordable housing, were rejected by the council in 2020 with the decision upheld on appeal.

19

20

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Home-Start Bristol seeks volunteers for rewarding role A charity that supports families in South Gloucestershire and Bristol through some of their toughest times is looking for more volunteers to join the team after seeing a rise in demand during the pandemic.

Home-Start Bristol (HSB) needs people who can spare three hours a week for rewarding roles helping to support families who have at least one child under the age of five.

Terri Fletcher, manager of HSB, said: “Home-Start has seen referrals rise during the pandemic and continuing to rise this year, making it more important than ever for us to support parents with issues including isolation, loneliness, mental health, multiple birth, financial worries, and disabilities.

“We are looking for people who can give some of their spare time and kindness to make a real difference to a family’s life.

Becoming a volunteer for Home-Start can make an impact on a child that will last a lifetime.”

Home-Start Bristol has not only seen increased demand, but a reduction in available volunteers. The charity needs to recruit an extra 50 volunteers to help respond to families after COVID. HSB is among a network of more than 180 HomeStarts across the UK whose staff and trained volunteers offer

parents compassionate, non-judgemental support.

You can volunteer as an online or telephone befriender, home visitor, fundraising, helping in the office, as a trustee or supporting through a company.

The next training course for home-visiting volunteers starts

on 28th April and runs every Thursday for five weeks at Greenway Business Centre, Southmead, from 9.30am to 2.30pm.

Visit www.homestartbristol.org.uk or phone Terri Fletcher on 0117 9501170.

Helping people cope with chronic pain Circadian Trust, who run and operate Active Lifestyle Centres across South Gloucestershire, have been commissioned to deliver a series of ESCAPE-pain courses.

ESCAPE-pain stands for Enabling Self-management and Coping with Arthritic Pain using Exercise. The courses will run up to March 2023.

Operating five Active Lifestyle Centres (Kingswood, Longwell Green, Bradley Stoke, Thornbury and Yate), Active Centres’ strategy focuses on tackling inactivity to help people stay active throughout their lives within a healthy community.

The local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group has engaged the trust to run the courses. The progressive

exercise programme will help people learn how to cope with pain, how to exercise safely and pace themselves, manage their symptoms, and be around people with the same condition.

The courses are aimed at people aged over 45 who have been suffering from chronic knee and hip arthritic pain for three months or more and need a supervised fitness programme so that they can work toward independent living and mobility.

If you live in Bristol, South Gloucestershire or North Somerset and think you could benefit, speak with your local GP practice or healthcare professional. Visit https://activecentres.org/escape-pain for further details.

Situations Vacant

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

21

Sudoku Solutions 1-Easy 4 9 1 7 5 3 6 8 2

2 3 6 8 4 1 7 5 9

8 7 5 9 6 2 4 1 3

1 6 7 4 3 5 9 2 8

Crossword Solution

2-Hard 5 8 9 2 1 7 3 6 4

3 2 4 6 8 9 5 7 1

9 5 8 1 7 4 2 3 6

6 4 3 5 2 8 1 9 7

7 1 2 3 9 6 8 4 5

Service Directory Aerials

Appliances

Blinds

Architectural Services

Driveways

Home Maintenance

Electrical

Computers

22

Garden Services

Handyman

An advert like this costs

An advert like this costs

£21.00

£21.00

+ VAT

+ VAT

per insert

per insert

Discounts are available for multiple bookings starting at 2 weeks

Discounts are available for multiple bookings starting at 2 weeks

DEADLINE FOR PLACING DIRECTORY ADVERTS IS FRIDAY 4.30PM

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Service Directory Book a series of adverts and save even more Our Directory is the perfect place to find a local tradesperson.

An advert like this costs

Painting & Decorating

Plumbing

Telephone Engineers

Venue Hire

D.JAMES DECORATING Over 40 years’ Experience.

Qualified tradesman Efficient/Reliable.

References Available 07861 898902. 01275 831696 or visit our website www.djamesdecorating.com

Book a series of adverts and save even more Our Directory is the perfect place to find a local tradesperson.

An advert like this costs

Plumbing

£21.00

£21.00 Waste Disposal

+ VAT per insert

+ VAT per insert

DEADLINE FOR PLACING DIRECTORY ADVERTS IS FRIDAY 4.30PM

Discounts are available for multiple bookings starting at 2 weeks

Discounts are available for multiple bookings starting at 2 weeks

Adverts cost £4.20 per

Adverts cost £4.20 per

centimetre (min 5cm)

centimetre (min 5cm)

Tree Services

The more weeks you

The more weeks you

book the cheaper

book the cheaper

each insertion

each insertion

becomes

becomes

1 week - £21

1 week - £21

2 weeks - £18.90

2 weeks - £18.90

Rubbish Clearance

4 wk - £17.85 6 wk - £16.80

Cheap and fast

8 wk - £15.75

We load and clear any household, garden, garage and shed clearance Free estimates Fully licensed 85% recycled

12 wk - £14.70 26 wk - £13.65 52 wk - £12.60

Roofing

Call 0117 9373009 at anytime to book

All prices per week exc VAT You don't have to book successive weeks.

You can choose fortnightly, monthly or specific insertion dates as long as the total number of insertions booked corresponds to the discount rate.

Similar percentage discounts apply equally to larger sized adverts.

Call us now on

0117 986 0381 The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022

Wigs

DEADLINE FOR PLACING DIRECTORY ADVERTS IS FRIDAY 4.30PM

An advert like this costs

6 wk - £16.80 8 wk - £15.75 12 wk - £14.70 26 wk - £13.65 52 wk - £12.60 All prices per week exc VAT You don't have to book successive weeks.

You can choose fortnightly, monthly or specific insertion dates as long as the total number of insertions booked corresponds to the discount rate.

Similar percentage discounts apply equally to larger sized adverts.

£21.00 THE WEEK IN adverts call 0117 986 0381

4 wk - £17.85

+ VAT per insert Discounts are available for multiple bookings starting at 2 weeks

DEADLINE FOR PLACING DIRECTORY ADVERTS IS FRIDAY 4.30PM

Call us now on

0117 986 0381 23

24

The Week in • Wednesday 13th April 2022