Seagull nest removals

Sea gull nest removals are now free in Oldfield Park and the much of the rest of Bath. Sign up for here, before the end of May.

Cllr Will Sandry said: “I’ve been campaigning for the Council to provide this service to the community in Oldfield park and I’m delighted that they have agreed to do so this year. I hope that fewer gulls will mean less of a mess on bin day.”

 

 

 

 

 

Top Tip for Students

moving out poster 2012University of Bath and Bath Spa University students can now use their NUS card to access the Council’s Recycling Centres instead of getting a separate Recycling Centre Resident’s Permit.

Cllr David Dixon said: “I want to make it as easy and straightforward as possible for students to manage their waste and recycling as they move away for the summer. When the Vice Chancellor’s office at Bath Spa University contacted me via twitter about this, I was keen to implement immediately. This simple measure reduces administration for the Council and enables students as easy access to the recycling centre as all other B&NES residents.”

Cllr Will Sandry who is also Chairman of The Student Community Partnership (SCP) said: “This initiative is very welcome; many landlords use waste left behind in properties as a reason to withhold student deposits. Being able to use their NUS cards to access the recycling centres is a great benefit to the students in our community. It builds on the work of the SCP who are just completing their summer moving out campaign to help students best manage their household waste and recycling.

Oldfield Snow Advice

SnowIn bad weather please check out these links for advice and local information:

Schools

Any school closures are listed on the Council Website – follow this link.

Travel

Keep updated

Check BBC Radio Bristol and The Bath and North East Somerset Council web-page for current updates.

Good Neighbours

Please call on elderly or vulnerable neighbours to check whether they need any help with snow clearing , shopping or collecting medication. Elderly and vulnerable people are eligible for a free home warmth check from the Council.

Waste and Recycling Collections

In the event it is not possible for the household waste and recycling collection to take place, please take your bins off the pavement (so they don’t cause an obstruction). Store them and put them out for next week’s collection.

Universities and Colleges

Any campus closures will be announced on the websites of City of Bath College; The University of Bath; and Bath Spa University.

Moving out 2012


The  summer 2012 campaign to advise students in our community about managing their waste and recycling before they leave for the summer has been launched.

Will who is Chairman of the Student Community Partnership said: “All too often landlords use waste left behind as a reason to withhold the deposit – even though they are slow to then deal with the problem themselves.

This initiative gives students in our community straightforward, practical advice before they move out for the summer. It helps students get their deposits back, and means that there is a lower likelihood of gardens being filled with refuse after the students have moved out.”

Follow this link to the Student Community Partnership – Moving Out information or click on the poster.

Good news on Recycling!

Cllr David Dixon - Photo from Bath Chronicle

Over 52% of Household waste in Bath and North East Somerset is now recycled. This is an increase of 6% on last year.

Cllr David Dixon, in his role as the Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods said:

“The council’s investment in providing food waste collections is a key factor behind this latest success. We are pleased with the high participation rate and welcome people’s enthusiasm for the service. But we recognise there are still around 30,000 households not taking part and we will be doing more work to encourage higher participation.

“High recycling rates cut the amount of waste going to landfill. Not only does the level of harmful gases released into the atmosphere reduce, but the council’s landfill tax charge bill is cut, meaning more money is available to protect frontline services.”

Read the Bath Chronicle‘s coverage of this story here or in their print edition available in the shops on Moorland Road.


Tetrapak Recycling

It is now possible to recycle tetrapak cartons through the household recycling collection.

Please note that tetrapak cartons need to be put with your cardboard recycling on your normal collection day.

Tetrapak recycling has been introduced by Cllr David Dixon in his role as the B&NES cabinet member for Neighbourhoods.

New powers over HMOs welcomed

Liberal Democrats in Bath are “over the moon” following the government’s announcement of new powers for Councils to control ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation’ (HMOs). Councillor Shaun McGall and Don Foster MP have been campaigning on this issue for 10 years.

Today’s announcement shows that the government has finally bowed to national public pressure and has given local Councils the much-needed powers to control the spread of high concentrations of shared rented homes. This will allow Councils, such as ours, to tackle pockets of unsafe and substandard accommodation run by bad landlords. Liberal Democrats in the city headed by MP Don Foster had been calling on the Government to speed up action on the subject. Local MP Don Foster said:

I warmly welcome this announcement from the Minister. HMOs play an important role in providing affordable housing, but a dense population can have serious effects on the local community. It is great that the government has finally realised this and changed the law.

This is good for local residents giving control over unregulated profit driven changes to the community. Good for HMO tenants, as it will improve standards and get rid of bad landlords, by providing a mechanism for councils to set up local landlord licensing schemes.

The changes mean that landlords will need to apply for planning permission in order to establish a new HMO with a change of use, for example when the use of a property is altered from a family home to a shared house, with three or more tenants who are not related.

We would like to thank residents from across the city who responded to the Government consultation last year following our campaign.
Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

Missed Friday Refuse and Recycling Collections

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The Council’s collections seem to be worse this week than last week.  Missed or partial collections have been reported all across the through Oldfield Park and the Moorfields Estate. The Council’s website is not very up to date with advice, so we have asked the Council for an urgent update. Will said,

We understand the Council’s teams are working flat out to sort the backlog we would just like some better information and more up to date advice.

The Council’s most recent update is here.