Adel’s have been granted permission by the Council’s Licensing Committee to open until 11pm Sunday to Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday. They had applied for a 1am licence Monday to Friday and a 3am licence at the weekend.
That’s not quite the end of the story. There is a planning restriction on the business which is that they must close at 10pm on all days of the week, so Adel’s will have to apply for planning permission if they wish to continue trading after 10pm.
The Council is considering an application from Adel’s Take Away on Shaftesbury Road to stay open until 1am Monday – Thursday and 3am Friday and Saturday.
I am concerned about this application as there are already litter problems associated with this premises and noise late at night can be a problem in the area. Most of Moorland Road cafe’s and pubs close at 11pm, so extending the Adel’s take away hours to the same as the take aways in Kingsmead Square sounds unreasonable – and not right for the centre of a residential area.
If you have any views on the application you can comment on the Council’s System. Follow this link to the application:
http://planning.bathnes.gov.uk/PublicAccess/LI/LiApplication/li_application_detailview.aspx?refval=10/03129/LAPRE
Vodafone/O2 have submitted a new application for a phone mast at the Oval. The application has not yet been processed by the Council so full details are not available online yet. However the application site is just a few metres from the previous site and is beside Hazel Grove, in front of the flats.
Will has expressed his disappointment to Mono Consultants (agents for Vodafone / O2) that the new application is so close to the old application site. Readers will remember that Mono withdrew their previous application following local opposition to the application in May this year.
Mono Consultants have agreed to hold a public information session so that residents can view the plans and make comments and ask questions directly. The session will be a “drop in style” and will be open from 16:00 – 19:30 on Friday 24th September at Hillside Hall.
We will ensure that when the application is processed by the Council we will provide a link to the full application.
Refuse teams in Bath are preparing to launch food waste collections in the city.
In the next few weeks properties in Oldfield Ward will be given two new containers for the initiative, which aims to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
From September 20 the new containers, which will come with 52 small biodegradable sacks, will be delivered to residents ahead of the October 4 start date.
After collection (same day as your normal waste collection) the waste will be sent to a site in Gloucestershire, where it will be made into compost for use on agricultural land.
The Council has put a video about the scheme and how it works on its youtube site. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iVcCLEADzo
Let us know what you think about this new service.
Every month or so Shaun and I send out an email newsletter to our residents in Oldfield Park, the Moorfields Estate and Englishcombe Park. It’s a round up of news from our area. We like to keep it informative, upbeat and not too political.
If you’re not already on the distribution list please email us and let us know that you’d like to be included.
Click here for a full copy of this month’s enews. Older e-news are listed below:
The Council is making a Compulsory Purchase of land besides Oldfield Park Juniors to provide a sports pitch for the School.
Compulsory purchase is a last resort as the Council was unable to reach agreement with the landowners despite negotiations over a number of years.
The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families confirmed with modifications on 21 July 2010 the Bath and North East Somerset Council (Oldfield Park Junior School – Provision of a School Playing Field) Compulsory Purchase Order 2010.
The order as confirmed provides for the purchase for the purposes of the provision of a playing field for the benefit of Oldfield Park Junior School on 0.4184 hectares of land at Lymore Terrace, Oldfield Park, Bath.
Full details are on the Council’s website. Click here to view them.
A new webpage was recently placed on the Council website that provides a much different and very personal way of raising public awareness of the services the Council provides and how residents can access those services quickly and conveniently.
The webpage tells the real-life stories of people – told by the people themselves to video camera – whose lives have been changed by the Council and the local organisations we work with. Many of those stories focus on people who have been in a vulnerable situation, like a domestic violence victim, a man who was homeless, and a man who was unemployed, amongst others, and how they have obtained help. The videos provide information about how to get in contact if they, or someone they know, are in a similar position or if they want to know more about how to access the broader range of services the Council provides.
Click here to go to the Changing Lives webpage.
Will was unable to attend the Cabinet meeting this evening, but sent the following message to all the Councillors in the Cabinet before the meeting:
To Members of Cabinet,
I am unable to attend this evening’s Cabinet meeting; however I wanted to make you aware of my feelings concerning the decision to consult on the closure of Culverhay School.
As much as I recognise the contribution Culverhay makes to the community; my disappointment extends further to the damage the consultation process and your subsequent decision in July has done to the reputation of our Council. It is simply not fair, just or democratic to consult on one scenario and implement another.
Under Heading 1 of your Appendix 4 it is stated: “The consultation was also specific in suggesting that alternative proposals arising during the consultation would be considered.” I hope that during your debate you will be able to find where the alternative proposal to close Culverhay originated. I doubt very much that any of our residents suggested the closure of Culverhay without a co-educational school being reopened on the site.
I hope that you are able to rescue the situation and the reputation of our Council.
Cllr Will Sandry
Member – Oldfield Ward
I’ve just heard from Sustrans and the Two Tunnels project that they are holding an public event prior to submission of planning applications for two new bridges over Dartmouth Avenue and Monksdale Road. The bridges will form part of the Two Tunnels Greenway and allow pedestrians and cyclists to travel from Wellow to Bath on a completely traffic free route. The event will give the opportunity for members of the public to comment on the bridge design.
They are also launching a vote for figures to feature on a ‘portrait’ bench for the route. The bench will feature three well known local figures, and members of the public are invited to vote on an initial shortlist of 18 compiled by the Two Tunnels Group.
The event is taking place in the new St Alphege’s Church Hall, Oldfield Lane, Bath BA2 3NR on Wednesday 18th August from 4pm until 8pm. Everyone is welcome.
There is a meeting at the Guildhall at 5:30pm on Tuesday 10th August when a cross-party group of Councillors will review the Conservative Cabinet’s decision to move to close Culverhay School.
Both Will and Shaun have signed the call in request as have 25 other Liberal Democarat and Labour Councillors.
The reasons stated in the Call-In are:
* The consultation was based on the scenario of closing three schools and reopening two – one in the north and one in the south of the city. This scenario was approved by the majority of respondents (66%). By abandoning this scenario and recommending the closure of one school in the south, the Cabinet has disenfranchised residents who, believing that the outcome of the consultation would be a new, coeducational school at Culverhay (which is what the community has wanted for a long time), did not respond to the consultation in large numbers.
* The decision is premature. The availability of ‘Building Schools for the Future’ funding was a significant driver of reorganising secondary provision in Bath. Given that this funding stream is no longer available following the change in Government, the Cabinet has not adequately considered the need to wait until the situation regarding schools legislation and future funding mechanisms is more certain.
* The Cabinet has decided that there should be no change to schools in Keynsham, but the option of no change to schools in Bath has not been considered under section 9 of the report. This is inconsistent.
* If the primary purpose of the review is to improve educational standards, it is inconsistent to close a school which is rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted but to keep both schools in Keynsham, which have lower Ofsted ratings, open. Furthermore, insufficient consideration has been given to the extra services provided at Culverhay school to pupils and to the community (e.g. leisure centre, extracurricular activities, links with primary schools and Bath Spa University) and to the ‘value added’ to pupils’ educational attainment.
The cross party Scrutiny Panel can recommend one of three options –
* the Cabinet should reconsider the decision,
* the Cabinet should proceed as agreed, or
* refer the matter to the full Council to carry out the role of the Panel in reviewing the decision (if this option is chosen, the Council could agree that the Cabinet should proceed as agreed or ask the cabinet to reconsider their decision. The final decision would still reside with the Cabinet).