The public information meeting about the timetable for the building works to convert the pub to a care home has been postponed to 6:30pm on Thursday 28th January.
This is due to a burst pipe at the pub which means that the pub needs to be dried out before the meeting!
We understand that Cedar Care has sent a letter with the new date to all the residents who live in the vicinity.
Almost 2,000 pensioners in Bath could be missing out on cold weather payments this winter due to the government’s complicated system.
Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, which goes unclaimed by as many as 1.7m pensioner nationally.
Analysis by the Liberal Democrats estimates that 1,955 of eligible Bath pensioners were not claiming Pension Credit in 2007/8 (the most recent year figures are available). Thus, they would not be receiving the Cold Weather Payment.
Bath’s Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster said,
Fuel prices are at an all time high, making Cold Weather Payments all the more important to people already struggling on a poverty pension. Labour has failed pensioners by creating a complicated system that makes it difficult for them to get the help they desperately need.
The Government should be making every effort to identify pensioners who are missing out and get them this extra cash.
Councillor Caroline Roberts, Chair of the Safer Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel, has warned that the improvements in street cleansing promised for Bath may be impossible if the job cuts which have been threatened in the Council’s Environmental services section actually happen.
Councillor Roberts (Newbridge, Lib Dem) said:
Members of the Bath City Liaison Forum delivered a very detailed report on improvements to cleansing in the city of Bath, and the recommendations were accepted by the Cabinet member for Customer services.
These services are already being delivered with very limited resources and any reduction in service would not be looked at very favourably by local residents. We will be scrutinising the budget papers very carefully at our January meeting.
We were shocked that ‘at risk’ notices were delivered to staff during the festive season; this was a major blunder by the Council administration and is certainly no way to treat the Council’s loyal and hard working staff.
Local residents have just a few weeks left to give their views on public conveniences in the area, as part of a consultation being run by the Council.
The consultation, which ends on February 5, is looking at standards of provision across the district, including the quality, quantity, and distribution of public conveniences.
Amongst other issues, the Council also wants people’s views on what facilities public conveniences should contain, eg baby changing facilities; what times of day they should be open; where any new facilities should be located and how many facilities there should be.
One of the areas the Council is looking at with the private sector is a community or partnership toilet scheme whereby more pubs, restaurants and shops give public access to their toilets. This system works well elsewhere in the country.
The Tory Council thinks that this type of scheme could be a real opportunity for businesses and the Council to work together for the overall benefit of the community. The Council wants to hear what local shops and businesses think and which ones would be interested in taking part.
Anyone wanting to know more about the proposals and have their say can go to www.bathnes.gov.uk and under the ‘Of Interest’ link click ‘Public Convenience Provision – Consultation’. Or contact Council Connect on 01225 39 40 41 or email councilconnect@bathnes.gov.uk.
The online consultation also includes specific information and a questionnaire about a Community Toilet Scheme for businesses to input their thoughts.
The results of the consultation will be considered by the Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel at a later date.
The Council is in the process of creating Regeneration Delivery Plans for the Western Corridor and Lower Bristol Road area of Bath.
RDPs are also being produced for Bath city centre, Keynsham, Midsomer Norton and Radstock and will help inform the strategic site allocations in the emerging Core Strategy. In due course the RDPs will help in the creation of area specific Supplementary Planning Documents which will be material consideration in respect of any planning applications and importantly will provide clarity over actions to deliver key regeneration sites.
The Council states that the,
RDP for the Lower Bristol Road and Western Corridor is being drawn up to help support and encourage economic growth whilst ensuring that the unique advantages of being based in Bath are identified and enhanced.
As part of the Lower Bristol Road and Western Corridor RDP, Savills, the Council’s appointed consultant, will be engaging with local stakeholders including businesses within the area to establish what businesses’ plans are in the short, medium and longer term. This will be carried out through telephone surveys and in some cases, site visits. Savills will also engage with local residents and other local groups to ensure that the voices of those who have a direct interest in this important corridor for Bath are heard.
The current planned engagement for the Lower Bristol Road Western Corridor RDP process is set out below:
– January 2010 – Finalise information gathering (including landowner questionnaires)
– February 2010 – Confirmation of issues and options through stakeholder engagement
– March 2010 – Draft RDP
– April 2010 – RDP sign off
If you have any comments on the future of of this area of the city or the RDP progress, please contact us with your comments.
We have received requests for a Grit Bin on Stirtingale Avenue, and we have requested that the Grit Bin on St Kilda’s Road is refilled.
Do any other roads and street in Oldfield Park need a Grit Bin? Please let Shaun and Will know.
The Council has given NOTICE to either create or amend various Car Club Bays in the city including those at: Canterbury Road, Triangle East and Upper Oldfield Park. These proposals are made using the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 as amended.
Full details of the proposal are contained in the draft order, which together with a map and a Statement of the Council’s Reasons for proposing to make the order may be inspected at Trimbridge House, Trim Street, Bath and at the Council offices below during normal office hours.
Objections and representations with respect to the proposal, together with the grounds on which they are made must be sent in writing to the Traffic and Safety Team quoting the title of the scheme: (Various Roads, Bath) (Car Club Bays) Order 201-; and the reference PEV5937/LJ at the address below by 4th February 2010.
For any queries concerning this proposal please telephone 01225 395404. Please note that all representations received may be considered in public by the Council and that the substance of any representation together with the name and address of the person making it, could become available for public inspection.
Contact: Parking Services, Riverside, Temple Street, Keynsham. BS31 1LA
At some point between Sunday December the 27th and Sunday January the 3rd, unknown person(s) have gained entry to a garage in Winchester Road. Nothing appears to have been taken at this time. The Police want to remind residents to ensure that all garages, sheds and outbuildings are kept secure at all times.
If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact the Police on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively you could contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Today, all councillors received this letter from the most Senior Police Officer in Bath & North East Somerset:
Crime Reduction (-11.4%)
Detection (36.7%)
Customer Satisfaction (86%)Firstly can I wish everyone a very happy and enjoyable New Year. The Christmas/New year was a busy period for us but I am pleased to tell you that in overall terms reported crime in December was 11% down on last year. It was particularly good to see 30% less houses were broken into during December compared to last December.
It made me reflect on how at the beginning of the previous decade the focus for policing was reducing crime against property. People were having their houses broken into, their cars stolen or broken into and our efforts were very focused on stopping determined criminals stealing other people’s property. In the last few years we have seen considerable success and dramatic reductions in acquisitive crime and levels are now as low as many can remember.
On the other hand it is becoming increasingly apparent that it is necessary for us to put greater emphasis on how people treat each other and I suggest that this will be the challenge of the next decade. Concern is increasing as to the impact a small minority of people have on other lives.
At one end of the spectrum is anti social behaviour which is annoying, irritating and a cause of anxiety for so many people. The use of violence to resolve a situation is increasingly common, often this occurs where people know each other and is increasingly difficult to control whether it be domestic violence, still well hidden from most of us, or violence in our towns and city on a Friday / Saturday night. Vulnerable adults, the elderly and young children all require protection and greater emphasis is now needed on how we deal with those people who remain in our community but pose a risk to those they live with or near.