Community Energy Network Coordinator; Twerton and Whiteway

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Community Energy Network Coordinator; Twerton and Whiteway

Location: Bath Hybrid – working from home, BWCE office in Bath, or on site in the community partners’ location.
Reporting to: Head of Community Engagement at BWCE
Hours: Part-time (15 hours per week worked flexibly) 
Rate of pay: £150 /day or £20/ hr. The individual will be self-employed and responsible for arranging their own tax and NI payments.

BANES Community Energy Network is working with local community partners in Twerton and Whiteway to enable local residents to reduce energy bills, improve home energy efficiency and explore options for community-owned renewable energy projects.

The Community Energy Network Coordinator will carry out community engagement activities to enable local residents and community organisations to both participate in and benefit from BANES Community Energy Network activities in the area. The Community Energy Network Coordinator will display significant knowledge and understanding of the local community.

Working with the Community Energy Network (CEN) and local community partners, the coordinator will organise events, recruit and deploy local Energy Champions, raise awareness, and ensure the project’s activities are inclusive, practical, and aligned with the goals of embedding energy advice into everyday local services to help lower energy bills and improve energy efficiency, connecting community members to work together, and empowering communities to explore and build their own renewable energy projects.

Follow this link to find out more or to apply for the role 

https://www.bwce.coop/current-vacancies

New Changes to Plannig rules reduce democracy

 The new National Scheme of Delegation for planning decisions, which becomes mandatory from31 October 2026. There are no transitional arrangements, so this is a hard deadline. For B&NES. This means less planning applications that residents care about being able to be determined by councillors in committee reducing democratic accountability.

The key changes are:

• Schedule 1 applications must be determined by officers and cannot be called to Planning Committee. These include, broadly, householder applications, residential developments of up to nine dwellings on sites below 0.5 hectares, most reserved matters applications, minor commercial developments and a range of technical applications such as discharge of conditions, non-material amendments and lawful development certificates.
• Schedule 2 applications are also presumed to be delegated, but may go to Committee where the national gateway test is satisfied.
• For a Schedule 2 application to reach Committee, the nominated officer and nominated member must agree that Committee consideration is justified and the application must raise either a significant planning matter, having regard to the development plan and other material considerations, or an economic, social or environmental issue of significance to the local area.
• The national scheme therefore removes the existing ability to seek Committee consideration for Schedule 1 applications. Ward councillors can still request Committee consideration for Schedule 2 applications, but must identify the significant matters relied upon under the gateway test.
• The changes concern who determines an application, not how its planning merits are assessed: planning policies, material considerations and residents’ ability to make representations remain relevant to the determination process.
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• This is an important change because it reduces the range of applications over which local councillors and communities can seek public committee scrutiny. Our own scheme and constitutional arrangements must comply with the national requirements from 31 October.
  
  
  The change has been mandated by the Labour government who seem hell bent on pushing through reforms to the planning system although Your Local Lib Dem councillors remain opposed to these changes but have no choice but to work within the new scheme.
  
  
  It’s important to remember that residents and councillors will have less say in important decisions that affect our communities.
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Bath Neighbourhood CIL funding applications consultation (Round 19)

 Bath and North East Somerset council are asking you to help us decide which of these shortlisted projects should receive funding from the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for Bath. The CIL is a charge which is payable for some new building developments, to be spent on projects which benefit the community.

Public consultation on which projects you think most deserve funding is a required part of the decision-making process when allocating CIL money.

Given the significant interest generated in this funding round, the requests for funding exceed the current availability. When the recommendations are submitted, it is likely that some projects will be placed on a waiting list for future funding opportunities.

Please follow this link to see the applications noting there are specific ones for Twerton and Whiteway that you might want to support.

https://haveyoursay.bathnes.gov.uk/bathcilfunding/

Please follow this link to give your response.

https://haveyoursay.bathnes.gov.uk/bathcilfunding/index.php?contentid=8

Community energy grants

The BWCE Fund is open for grant applications until 1pm on Thursday 29 October.

The BWCE Fund is an independent charity distributing grants to local community projects that reduce carbon emissions or tackle fuel poverty, funded by surplus income from BWCE’s renewable energy projects, and administered by the Quartet Community Foundation.

The Fund is now open for grant applications of up to £5,000 until 1pm on Thursday 29 October. Grants are available for community groups and local environmental organisations in Bath and surrounding areas. 

Carbon reduction does not just relate to energy projects; it might also include local food, sustainable transport or waste reduction or indeed any activity that reduces carbon emissions. Typically, the Fund receives fewer applications around addressing fuel poverty or affordable warmth - so applications in this area are particularly welcomed.

The Fund has supported over a hundred community projects since 2015; details of previously funded projects can be found on the BWCE website: www.bwce.coop/community-benefit     

“…We are aware that fuel poverty is not just a winter issue as our climate changes and would like to see projects that provide, for example, more warm and cool spaces for vulnerable people in the area.  We would also welcome projects that help to shift people from oil heating in rural areas to low carbon alternatives.”    Jane Wildblood, Chair of Trustees for BWCE Fund

For information on eligibility criteria and how to apply visit the link quartetcf.org.uk/grants/bath-west-community-energy-fund/

Planning applications Twerton and Whiteway ward week commencing 12.10 . 2026

176 Haycombe Drive, Southdown, Bath, Bath And North East Somerset, BA2 1PP

Proposal

Conversion of existing dwelling to 2no self contained one-bed flats (retrospective).

Type of Application

Full Application

Status

Pending Consideration

Ward

Twerton

Applicant Name

Mr Neci Irvine

Agent Name

Mr D Bissex

Agent Address

10 Meadow View Radstock BA3 3QT

Case Officer Name

Ed Allsop

To comment on the application or for more details follow this link

https://app.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=26/03737/FUL#details_Section

 

Address of Proposal

Bath City Football Club , High Street, Twerton, Bath, Bath And North East Somerset, BA2 1DB

Proposal

T1 - Western Red Cedar - Fel. lRecent increased lean over car park, huge amounts of deadwood and broken branches.

Type of Application

Tree Works Notification in Con Area

Status

Pending Consideration

Ward

Twerton

Planning Portal Reference Number

PP-15263996

Applicant Name

Debbie King

Agent Name

No Agent

Case Officer Name

Jane Brewer

To comment on this application follow this link

https://app.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=26/03804/TCA#details_Section

Pride in Place Twerton

 We are pleased to support Pride in Place an Independant board free from political interference that has received £20 million government funding over ten years to make Twerton and Whiteway a better place to live for all its residents.

The board is made up of residents from Twerton and Whiteway from various backgrounds and abilities all keen to work to make this project work.

It is important that residents all have their say in this important process as this is a once in a lifetime chance to shape the area for the future.

Please follow the link below to see more of how this works.

https://bathnesplaces.co.uk/prideinplace/

You can help further by filling in the short survey below  

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=owFLK38-c06IkyDvLhKrXpqhcDymQJ9Gs4quNJ68oF9UMTY0N0oyQUFYSEtLUzVMVEVYTVY0Q0JMVS4u&route=shorturl&fbclid=IwdGRjcAU4ms5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBXNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzE3Mzg0NzY0MjY3MDM3MAABHgc3zc2Vz_oUSiX0C7J2OZ0R-xW8VGba4MwJlSUrIfJHatRIFToole0kZL2l_aem_SLQ4aHGd1UtBmPoDQzhoxA

Scheduled Road Works in our area - October - December 2026

Below are details of all planned roadworks that affect our immediate area, some may be just outside the ward but could impact your daily travel. These are shown in date order.

Haycombe Drive - 09.10.2026 - 13.10.2026 - Wessex Water - repair outside number 60, Give way boards in place

Pennard Green - 06.10.2026 - 11.11.2026 - BANES, Skip outside number 6, some carriageway incursion

Windrush Close - 12.10.2026 - 13.10.2026 - VirginMedia - Utility Asset Works, Footpath incursion

Freeview Road - 12.10.2026 - 14.10.2026 - Wessex Water - Repair of domestic leak outside 29, some carriageway incursion

Redland Park - 13.10.2026 - 15.10.2026 - Wessex Water - Repair outside number 49

Freeview Road - 13.10.2026 - 15.10.2026 - Wessex Water - Repair of leak outside number 13, some carriageway incursion

Freeview Road - 13.10.2026 - 15.10.2026 - Wessex Water - Repair of leak outside number 35, some carriageway incursion

Wedgwood Road - 14.10.2026 - 16.10.2026 - Wessex Water - Domestic leak repair near number 41, footpath closed

The Hollow - 14.10.2026 - 04.11.2026 - National Grid - Utility Asset Works, two way traffic lights

Haycombe Drive - 20.10.2026 - BANES - Remedial works following resurfacing, road closed

Lower Bristol Road - 27.10.2026 - BANES - Tree felling next to Highway, two way traffic lights in place

Lower Bristol Road - 02.11.2026 - 03.11.2026 - Wessex Water - Utility Section 81/defect near Rackfield Place, traffic lights in place

The Hollow - 09.11.2026 - 10.11.2026 - Wessex Water - Section 81/Defect, outside Southdown Methodist Church, two way traffic lights in place

Connection Road - 16.11.2026 - Openreach - Utility Repair and Maintenance works, road closed

Clyde Gardens - 16.11.2026 - Openreach - Utility Repair and Maintenance works, road closed

Kelston View/North Way - 16.11.2026 - 25.11.2026 - National Grid - New service connection, two way traffic lights in place

Alec Ricketts Close - 02.12.2026 - 04.12.2026 - Wessex Water - Repair services to the side of 32 Poolemead road, road closed

Springfield Close - 07.12.2026 - Openreach - Utility Asset Works, road closed

Where roads are closed, we will provide full details of impacts on bus services (if applicable) closer to the date of the works. 

Some work is added to this list at short notice and we will endeavour to let residents know as soon as we have been made aware

BANES Planned road resurfacing works in our area

Location	Ward	Proposed date
Haycombe Drive (phase 1)	Twerton	Completed
Highland Road	Twerton	Completed
Lansdown View	Southdown	Completed
Sladebrook Road & Lytton Gardens	Southdown	Completed
Triangle North & Stanley Road West	Westmoreland	Completed