Annual Review - 2019

As this decade draws to a close, we would like to take this opportunity of thanking all of our residents that go out of their way to help make Twerton and Whiteway a better place to live.  

2019 saw the local elections where you not only voted again for Tim Ball to represent you on the Local Council but also voted for Sarah Moore to join him to make sure the Liberal Democrat team have a stronger voice for all the residents in Twerton and Whiteway.

During 2019 your Liberal Democrat team managed to resolve a number of issues to benefit the area, fulfilling some of our election promises. Some of these are listed below:

• Resurfacing of North Way, part of Redland Park and several other roads in Twerton
• Planting of new Trees in Innox Park
• Installation of new play equipment at Innox Park
• Installation of new bins across Twerton
• Installation of much needed Handrails on Kelston View
• Introduction of new bin storage being put in place in conjunction with Curo
• Installation of new Fencing in Waterloo Buildings
• Replacement of street signs in many areas

A large amount of personal casework has been undertaken on behalf of individuals across the area and resolution found to almost all of it.

Tim and Sarah re-introduced a monthly ward surgery where residents have been coming to discuss issues directly and we are pleased to say these will continue.

Whilst we still have a number of issues around the area, Tim and Sarah are committed to finding a solution to as many as they can as soon as possible over the coming months and years. 

Tim and Sarah would like to take this opportunity to wish all residents a safe, happy and prosperous New Year and look forward to talking with many of you over the coming months.

Twerton and Whiteway Updates

We hope all residents across Twerton and Whiteway had a safe and peaceful Christmas Day.

Tim and Sarah have been out around the area today to check out a few issues and pick up on any other problems in the community, it was rather damp.

It is good to see that BT have finally removed all the damaged telephone boxes that have not been in operation for a while.

We have also made a list of other problems that need addressing in a number of streets across the ward and will report back on these early in the new year.

Please remember there is no rubbish or recycling collection this Friday, it will be collected on Monday 30th December, so please do not put anything out over the weekend as this is likely to be blown around the streets.

Christmas & New Year Rubbish/Recycling Collections

Below are the detail of the revised Rubbish and Recycling days for the Christmas and New Year Holiday period:

My Collection day should be	Revised collection day
Wednesday 25 December	Friday 27th December
Thursday 26th December	Saturday 28th December
Friday 27th December	Monday 30 December
Monday 30 December	Tuesday 31 December
Tuesday 31st December	Thursday 2nd January
Wednesday 1st January	Friday 3rd January
Thursday 2nd January	Saturday 4th January
Friday 3rd January	Monday 6 January
Monday 6th January	Tuesday 7th January
Tuesday 7th January	Wednesday 8th January
Wednesday 8th January	Thursday 9th January
Thursday 9th January	Friday 10th January
Friday 10th January	Saturday 11 January

Normal collections will resume from Monday 13 January 2020

There will be NO garden waste collections from Monday 9 December 2019 to Friday 17 January 2020 inclusive. Normal garden waste collections will start again on Monday 20 January.

People who have bought real Christmas trees can take them to the council’s recycling centres or put them out for collection between January 20 and 10 February on garden waste collections days (even if they don’t have a green bin) and the council will collect them free of charge.  Please cut them up small enough to fit in the lorry and ensure they are free of decorations.

Alternatively, if you live in BA1, BA2 or BA3 Dorothy House are once again offering to collect them for a small donation to the charity.  For further information or to register your tree for collection visit www.charityxmastreecollection.com

The council’s recycling centres will be operating as normal for the majority of the festive period, but will be closed on:

• Christmas Day – Wednesday 25 December
• Boxing Day – Thursday 26 December
• New Year’s Day – Wednesday 1 January

For further information or details of updates to collections during extreme bad weather conditions visit: www.bathnes.gov.uk/wasteservices or call Council Connect on 01225 394941

Thank You

Whilst Tim and Sarah were elected to represent all the residents of Twerton and Whiteway on the Council, they would like to express their thanks and appreciation for all the volunteers and groups that work in the ward providing essential help and support to individuals and families that are less able or fortunate than others.

Without these groups so many of the more vulnerable people in our area would have an even harder life.

We are fortunate to have an amazing farm that offers so much more than just animals to visit, it also has it's own Cafe and volunteering opportunities, so please take the time to visit.

We have Southside Community Hub and Rose Cottage Hub at either end of the ward that are great places to go as well.

Twerton Nursery & Infants School and St Michael's Junior School have more to offer than just regular lessons.  There is a forest school on the grounds of the Infant School that includes it's own yurt and the Junior School also have a bus on the grounds where pupils can go and experience something different from the standard classroom format.

We also have First Steps Nursery and other pre-school groups across the area.

The Twerton Village Hall has seen a great increase of groups and activities thanks to dedicated volunteers.

There are so many other great groups and facilities in our area that we have not mentioned here, but we will be looking at over the coming months to highlight the essential work they do which you may not be aware of or would like to help with.

Rubbish and Recycling

Part of the issue with litter on our streets is the incorrect presentation of rubbish and recycling for collection.

In Twerton and Whiteway we have rubbish collected every fortnight on a Friday and recycling is collected every week on a Friday.

Every household across the area should have either a black bin or black reusable rubbish sack in which to put their household waste, we would encourage as many households as possible to recycle their waste as this reduces the amount of rubbish to be put into these containers and therefore means extra black bags are less likely to be put out.

The flats across the area have a slightly different storage solution, a number of these have dedicated large bins in bin stores which should only be used for household waste and not for anything else like broken appliances etc.

Recycling containers are not restricted, every household is entitled to green boxes, blue sack (for cardboard) and black food containers.  

The food waste containers come in 2 sizes a small caddy for internal use and a larger one that you can then put the bags from the internal caddy into.  Food waste can be put out in plastic bags, or you can get caddy bags from the Council.

The green boxes are not restricted to a single box per household, if you require more receptacles for your recycling please do get in touch with Council connect or you can order additional boxes here, This link also shows exactly what can be recycled and when your collection days are.

The Council also offers a garden waste recycling service, you can either purchase single use green waste bags or you can pay an annual charge and use a wheelie bin to put you green waste out every fortnight.

If you have any questions about the rubbish or recycling service, please do get in touch with Tim or Sarah.  We are keen to get as many residents to present their waste correctly to help improve the condition of our streets.

Twerton and Whiteway Issues

Tim and Sarah were both elected to represent all the residents in Twerton and Whiteway during the elections in May 2019.

Since those elections they have been working hard both in the community and in conjunction with the Council and Curo to help individual residents.

Tim and Sarah hold a monthly ward surgery on the 1st Saturday of every month in Rose Cottage on Twerton High Street, between 10am and 12noon and are also available every 3rd Saturday at Bradbury's Caff on Mount Road.

Please do contact either of them if you have an issue or concern that is not being addressed or if you need help that you are not receiving and they will do their best to help you.

Road and Footpath Resurfacing

As part of the 2019 election campaign, Tim and Sarah agreed to continue to fight to secure funding to get roads and footpaths that are in a poor condition across Twerton and Whiteway resurfaced.

We are pleased to confirm that a number of these have been addressed in that last few months, however there are still more that need urgent attention, including Poolemead Road, Wedgwood Road, Haycombe Drive and footpaths such as the one linking Sheridan Road to Long Valley Road.  

Tim and Sarah can confirm that these remain to be a focus for them to ensure everyone can move around the area safely.

If you have anything in your street that is not being addressed, please do get in touch.

The Hollow - Planning Application

As many of you know, there is yet another on-going planning application for Private Houses to be built on the land below the Bath City Farm on The Hollow.

The applicant has put through several different variations on their application in a bid to build on this land.

The Councillors for this area have been vocal on their objections to the building of private homes on this land for a number of reasons and Sarah Moore has registered to speak at the Planning Meeting on 18th December in which this application is to be heard.

We will of course keep you updated on the outcome of this application as and when more details become available.

Planning applcation Clyde House High Street Twerton

We have a planning application at Clyde House 56 High Street Twerton for tree works at the property.

Please follow this link if you wish to inspect the application or make comments.

Clyde House

Drains

During the recent wet weather, the condition of the drains across Twerton and Whiteway have shown how the lack of maintenance has resulted in so many being blocked and unable to handle the rainfall.

Tim and Sarah have asked that all the drains in the area are cleared before the weather becomes too bad to ensure that as much rain water as possible can soak away and not cause other issues on our roads and footpaths.

If you find a drain that is blocked you can either report this direct to the Council via the fixmystreet app (free to download from app stores and very easy to use) or contact Tim or Sarah direct.

Your Councillors and Curo

Since the Summer, Tim and Sarah have been having a monthly meeting with various staff at Curo.

This increase in direct communication means that issues can be discussed and an action plan put in place to try and tackle them.

During the meetings ward specific and individual resident concerns have been raised and acted upon.

These meetings are proving very productive and will continue in the future, so if you live in Twerton or Whiteway and are struggling to get action from Curo, please do let Sarah or Tim know and they will be able to discuss this with you and possibly raise this during their monthly meeting.

Lower Bristol Road - Parking

We have again requested the Council urgently review the state of parking on the Lower Bristol Road, specifically on the section from MacDonalds up to the Turnpike.

As you will be aware at this time of year, coaches are usually permitted to park along a large section of this road, especially along the fastest section, making it even more dangerous than usual.

This is not acceptable, we have asked officers to review this practice and look at alternative locations.

We have secured some additional double yellow line parking restrictions to be put in place, but again, we do not feel this covers a large enough section of this road to make it safe and have asked for this to be reviewed at the same time.

We appreciate that coaches may have already been granted permits to park on this section of road, however, we have asked for the restrictions to be imposed as soon as possible.

We will update you further when we have received a response.

Litter Bins

Whilst Twerton and Whiteway is starting to look a lot cleaner, with thanks to an increasing number of residents that are voluntarily spending time out and about picking up litter, we still have a few areas that would benefit from the installation of a litter bin.

Tim and Sarah are working hard to secure more bins in various locations around the ward including a replacement bin at the top of Innox Park.

We would like to encourage people to take responsibility for their own rubbish, whether it is a sweet wrapper, cigarette butt or even food waste, litter is only on our streets because people decide to chuck it there.

Together we can make our area the cleanest in Bath & North East Somerset.

Don’t let your community heroes go unrecognised

Time is running out to nominate people in Bath and North East Somerset who make an exceptional contribution to the community for a prestigious award.

The deadline for nominations for this year’s Community Awards is on 20 December and the council is encouraging people to put forward the volunteers, charities, carers, community leaders, staff and businesses in their community who might have been unsung heroes until now.

There are many people and organisations across Bath and North East Somerset who work tirelessly for the benefit of the community to improve people’s lives, whose initiatives the Community Awards seek to recognise and champion.

New for this year are awards for Charity of the Year, Foster Carer of the Year and Green Business of the Year. The Volunteer Leader of the Year Award has been renamed ‘The Beryl Dixon Community Leader of the Year Award’, in honour of Beryl Dixon, a well-respected advocate for the BME community who sadly died in 2017.

Films about three of last year’s winners are taking shape and will be shown at this year’s awards ceremony in February. Bath City Farm, the Guide Dogs for the Blind and Bath Ethnic Minority Senior Citizens Association (BEMSCA) are having their achievements highlighted in a short film that will be theirs to keep after the ceremony.

This year’s awards categories are:

Category 1: Volunteering

Volunteer of the Year  / Young Volunteer of the Year (25 and Under)

Volunteer Team of the Year / Young Volunteer Team of the Year (25 and Under)

The Peter Duppa-Miller Lifetime Achievement / Young Volunteer Leader of the Year (25 and Under)

Category 2: Charities

Charity of the Year

The Beryl Dixon Community Leader of the Year

Category 3: Carers

Carer of the Year / Young Carer of the Year (25 and Under)

B&NES Foster Carer of the Year

Category 4: Business

Business in the Community

Green Business Leader of the Year

Category 5: Services to the community

Above and Beyond Employee of the Year (partner organisations only)

Above and Beyond Employee Team of the Year (partner organisations only)

Employee Long Service Award (partner organisations only)

Residents, staff, councillors, businesses, organisations and groups, teachers, and volunteers from Bath and North East Somerset can nominate people or organisations for an award. Nomination forms must be returned by no later than 20th December.

People can nominate online by visiting: www.bathnes.gov.uk/communityawards

Nomination forms can also be downloaded and posted, clearly marked ‘The Community Awards 2019/2020’, to: The Community Awards 2019/20, c/o Chief Executive  Office, Partnerships and Corporate Services, Bath & North East Somerset Council, The Guildhall, High Street, Bath, BA1 5AW.

Everyone nominated for an award will be presented with a certificate in recognition of their contribution and invited along to the Awards in the Assembly Rooms in Bath on 25 February 2020. The winners of each category will receive a certificate and will be presented with a personalised Bath Aqua Glass Award at the event.

The Community Awards are organised in partnership with B&NES Clinical Commissioning Group, CURO, Sirona Care and Health, B&NES Virgin Care, Student Community Partnership, Bath College and a new partner for this year, 3SG.

Keep in Touch

Tim and Sarah are busy all year round working with the community to make Twerton & Whiteway the best it can be.

They post regularly on social media and residents can contact them by email, phone or via social media.  Below are the full contact details for each of your Councillors, please do follow the social media accounts as these are used to keep residents updated of things that will affect them as well as promoting local community events that you could go along and support:

Councillor Sarah Moore

Twitter - @sarahm_twerton
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sarahmooretwerton/
Email - sarah_moore@bathnes.gov.uk
Phone - 07807013635

Councillor Tim Ball

Twitter - @timothyball
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/timballtwerton/
Email - tim_ball@bathnes.gov.uk
Phone - 07970461674

Twerton & Whiteway Liberal Democrats

Twitter - @Twertonlibdems
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TwertonWhitewaylibdems/

Bus Shelters

During 2019 we have seen almost all of the Bus Shelters in the area vandalised.  This is very disappointing and incurs a waste of valuable money and resources to continue to repair them.

Tim and Sarah are pleased to confirm that they have now received confirmation that shelters across the area will be repaired, however, instead of glass, the mesh that was installed in the Whiteway shelter (shown below) will be used.

This will hopefully provide the shelter needed for the people waiting for the bus whilst not obscuring the view or making the shelters too confined and reduce the prospect of vandalism.

Winter waste and recycling

Recycling and rubbish collection dates across Bath and North East Somerset will be revised over Christmas and New Year.

There will be no collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day.

Look out for the flyer advising of the revised collection dates which will be delivered to residents in the post at the beginning of December.

Full details will also be advertised in the local press and residents can also check collection dates for specific addresses on the council’s website: www.bathnes.gov.uk/checkcollection

With more rubbish thrown away over the festive period than at any other time of year, residents are being urged to recycle as much waste as possible.

Councillor David Wood, joint cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhood Services, said: “Across the country the amount of waste generated over Christmas increases by almost a third. That’s a lot of extra rubbish, but if we think before we buy, we can reduce the amount of waste we create. Please think twice before buying cards with environmentally damaging glitter, and shiny wrapping paper which can’t be recycled as it contains plastic.

“When Christmas shopping choose environmentally friendly presents such as appliances that use renewable energy like a wind-up radio or torch, dynamo bicycle lights or a solar powered calculator. If you do need batteries opt for rechargeable ones and send recycled Christmas cards or e-cards.

“Once the presents have been unwrapped and the turkey eaten, inevitably there will be lots of rubbish and waste. It’s really important residents recycle as much as they can to avoid waste going to landfill – please use your food waste bin, green box and blue bag recycling collections and if you plan to make a New Year’s resolution, how about a pledge to recycle more?”

The majority of Christmas waste can be recycled from kerbside collections:

Food waste bin

• All food waste, including meat and bones - especially turkey bones & sprout peelings!

Recycling Boxes

• Wrapping paper (White backed wrapping paper. No glitter or foil).
• Tins and cans
• Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays
• Glass bottles and jars (mincemeat jars)
• Foil (mince pie cases)
• Textiles – such as Christmas jumpers should be placed in a carrier bag in the box
• Small electricals (broken fairy lights)
• Batteries, mobile phones, printer cartridges, spectacles, engine oil and car batteries

Blue bag

• Cardboard and brown paper – Advent calendars, Christmas cards and gift tags can be placed in blue bags provided they are not shiny or glittery. 

The council’s recycling centres will be operating as normal for the majority of the festive period, but will be closed on:

• Christmas Day – Wednesday 25 December
• Boxing Day – Thursday 26 December
• New Year’s Day – Wednesday 1 January

There will be NO garden waste collections from Monday 9 December 2019 to Friday 17 January 2020 inclusive. Normal garden waste collections will start again on Monday 20 January.

People who have bought real Christmas trees can take them to the council’s recycling centres or put them out for collection between January 20 and 10 February on garden waste collections days (even if they don’t have a green bin) and the council will collect them free of charge.  Please cut them up small enough to fit in the lorry and ensure they are free of decorations.

Alternatively, if you live in BA1, BA2 or BA3 Dorothy House are once again offering to collect them for a small donation to the charity.  For further information or to register your tree for collection visit www.charityxmastreecollection.com

The Love Food Hate Waste website www.lovefoodhatewaste.com has plenty of seasonal tips to help reduce food waste and save money this Christmas.

For further information or details of updates to collections during extreme bad weather conditions visit: www.bathnes.gov.uk/wasteservices or call Council Connect on 01225 394941

For news and tips on how to recycle more visit: www.facebook.com/recycleforbanes

Freevew Road - Update

Tim and Sarah have requested a meeting on Freeview Road with the Highways team to look at what can be done on both sides of the road to clear the increasing amount of weeds in the gutters.  This issue has been left for far too long and needs urgent attention.

They are also chasing up timescales for the Grasscrete to be installed and will confirm back to residents as soon as this has been scheduled.

If you have issues in your street that needs attention, please do get in touch.

Leaf Clearance and Disposal

Following issues in previous years, Tim and Sarah have been working closely with the Council to ensure leaves that are collected this year are not dumped in our local park areas.

They have had assurances that there is now a clear process in place that the leaves will be disposed of in non public areas.

Sarah and Tim have also arranged for public areas of Twerton that experience large deposits of leaves on the footpaths, for example, Watery Lane and Newton Road to be cleared more regularly, making these areas safer for all to use.

Tree planting in Bath & North East Somerset to slow Climate Change

Below is the latest news from BANES on our proposals to plant more trees:

The number of trees in Bath & North East Somerset could be doubled as part of the council’s commitment to tackle the climate emergency with an early ambition of planting 100,000 trees, with partners and communities, by May 2023.

The council aims to deliver on ambitions published by the West of England Nature Partnership to double woodland across the district by 2060 and is currently carrying out surveys on current canopy coverage.

Councillor Dave Wood, joint cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhood Services, said: “These are ambitious plans to tackle the climate emergency that shows Bath and North East Somerset Council is leading the way nationally on tree planting.  Following the local elections we said we would show real leadership on tackling the Climate Emergency and this is just one example of what we are doing.

“Knowing the positive contribution that trees make to reducing pollution, mental health, averting flooding, producing vital oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide, I am committed to increased tree planting. However, reforestation and re-wilding needs to be considered properly alongside the diversity of habitats.

“Our Parks team replants up to eight trees for every one felled by development and is already investing £65,000 in tree planting in parks over the next five to 10 years. The Bathscape project is working with landowners on better managed woodlands, grasslands and planting trees in the right places to prevent loss of wildlife-rich habitats.”

A detailed Tree and Woodland Plan will be produced showing where the trees could go and how the planting will be resourced in partnership with communities, volunteers and landowners.

Ross Kennerley, South West Regional Director at Woodland Trust, said: “The Woodland Trust fully supports this leadership by Bath & North East Somerset Council in response to the climate emergency. Not only are trees excellent at capturing carbon, they are vital to healthy, resilient and wildlife-rich places – both in our cities and the countryside. We look forward to working with the council and the wider West of England area through the West of England Nature Partnership to get the right trees in the right place, for people and wildlife.”

More than 2,000 trees have already been planted in Bath & North East Somerset this year through the council working with community groups and partners and funded by contributions from new developments within the district.

The plans lead up to the Woodland Trust’s Big Climate Fightback in November which aims to get more than a million people to pledge to plant a tree during a special day of mass tree planting on 30 November.

In Bath & North East Somerset, the Woodland Trust will be planting 5,000 trees this winter. For more information and to pledge to plant a tree visit: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/bigclimatefightback<http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=HrB2B5U4VhMCAF1cCvfeWgTmuMETAMXOVADKuwj32_P4Y1YCoiKVcmdCJ9PfQuLrjsU2WwNyB9BK90EgEkuH58oU3Y4wvIL7Jqt7-U64plNBVq3x_RfH42SuasE5tdI3lmfNJ7kZUKO09dhwsn9iIzW-E0UeF0s8bdQnPWO9LJ3f0>

A West of England Tree and Woodland Strategy will be developed with the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs, Forestry Commission, Woodland Trust, National Trust and other unitary authorities. More information about the West of England Nature Partnership plans can be found at http://www.wenp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Towards-a-Nature-Recovery-Network-for-the-West-of-England-A-Methodology.pdf<http://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=JK_XLonjqwcwFv0re7GuYC3Ef7xV_oKvKiDqa2ovYJrkPUl8hwLvJxVirG-D0GqoAfKlgcjgoV9vYDlUUQctMOFmIO9_xzQPw1-YN3qTXTucbM4EpsPnSsAIPUtZ-48or4sfG3JrNC-1ztlmKkhSKGNafZnlfUPnuXaRBJywdSC-2mqTaDOGZUz3jbUgT2aB-m4_J4A0zE34njvBqBj6jWOY5aCX3eOHyqT3SLbogw1UxsrBht5vQh6nnIWmyq7PqA2

Tim Ball and Sarah Moore joined local residents in April to plant trees in Innox Park and are looking forward to putting more across the ward.

Twerton - Summer Highlights

Whilst we have been very quiet with the blog, both Tim and Sarah have been out across the ward talking with residents and taking action on issues and improvements.

The initial updating phase of Innox Park has been completed, with new seating and play equipment being installed.  Dates in September where residents can come along and help creating wild flower meadows in conjunction with Bathscape, National Trust and Avon Wildlife Trust, have been confirmed, please do come along if you can, these are:

Thursday 12th September 10.30am - 2.30pm

Tuesday 17th September 10.30am - 2.30pm

Tuesday 24th September 10.30am - 2.30pm

A number of our roads have now seen large sections resurfaced ensuring they are safer for all road users.

Meetings with Curo have enabled us to highlight a number of frustrations local residents have with the services they provide and try to get a resolution to long term issues, for example, they are investigating solutions to the flytipping in the bin stores that too many residents are having to put up with.

There are also a number of updates coming forward from Council including details of the old Culverhay/BCA site on Rush Hill and latest information on the CAZ proposals.

We will be posting more specific updates on Twerton and Whiteway activities over the next few days.

However, if you have an issue in your area that you think we can help with, please do get in touch. 

Bath City Football application - information workshops by Councillors

RE Bath City Football Club Planning application ref 19/02276/FUL

This planning application can be viewed and commented on the BANES planning web page here.

It is in the best public interest that residents are able to view the planning application and be able to make their own independent comments on the application which will make a significant change to Twerton High Street, and in that light your Twerton Councillors have enable a paper copy of the plans is available for residents to view at Rose Cottage on Twerton High Street.

We will be holding information workshops to assist residents in understanding the application and to be able to make comments, dates and places below.

Stall on Twerton High Street

Saturday 15^th and 22nd, June 10am till 12 noon

Bradburys Caff, Mount Road

29^th June 11am till 12 noon

Other times available by phoning Sarah

New Pop-up creative space for Twerton High Street

A former vacant shop unit in Twerton High Street, Bath has been transformed into a community-led pop-up creative space and workshop for Bath’s Carnival team.

The team will use the space over the next few weeks to work with volunteers and professional artists to make carnival costumes for the July carnival.

The project has been delivered with support from Bath & North East Somerset Council and funded by the West of England Combined Authority as part of the regional ‘Love our High Streets’ pilot which seeks to re-vitalise and re-think the way we use local High Streets.

Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for Housing, Planning & Economic Development, said: “I am delighted to champion this project which will provide a real boost for Twerton High Street. Our High Streets are changing and we need to come up with new and innovative ways to ensure they thrive. High Streets provide a focal point for communities; contributing to our health and wellbeing, reducing isolation and loneliness, reducing car dependency and promoting active travel. By creatively using vacant premises we can give our High Streets a new lease of life and help support local businesses.”

Councillor Sarah Moore said: "The future of our High Street isn’t just about shops, it’s about our businesses, community activities, services and homes. Bringing communities together is the best way to revitalise Twerton High Street and make it a thriving hub every day.”

As well as using the space to create costumes for the parade, the carnival team will run in collaboration with local charities a series of community workshops on the site to help residents across Bath prepare for the big day.

Stuart Mason, Project Coordinator for Bath Carnival, said “One of the biggest challenges we face each year is securing a safe space for our artists to design create and repair costumes This unit is a real game changer, with enough space for our lead artists to work on some of our largest structures and costumes as well as provided space for us to run sessions with volunteers and workshop participants to upskill them in carnival arts.

“Suitable spaces for the arts are really hard to come by, so we are very grateful to everyone who has helped make this happen. The results will be for everyone to see at the carnival in July, which is shaping up to be a pretty spectacular event!”

Bath Carnival takes place on Saturday 13 July and will involve a free Party in the Park in Sydney Gardens and a stunning two-hour carnival procession around Bath city centre.

Volunteering opportunities are still available.  For more information visit the carnival website:  http://www.bathcarnival.co.uk/

Voluntary sector groups or charities that are interested in using the Twerton High Street unit or other vacant premises in the area should email: environment&design@bathnes.gov.uk

Love our High Streets Pilot

The Love Our High Streets project is funded by the West of England Combined Authority.

The B&NES Love Our High Streets Pilot comprises three parts, which each focus on High Street vitality at different neighbourhood scales; city centre, town centre and neighbourhood/local centre.

The pop-up space is part of the Local High Street initiative which will deliver improvements to Twerton High Street, along with a wider Local High Street vitality health check which will assess the health and vibrancy all local centres across Bath and North East Somerset to identify how they can be supported and improved.

Bath Carnival:

Bath Carnival takes place on Saturday 13 July.

Carnival Parade | 15:00 | City Centre | FREE

Party in the Park | 10:00 – 22:00 | Sydney Gardens | FREE

Fiesta at the Rec | 10:00 – 15:00 | Bath Recreation Ground | FREE

Public donations to the Local Giving page: https://localgiving.org/charity/bathcarnival/

Sponsorship enquiries to enq@bathcarnival.co.uk

For more information about Bath Carnival visit: www.bathcarnival.co.uk or email: enq@bathcarnival.co.uk

Insta: @bathcarnival

Twitter: @bathcarnival

Facebook: /bathcarnival

Bath City Football - Redevelopment

As many of you will now know, the planning application from Greenacre Developments and Bath City Football Club have now been submitted and are open for comments from the public.

The planning application can be found here and the timeline for this application is as follows:

Date Application Received:                       22/05/2019
Date Application Validated:                       29/05/2019
Neighbourhood Consultations sent on:     31/05/2019
Standard Consultations sent on:               31/05/2019
Last advertised on:                                    13/06/2019
Latest Site Notice posted on:                    13/06/2019
Expiry Date for Consultation:                    04/07/2019
Target Decision Date:                                28/08/2019

We are aware that this application has been received well by some residents but not by the majority of others and are keen to ensure as many people put their views forward on this as possible as it will shape how Twerton High Street will look for years to come.

Both Tim Ball and Sarah Moore have great concerns about the application in it's present form including over-development of the site and lack of infrastructure, specifically how the area will deal with the considerable larger quantity of bus issues that would arise from such a large increase in student population in the area. 

We also feel that the lack of residents in the area out of term time and football season will not improve this area for a large period of the year, therefore being of no overall benefit to our area.  The inclusion of community and cafe facilities were apparently borne out of the resident consultations, however, since these were held, both Rose Cottage and the Village Hall have seen a large increase of resident involvement and this could therefore be detrimental to the already established community facilities within the village that local residents use.

As such both Tim Ball and Sarah Moore will be fully reviewing the large quantity of documentation that accompanies this application prior to making any representations to the Council about it and would urge all residents that have an opinion either way to do the same.  This re-development needs to benefit the community of Twerton and not just the developer and Football Club.

Twerton Ward issues

We have been out in every street in Twerton & Whiteway this weekend and have picked up over 50 separate issues.

In our bid to make our area the best it can be, we will be dealing with these over the next couple of weeks, however, if there is something that is specifically affecting you and are not sure if we have picked this up, please do get in touch.

We have a meeting arranged with Curo this week at which we will be raising a large number of issues directly with them and will be insisting residents are put first and our whole area is cleared up urgently.

Lower Bristol Road - Overhanging Vegetation

After raising concerns that the vegetation that is overhanging the footpath and obscuring road signs and traffic lights, we have had confirmation that Network Rail are going to attend and clear this.

The section of footpath opposite MacDonalds on the Lower Bristol Road has both shrubs and branches overhanging and obscuring road signs and the traffic lights.  It is now so overgrown that some areas are very dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists as well as almost totally obscuring the traffic lights at the junction with the turning into Twerton High Street.

Linley Close - Flytipping

This is a regular occurrence in the garage area behind the Centurian and is totally unacceptable.  Residents are fed up that just a few people still think they can just dump their rubbish and expect it to be taken away for them.

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I have asked that this is removed and cleaned up as soon as possible and solutions are sought to prevent this from constantly re-occurring. 

Pennyquick Park - Issues

I was alerted to a broken fence at the play area in Pennyquick Park via Facebook today.  I have reported this to the council to be properly repaired, however, to ensure children can continue to safely play in this area I have visited the park and made a temporary repair.

I have also contacted BT again to ask that they either fully repair the damaged telephone box at the entrance to the park or remove it, as it is of little use to anyone in the condition it is currently in.