Curo Walkabout - Twerton and Whiteway

On Friday 19th October, Tim Ball and Sarah Moore met with a representative from Curo to walk around Walwyn Close, Woodhouse Road and Redland Park area of Twerton to show him first hand how unloved the area is and discuss regularly reported issues.

He has agreed that a number of trees and bushes need to be cut back to ensure the lighting is more effective as well as regular clean up of the area.

Curo are making changes to the way they work at the moment and we will hopefully have a full update on this shortly.

On Monday 22nd October, Sarah and Tim were joined by local residents and Senior Management from Curo to take a walk around Blagdon Park, Rosewarn Close and parts of Haycombe Drive for them to see the state of the area.

We discussed parking issues and a number of vehicles have now been served a 28 day notice for the owners to either remove them or Curo will take them away.  They are also looking at other ways to ease parking problems around the area.

Residents are fed up with not being listened to and having to regularly contact Curo to get anything done.

We have said that the biggest issues residents have is the lack of communication and action.  Whilst we know money is tight for everyone, Curo understands it has a duty to provide a service to it's customers and has agreed to go back and see how they can improve this process. 

We will keep you informed of any updates we have from Curo as we receive them.

Calls to reopen Culverhay School

We the undersigned believe that too many young people in Bath are being failed by the education system. 

The potential closure of The Studio School and the actual closure of Bath Community Academy (formerly Culverhay School) means that there is no longer a mainstream secondary school in south west Bath. 

Parents will now face an even more significant challenge in getting their children into local schools. Growing numbers of young people are being forced to travel across to St Mark’s on the other side of the city. 

We need an education system to fit in with local children’s needs and serve our community. We are calling for a secondary school to open on the Culverhay site as soon as physically possible, to serve families in Twerton, Whiteway, Southdown, Odd Down and Moorlands. 

Sign the petition here.

https://www.werahobhouse.co.uk/culverhay_school

Another School closing Kids loose out again.

Bath Studio School Facing Closure 

Bath Studio School is facing closure, leaving many young people uncertain over the future of their education. 

Wellsway Multi Academy Trust, who run the school, have asked permission from the Secretary of State for Education to close the school, and have received 'in principle' approval. A five week listening period will now start, where those affected can comment on the plans. 

If at the end of the listening period the closure is given formal approval, the school will shut in 2020, with no new admissions from 2019.  

The decision was announced via e-mail to parents on Monday evening; by the Trust who cited "lack of demand" as the reason for its closure. 

It’s the second school in south west Bath to close in 6 months, after Bath Community Academy shut its doors at the end of the summer term.  

Many parents in the South West of the city and in the surrounding villages now face an even more significant challenge in finding school places for their children.   

Reacting to the news, Wera Hobhouse, MP for Bath, said:

“This is a massive let-down for many children and parents in Bath. This free school has just not delivered. It is the result of a Conservative party folly on education which has entirely fragmented our education system, removed accountability and failed to deliver proper results. Local authorities need clear responsibility for local schools." 

Difficulties for The Bath Studio School

Bath Studio School was opened in September 2014, and emphasises its “state of the art recording studios and facilities, small class sizes, industry links and sense of community.”

However it was rated "requires improvement" in its first ever Ofsted report in June 2017. The education watchdog criticised senior leaders, governors and the trust for not doing enough to tackle the areas requiring improvement.

It has also faced leadership difficulties recently, with its former head teacher Colin Cattanach absent from the school for five months. 

To make your views known regarding the plans, e-mail rsc.sw@education.gov.uk. 

Lighting updates Highland Road

If you can find the lamp post in the picture on the left then you have done very well indeed.

I have been walking this way mainly in the day time and did not realise that there was a light here.

I have now asked the council and Curo to ensure that all the overgrowth is removed and that the light is cleaned so it can be put back into use.

The picture below shows another light that is on during the day time and I have also asked for this to be fixed as soon as possible.




We have been following up lighting issues all over the area if you know of a problem with lighting then please let us know and we will try to get it sorted.

Community pulls together in Landseer Road

It is really good to see the community effort in Landseer Road in Twerton pulling together and creating wonderful displays of flowers and shrubs in what once neglected pieces of land.

Some of the pictures shown here prove what can be done when residents work together to improve their neighbourhood.

The community spirit in this area is reaping dividends and creating well being amongst  neighbours.

In our efforts to help we have managed to get the dangerous drain cover below replaced with a new one.

Good news for Waterloo buildings

We are pleased that Curo have confirmed that they will be replacing the old broken down fencing at Waterloo Buildings within the next month.

We would like to thank Curo  for dealing with this issue , but will be watching this area and will be holding Curo to their promises about the replacing of this fencing.

Street lighting

We have started to receive quite a few complaints about poor street lighting across the area and are walking around the area picking up residents complaints. 

We have tonight reported a street light that is obscured by a tree growing out of Curo land at Hanna Close Twerton.

The land where the tree is growing is Curo land and we have asked them to cut this tree back as soon as possible.

Please let us know of any problems and we will attempt to get it resolved.

Your views are needed

Council wants your views on proposed polling stations

Residents of Bath and North East Somerset are being asked for their views on the list of proposed polling stations for next May’s local government elections. Last month the Local Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) published its final recommendations on the electoral review of ward boundaries for Bath & North East Somerset Council. The proposed new arrangements will reduce the number of councillors from 65 to 59, and the number of wards from 37 to 33. As a result the majority of wards in Bath and North East Somerset will change, making it necessary to re-draw the boundaries of the polling districts which form each individual ward, and to identify polling stations within easy reach of all electors. This is an opportunity for local residents to express their views on the new polling station  scheme and to make suggestions for any alternative buildings within their local area. Views are invited from all electors, particularly in relation to access to premises or facilities for those who have different forms of disability. The list of polling stations can be viewed on the Council website: www.bathnes.gov.uk/pollingdistrictreview2018 Comments and suggestions for venues should be posted to: The Electoral Registration Office, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Guildhall, High Street, Bath, BA1 5AW Or you can email:  elections@bathnes.gov.uk All comments should be submitted no later than 22nd October 2018.

Tanners Walk/Boyce Close walkabout

We had a great afternoon talking with residents in Tanners Walk and Boyce Close yesterday, with several issues raised.

We will look into these and get back to the residents shortly on what can be done.

We also found the road leading up to Long Valley Road has become very bad really quickly and have contacted the Highways team to request urgent action is taken to get it repaired.

If any residents that we missed would like to contact us on any issues then please do so, we are here to help if we can.

Newton Road - Fallen Tree update

We are pleased to confirm that we have chased up the removal of the fallen tree on Newton Road with Curo, who have responded to say they have asked their contractor to prioritise the removal of this when they are next in the area, which they say is frequently.



We will obviously monitor this as it needs to be taken away as soon as possible.

HMO Planning application 74 Redland Park

We have a retrospective planning application for the conversion of a 3 bedroomed dwelling house to a 4 bedroomed HMO at 74 Redland Park.

This house has slipped through the net as it has been operating as an HMO for several years now.

If you want to make comments on this application or view the application the please follow the link below.

This property will also require an HMO Licence that is not linked to this application from January 2019.

74 Redland Park

HMO Planning application 37 High Street Twerton

We have a new planning application for the conversion of a dwelling house into a four bedroomed HMO at 37 High Street Twerton.

The house is currently a 3 bedroomed home although the application says it is a 4 bedroomed house an objection has already been submitted asking for its referral to the development control committee.

If you want to view the application of make comments on it then please follow the link below.

37 High Street Twerton

BANES Councillors - What are they responsible for?

Many parts of England have 2 tiers of Local Government:

• County Council
• District, Borough or City Councils

In some parts of the country, there’s just 1 (unitary) tier of local government providing all the local services. The 3 main types are:

• Unitary authorities in shire areas
• London Boroughs
• Metropolitan Boroughs

Bath & North East Somerset Council is a Unitary Authority and therefore are responsible for services across the whole area, which include:

Education

Transport

Planning

Fire and Public Safety
Social Care
Libraries
Waste Management
Trading Standards
Rubbish Collection
Recycling
Council Tax collections
Housing - although a lot of this was sold off to Housing Associations many years ago
Planning Applications
This is not an exhaustive list of responsibilities, but is an example of areas that Local Councillors have input and responsibility for as opposed to the MP (Member of Parliament) for the area, who represents the areas view on National issues eg NHS, Central Government Policies that Local Authorities have to follow to effectively manage local issues and other issues that affect the country as a whole.

More information about what Local Councillors can do for you can be found on the BANES website.

Changes to Voting area in BANES

Following a decision in August to change the ward boundaries across Bath and North East Somerset and reduce the number of wards to 33 and number of local councillors from 65 to 59, the council are looking at suitable locations for polling stations that will suit the new boundaries.

There is currently a consultation being carried out by Bath & North East Somerset Council asking for suggested locations for polling stations, if you would like to make a suggestion, you have until 22nd October 2018 to have your say.

Here in Twerton many residents will not be affected by these changes, however, with the whole Whiteway estate being moved within the Twerton boundary, it is possible that the polling station for these residents may change.

We understand this could cause many residents that are less mobile an issue with going further to vote and would suggest they consider making use of the very secure postal voting option available.  Forms can be obtained direct from the Council and this is the link to their website.

If you would like to discuss this further, please do get in touch.

HMO Licensing Law changes

As we reported recently, with effect from today (01.10.2018) the laws around HMO Licensing have changed.

There are 3 key changes to the law:

1. Mandatory licensing will no longer be limited to certain HMOs that are three or more storeys high, but will also include buildings with one or two storeys, that contain 5 or more persons from two or more households. 

2. Local housing authorities must impose conditions as to the minimum room size which may be occupied as sleeping accommodation in the HMO.

The minimum sleeping room sizes to be imposed as conditions of Part 2 licences are: 

• 6.51 m2 for one person over 10 years of age
• 10.22 m2 for two persons over 10 years of age
• 4.64 m2 for one child under the age of 10 years

3. Local authorities will be required to impose a mandatory condition concerning the provision of suitable refuse storage facilities for HMOs. Local authorities will be aware that HMOs, occupied by separate and multiple households, generate more waste and rubbish than single family homes. Some local authorities have made specific provision under their function as the local waste authority for landlords of HMOs to ensure there are appropriate facilities for storing rubbish their properties generate.

In addition to this new law Bath & North East Somerset Council have agreed to roll out the additional HMO Licensing requirements from 1st January 2019 which will mean smaller HMO's (with three or four people from two or more households) will also be subject to these laws across the entire Bath area.

Full details of the new legislation can be viewed here.