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.