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.