Update to rubbish and recycling collection times from August 2020

Bath anad North East Somerset councile are reviewing operating times to help crews during the hot weather. Rubbish and recycling collections will now start from 6am (instead of 7am) and will finish later than previously. Residents must leave their waste and recycling containers at the front edge of their property by 6am (one hour earlier) on their normal collection day. To ensure collections are not missed, residents are advised to put their containers out the night before their collection day (no earlier than 8pm).
Collection times are likely to vary throughout the day and bins may need to be left out longer than they normally would. Once bins have been collected, residents must bring their empty containers back in as soon as possible on their collection day.
Summary of changes to rubbish and recycling collection times

• Collections now start an hour earlier from 6am
  
• Crews may arrive earlier or later in the day than previously
  
• Collection times are likely to vary throughout the summer
  For more information and the latest updates please visit the Rubbish page of our website: https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/rubbish
  If you have any concerns regarding the updated collection times, please contact Council Connect on 01225 394041
  

Disabled parking bays and pedestrianised areas City Centre

Residents have been asking about parking in the city centre and what areas have restricted access for cars and what is now a pedestrian area.

A map is below that may help.

Ward Councillor Empowerment Fund - Deadline approaching

Tim and Sarah still have some money from the Ward Empowerment Fund for 2020/2021 that is available to address concerns or needs in the local community. 

The deadline for applications is 30 September 2020 for project completion before 31 March 2021.

More information can be found here.

Projects must: 

• meet at least one of the Council’s Corporate priorities:- 
• address the climate emergency 
• deliver for local residents 
• focus on prevention 
• give people a bigger say

• be supported by the local community, village, neighbourhood, Parish or Town Council (where relevant). demonstrate where possible match funding or equivalent in-kind support (eg volunteer time). 
• evidence of need and demonstrate how they will address local priorities. 
• evidence that there is community support and or community consultation has been carried out. 
• have a lead organisation and with a valid bank account.

Please do get in touch with Tim or Sarah if you are aware of anything in the Twerton/Whiteway ward that you think could benefit from this funding.

Twerton Talks - 11th July 2020

We had a really positive and productive weekly Twerton Talks Zoom meeting yesterday.

A number of ward wide issues and concerns were identified as well as discussions on what additional things would be great to have in our area and we are now compiling a full list of these to work through and find ways of delivering what we can whilst having large financial constraints.

 A number of these will require working in collaboration with residents, various housing associations and 3rd parties to deliver and we will be happy to provide updates on each of them as we are able to.

Remember this is YOUR community and we are happy to provide help where we can to make it the best it can be, but residents also need to do their bit.  So many of you already do volunteer, go out and pick up litter in your street or sweep outside your properties and we are really grateful for that, if more residents could help even if it is just ensuring that rubbish is not put out too early and only put out in the bins/reusable sacks that are provided and recycling is also put out in bins with lids (all of which are provided by the Council) that would help to reduce the amount of litter. If you require additional receptacles these can be ordered using this on-line link.

We have raised specific concerns about the mess made by recycling and rubbish collection staff themselves and asked that they are reminded to pick up anything they may drop during the emptying of the boxes/bins/bags to help keep our streets cleaner. 

Finally, we are pleased that a bid for CIL funding for a project we have been working on with Whiteway Community Association has received unanimous committee agreement and has passed onto the next stage of the process to get full approval, before we will then receive the money to complete the work.  We are hoping to make this announcement in September 2020 and will obviously let you all know as soon as we have any news.

If you have anything you would like to discuss or ideas your think would make our area a better place to live, please do get in touch.

Redland Park/Day Crescent - resurfacing work

Tim Ball and Sarah Moore have been campaigning for a number of years to get the roads and footpaths across Twerton and Whiteway to be reviewed and resurfaced, where required. Last year Tim and Sarah committed to ensuring these reviews would take place and plans put in place to action the findings.  

We are now happy to confirm that the one way section of Redland Park that runs behind Day Crescent, from the entrance by the One Stop Shop on Newton Road right around to the exit by Pennyquick View will be resurfaced on 9th - 10th July.  

This will mean that access to the road will not be available for 2 days whilst the work takes place, however, we are looking at the arrangements to ensure the waste and recycling can be collected as usual on Friday 10th July and also what can be done about access to the main housing area of Redland Park during this time.

Obviously, this work may cause a minor inconvenience for some during this time, but the road has not been touched for so long the work is necessary and residents patience during this work would be appreciated.

If you want to discuss this or other issues in your area, please do contact us.

Walls, Fences and Hedges

Over the past few weeks we have been receiving a number of questions regarding Fence and Hedge heights and issues of footpaths being blocked.

Below is the official guidance of what residents should be aware of.

Walls and Fences

Planning permission is not required provided that:

1. The wall or fence is not more than 2 metres in height anywhere on your property except where it adjoins a road or footpath. In this case the height is restricted to 1 metre.

2. You don’t live in an open plan/shared surface type of development. In which case always consult your local area planning office as there may be a condition attached to the planning permission for the estate which would override this guidance.

Hedges

A hedge is often preferred to a fence when being used to separate the boundary between two adjoining properties. It can be more aesthetically pleasing and add character to a property, not to mention the fact that it provides both shelter and food to a vast number of wildlife species. So, that’s the good news. What’s the bad?

Hedges can sometimes cause disputes between neighbours when they become unkempt, when the roots start to spread, or if the hedge becomes too high and begins to affects the amount of sunlight reaching a neighbour's property. There are numerous legal rights, obligations and restrictions when it comes to hedges which are outlined below.

Your Rights

You do not usually need to obtain permission to plant a hedge in your garden if it is solely within your property’s boundary. However, you do need to obtain permission from your next door neighbour if you’re considering planting a hedge to separate the adjoining properties right on the boundary line. Provided there are no boundary dsiputes, and if both parties agree to the hedge, you will usually both be responsible for the maintenance of the hedge on your own sides. You can cut the hedge right back to your neighbour’s boundary, although there are some exceptions to this. (See ‘Restrictions’ below).

What are the Restrictions?

If you reside in a particular conservation area or any trees which form part of the hedge are under a tree preservation order, you may need to obtain permission from your local authority to cut back or remove a hedge. Some properties have legal covenants which state both the size and the height you can grow a hedge, and any further information will usually be contained in your property deeds. It’s also against the law to trim back or remove any hedges in which birds may be nesting. You should inspect the hedge first before going ahead with any pruning. If you’re still uncertain about this, the best bet is not to cut back a hedge between March and September, just in case.

Your Obligations

Sometimes a hedge can become overgrown and overhang the pavement outside your property. In this instance, your local authority can force you to cut it back or even to remove it, if it’s causing a danger or obstruction to pedestrians on the pavement.

Up until a few years ago, there was no legal restriction on how high you could grow a hedge but that changed in 2005. If you cannot come to an agreement on the hedge, you need to submit a complaint to your local authority with the reasons why you want a restriction placed on the height of a neighbour’s hedge. There is normally a charge to have this matter investigated, fees can vary between local authorities. 

More often than not, no matter who owns the hedge, most neighbours of adjoining properties will simply maintain their side of the hedge. However, it is important to understand the legal position on hedges just in case any disputes arise.

Innox Road resurfacing

We are pleased to let residents in the Innox Road area know that our request to get this road resurfaced has finally been scheduled and will take place w/c 22nd June 2020 (weather dependent).

We have been told that due to the work involved the road will be closed between 7.00am and 7.00pm and will take up to 8 days. Access will only be available to residents in all roads that are affected outside these hours and only when safe to do so within these hours.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this will cause the residents, but these restrictions are necessary to ensure the work can be carried out safely.

The roads affected by this work will be:

Innox Road
North View Close
Long Hay Clow
Springfield Close
Highfield Close
The Brow

If you have any questions, please do get in touch.