Dine Don PaulSouthdown, Whiteway and Kingsway Community update
2 April 2010 
Greetings!

Spring is in the air and repairs to winter damage are needed. We have reported a number of potholes around the area for the Council to get fixed. We have also reported the dangerous manhole cover in the pavement in the middle of the Mount Road shopping parade. We are pleased that the Post Office got the Kingsway post box repaired so quickly after we reported it to them. And now that they have re-opened the Post Office in Weston we have asked for another meeting with them to try and get a Branch back into Mount Road shops.

Tesco have asked us for feedback on their new store in Englishcombe Lane and its impact on the area. We will be telling them about the poor pedestrian acess to the shop, the increase in litter from the store and the deliveries on the downside. On the upside most comments we have had are that it is better than a derelict site or the previous petrol station and that a lot of local people are using it and value its presence. If you have a comment or view please get it to us and we will include it in our response.

And finally, although Gordon Brown has not announced it everyone is expecting the General Election to be the first Thursday in May.  

Dine, Don and Paul
Secondary School Reorganisation
by Dine
 
Bath has too many secondary school places and so the Council wishes to close one down. The consultation process has just started and you can have your say on-line at   THIS LINK.
 
The consultation affects Culverhay, Oldfield and St Marks. It also affects the type of school ie co-educational or girls/boys schools.
Our view is that we would like to see Culverhay transformed into a co-educational school and we wish to see another co-educational school on the North side of Bath. At present we do not have a pre-determined position as to which site should be chosen.
Please put your views down on what you think the secondary school future for Bath should be by answering the consultation. Council consultations are sometimes difficult to complete so if it is easier please email us with your views and we will ensure that they are logged into the consultation.
 
Your views matter on this important issue. Please make sure you register them. 
 
This consultation ends on May 28 and the Conservative Council Cabinet will consider the review and make a decision on Wednesday 21 July at a public meeting in the Guildhall. 
Mount Road Shops
by Paul

We are delighted that the Council has now approved all the schemes that we submitted under the Councillor small grant scheme.

The main one is the provision of a digital CCTV system for the Mount Road shops. This will improve the security and wellbeing of shoppers and help boost the parade.

Other schemes include support for football goalposts, grit bins, a notice board for The Roundhill, Pop-up Messy Play for Kids with difficulties and a rap music project.

We will keep you updated as these items progress and become implemented.
 
Hillcrest Field
Dy Dine

The new play area was officially opened during the month. We have had positive feedback from parents and children on the equipment and larger space. Hopefully during the spring the works will bed in and look good too. We were a bit dismayed that the large boulders were put in the wrong place and layout. This has been altered.Southdown Hillcrest Dine Feb2010 2

We are getting the Council to improve the gates and the dog mess bin will be replaced shortly. We are asking the dog warden to visit the field in reponse to complaints about a few owners not cleaning up after their dogs.

The Children's Society met with a number of residents who raised concerns and objections over the idea of a cob hut in the play area. The cob hut is not going to be built. Instead an extra curved seat may be installed. The Children's Society will be doing some outreach work with young people over the summer in the field and a full survey of views will be carried out later in the year.
Bath Half Marathon
By Paul 

Congratulations to all Southdown runners who took part in the half marathon.

After our last email I have been contacted by one more Southdown runner, Sonia Chant of Hillcrest Drive, who ran for the RUH Forever Friends Appeal. Sonia ran the course in a very fast time.
Facebook
by Don 

I want to make myself available to as many residents as possible. I am now using the Facebook website which I know many people in the area use.

If you are a Facebook user and would like me as a friend on your page please send me a friend request. It would be helpful if you let me know what part of Bath you live in when sending the request by including your postcode.

I know your local Councillors, Paul and Dine, are also on Facebook as well, as it was Paul who persuaded me to use this social networking site.
other items
by Paul

Roundhill Park

We are working with the police on the recent issue of antisocial behaviour by a small group of young people and in particular the latest behaviour of jumping on residents' hedges. The new play area from Somer is being well received and well used.

Pennyquick/Whiteway Road

We are pleased that our request for a 'Slow Down' sign at the start of Pennyquick has been implemented. This is one of a number of measures to slow traffic speed along the whole of the road from The Globe up to Rush Hill.

We hope soon to be able to put out some ideas for the junction of Whiteway Road and Englishcombe Lane for consideration and comment.

Rosewarn Field

Football pitch holes are to be filled.
 
Somer have arranged to fill in these holes and the work should be completed in time for Easter. Somer's contractor went there last week to do the job. They
found that the Council had given permission for one of their contractors to dump a few tons of shale stones, to be used in the resurfacing of some grassed areas along Haycombe Drive, which stopped him gaining access to the field.
 
Haycombe Drive

We have got the Council to agree to place more plastic grid grass strengthening around Haycombe Drive in some of the areas of heavy parking. This will improve the look of the Drive.

Energy Saving Ideas.

The Government has recently changed the law on 'Feeder Tariffs'. This means that if you put energy generation systems on your house you will be paid for each unit of energy you generate for up to 25 years. For more information on this and other ideas look at the enews on this link from the Energy Saving Trust.

Planning Applications

Jubilee Pub  - there is a planning application in to knock the pub down and replace it with a terrace of 10 houses facing along the road front - Application Reference 10/00775/FUL - Give your views HERE click application search and key in the planning reference number

Lidl - all 6 Councillors from Twerton, Southdown and Westmoreland are working with Lidl supermarket and the planning department to enable this application to proceed. We all want the Lidl Supermarket on the Lower Bristol Road and it is what a majority of residents are telling us too. We are still angry that the Conservative Chair of the planning committee refused to hear the original application in public and unilaterally allowed its refusal. The second application, although permitted, has problems as it does not cover the whole site as the original did.
MOD decision could be to move all their sites away from Bath, severing a 70 year link  

By Don

The Ministry of Defence is considering leaving all of their sites in Bath, which includes the Foxhill site. Previously, the MoD had admitted that it was planning to move Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Services out of sites in Foxhill and Warminster Road, but it was assumed MoD staff would remain at Ensleigh. Now the MoD is studying the possibility of moving Ensleigh staff to the new site in Abbey Wood.

This announcement is worrying. Ensleigh has just had a major IT infrastructure upgrade, so I believe it makes sense to keep MoD jobs at the site. Any move would also increase congestion in the area, as Bath-based staff would have to make their way to Abbey Wood. In my view it would be a sad day for Bath if Government ended the 70 year link between Bath and the MoD.
 
I secured a meeting with the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Defence, Kevan Jones MP, who has agreed to set up a multi-agency working party to look at the future use of the sites. This will give us a chance to put forward our case for keeping some of these MoD jobs in Bath.
 
Read more HERE and HERE
Friends of Roundhill
by Dine

The Friends of Roundhill has now been going for nearly a year and is organising two events in the coming months:
 
Sunday 25 April at 3pm - Litter pick - meet at the YMCA on the Mount Road side.
Sunday 18 July - we are again joining the Eden Project in their nationwide Big Lunch project. Lets hope for better weather this year than last years' gale which blew us all away!!

For more details on the Friends or if you want to get involved please click on the web link in the article title.

We are also delighted that 24 local churches will be setting off on three Cross Walks to reach the top of Roundhill at midday on Good Friday - this coming Friday April 2.
The three crosses will set off from:
St Barts in Oldfield Park at 10.30
Beehive Surgery at 11.00
St Peters in Englishcombe at 11.30

All are welcome to join in on one of the walks or come straight to The Roundhill for midday.

In October we are hoping to join in with the Time After Time project being run by Golden Oldies Charity. We hope to run a history project on The Roundhill and Southdown. If any of you have any photos, memories, or memorabilia please contact us so that we can start preparing. Contact the Friends through the website.
Events for your diary
by Dine

Italian Food Market - Stall Street - ALL DAY Saturday 10 April

Bath City Farm
Roots and Shoots - under 5's club every Tuesday 10am til midday
Volunteer work parties - every Monday from 10am til 3pm
 
Southdown and Whiteway PACT

The last PACT was cancelled due to bad weather. The next PACT is on Wednesday 14 April starting at 7pm at St Barnabas Church Hall in Mount Road.
All welcome.

Bath Spring Flower Show

Royal Victoria Park from 1st to 3rd May. Adults £7 Concessions £5 and accompanied under 16's FREE. More information HERE

 
Serving you - serving Southdown
 
Sincerely,

Paul                 Dine         Don

Cllr. Paul Crossley    Cllr. Dine Romero        Don Foster MP 
Southdown Liberal Democrats
paulcrossleysouthdown@yahoo.co.uk              07718632959
dine_romero@bathnes.gov.uk                           07900278813
don@donfoster.co.uk                                      01225338973
or read our BLOGs/web  Southdown-Bath    PaulCrossley   Don Foster
or you can follow on twitter paulncrossley or DonFosterMP
Published (dispatched) by Cllrs Dine Romero and Paul Crossley and promoted by N Coombes on behalf of Don Foster (Liberal Democrat) at 31 James Street West, Bath, BA1 2BT