Paul Crossley1

We send out a enews to email addresses we have for Southdown on roughly a monthly basis. This is the 1st August edition.

Dear Resident

An update of what has been happening since our last enews at the beginning of June.   

Bath Western Riverside  

The redevelopment of this large area of Bath is entering a new phase. Crest Nicholson will be submitting a major planning application in the autumn. The Council has also released its Supplementary Planning Document for this site. The development of this site will take 20 years and will include a large number of houses, a primary school, local shops, offices, leisure facilities and a major new riverside park. Please have a look at the website and if you have any views or comments get back to us with them. The website contains links to our partner organisation for more information. http://www.bathwesternriverside.co.uk/  

Summer walking    

For those of you who like to walk in our area we came across this very interesting web site which has printable walks in an easy format. http://www.walkweb.org.uk/    Also of interest is a series of walks that have been put together by First Great Western under their Heart of Wessex banner and the Ramblers Association. All walks begin and end at one of the stations on the Bristol - Bath - Weymouth line. http://www.heartofwessex.org.uk/  http://www.ramblers.org.uk/        

Roundhill  

Thank you to everyone who came along to the walk in June to look at wild flower and butterflies on Twerton Roundhill. A big thank you to Terry Garraway and Gordon Ward who helped to lead the walk and for their knowledge of the hill and its natural history. Our thanks also go to Teresa Austin at Southdown Junior School for providing us with a place to have refreshments and a rest.

We had a very enjoyable evening, and saw a huge variety of wild flowers including three species of orchid.  Plants seen included:
Common Centaury                        Agrimony
Goatsbeard                                    Hoary Plantain
Tall Melilot                                      Red Clover
Black Medick                                 Common Birdsfoot Trefoil
Black Knapweed                           Common Vetch
Bee Orchid                                     Pyramidal Orchid
Common Spotted Orchid

The tally for butterflies was more limited. This may have been because it was quite windy and the time of evening. A Marbled White Butterfly was spotted and on grass stems across the site we saw large numbers of pupae of the distinctive black and red Six Spotted Burnet Moth, which the children were very good at finding, along with a few caterpillars!

Next Roundhill event, "Panorama to the Past" will be a
walk led by the Bath & North East Somerset Archaeologist on Wednesday 6th September starting at 6pm.    The new seat for the Roundhill was installed about a month ago.    http://www.avonlocalnaturereserves.org.uk/  

Litter  

Litter continues to cause problems in our area. On July 17 we had another Environment Action Day in the Whiteway area of Southdown. We teamed up with Somer, the Police, Fire Services, DVLA and other agencies and did a big sweep around the estate. Several untaxed cars were dealt with, litter and graffiti removed, housing issues reported. However we still had to remove another 2 ton mass flytip during the last week. We are now actively pursuing flytippers in the area to try and stop this problem.  

Southdown Road  

The temporary 30mph speed sign has had an impact on the speed of cars on this road. The Highways department will be monitoring speed again shortly to assess the impact the sign had. We are sure it will show that traffic speeds have gone up again and this will give us the evidence to request a permanent sign.  

30 MPH Slowdown signs  

We have obtained permission to put two 30MPH Slowdown signs in two of our worst traffic speed problem roads - Englishcombe Lane at Belmore Gardens footpath entrance and at Whitweay Road just before the Haycombe Cemetry entrance. The Southdown Road location mentioned above will be first reserve in case of any spare funds during this year and will be first on the list for the next financial year. The signs will be stand alone solar powered signs.  

Southdown Junior School  

The Junior School have had their best ever SATs results

English Literacy   Level 4+ 78.9% and 28.9% level 5's

Maths                                    84%   and 39%

Science                               92.1% and 63.8%

Well done to Teresa Austin and the whole school community.

Consultation on the South West Regional Strategy  

The Government has asked all regions of England to produce spatial strategies to cover growth and developement between now and 2026. Our Council has argued that if the Government wants growth in our area then it must provide the infrastucture needed to support that growth. Building new communities and roads is very expensive. We have argued that our area already has a deficit in its transport infrastructure. The Government is looking for a large number of houses and jobs to be accomodated in the whole South West over the next 20 years. The current plans are available for public comment from the South West Regional Assembly. http://www.southwesteip.co.uk/  

Dyson School  

James Dyson is planning to build a new Centre of Excellence Design School in Bath at the Quays opposite the Avon Street Car Park. This will be a partnership project between Dyson Foundation, the Government, South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) and the Council. It will provide state of art learning facilities for 14 to 19 year olds to do design and engineering and technology classes. It will also enable teachers from around the country to attend summer schools to learn best practice. This is not an Academy creating a new school. It is a new innovative idea to promote a subject area. The Dyson Foundation is providing £12.5M which is being matched by the Government.  SWRDA purchased the land from the Council on the understanding that the money is put into the Bath Western Riverside project. There are still many issues to be sorted and resolved but James Dyson is planning to have this opened by Sept 08. A very ambitious timescale. Planning will be submitted in the Autumn. http://www.dysonschool.com/   

Police Beat Surgery  

Wednesday 9th August 7pm to 8.30pm YMCA Youth Centre, Mount Road Meet your local beat officer PC Alastair Middleton 2332  

Summer Fun for Kids in Southdown Book now as places are limited!

Kung Fu for Kids - 2 classes for 6-10 years and for 11-15 years Every Wednesday of the school holidays from Wed 26th July until Wed 30th August. At Southdown Methodist Church Hall, The Hollow 6-10 years from 2-3pm, 11-15 years from 3-4pm Only £1 per child per session payable on the door. A maximum of 20 kids per class. Call Sarah Bird at the Time Bank on 442813 to reserve your place. You do not need to come every week to enjoy the fun!   Cookery for Kids - on Tuesdays at the Community Cafe in Southdown Methodist Church Hall, The Hollow For Kids 6 to 12 years. Adults can accompany if they wish. ITS FREE! 1 pm to 3 pm on Tuesday 8th August (other dates are now fully booked) There are only 12 places left so book soon with Sarah Bird at the Time Bank on 442813.  

Southdown Community Safety Action Group  

The last meeting discussed Anti Social Behaviour issues, litter and traffic problems around the ward. Next meeting Tuesday 5th September at 7pm at Blagdon Park Community Room.  

Planning applications http://planning.bathnes.gov.uk/publicaccess/  

Road Works in Southdown http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/transportandroads/roadclosuresandworks/roadreport/default.htm  

All Meetings of the Council www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/councilinformation/howthecouncilworks/diaryofcouncilmeetings    

The forward plan of the Executive of the Council http://ewp.bathnes.gov.uk/ewp_efp.asp  

Councillor Surgery If you would like to speak to either Councillor Dine Romero or Paul Crossley personally, surgeries are held on the first Saturday of the month at the Methodist Church in the Hollow from 10 am until midday. No appointment is needed. Alternatively you may contact us by phone or email.  

Councillor Paul Crossley          Councillor Dine Romero