SouthdownBath

Email trail below details that there are no plans at all to build on the Roundhill Park grass area. In fact it is protected as open space and we will fight to keep this designation.

Dear Resident of Roundhill Park

when we were delivering our Councillor report in August we had two residents approach us concerned about a rumour of plans to build housing in front of the bungalows. As you can see from the reply belows there are no such applications in the pipeline. We will keep a watching eye on this should anything happen in the future.

Paul and Dine

Sent: 27 August 2008 10:11

Subject: Roundhill Park housing rumour

I have checked for both planning applications and formal pre-application enquiries on this land and can find no record. I have also checked with the Planning Policy Team who have not had any reference to this land through the "Call for Sites" exercise. The land is designated as Open Space on the Local Plan but the Inspector did remove the particular designation used from the plan. (Please check with the Planning Policy Team if you require further clarification on this point). I trust this helps. Regards

Sent: 26 August 2008 12:01

Lisa, Re. Play area and grass area at Roundhill Park A rumour is spreading in Roundhill Park that someone is planning to build bungalows on the grass area. Have you had notification of any applications or discussions with anyone on whether it is suitable? Also can you let me know what the planning status of this piece of land is.

Many thanks for your help. Paul Crossley

I was delivering our Groups annual report today in Roundhill Park and the top end of the Hollow. A 90 minute delivery was over four hours as I was stopped for a variety of conversations by residents. That is one of the reasons I quite like delivery of literature. Its a nice walk and lots of good conversations.

One rumour going around is that the children's playarea in Roundhill Park is about to be the subject of a housing application. We have been trying to pursuade Somer for over a year now to renew the playarea. Now I will find out if there is any truth in this rumour. There is not currently any planning application in. The new Government figures for our RSS are causing a lot of anger and concern. The pressure on land is growing enormously with every garden and public space being looked at by developers.

I have asked for the overflowing bin at the bus stop at the Hollow/Mt Road junction to be emptied and for the shelter itself to be repaired. Again.

I have also asked for the waterworks cover that has been prized loose in the Hollow to be repaired as a matter of urgency.

After three games Team Bath are flying high with three wins and top of the Blue Square Conference South division. Bath City recovered from a desparate opening day to record a win and a draw away from Bath. So nicely set up for the local derby. In 6 previous encounters its Bath City 5 wins and one draw.

Today was a really entertaining day with a penalty in each half. However Bath hit the woodwork and the Team Bath keeper made two inspired saves. Crowd was over 800 and the home fans were by and large well satisfied with the improvment. I thought the whole team had addressed the failings of last week. The link up between defence and attack was better and the defense was far more solid. Team Bath impressed with their young side and their goalkeeper was the man of the match for me with the two top drawer saves he made to deny Bath City victory.

Youth Crime and Anti Social Behaviour has been an issue for Southdown Residents over the last year or so. The Community has stood up to the problem and we have had a lot of police support in the areas of concern around Whiteway. We are now working with the Children's Society on a restorative justice program in Oriole Grove. So lots of ideas and work on the ground to sort it.

The Liberal Democrats have just announced a new policy initiative to tackle the issue. We would be grateful for your comments and thoughts on the document which can be seen in summary or click for full detail in the article at this LINK.

Meanwhile our MP Don Foster issued the following statement.

Don backs plans to tackle youth crime

Bath MP Don Foster has welcomed the new Liberal Democrat plans to tackle youth crime, and has backed local groups who are already making a difference.

Don said, "We need to give young people positive alternatives to do. Too often they get into trouble because there is nothing for them to do. The Youth Volunteer Force will be a great way to get young people involved in activities that benefit themselves and the area where they live. I am also keen to ensure that those who do break the law or cause disturbances or vandalism have to pay back the community they have wronged. That is why restorative justice is important. It will mean that those convicted of offences will have to work on cleaning up vandalism or on projects that benefit communities as part of their punishment. It also helps young people better understand how they have affected their community. Here in Bath we are lucky to have seen work start on restorative justice, both through the police and through the Children's Society. Their work is very important and is beginning to yield positive results. The communities they are working with are really seeing the benefit. But we need to be able to spread these principles to more areas."

The plans aim to deter crime and get young people involved in positive activities that benefit local communities. They include:

* The creation of a Youth Volunteer Force, to engage with young people, involve them in community projects and give them skills to benefit them in later life;

* Establish Community Justice Panels across the country, where offenders admit their guilt to the community and agree on a Positive Behaviour Order as a course of action;

* Create a dedicated PCSO youth officer within every Safer Neighbourhood Team to identify and work with teenagers most at risk of offending; * 10,000 more police on the streets by scrapping the ID cards scheme;

* Intelligence-led stop and search and 'hot spot policing' targeted at gun and knife crime;

* Restorative justice programs to be run in every community, specifically targeted at early intervention with widespread use in schools and care homes.

The Children's Society is running a Restorative Justice programme in Southdown. Claire James from the Children's Society said, "When we started the project, the young people were saying "we're not that bad!" but through restoration, they have started to understand the impact of their behaviour, and what they can do to make a difference. "Over the summer they have all worked hard and contributed to the community work and sponsored events. Residents have told me that there is a huge improvement in their quality of life. Adult and young people's relationships are growing, with neighbours and young people building bridges. I'm pleased that our MP is backing our work."

One of the problems we have on the Whiteway estate is the limited access to credit that many residents have. This leads to them borrowing from companies such as Provident Financial - who then charge as much 186% interest for the loans. The poorest families in the land only have access to the most expensive money. It is simply not right or just. Gordon Brown has even recently praised companies such as Provident. No wonder he is going down the pan.

The Times had an interesting article in the other day. LINK

It makes depressing reading and we are trying to redress the balance by promoting our local Credit Union. This lends money at low interest rates and requires people to become savers. It is all about improving financial literacy rather than exploiting it. We certainly need to be able to provide families on low incomes with finance but not at 186%. I suppose the lesson is that Credit Unions and their volunteers need to work harder to counter the pursuasive salespitch of instant cash in hand. Parliament needs to address the issue and once again on anything to do with econmics there is onlyone MP, Vince Cable , who is talking any sense.  

We had a meeting with a couple of residents and police about re-starting a Neighbourhood Watch for Mount Road. It was a very positive meeting. Our new Beat Manager is certainly up for getting community cohesion improved and more neighbourhood working. We have the approval from the senior police locally to try an pilot some new ways of working with NW. Currently several of the schemes are moribund and large areas have none.

Mount Road is a fairly long road so we would be looking to set up four sections. The meeting agreed a course of action.

Residents to contact previous chair and treasurer (Moved away six years ago) to transfer the bank account

Councillors to contact residents and consult on a date for the set up meeting and to contact St Barnabus about a meeting room

Police to contact some residents that he has been working with to look for co-ordinators.

Mount Road is a busy road with shops and through traffic - motorised and pedestrian.

It has proved a slow process getting the association off the ground. We now have the company set up, the bank account sorted and all the legal stuff agreed.

Now we can get on with the business of promoting Southdown and the Mount Road shops. Our first agreed goal is to get some CCTV sorted out for the parade of shops. It is still full - bar one shop - and one that has been changing format a lot over the year has now become a charity shop.

Singing

Went along to the Goldies for the first time in a few weeks. The singing is really great and in danger of blowing the roof off. Grenville Jones turned up and received a rousing welcome following the success of his choir - Bath Male Voice Choir in Last Choir standing.

Had a discussion about extending the singing sessions out to some of our Guiness Homes including Avondown House in Southdown. No problem but would need to find a sponsor for the sessions. The Charity is now looking at securing second year funding. The first year so far has been very successful and now we need to ensure its continuation. The singing sessions have provided great benefits and enjoyment for many of our elderly residents.

Litter

The two litter bins recently put into Blagdon Park are proving to be well used and I have just convinced waste to put them onto a twice weekly empty. We do not want them overflowing and being set alight. Two litter fires in Blagdon Park is already more than enough for a single year.

We met with a parks officer at the fenced off area to discuss a request from some residents for goalposts to be put in the area. The officer said that as the area is sloping and undulating that putting goalposts in would mean that it could be argued that the surface was safe for football and lead to litigation if someone damaged themselves. However youngsters simply making their own goals with jackets and jumpers was fine as this was at their own decision.

Whilst there we took the opportunity to discuss putting a toughened plastic climbing frame in to reduce the wear and tear on the trees. This will now be looked into.

Access Gates - the park currently has gates from the 60's which are cumbersome and restrictive. We will put in modern swing gates.

Dear Resident

our latest enews for your information

Southdown PACT (Partners and Communities Together) Next Southdown PACT will be on Wednesday 15 October at the Methodist Church in The Hollow All welcome Detail and agenda to follow nearer the time please put the date in your diary

Englishcombe Lane - We have met with Tesco management and the site construction manager. The site now has new hoardings and the work will start this coming week. The store is now scheduled for opening at the beginning of December. The contractor telephone number will be advertised on the hoardings for residents to report problems. Please feel free to contact us if there is an issue. We have a commitment from Tesco that they will not allow the hoardings to become graffiti boards.

Marsden Road - Kingsway We are working with some local residents and the Council to attract a grant to get some fruit and small garden trees to offer to householders so that we have more trees in this area. We are also working with Highways to see if some of these can be in public spaces. The Kingsway has one of the lowest tree counts in Bath. Recently the old orchard was also lost to the new development of Sabin Close.

Whiteway Road We have been told that the priority first task for the new safety engineer to look at on this road from the Globe to St Martins will be the Pennyquick section which has been the cause of so many accidents over the years. We have been pushing the issues of this road together with our Twerton colleagues for some time now and are glad that the Government grant to improve dangerous sections of road is finally being spent.

Whiteway Community Respect Project Each Sunday the WCRP is holding a car boot sale in Rosewarn field. All welcome

Southdown Traders Association This is now up and running after several months of talking. Its aims will be to promote Southdown in a positive light and to promote Mount Road shops as a local shopping destination providing a range of retail outlets.

Credit Union In these more difficult times, finance is becoming more of a problem with some residents taking up loan offers from companies lending money at 180% interest rates. Credit Unions offer much safer and more affordable ways of borrowing money and instil a sense of responsibility about saving as well as borrowing. However the Credit Union currently has a small pot of money available to lend to new members who do not currently have a savings record with them. For more information email banes.creditunion@hotmail.co.uk or call 01179865888. Please note the Credit Union is not part of the Council.

Neighbourhood Watch (NW) update We are working with the local police beat team to encourage the formation of new NW and to re-energise NW schemes that have become inactive. Residents in Rosewarn Close are starting a new scheme and we are working with residents in Mount Road to re-activate their scheme. If you would like any information on these two please contact us. If you are not currently in a NW and would like to start one, please contact us. We can help you get it organised and up and running.

Haycombe Cemetery We have had the footpath along side of Haycombe cemetery down passed garden centre cut and trimmed. We have also raised the issue of maintenance on the new field for the cemetery.

Sabin Close We have had a meeting with Highways and Planning on the footpaths in this new development. The developer has been asked to complete the pavements to the approved plan.

Blagdon Park We continue to report to the Council the litter problems on the footpaths between Blagdon Park and Haycombe Drive and The Hollow. Two new bins have been sited in Blagdon Park following requests from residents. We were not consulted on the positioning of these and will monitor their use over the summer. We have stressed to Council that all new bins must not be allowed to overflow.

Roundhill Grove We have met with the Council and residents on getting this bin re-sited. We have suggested a different location to the original location which was being vandalised.

Rosewarn Close We have asked for a bin to be sited at the entrance to Rosewarn Close.

Southdown Road Traffic speed strips will again be laid out on this road to assess and record traffic speeds Haycombe Drive The new Lighting scheme is in progress. We have requested that an extra light is included at the bus stop at the Rosewarn Close entrance. We have had the bus shelter at the circle of trees repaired again. If anyone has any information on who is regularly vandalising this shelter please call us or Crimestoppers at 0800555111. Did you know Crimestoppers is a Charity and is not a police number. It guarantees confidentiality and passes on information only to the police.

The Hollow The Hollow is the next street to have its lighting renewed. The consultation has been sent out for comment.

Mount View We have put the pavement onto the Highway's list for new surface treatment as the tree roots are pushing up through the current surface and making a trip hazard for residents.

Bath Highway Engineer - Bath has had no highway engineer since February. NE Somerset has, during this time, retained its two highway engineers. This was an unacceptable situation and at the beginning of June we told the Conservative cabinet member firmly that this had to be resolved swiftly. We are pleased to report that an engineer has been appointed. We will be seeking an early meeting to discuss and take forward the Highways issues we suffer from. Our first task will be to persuade him to prioritise the changes to the yellow lines at the Hollow end of Langdon Road which we have been trying to get correctly re-positioned since they were put in 2 years ago.

Langdon Road - Avondown House - The Mayor of Bath visited Avondown House to celebrate the refurbishment of facilities within each flat with the residents.

THINGS TO DO in and around Southdown Rugby for 11-16 year olds at Stothert and Pitt RFC Monday nights at 6pm Please contact Tony Adams 404048 for more information or check the web site at www.stothertandpittrfc.co.uk

Last Choir Standing (BBC 1 on Saturday evening) Please remember to vote for the Bath Male Voice Choir in this TV show. They have done incredibly well since their formation two years ago and have got through to the last 6 Choirs in this national competition. It is now that public votes take over from the judge's selection. Every vote counts.

Don Foster MP Will be joining us at our monthly surgery on Saturday 6th September between 10 and 12. No appointment needed just turn up. You can see what he is doing at his website http://www.donfoster.co.uk/ where you can also sign up for his regular enews as well.

AND FINALLY Free Local Events During the summer Organ Recitals at the Abbey Every Wednesday in August and September from 1.10 to 1.50pm More events at www.bathabbey.org Bath City Farm Has a range of activities on over the summer. More details www.bathcityfarm.co.uk

Useful Links Planning applications http://planning.bathnes.gov.uk/publicaccess/ Road Works in Southdown http://tinyurl.com/k7lnn All Meetings of the Council http://tinyurl.com/2bev4s The forward plan of the Conservative Cabinet of the Council http://ewp.bathnes.gov.uk/ewp_efp.asp

ooooaahhhhh, ouch. A bad start to the season for Bath City. Standing in the rain it was not a pretty sight. Our team has a lot to do to improve on that result. Still the games come quick and fast. Welling had one goal from open play which resulted from a massive defensive howler and three from free kicks just outside the penalty box. Three kicks three goals!! A clear area for us to improve on.

The King Bladud's Pigs public art project in Bath this year has been a huge success. Everyone (well nearly everyone) is enjoying it. It has generated a Pig Trail, Pig Wall Maps and a variety of other memorabilia. These sort of projects seem to be everywhere this year from Liverpool to Norwich. We have a total of 100 Pigs and the Twerton and Southdown Liberal Democrats sponsored one which we asked our young people at the Southside Project to turn into a work of art. Its name is Stereotype Pig and it is proudly positioned inside the main library at the Podium. This public art has got residents and visitors alike to bits of the City they had not been to before or would not normally have visited and the number of pictures going up on the web and Facebook is amazing. The auction has already started and bids can be made at the web site link above. The project was inspired by Gitte Dawson who had enjoyed the Cow Parade in a German City and thought Bath needed one too. Gitte was a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Bathavon South till 2003 when she stepped down but her energy levels and ideas keep on coming. Well done Gitte and the whole team involved with the project.

The Guinness Housing Trust has been refurbishing the bathrooms in its Extra Care facility in Southdown. This tea party was put on by the Trust to thank the residents for their patience during a recent refit. We looked around the scheme and the new bathrooms that have been installed are to a very high standard. The residents that I spoke to were very happy with the work and improvements. Most of the residents are from the South West corner of Bath and have lived locally for a long time.

It was nice to be joined by the Mayor of Bath who is also a local Councillor from neighbouring Twerton.

The Guinness Partnership is a very large Social Housing national provider.

Tonight had a very positive meeting at the Methodist Church with police, residents and the Methodist team about setting up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in Rosewarn. The residents are fed up with some of the social problems they have been facing over the year and feel that setting up a watch will be a useful way of giving mutual support to say no to anti-social behaviour.

Rosewarn has had such schemes in the past but this time with improved neighbourhood policing and PCSOs we should be able to ensure the continuing support to make it a success and keep it going.

Not everyone wants a litterbin near their house but then people do not want litter either. We have had a problem with bins being vandalised and burnt over the years. But we have a growing problem of litter - especially on the walk to school routes.

Roundhill Grove used to have a bin. It was vandalised - replaced - destroyed again. So today we walked the road with the Council officers responsible - talked to local residents and have now agreeed a couple of options to resite the bin.

Similarly in Blagdon Park - over time all the bins were taken out as residents got fed up with them attracting vandalism. Following the Deep Clean exercise several residents asked for some back. Two were put in a few weeks ago - not quite were I would have placed them. But they have not been trashed. The test will come over the holiday period if they start overflowing.

Whilst there we walked through to the junction of Haycombe Drive and Rosewarn Close and have agreed that in the autumn when the next batch of bins is delivered we will have an extra bin at this junction that attracts a cionsiderable amount of litter.

In the autumn term we will also be visiting the three local schools with waste officers to talk about litter with the pupils.

The BANES CU (I am on the Fundraising committee) has recently been applying for grants to be able to up the work we do across the area but specifically in the SW of Bath there is a real need. As the credit crunch strikes harder the loan sharks are moving in more and more. Instant cash they may give but with interest rates of 180% it is a punishing way to get access to cash. The CU is working to get more lenders and borrowers. We put in a big expansion bid to the Big Lottery Fund and have just heard we were not successful. However advice was given on how to improve the and refocus the application. So here goes again.

However one of our smaller applications was successful so we have a small pot of money to lend to people who are not yet savers.

INTERESTED? If you are a resident in the area please email banes.creditunion@hotmail.co.uk 

Over recent months we have had various issues in one of our streets and the associated garage area. With allegations of bad behaviour and foul language there has been some tension around. Over several meetings with residents, police and the Children's society we have worked out on a process of Restorative Justice. The Children's Society is going to work with some of the children on behaviour improvement and fundraising schemes over the coming months. Part of the process will involve three trips to different locations including Thorpe Park. The program gets the kids to address their behaviour and understand the consequences for other residents. The aim is to get and maintain improving behaviour.

Now some are saying the 'good children' are being left out and the 'bad children' are being rewarded.

We are working with all sides to resolve the issue. It is important that at the end of the process we have much better relationships between all the families. and better behaviour all round.

The old petrol station now has brand new boarding up and work is commencing to turn it into the much awaited local food convenience store. Dine and Paul met with Tesco PR manager and the site manager this morning to discuss working practices, time scales etc etc. We also had a look around the site and have got a committment to look at not to putting tarmac everywhere. The back part will hopefully have a cluster of small trees. Dine is also trying to get a bus shelter for the no 10 stop opposite. The store is scheduled for opening in early December.

Press release

 Great News from Tesco on Englishcombe Lane Site

The last obstacles to the redevelopment of this site have now been removed and the community and Tesco are looking forward to a new Tesco Express store in the Kingsway area of Bath .

Following delays to the project caused by the Environmental Assessment not being signed off by the Council, local residents were getting frustrated by the lack of news and the apparent stop to the development. Now Cllr Romero and Crossley are meeting with Tesco to discuss the next phase of the development on Tuesday 5 August at 2 p.m. .

Cllrs Crossley and Romero appealed to Tesco to be a good neighbour and complete the new build in early July. Tesco immediately contacted them to explain the delay was due to a hold-up in the Council and this was swiftly resolved by Cllrs Crossley and Romero.

Cllr Crossley has welcomed the movement on this issue and commented:

"Kingsway used to have a variety of shopping outlets which over the years have disappeared one by one. The local community are excited by the arrival of the new Tesco Express and just want it built as quickly as possible. A derelict petrol station is not what we want to see."

Cllr Romero added

"We are pleased to have been able to work quickly with Council staff to resolve the issue of the environmental condition from planning so swiftly. We will now work with Tesco and the contractor to ensure there are no more hold-ups."

In a conversation with Cllr Crossley, Juliette Bishop, Tesco Corporate Affairs Manager confirmed that preparation work on site would start this week (week commencing 4th August 2008) and construction of the store would commence next week and told him:

"We hope very much that this store will be ready to open before Christmas. After the hold-up of the environmental report in the Council, we are now looking forward to working with the Council, local people and the Councillors to get the store completed. Tesco attaches a great importance to being a good neighbour in the community and we look forward to serving the residents of Kingsway and surrounding areas and becoming part of the community. We would also like to thank the local residents and Councillors for the support we have received.

ENDS

The Chronicle ran the story thus LINK

Well our ward surgery was quiet today and so we had a long conversation with one resident who came into complain about an anti-social behaviour problem we are having in one part of the ward. After working through the issue we got round to his history as he had lived in Bath and Southdown for many decades. It was fascinating to hear about his war time stories - evacuation to Batheaston were the family stayed with a Suffragette Lady - rehousing post war in Haycombe Drive and the variety of jobs held during his life. In Southdown there are a lot of residents who have lived most of their lives in the area. We are hoping to set up as part of the Southdown Association project a residents history section.

After lunch went along to Rosewarn field for a walkabout. Bumped into three of our police beat team and had an update on some of the police problems of the area.