Twerton Bath

Five new lamp columns have been erected by the council on the footpath that runs behind the bus depot between the Lower Bristol Road to Locksbrook Road in Newbridge. This Path has been bathed in darkness for a long time now and we need these new lights to ensure public safety.

Councillor Tim Ball asked that these lights were put in place as this path will be heavily used when the footbridge over the River Avon closes for repair in the New Year at Fieldings Road.

At a meeting of the safety & Stronger Communities Overview & Scrutiny panel this morning to discuss the call in of the Capital Programme for the Highways Budget.

The executive member for Highways told the Panel that the Highway schemes in Wedgewood Road Twerton and other schemes in the Bath South West area were delayed and would take place in the next financial year.

Councillor Tim Ball who led the Call in said: "it is good to hear that our local schemes have been saved although we are disappointed that they will not take place this year, I feel that if this matter had not been called in for scrutiny then we would not have been told what was happening with our local schemes".

Although the Panel dismissed the call in and did not refer the decision back to the executive member for reconsideration they did set out recommendations which upheld the original reasons for the call in.

• That insufficient consultation has occurred with Councillors, parish and town councils and residents.
• That the effects of the deletion of the schemes are not adequately described within the paper.    
 

The Recommendations passed by the Panel are:

  1.      That the Council enhance member engagement in relation to the Transport Capital Programme by consulting with Overview & Scrutiny on the basis of the criteria to be used when prioritising future programmes as part of the Service Plan consultation;

2.      That the Cabinet member improves information given to ward members on transport issues having regard to the Local Area Agreement;

3.      That if schemes are or have been deleted, ward and parish Councillors should be informed;

4.      That the Panel accept the offer of the Assistant Director that members can inspect risk assessments for specific schemes;

5.      That Transport and Highways offer training for members on the general process of how the Transport Capital Programme works.

Residents in Bath and North East Somerset set new records for domestic waste recycled in August and September.

47.56% of all domestic waste was recycled in August - an all time high record - whilst residents also broke the record for domestic waste recycled in the month of September, achieving a rate of 44.67%. Recycling Centre rates reached 73.17% and 69.67% in those months.

Twerton Councillor Gerry Curran was in charge of the recycling and waste collection for 4 years from 2003-2007 and was primarily responsible for the record that has been achieved.

Gerry say's "This is great news that the new records have been set, it makes the whole process that the Liberal Democrats started in the early nineties when the Liberal Democrats ran Bath City Council worth while".

FREEVIEW ROAD

From 5^th December to 12^th December Wales & West Utilities will be installing a new  16M public service.

LOWER BRISTOL ROAD

From 1^st December to 31^st December the council will be carrying out sign Lantern replacements.

WINDRUSH CLOSE

From 5^th November to 23^rd November05/11/2007 to 23/11/2007

Wessex Water are carrying out a diversion of foul sewer.

Bath & North East Somerset Council are about to replace the Street lights at How Hill & Twerton High Street and we have been told that this work should begin on the week commencing 10^th December 2007 if you have any comments or wish any further information then please let us know?

BACKGROUND TO SCHEME

This scheme has been prioritised and identified for improvements in accordance with the Council's current policy for street lighting improvement schemes. The scheme is to be undertaken for the following principle reasons: The section of road under consideration currently has illumination which is below standard for the amount of traffic it carries. Also most of the existing columns are showing signs of decay and must be replaced. The opportunity will therefore be taken both to improve the lighting levels and also the electricity service arrangements in order to secure a more reliable supply.

The scheme has been designed to the latest European Code for lighting and the opportunity taken to use ‘white light' source lanterns. This type of light enables colours to be rendered visible at night and also makes facial recognition much easier than under the existing older ‘low pressure' lanterns which produce a yellow light. Both these factors contribute to a greater sense of well- being at night particularly when out walking. The production of waste light above the horizontal is also virtually eliminated with all the light output being directed down onto the carriageway and footpaths. The new lanterns are also considerably smaller and less obtrusive than those existing.

Where possible the proposed columns will be sited in the same locations as those existing or adjacent to them and will be 8m high as now. However, where possible the opportunity will be taken to improve the spacing and positioning and hence some locations may change. The new columns will also be of the post -top mounting type which means that the horizontal bracket arms will be dispensed with, further minimising the daytime appearance.

The Call in meeting on the decision of the executive member for Highways to delete items of local concern from the Highways budget has been set and the dates are below.

Please phone or email if you have any comments and contact the Councils democratic services if you wish to attend the meeting.

For your information/diaries - the meeting date has now been confirmed as Monday 26th November, 10am in the Aix-en-Provence room, Guildhall.  Official papers are in the process of being printed/issued.

Key Councillors (Chair, Cabinet Member & lead officers) have confirmed their availability for that date, and the Councillor leading the call in request is confirmed as Councillor Tim Ball.  The Panel is quorate according to verbal confirmations of attendance so far - final confirmations of attendance/substitutions are in the process of being confirmed. 

Michaela Gay is the Democratic Services Officer for this meeting who can be contacted on 01225 477000.

The decision of the Conservative executive member to axe local Highway Schemes has been called in for scrutiny by 12 Liberal Democrat Councillors.

This means that this decision will go before a meeting of a council's overview and scrutiny committee, where it can be challenged in public by councillors and local residents. Although a date for the panel has not yet been set we will let residents know as soon as possible the time date and location.

The details of the call in are:

Please note that the following call in has been received and verified.   The decision was taken by Councillor Charles Gerrish, Cabinet Member for Customer Services on 31st August.   Notification has been sent that the decision must not be implemented. 

Call in of Executive Decision Number E1670 - Transport Capital Programme Re-assignment

The grounds for the call-in are as follows:

• That insufficient consultation has occurred with Councillors, parish and town councils and residents.
• That the effects of the deletion of the schemes are not adequately described within the paper. 

The following Councillors signed the call-in request:

Councillors:    Nigel Roberts , Roger Symonds, Marian McNeir, Ian Gilchrist, Cherry Beath, Tim Ball, Neil Butters, Will Sandry, Nicholas Coombes, Shaun McGall, Sharon Ball, Steve Hedges

This is the first publication of the Highways works that are planned in The Twerton area for the forthcoming week. These will be updated each week.

High Street

British Telecommunications plc (BC004)
Work Location: O/S GLOBAL TILES NO 115 HIGH STREET
Work Description: Renew frame and cover in footway (type 6) work to restore customer service Traffic Type: Signing Only

Kelston View

Virgin Media (NK100)
Work Location: o/s 45 Work Description: Swept Tee missing in the footway

  Landseer Road

Virgin Media (NK100) Work Location: o/s 47
Work Description: Damaged or blocked duct in footway

Lower Bristol Road

Western Power Distribution (LN072) Work Location: WEARSIDE, RIVER PLACE OFF 1 JOINT HOLE IN TARMAC FOOTWAY, 8 METRES OF CABLE INSTALLATION FOR NEW SUPPLY. Traffic Type: Signing Only

Mill Lane

Wessex Water plc (PG004) Baptist Church plot New connection.Working o/s t/s times. Cold lay Traffic Type: Signing Only

Windrush Close

Wessex Water plc (PG001) Work Description: Diversion of foul sewer.  Traffic Type: Signing Only

Welcome to the Twerton Blog site. This site will give interesting information on what is going on in and around the Twerton area.

Twerton Councillors Tim Ball & Gerry Curran will work to make sure that Twerton residents are informed about what is going on in the Council and will keep this site up to date with matters that affect Twerton.

We always look to keep regular contact with our local residents and you can find out how to contact us in the more about me section.