Food waste collection - at last

The collection of food waste as a separate waste stream is something that was planned for introduction in the spring of 2008. The incoming Conservative administration put this off until autumn 2011. Now under continuing pressure from the Liberal Democrats they have brought this forward to this autumn.
This delay has been part of the reason for the rapid growth over the last two years of the seagull population. Many residents have had their black plastic bags ripped open by seagulls and other animals creating a litter mess in the streets. Collecting food waste separately also has the hidden benefit that residents actually waste less food as they see just how much they are throwing away.
Food waste collections go live in October
Residents will be able to recycle their food waste weekly in secure, lockable containers from autumn 2010 following an £800,000 investment by Bath & North East Somerset Council to make the recycling service even more comprehensive and tackle some of the causes and effects of climate change. Food waste makes up a third of all household waste and gives off methane, a potent greenhouse gas, when it is sent to landfill.
Similar schemes operate successfully in local authorities nationwide. Across the country 80% of people support food waste collections and local residents have been asking when they can start to recycle their food waste. The new recycling collection vehicles operating since November can easily be modified by recycling contractor May Gurney to start collecting food waste from this autumn.
Residents can find out more by going to www.bathnes.gov.uk/foodwaste and in the meantime they can learn how to turn leftover food into a delicious meal by viewing a short video at www.bathnes.gov.uk/lovefoodhatewaste

Holcombe Green

Work to demolish ‘concrete-cancer’ ridden homes in Holcombe Green is now well under way. The stricken homes were built of pre-cast reinforced concrete after the war and as a result of structural problems either in the concrete used in the construction, or due to corrosion of the steel reinforcement inside the concrete, the properties have been classed as technically defective.
44 new homes will be built between September 2010 and April 2011 and will be a mix of one and two bedroom flats and two and three bedroom houses. Some will be offered through one of two schemes which help people to eventually buy their homes on a shared ownership basis.
Similar work will take place in parts of Southlands and is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2012.

New hope for Weston post office

As we all know, the post office failed to open on 11th February.
In their recent communication to Bath MP Don Foster at the Liberal Democrat office, Post Office Ltd said:
“The Post Office alarm system that was installed in the premises at 7 High Street Weston has been badly damaged by the landlord's builders. This was not notified to anyone on Post Office Ltd's side nor to the temporary subpostmaster in her discussions with the landlord and hence was only discovered when we visited last week to get the branch ready for re-opening.”
We have called on Post Office Ltd. to rectify the situation as soon as possible although it seems that they are now waiting for staff to come and fix the alarm system.
Meanwhile, Bath MP Don Foster has learnt that there is now an official application in to run the post office branch in Weston in the long-term.
For commercial reasons, Don has been asked not to name the business that has applied, but can reveal that they have been involved in the process for a while.
We are delighted to learn that they have got this bid back on track and now have a formal application in. This is promising news for the future of the service in Weston.
The bidder will now go forward to an interview process.
The application, if successful, would involve a change of site for the branch, and so there would be a period of public consultation before opening could be confirmed.
A short deadline has now been set on another interested party to complete the application, and then the interview stage will follow soon after that.
Don is still pressuring Post Office Ltd to get the temporary service on the current site open as a top priority, but it is important to sort out the long-term future of this branch.

Conservatives say 'no' to one way proposals

The Conservative council has again blocked Liberal Democrat plans to make part of Eastfield Avenue one way in the direction of bus travel. They have again ignored local resident’s wishes to investigate the situation.
In a recent street survey, 69% of those who replied were in favour of the one-way option.
I am very disappointed that the views of local residents have again been ignored. The results of the street survey indicate the strength of feeling in the area regarding traffic flow in Eastfield Avenue.

Temporary re-opening of Weston post office

The Weston post office is scheduled to re-open on the original premises on February 11th.
This is great news for all Weston residents and something they have long been waiting for. This will be a temporary arrangement until the long term future of the post office is sorted out.
The sole applicant interested in running the service - Nigel Chaplin, owner of Chaplins newsagents - is waiting to hear if his application has been successful.

Planning application

App Ref: 10/00039/FUL
Registered: 15th January 2010
Expiry Date: 12th March 2010
Location: 27 Vernslade, Upper Weston, Bath, BA1 4DN
Proposal: Erection of a lean to extension on side of dwelling following demolition of existing conservatory, erection of an replacement garage and widening of driveway
Officer: Victoria Griffin
Applicant: Miss Susan Scoble
Agent: Slade, Smith And Winrow

Weston post office update

Weston residents are getting increasingly frustrated at the length of time it is taking to get the post office re-opened. There is currently just one applicant in the selection process - Mr Chaplin, owner of High Street newsagents Chaplins - but this application has been delayed.
Bath MP Don Foster continues to be in regular contact with Post Office Ltd and has put pressure on the company to provide a temporary licence for the post office.
A spokeswoman for Post Office Ltd said that she was concerned that local residents were frustrated at the time being taken. However, she said that it is important for the long term interest of any local service to ensure that the applications they receive are thoroughly assessed so that ultimately the right candidate is appointed.