Focus on

Wyevale enforcement notices served:

Concerned local residents will be pleased to learn that after lengthy delays (and a lot of emails, phone calls, meetings and questions at Full Council and planning meetings!) Planning Enforcement Notices (PENs) have finally been served on the owners of the former Wyevale Garden Centre site on the A4 Bath Road in Brislington West. There are currently 4 cases: 1. The laying of hardstanding and use of land to the rear of the former garden centre.

2. The removal of trees on Green Belt field. This case is currently on hold as the Forestry Commission are dealing with an Appeal against a re-stocking order that they served on the landowner requiring replanting of trees.

3. Earth moving and regrading of the land, including the formation of bunds and storage of construction plant and equipment and portable buildings on Green Belt field. 4. Removal of line of self-seeded trees in front of fencing towards middle of site (at rear of car park land). This case is still under assessment. Last Wednesday, 4 PENs were served in respect of cases 1 and 3. The requirement of the PENs is to permanently remove from the land all items of construction plant and equipment and all portable buildings, to remove all of the earth bunds that have been formed on the land, to cease all use of the land as builder's yard and scaffold storage yard, and to remove all hard surfacing laid from the land and remove all the resulting spoil from the land. All four PENs have a 3 month compliance period. There is a right of appeal and when we met one of the landowners last year, he told us that it was his land and he could do what he wanted with it but we hope on this occasion the landowners will comply.

New supported bus service:

Last year, we met with transport officers from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and the Bristol City Council cabinet member for transport to discuss bus services in Brislington West. We were particularly concerned about the lack of public transport serving the large Hungerford Road community. Many older residents there don’t have a car and they have told us they feel isolated and cut off.

We suggested that the route of one of the local supported bus services could be amended to include Hungerford Road so that residents would have better access to local shopping areas and the doctor’s.

We are pleased these comments have been taken on board (excuse the pun!) and WECA is now about to commence a retendering of supported bus services across the region, including our local 513/514 bus services that operate in both Brislington West and East. The proposal is to change the 513/514 into one circular service with improved frequency. WECA are considering a few route options at the moment and in our feedback we stressed the importance of including Hungerford Road, connecting all the local shopping areas and the library and doctor’s surgery on Wick Road. Ideally, the new bus service would also include Avonmeads, however, we have heard there is a problem with the land owner and getting permission.

We’ve asked WECA to try to resolve this. The current plans are to provide a Mon-Fri service and we have also asked if it could be extended to include Saturdays too. On a side note, First Bus have just introduced new ticket types in Bristol. More details here.

Hedge planting at Arnos Court:

This Thursday, 27 January, we will be planting our new A4 Bath Road perimeter hedge with the help of local schoolchildren. This is the postponed planting session from December. We will be putting in a native species hedgerow of 200 saplings funded by One Tree Per Child. Over time it will provide both a visual barrier between the busy A4 Bath Road and the park and a pollution screen to help clear up our air. If you’d like to find out more and possibly get involved, please sign up here.

Lord Mayor’s Medals:

We would like to remind you that this year’s round of Lord Mayor’s Medals are still open. The deadline has been extended to Friday 28th January. We encourage you all to make nominations (this can be for an individual or an organisation).

The nomination form is available here: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/council-and-mayor/ nominate-someone-for-a-lord-mayors-medal

New tree for Hampstead Road:

We are delighted to see the replacement tree finally planted on Hampstead Road. The old tree was removed by council tree officers in May, 2020 as it was in a poor condition with basal decay and an increasing lean. Tree officers had hoped a member of the public would sponsor the plot in order to fund a new tree last year but this did not materialise and so the replacement tree, a sea buckthorn, was not included in the planting list for the 2021 tree planting season. We got in touch with council tree officers to hurry the process along and also to suggest alternative funding sources and we are pleased to say this was secured and the replacement tree has now been planted.

Highway Code changes:

Don’t forget the updated road hierarchy coming into force this week. These changes aim to improve road safety for more vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians, who are most likely to get injured in an accident. It is now the responsibility of a car driver to be aware of cyclists, pedestrians, or horse riders. For example, when a car is turning into a road or exiting a road, they should stop to let pedestrians cross. Cyclists travelling straight ahead at road junctions will now be given priority over drivers who are turning in or out or changing lanes. More details here.

Commercial bins causing an unsightly obstruction:

A local resident got in touch about large, unsightly commercial bins blocking the pavement on Repton Road. We informed the council and are pleased to report that a Waste Enforcement Officer visited the business to direct them to move the bins.

Christmas tree collection:

We noticed that there was a mix-up with the Christmas tree collection in some parts of the ward. We got in touch with Bristol Waste and they came back to pick up the trees they had missed. If your tree still hasn’t been collected, let us know.

Neighbourhood enforcement in Repton Road Car Park:

In recent months ‘detritus’ has been spilling out of a garage onto the council-owned car park on Repton Road. Following an enquiry from a concerned resident, we got in touch with the council. In response, neighbourhood enforcement have visited the car park and ordered the owner to remove any waste/items that should not be there.

Hundreds of Brislington West residents have signed up to receive our monthly newsletter via email. You can register using this link here

By Jos Clark, Liberal Democrat Councillor (Brislington West) Email: cllr.jos.clark@ bristol.gov.uk Mobile: 07584 370429 & Andrew Varney, Liberal Democrat Councillor (Brislington West) Email: cllr. andrew.varney@bristol.gov.uk Mobile: 07584 183381