Here are some points summarised from Councillors Paul Crossley and Dine Romero's e-news for the Southdown Ward. To get the full newsletter by email, contact Paul Crossley .

Urban extension

The Council has released its strategy paper on building 15,500 new homes across the county over the next 20 years. It is consulting on extending Bath at either the Combe Down / Odd Down area, or from Twerton out towards the Globe Inn at Newton St Loe. The consultation starts on 19th October. You can submit your views using the link here.

20mph for Whiteway

Paul and Dine are working with a group of Whiteway residents, who want the estate to become a 20mph residential area to reduce traffic speed and increase safety. If you have a Facebook account you can support them by joining the group page here.

Tree felling and planting

One of the beech trees in the roundabout at Haycombe Drive is dying and will shortly be cut down. It will be replaced by 3 or 4 new lime trees. Some fruit trees which will be planted in the field at Hillcrest Drive (off Southdown Road) during tree planting week.

Play areas

The work from the government's National Play Awards will start soon. The designers have listened to the complaints at the Hillcrest Drive consultation and the proposed youth shelter has been replaced with a different item and moved away from the centre of the field. The Somer Roundhill Park scheme will also be built shortly.

Other issues

Paul and Dine are meeting with the senior leadership of the Council this week to discuss the various problems and issues affecting Southdown Road. The proposal to put a pedestrian crossing outside the Tesco store at Englishcombe Lane is also proceeding.

Information from newsletter, 11/10/09

Southside Centre

Now that funds have been secured to refurbish the Southside Youth Centre, there will be a public meeting to discuss the plans, give views and see who are going to provide the services. The meeting will be held on Wednesday 14th October from 7pm to 9pm at the centre.

Photo

Below is a panorama of Bath City Farm taken by Mr John Rawlings of Whiteway. To see a larger version click here. I think John must have taken the photo from a hot air balloon.

First Steps

Here is some information from First Steps. There will be no groups on 20th of October due to staff training. Most groups in Twerton will be closed in the half-term from 22nd to 30th October. The exceptions will be Holiday Play from 10pm to 12 noon on 27th October, and Young Parents from 1pm to 3pm on 28th October. Both groups are at First Steps Annexe, Dominion Road.

Joe, 10/10/09

A book sale will be held in the hall of St Barnabas Church, Mount View, on 7th November from 12 noon to 4pm. The organisers have already collected hundreds of books but are always happy to receive more. If anyone has a reasonable number of books to collect, telephone Colin Ellis on 01225 334354.

On the day everyone will be very welcome to come and browse. The organisers hope by then to have all the books sorted into categories but have already noticed that there are a wide range of cookery books covering cuisine both from home and abroad.

Joe, 06/09/09

On Tuesday the Time Bank held its Annual General Meeting in Twerton Village Hall, giving a report on developments and its work in the community for the year 2008-2009. The Time Bank provides a framework that enables residents to share time and skills helping one another.

In the past year the Time Bank has facilitated the involvement of almost 100 people in their local community. Between them they have clocked up more than 5,000 hours of voluntary activity. The DIY and gardening teams answer many requests for help, and other popular requests are to provide companionship for the elderly or to escort elderly and disabled people to health appointments, the library and shops.

The Time Bank also supports local groups such as Breastfeeding Peer Support, Young Parents and Knit and Natter. The members of Knit and Natter are residents of Avondown House at The Hollow and they came along to the meeting - some of them are in the photo below. The knitted items that they make are sold in aid of Claverton Cats and Dogs Home, while one lady also knits clothing for the homeless. You can see a photo of some of these items here.

The Time Bank also runs a Food Co-op and helps to co-ordinate Healthy Living Week. It is now a registered company and hopes to achieve charitable status next year. Funding has been secured from the Council for the next three years, in addition to ongoing support from the British Legion.

The Time Bank aims to increase its work assisting people of different age groups to support each other, and hopes to work closely with the new extended schools outreach workers, sheltered housing and other elderly projects locally. It is also looking at possibilities for extending its work to other parts of the city.

Joe, 02/10/09