New bins coming soon

Good news this week in that the council have agreed to my request for two new bins in Podsmead.

There has been an issue with dog walkers putting their dog poo bags in the bins at the Memorial Ground, where Widden Old Boys Rugby Club and Old Cryptians Rugby Football Club play their games.

There have even been instances of throwing dog poo bags in the hedge – not very pleasant for club staff and volunteers.

I worked with the two clubs and the city council to get two news bins to alleviate the problem by giving people official city council bins they can use.

The two locations will be at the top of Laburnum Road, by the entrance to the Memorial Ground there, and by the entrance to the ash path on Stroud Road.

There is a backlog of litter bins to be installed so this won’t happen overnight, and it could be a while before we see them installed, but I have been assured that the locations we highlighted are sensible and will allow the crews to access the bins easily.

Grateful to the two clubs for bringing this issue to my attention and especially to local resident Rob for meeting me on site and showing me the problem first hand.

Autumnal update

I’ve been busy as ever this week on your behalf.

In Podsmead I’ve:

🗑️ celebrated the news that we are getting two new bins for either end of the Memorial Ground

🍃 asked the council about the leaf clearance programme

🍂 wrote to the county council to ask for the two drains at the entrance to Newark Road to be cleared

📄 liaised with the Earls Park residents’ group about adoption agreements

🎃 saw some great Halloween and autumnal decorations around Podsmead

In cabinet work I’ve

📅 had meetings with Climate Leadership Gloucestershire, Ubico, the Eelscapes Project and the council’s asset manager over the Club at Tuffley Park, the Podsmead Place pathway and other issues

🖍️ progressed the council’s graffiti action plan

Clocks go back 26th/27th October

Don’t forget that the clocks go back overnight on Saturday 26th into Sunday 27th October.

They officially change over at 2am Sunday morning, going back by an hour.

If you have a smartphone they usually do it automatically.

For oven or car dashboard clocks you can either attempt to change it or just live with it for six months…

More information on the government website here: https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change

Get ready for winter

With winter approaching, it is worth taking a few minutes to make sure you, your home, and your car are ready for winter.

There is lots of information available online to help you get ready for winter.

10 things you can do now

Here are 10 things you can do now to prepare for winter. There is also some useful information on the Age UK website.

Your home

There is some useful information about dealing with extreme weather on the Met Office’s advice webpages. You can also find advice on how to deal with frozen pipes on Severn Trent’s website.

Using the roads

The AA’s guide for winter motoring can be found here. Advice from Cycling UK and the AA about cycling in the winter can be viewed here.

Gritting and snow clearing

Information about the council’s road and pavement gritting service, and community grit bins, is available here.

Remember, the grit bins around our area are there for residents to use.
If you know of one in our area that needs refilling then please do let me have the details.

Advice on obtaining pension credit

There are as many as 880,000 pensioners who are eligible for pension credit but don’t claim it. You can read about how to claim it here.

Update 18.10.24

I missed my update last week so here is two weeks’ worth of news.

Cabinet news:

📆 I attended Overview and Scrutiny to answer questions about the council’s Air Quality Action Plan. Air quality in the city is improving but there is more we can do, hence a new set of measures for the next four years. I also attended cabinet.

🏚️I had a tour of the Fleece Hotel site with cabinet colleagues and council officers to hear about our ideas for the buildings and surrounding land.

Podsmead news:

🎽 I met with members of the committee of Gloucester Athletics Club and a council officer to see what could be done about the old athletics building at Blackbridge

💡 I reported a faulty streetlight and was told this would be fixed soon

🛣️ I liaised with Blackbridge over the issues with contractors affecting residents

🗑️ I reminded the council about my request for a bin or two for the Memorial Ground

📧 I wrote to Matthew Homes, the county council and the section 106 officer about the adoption of Earls Park open spaces, and the cut-through to Newark Road.

An inspection for adoption can likely take place in November or after, once the final pieces of street furniture are in. I have also passed on resident concerns about surface water and the poor drainage, which will need to be rectified to meet adoptable standard.

🔈 I helped residents with various issues like noise, housing problems and vegetation

🌁 It’s good to see the bridge from Podsmead Road to Tuffley has been cleaned and repaired.

Walk through Earls Park

I had a walk through Earls Park the other day.

The construction on the estate is nearing completion and we should then be able to proceed to adoption of the roads once done.

The process of adopting the parks is underway.

Some new street signs have been installed which is good to see, and the flattened one has been righted, albeit with a few scratches!

Get out there and walk

I regularly walk around my ward. It’s a good way to check on things like the state of footpaths and roads, and any issues like weeds or litter.

It’s also good for my health and my step-count.

I always find something to report, or see something that has been fixed at my request.

I nearly always end up seeing residents who want to have a chat.

I can’t solve every problem but I always listen.

This was taken walking over the bridge on Bristol Road.