Update on recent planning decisions

A short post to update residents on two recent planning decisions that were decided earlier this month.

Firstly, the Blackbridge project was approved by the Planning Committee of the city council. There were 38 conditions on the approval, so it will be important to keep an eye on these as the project develops.

Whatever your views were on the project, I hope everyone can now come together to make the hub work for all.

I will continue to liaise with residents and the Blackbridge Charitable Community Benefit Society, and make concerns heard. I recently submitted a question for the cabinet meeting earlier this month on how the council will be monitoring the project.

Secondly, the 5G mast that was proposed for Tuffley Avenue has been rejected. This was in my opinion a flawed consultation and I am glad that the proposal has been thrown out.

My thanks to Sarah and the Friends of Tuffley Park for their speed in getting comments organised.

I am not against the masts in principle but felt this was the wrong location and hadn’t been properly consulted on. The Podsmead community will need to keep vigilant for future applications and judge them on their merits.

You can view current Podsmead planning applications here.

Permali Consultation

PERMALI FACTORY ON BRISTOL ROAD

Some Podsmead residents may have recently received a consultation letter about an application to the city council for a new environmental permit.

The letter did not contain a link to the documents. They can be found here.

Were the application to succeed, Permali would be allowed to use more than 200 tonnes of solvents per year. I am opposed to this, as is my colleague in nearby Westgate ward Councillor Rebecca Trimnell.

There have been many complaints already about noise levels and the abhorrent smell from this factory. The granting of this environmental permit will simply make things worse.

I would encourage you to write a letter of objection to the application. Responses must be in writing and include your name and full postal address.

All responses should be returned by 6pm on Monday June 26 2023.

✉️ By post to: PO Box 2017, Pershore, WR10 9BJ

? By email to: enquiries@worcsregservices.gov.uk quoting Ref: Permali A2 Application

✋? By hand to: The Guildhall Reception, Eastgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 1NS

It goes without saying, the more objections the better.

Please do let me know if you have submitted an objection by emailing me at ? Sebastian.field@gloucester.gov.uk

Cost of resurfacing of Scott Avenue

I was very pleased to see Scott Avenue resurfaced in January this year, following years of campaigning.

I asked officers for a breakdown of the cost and received the following reply:

Following on from our email correspondence below regarding the cost of re-surfacing Scott Avenue, an officer in the Structural Maintenance Team has responded as follows:

“The estimated budget for the scheme is £65k, however, individual schemes that are complete typically take quite a few months to undertake snagging works, final measuring, and agreement of final invoices with contractors and as such the costs may increase slightly.”

I will keep fighting to improve Podsmead’s roads and pavements.

City councillor calls for bus shelter on the Bristol Road

A city councillor is campaigning to have a bus shelter installed at a bus stop on the Bristol Road in Gloucester.

Councillor Sebastian Field is calling for the shelter to be erected by the Costa coffee shop at the Old Log Pond on Bristol Road.

He says it is an important route into Gloucester and passengers waiting for buses at this stop would benefit from a shelter to keep the wind and rain out.

He has written to the county council and had a favourable response from the Integrated Transport Unit.

They said that while there was ‘unfortunately… no developer condition to install a new bus shelter serving the Log Pond’ and therefore there are no funds being held over for installation, they agreed that because ‘the majority of Bristol Road bus stops are supplied with shelters’ there is ‘no reason to exclude this stop, especially since it benefits from a real time passenger electronic  display’.

The officer added: ‘I am therefore happy to add your request to my list and will do my best to action this financial year.’

Councillor Field said: “I am hopeful that the funds can be found for this shelter, as it is very much needed. 

“I have used this bus stop myself to get the bus into the city for work, and I know from personal experience that it can be quite miserable waiting for a bus in the freezing cold and rain. 

“The wind can really whip around the corner at that location. 

“It would be a positive step for customers at the Old Log Pond, and residents, to have a shelter here.”

The next step will be for the transport infrastructure officer to visit the site and take measurements to see what is possible.

Councillor Field added: “I have thanked the officer for their favourable initial response and offered to meet them at the site if required. 

“I will continue to campaign for better bus services and infrastructure for Podsmead.”

Shelter for bus stop on Bristol Road – one step closer?

I received the following email from the county council department responsible for bus stops and shelters:

Good morning Cllr Field,

Unfortunately there was no developer condition to install a new bus shelter serving the Log Pond so we are not holding any funds for install. That being said the majority of Bristol Road bus stops are supplied with shelters and I see no reason to exclude this stop especially since it benefits from a real time passenger electronic display. I am therefore happy to add your request to my list and will do my best to action this financial year. The first step will be for me to visit and take some measurements to see exactly what is possible. From memory the location itself should be able to accommodate a shelter at the back of the footway providing we are careful not to compromise footway width for pedestrians or obscure visibility from Log Pond access. Will keep you posted.

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Although this is not a guarantee, I am hopeful that the money might be found, and a shelter can be installed here. I will update residents as soon as I have more news.

Can I help publicise your event, community group or business?

I am always happy to hear from local people, community groups, charities and projects if they have something they need publicising. I am especially keen to hear about Podsmead events and groups.

I have an email newsletter which goes to local residents who have signed up for it. You can join my mailing list here.

I am on social media as well, and can reach a good number of people via Facebook (Sebastian Field – Gloucester) and Instagram (sebastianfieldgloucester).

I am also always keen to help promote businesses in Podsmead, so if you would like me to come and see your business, do let me know.