There is offensive graffiti on the wooden play equipment in Tuffley Park.

I reported this back in May when I was first made aware of it, and then again in July when it still wasn’t done. I was surprised to hear from a park user that their child had seen the same offensive graffiti the other day and had asked what the words meant!

I have reported this again to the council, saying it is very urgent, and hoping that the third time is the charm.

The council has a standard target time for removing offensive graffiti. On this occasion they have missed that target by months rather than days.

Royal Mail workers are going on strike in the coming months, starting from 30th September.

The Communication Workers’ Union has voted for strike action over pay and conditions.

The dates of strike action are listed above.

These may be subject to change.

Postal workers are demanding a proper pay rise to cope with rising living costs.

In the financial year ending March 2022, the company generated a profit of £758 million, representing a slight decrease compared to the previous year.

The CEO of Royal Mail is paid £500,000 per year plus pension and bonuses.

Take a meter reading now if you can

Most households’ gas and electricity bills are set to go up on Saturday 1st October. That means, if you do not have a smart meter, it is a good idea to take a meter reading and send it to your energy supplier.

You can find more information about this on the Money Saving Expert website.

I met with Guy Stenson at GCH back in the summer.

We discussed a range of issues including the regeneration of Podsmead, other GCH developments in the ward, communication between councillors and the company, and housing need in the city.

I hope to continue to have these meetings on a regular basis in future.

The police community support van will be in Manu Marble Way, Earls Park, on Thursday 6th October at 6pm.

Local PCSO Suzanne Sexton will be attending and will have the bike marking kit available for any residents who wish to get this done.

I will also be there to chat to residents about any issues they may have.

Any Podsmead resident is welcome to come along and see us.

I have urged the council to fill in two potholes on Scott Avenue, Podsmead. Whilst repairing potholes is fine, what Scott Avenue needs is a proper resurface, which I have been calling for for several years.

I am going to check whether it appears on a schedule of planned resurfacing and keep lobbying for it to be done if not. I will always fight for better roads and pavements in our area.

Residents of Manu Marble Way contacted me after an unofficial cut-through appeared next to their houses. People were using it as a short cut through the Earls Park estate.

This obviously raised questions about security and worried the residents. I have been in touch with the MD of Matthew Homes. He agreed with me that this cut-through should not be there, and I am pleased to report that it is due to be sorted this week by gating off the pathway.

There is a scam going around at the moment which sends a text message like the above, claiming to give a link to apply for an energy discount.

This is clearly a scam as the £400 discount will be applied automatically – there is no need to apply for it. The texts, one of which I received, come from an unfamiliar number, whereas official NHS or government texts usually say so on the contact details.

My advice is to delete this text and never click on any unfamiliar links. The best source of trustworthy information is the government website.

If you think you’ve been the victim of a scam you can find information about what to do here.

A few weeks back one of the gates at the entrance to Tuffley Park was damaged and knocked off.

I was in touch with Asset Management at the council who confirmed they are dealing with the problem. I have urged them to repair and replace the gate.

Following the previous update, National Grid and its main contractor VHE are progressing well with work onsite on Bristol Road to remove materials associated with its former use as a gasworks.

As a reminder, in May/June 2021, National Grid undertook some initial routine site investigation works to assess the ground conditions. The findings from these works informed the planning application which Gloucester City Council approved earlier this year. This means that the unused land can be brought back into beneficial use.

At this stage in the remediation work, most of the materials associated with the site’s former use as a gasworks have been removed. This stage is expected to be completed over the next couple of weeks. The team will then reinstate the site to the original ground level. This is done by breaking up the hard materials onsite already to form compacted stone at an even level across the site. The photograph shows the concrete crusher onsite as this work starts. 

The works started at the end of June and are now due for completion in October/November 2022.