I recently wrote to BT about the phone box on Podsmead Road.
A couple of years ago it was earmarked for removal due to lack of use. This was supported by the police who said they have to deal with a lot of prank or nuisance calls, which they legally have to attend.
There was little response to a consultation on the phone box, suggesting that residents would not miss it greatly.
Then came Covid, and the removal was put on hold while there were other priorities. I have been checking in about the box periodically since then.
Earlier this year the box was vandalised, with the glass being smashed. Although I reported this and got the glass cleared up, it has not been replaced.
The response I have received from BT this week indicates that the phone box is due to be kept and upgraded:
There has been a change of plan with this Payphone. BT is looking to expand and diversify its communication network over the next few years and our payphones will play a key role in this project. We’ve already begun to install equipment inside telephone boxes that makes it easier for people to use mobile telephones and other digital devices while they’re out and about.
We’re looking at other ways of repurposing our public payphones and given its location it’s highly unlikely that the box in question will in the short term feature in any of our removal projects.
I have now arranged for our Payphone engineer to attend to attend to carry out the necessary repairs to bring this box up to standard.
I have mixed feelings about this response as I am just not convinced this box is used by the community. Nonetheless I am willing to keep an open mind and will see if the improvements make a difference to the usage.
Do let me know your thoughts on this phone box by emailing seb4podsmead@gmail.com.
Back in the summer I met up with Dan and Neil from Tuffley Rovers, to discuss how I could help them.
We talked about some joint events to bring people in to the club, and also about future needs such as training pitches. Rovers have recently been deprived of some training pitches by the management at Homleigh Park, so they are very interested in the potential development at Blackbridge. I have also had contact from other clubs about this development.
I will always speak up for Tuffley Rovers when I can. I’m proud that they play their home games in my ward of Podsmead, although given that they train and have their clubhouse in Tuffley I don’t think a name change to Podsmead Rovers is on the cards! #uptherovers
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on its members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take further national strike action on the following dates:
Thursday 13th October 2022
Thursday 20th October 2022
Tuesday 25th October 2022
Monday 28th November 2022
Further dates have also been announced by the CWU for functional strike action on the following:
Processing, Distribution, International, Collections, Admin: 3rd, 9th, 15th, 24th November and 1st December 2022
Delivery: 4th, 10th, 16th, 25th November and 2nd December 2022
Network: 2nd, 8th, 14th, 23rd, 30th November 2022
Royal Mail is ready to talk further with the CWU to try and avert industrial action. We’re sorry this strike action is likely to cause you some disruption. We will be working to get our services back to normal as quickly as possible.
Royal Mail has well-developed contingency plans, which we will be updating over the next few days to respond to the new dates, but we cannot fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce. We’ll be doing what we can to keep services running, but you should expect significant disruption on dates when strike action is taking place.
There’s more information online at royalmail.com/latest-news but we wanted to provide you with some of the important information, directly.
Parcel and Letter Deliveries
On days when strike action is taking place:
We will deliver as many Special Delivery Guaranteed parcels as possible. We will prioritise and deliver as many Special Delivery Guaranteed items as resources allow. We cannot however guarantee delivery by 9am or 1pm next day, so we’re making changes to our delivery guarantee for items posted from Thursday 29 September, up to and including items sent on Saturday 1 October 2022. Customers will not be able to claim for delays to items during this period. Further information around how this impacts future strike dates will be communicated closer to the dates.
We will deliver as many Tracked 24 parcels as possible including prioritising delivery of Covid-19 test kits and medical prescription items wherever possible. However, significantly reduced resources mean there will be a delay to some Tracked 24 items during strike action.
On strike days, we will not be delivering letters (with exception of Special Delivery)
Other items posted the day before, during strike action or on the days after any strike action will be subject to delay.
Business Collections
We won’t be able to provide a collection service to business customers on days when strikes are taking place. We’re asking customers to post before strike days or hold items until after strike action finishes.
Business collections will resume on the next working day after a national strike day.
We are unable to accept bookings for additional or one-off collections on the day of strike action or for the next working day
Delivery Offices and Customer Service Points
Delivery Offices and Customer Service Points will be closed on days when strike action is taking place. Customers will not be able to collect or drop off items on these dates.
If you usually drop off bags of items to Customer Service Points, you can take them to a Post Office branch or to one of c1700 Collect+ sites which will accept Royal Mail items on days when strikes are taking place. You can check your nearest available Collect+ drop off here.
Delivery Offices and Customer Service Points will reopen the day after strike action has finished.
Post Offices
Post Offices will be open as usual, collections by Royal Mail from Post Offices will be limited on the days of strike action. Customers can still collect Local Collect items at Post Offices on strike days.
Getting services back to normal after strike action
We want to get your services back to normal as quickly as possible after any strike action. We’ll be increasing our network capacity and using additional resources to assist with this.
Collections and deliveries will resume the day after strike action finishes, including accelerating the delivery of NHS and healthcare letters, and critical Government mailings in the days following strike action.
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.
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.
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.
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.
