Some residents enquired about the type of trees being planted at Milton Avenue. I have made enquires of council officers and am happy to pass on the following information:

‘They are wildlife friendly shrubs native to the uk comprising:

Cornus alba – 25%

Cornus sanguinea – 25%

Corylus avellena – 20%

Rosa arevnsis – 10%

Rosa canina – 5%

Viburnham opulus – 15%

There will be two NSSBC meetings in half term, one in Gloucester and one in Wotton. More events are planned later this year, including in Podsmead.

I contacted Gloucester City Homes about the damaged railings on Byron Avenue. I have requested a repair and am told that it will be done within 28 days of their email response.

If you see any more damaged railings or similar in our area please let me know.

Tuffley Avenue, Gloucester

This road will be closed between Podsmead Road and Tuffley Crescent on Monday 28th February, between 9:30am and 3pm only, to allow for works by Severn Trent Water.

If you should require further information please contact streetworks@gloucestershire.gov.uk.

I went for a problem-solving walkabout with PCSO Suzanne Sexton and Kevin Lee, Gloucester City Council, Environmental Crime.

We looked at several areas including the back of the shops on Scott Avenue, the clothes bin by the alleyway through to Eliot Close, Milton Avenue and Stratford Close.

Kevin and his team will investigate any reports of fly-tipping and have been successful in issuing fines since the team was instigated. Fly-tipping can result in a £400 fine if you are caught.

The advice from the council is to report fly-tipping to environment@gloucester.gov.uk, or let me know and I will pass it on to the team. Please do not touch the fly-tipping yourself, both for health and safety reasons and for preserving evidence.

Unfortunately the fly-tipping by the clothes bin does not contain any evidence to identify a culprit, but there have been successful prosecutions at this location before.

My preference would be to have the clothes bin moved onto Scott Avenue or removed entirely. Council officers are contacting the charity to try to facilitate a solution.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has opened nominations for people who would like to apply to be a Batonbearer for the Queen’s Baton Relay in England. The criteria for a Batonbearer in England is someone who meets one or more of the following: 

·         Is always willing to take on a challenge and has a unique and inspiring story

·         Has made a meaningful contribution to sport, education, the arts, culture, or charity

·         Is a figure of inspiration that positively challenges others to achieve their best

·         Has taken on a challenge or cause and made a positive impact within their community

The Queen’s Baton Relay will travel to every region in England, before arriving at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on 28 July. Nominations will be open until 14 February. 

More information:
http://www.birmingham2022.com/queens-baton-relay/batonbearer-nominations/

Gloucester’s Bright Nights festival will once again light up the city with an array of light installations that will welcome and delight visitors through the remaining winter months.

 

Launched in November last year, the festival is backed by local partners including Gloucester Business Improvement District and has been supported by funding from Arts Council England. 

 

For the second part of the programme, which will run until March, Gloucester City Council has commissioned several exciting new installations bringing even more colour, light and joy to the city.

 

Highlights for 2022 include:

 

Windows Through Time

14 February – 1 March, Westgate Street

Award Winning Local artist, Jack Wimperis will be creating a new artwork highlighting the colourful past of this vibrant area. People have lived, worked, prayed, and played in Westgate Street since Roman times and each period in history has left its own mark making today’s street a precious historical record of how people lived in the past. To read more about the history of each of these windows, you can pick up a trail leaflet from the Cathedral Quarter’s HQ on Westgate Street.

18-20 February – celebrate the start of half-term with a number of activities on Westgate Street along including street performers. And St Stephen’s Church will throw open its doors for people to take a look inside this historic church which is rarely open to the public.

 

Glow Globes

February, various city centre locations

Discover ten giant Glow Globes dotted around the city, animated through snow and illuminated artworks. Scan the QR code on each one to watch the snow dance in the globes.

The art inside the globes has been created by South West artist Maya Wolf who took inspiration from local children’s favourite parts of Gloucester history of Gloucester. Each globe will tell its own story about the city’s past.

 

Luma

18 – 19 February, Gloucester Cathedral

Luma is a huge interactive robot; an 8m long, inflatable snail who loves an audience.  She looms above visitors with a presence which is gentle, welcoming, and otherworldly.  Made almost entirely made from fabric which allows her movement to reflect the flexible and contorting motion found within the animal kingdom. The joyful and hopeful artwork champions both nature and technology, and reimagines what robots can do.

 

Illuminated Swim

3-6 March, GL1

Inspired by the paintings of Rothko, multi-award winning designer Dr Tine Bech has created a beautiful artwork which you can swim in. Illuminated Swim is an immersive and playful light installation where participants can experience diving into a giant pool of light. Coloured clouds hover over the water, gently changing as people float, swim and play.

Tine is working in collaboration with Gloucester-based The Music Works team to design a soundtrack for the installation. More information on ticket booking to be announced in the coming weeks.

I have lost count of how many potholes I have reported on Scott Avenue over recent years. The patches hold for a few days, before coming loose again. The road now looks like a ‘patchwork’.

What it needs, and what I have called for, is a proper resurface. Sadly, the Conservatives at Shire Hall have consistently failed to allocate resources for this. In fact they have cut the budget spent on our roads.

The road gets regular use, and because of parked cars, it is more heavily used down one side. Long-term, this should also be looked at in any future traffic management plans.

I will continue to press the Conservative-run county council for better roads and pavements in our area.

I dropped in to Duke of Beaufort Court to thank manager Sharon Syme for her work in the area, as she departs for a new home and new role.

The details of the role at Duke of Beaufort Court are here if you are interested in applying, or know anyone who might be.

We wish Sharon all the best for the future.

I undertook a walkabout with the Heritage Engagement officer from the city council, who is working in the city to add buildings to the local heritage list. We identified a number of buildings to consider.

You can find out more about this process here. You can also nominate an asset yourself via this page.