In my previous email I reported that minor works on Shakespeare Avenue pavement and road surface were due to be carried out soon, and I am pleased to report that they are now done.
I will continue to push for our roads and pavements in Podsmead to be repaired or kept up.
If you know of any roads or pavements that need repair, please let me know.
Although there is light at the end of the tunnel with the successful vaccination programme and the ‘roadmap out of lockdown’, many people are still finding things tough.
I wanted to make sure you were aware of where to get the most up to date advice and support.
Below are some links and contact details that I hope you find helpful.
I am always happy to help with any issues, big or small. You can contact me here.
The community help hub can be contacted at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/helphub or on 01452 583519.
You can find the latest Government advice at www.gov.uk/coronavirus
And you can find useful local information on the Gloucester Lib Dem website.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need my help.
We would like to update you regarding County Council library services that are on offer during the National Lockdown and also notify you of changes coming soon to the eBook and eMagazine service.
1.eBook Service Update: Please read if you use the RBDigital eBook and eMagazine services
On 25th February there will be a major change to the eBook and eMagazine service we offer. Following the acquisition of RBdigital by OverDrive, our eBooks and eMagazines will be moving to the OverDrive platform (Libby) – some of you may be familiar with the Libby service which will enhance our fantastic range of eBooks and eMagazines.
We are working with the supplier to ensure a smooth transition and if you have a book checked out in the RBdigital app at the point of the switch over, it will be available for the remainder of the lending period.
Do you have items on hold (reserved) in RBdigital?
Unfortunately any titles you have selected as holds will not be transferred. However, you may export your Transaction History from the RBdigital website by accessing My Account > Profiles, so you have a list to then re-place in the new Libby service. Please undertake this prior to the 24th February in order to prepare for the change.
How will I be able to access the new Overdrive Libby app?
In order to use the new service you will just need your library card number and PIN to access OverDrive’s Libby app, where you will be able to place your holds again.
More information will be shared soon at: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/libraries/ebooks-eaudiobooks-and-emagazines/
2.Service Availability as a result of the National Lockdown
In order to support the UK Government’s stay at home message, our online services continue to be available to you from home via the Internet.
Your Library From home
You can access a range of free digital content from home through your internet, including eBooks, eAudioBooks and eMagazines which are available 24/7 and can be accessed with your library card. For more information about our services from home, please visit the website. If you would like to access our extensive eBooks, eAudioBooks and eMagazines offer, please click here.
We are also providing a range of online events and activities through our Facebook and Youtube channels which we hope you discover and enjoy.
In line with Government regulations, we are able to offer some limited services from our library buildings for essential use.
Essential PC access and Printing and Photocopying:
Libraries remain open to provide essential PC access to residents who cannot get online at home. Sessions have been reduced to 50 min to facilitate cleaning and must be booked in advance by calling the local library, or booking online via http://www.gloucestershirelibraries.org.uk/netloan/login.aspx. Further information can be found at https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/libraries/book-a-computer-including-printing/
Request and Collection Services:
At the current time, customers are not be able to enter our library buildings to browse the shelves but we continue to offer our request and collection services for those customers who wish to use them. For more information on these services please visit https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/libraries/request-services/
Fines, charges and managing your Library account
We are ensuring no additional fines will be incurred during this Lockdown period and we have extended our loan periods. You can check your library account online https://gloucestershire.spydus.co.uk.
We thank you for your continued support.
Best wishes from the Gloucestershire Libraries Team
If you live in Gloucestershire there are many locations where you can get tested for Coronavirus.
If you have symptoms, these are the venues:
And for those without symptoms, here are the venues available:
You can find information about Covid testing on the NHS website here.
Good news today that The Crypt School are donating £400 to the Poets Pantry.
They held a fundraiser before half term and had a great response.
This funding will support the work at the Pantry when it opens.
As ever we are grateful to the school for playing an active role in the Podsmead community.
Gloucester City Council, who run elections in the city, have today issued the following statement:
‘On Thursday 6 May, Gloucester’s residents will go to the polls to have their say on who represents them for the next few years.
Residents are being asked to vote for who represents them at Gloucester City Council, Gloucestershire County Council and to select their Police and Crime Commissioner.
There are a number of ways to take part in the election – voters can visit a polling station where Covid safety measures will be place, including staff wearing face coverings and sitting behind screens and social distancing measures inside and outside each polling station.
Anyone voting in person is required to wear a face covering when inside the poling station, unless exempt for medical reasons and may bring their own pen if they wish.
Alternatively people can vote by post or appoint someone they trust to vote on their behalf, which is known as a proxy vote.
Letters are being sent out to let voters in Gloucester know if they are registered to vote and the ways they can take part in the election.
Anyone who isn’t yet registered has until April 19 to do so. The deadline to apply for postal votes is April 20 and for a proxy it is April 27.
However, if a voter tests positive for Covid 19 or is required to self-isolate after the deadline, they will be able to apply for an emergency proxy vote up until 5pmon polling day.
Jon McGinty, Managing Director at Gloucester City Council and Returning Officer, said: “The elections are very important – they’re an opportunity to make your voice heard and have a say on who represents you on issues that directly affect day-to-day life here in Gloucester.
“However you choose to cast your vote in May, you can do so safely. We’re putting arrangements in place to help you stay safe at the polling station; you can expect many of the measures you’ve become used to in shops over recent months, such as hand sanitiser, screens and face masks. But you also have the option to apply to vote by post or by proxy but please don’t leave it too late to do so.”
For information visit the Gloucester City Council website or call 01452 396203.’
Liberal Democrats establish County Council Task Group to scrutinise polluters and hold water companies to account for polluting Gloucestershire’s rivers and endangering public safety.
Our county’s rivers are flooded with harmful pollutants, including raw sewage discharged from Gloucestershire’s water companies, Severn Trent, Thames Water and Wessex Water. Back in 2019, these companies were found to have discharged into English Rivers for a combined 400,000 hours.
Last September, Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats brought a motion to the County Council, calling on it to take urgent action to address pollution in our county’s rivers. This motion passed resoundingly, supported by councillors from all parties.
Now, we’re turning up the heat on the county’s biggest polluters, forming a County Council task group that will:
Commenting on the next steps, Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, the Lib Dem spokesperson on the Climate Emergency, said:
“We are extremely fortunate to live in a county with such an incredible natural landscape and waterways, yet for decades water companies have been allowed to abuse our rivers to the point that they have destroyed natural habitats and are endangering public health.
“I am extremely pleased that we’re taking the next step and forming a task group to scrutinise their actions, to hold them to account for the dumping of sewage and to challenge them to change their behaviour.
“This is an exciting opportunity to build back better from this challenging period, because Gloucestershire deserves better than filthy polluted rivers.”
Milton Avenue green space has been the site of much good work by local groups in recent years and it will be the location for exciting works to come.
With money from the European Union (safe despite Brexit), the area will be improved with extensions of the pond and planting of wildflowers. It is also hoped that we can improve accessibility at the site.
Covid has obviously delayed things but we hope to start planting in the autumn, with the project running until 2022. There will then be a 15 year maintenance period where the council and partners will need to keep what we plant etc in good order.
The key thing at the moment though is to get the heavy bramble cleared to allow for planting.
The above sketch is an indicative plan and is by no means a final proposal – it’s just to indicate what could be done at the site. I have permission from council officers to share it.
I have had meetings on this subject regularly in my time as city councillor for Podsmead. There is a lot of goodwill and positive energy going into this. My thanks as always to the volunteers and groups who have maintained this site up to now.
Please do get in touch if you have ideas or questions. This will very much be a team effort and I look forward to helping steer it through.
A few days ago I wrote on Facebook about the issues at Tuffley Park with the gate and the mud in the entrance.
I have been speaking with council officers and trying to find a solution with them.
Reseeding at the moment would be impractical and a waste of money until the weather improves. We need the ground to dry out a bit before we can plant new grass. Putting stones down now to solidify the ground would risk damaging the council mowers when the grass comes back and it needs cutting.
So in the interim we are looking at wood chips as a better option. We are also going to try to sort out the gate and liaise with The Club at Tuffley Park in order to keep an eye on it.
As ever I am grateful to the several residents who brought this to my attention. If you know of an issue in our parks or in Podsmead generally then please get in touch.
Gloucester City Council is reviewing its festival and events programme including considering socially distanced events or online alternatives to ensure that the city’s vibrant cultural life continues.
The city council and its partners are closely monitoring the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic and are looking at how Gloucester can continue to provide a cultural programme for 2021.
Work is also taking place behind the scenes to ensure that cultural events and festivals can continue in the city when it is feasible to do so.
Last year’s Bright Nights festival in December and Of Earth and Sky by Luke Jerram in the autumn, demonstrated how cultural events can still be held in a safe and socially distanced manner.
Both events took place outdoors, laying down a template for how art, music and performance can be experienced by the community safely.
In addition, the city’s History Festival went ahead with a varied programme of talks and events online.
The museum’s latest exhibition, Life in Lockdown can also be accessed online along with a series of 40 talks about the museum’s artefacts now available on YouTube.
I am a member of the working group that looks at cultural matters in Gloucester during the pandemic, and we have been working hard to get events happening again.
Last month I also asked a written question of the cabinet member about plans for the future as Covid hopefully abates.