A briefing was held for Gloucester City Councillors with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, Chris Nelson. This came about after a successful Liberal Democrat motion to council calling for a briefing to be held with the PCC, to look at policing issues in our communities.

There was a good turnout from councillors including the whole Lib Dem group. Many councillors asked questions of Mr Nelson, including myself.

I asked about the recent TV programme featuring Gloucestershire officers, and particularly about the problem of alcohol-related crime mentioned on there. The PCC replied that alcohol crime was a major resource drain on the force, and that he was personally trying to do things on this issue.

I also referred to the problem of speeding, for example in Tuffley Avenue and Podsmead Road in my patch, and would the PCC come and meet me to see for himself. He acknowledged that this is one of the things that residents often bring up and want action on. He said it is one of his passions and he wants to get something done on this issue.

He said we was willing to meet me in Podsmead to look at any issues, but also the senior officers who were in attendance that evening said they would be in touch, as they knew already that I was very proactive in my ward, for example with regular walkabouts with PCSO Sexton.

The clothes banks for ‘2Rs community’ have been a magnet for fly-tipping, including in Podsmead at Burns Avenue.

Some research I did led me to find out that 2Rs was based in Wolverhampton, and that it no longer exists.

I asked the Leader of the Council a question about this issue and whether we could get the banks removed. He said in response that the clothes banks were usually sited on private land and in these instances it is up to the landowner to get them removed or to make sure they are serviced. Given the charity no longer exists, I would hope that landowners would prefer the banks to be removed, especially as they are a magnet for fly-tipping.

The first part of my question has the list of 2Rs banks that I am aware of in this part of the city:

‘There are several clothes banks for the ‘2Rs Community Resource Centre’ around the city, including in my ward of Podsmead on Burns Avenue, in Tuffley by the Seventh Avenue shops and in Chatsworth Avenue, and in Grange by Homleigh shops. An internet search shows that 2Rs was a Wolverhampton-based charity and that is was dissolved on 31st March 2021.‘

I understand from the Leader that he has been in touch with the city centre manager who is going to contact owners to request removal.

Clothes banks can be very good for charities who can make money for their causes from reselling good quality discarded garments or selling textiles to the rag trade, but only if they are maintained and regularly emptied.

There is a clothes bank in Podsmead at The Club at Tuffley Park that is available to residents. There are also often clothes banks in supermarket car parks such as Asda or Tesco.

If you know of any more disused clothing banks, or any other instances of fly-tipping in our area, do let me know.

There’ll be a meeting of the Not so secret Book Club on Robinswood Hill on Tuesday 19th April, 11am-2pm.

See the poster for further details or go to www.readwithme.org.uk

I am pleased to see at long last that the fly-tipping at Milton Avenue has been removed. Part of the issue seemed to be that despite giving detailed directions, the collection team couldn’t locate it. In the end PCSO Sexton and I submitted a map to them and now it has gone.

In other news, Milton Avenue play area is open and being enjoyed by local children. One piece of equipment was broken recently and we got that reported for repair – thanks to Les and Lisa Jevins for alerting me to this.

I had a note from council officers regarding the pond:

‘The work for the pond was put out to tender to three competent and approved contractors, but unfortunately no bids were submitted.

It has been decided that, from an ecological perspective, we should now wait until October before disturbing the pond. We will therefore include these works in a broader tender package going out in the next few months.

We also intend to include some additional tree and shrub planting along the linear strip to break it up a bit.

It’s a shame we could not crack on with the pond works, but it is important we do it right.’

It was also noted that sewage is entering the pond, and this is something that has been observed before. I have written to Severn Trent and they have replied, and we are looking at holding a multi-agency site meeting to try to resolve this problem once and for all.

If you have any questions about the Milton Avenue area please let me know.

Gloucester Quays have a food & craft market the first weekend of every month (excluding Tall Ships weekend 4th-5th June). Come along to enjoy quality food & craft. Find out more here.

Eggsplore Gloucester this Easter! Collect 10 different stickers from a choice of 15 locations, before collecting your very own wooden Easter egg to decorate at home.

This is a completely free activity, and will hopefully help you to discover some new places around the city. There are only 300 cards available, so don’t miss out!

Find out more here.

The Regional Fraud PROTECT Advisor – Mr Ash Jones – will be conducting a free one-hour fraud safety webinar on TUESDAY 26 APRIL at 2:00PM. Ash will brief you on the most common frauds affecting the UK today, and will offer advice and resources to help prevent you from becoming the fraudsters’ next victim.

For more details and to book your FREE place on the webinar: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/215697405747

I think the artworks on BT and electrical boxes in the city centre are imaginative and fun.

They were done as part of a project by Gloucester BID, with joint funding from the BID and the government Welcome Back fund, administered by the council. Tired street furniture was painted with a base coat and then artists did their work on them.

The artworks encourage people to look for them, and to learn a little about the historical figures portrayed or the nature depicted.

The Liberal Democrats proposed a motion at full council this week looking at ways to expand this scheme in the future, maybe doing more boxes in the city centre, or taking it out further into other parts of the city.

The scheme would have been cost neutral, as it would have involved applying for suitable funding or encouraging local communities and businesses to get involved.

Sadly the Conservative administration chose to amend the motion to the point where it only proposed promoting the existing artworks, and no further work.

It’s disappointing that there isn’t more vision for imaginative public art in the city. Other towns and cities do it very well and it draws people in.

After all – it’s only paint – it can always be painted over later.

I reported the fly-tipping and graffiti on Keats Avenue green space to Gloucester City Homes, the city council and the police. The land is owned by Gloucester City Homes.

If you spot any more graffiti or fly-tipping in our area please let me know.

The 30 mph limit and 7.5 tonne weight limit sign on Cole Avenue is faded and no longer reflective. I have urged Highways to refresh the sign to ensure safe use of Podsmead Road.

If you know of any other faded or damaged road signs in our area please let me know.