Duke of Beaufort Court, the sheltered housing complex on Podsmead Road/Poplar Close, has put this banner out on Podsmead Road.

It’s a lovely sentiment to see and I would like to thank them in return on behalf of the local community.

After residents contacted me about the faded yellow lines at the top of Poplar Close, I raised the issue with the council.

The council have responded to say:

‘Dear Cllr Field

Many thanks for your request. We have worked in partnership with our contractors, NSL to commission a locally based line and sign operation.

We can confirm that this has now gone live and we are currently working through the list based on priority order. We can assure you that this request has been added to the list/noted.

Thank you once again for contacting us.’

Parking is an issue at Poplar Close and I will continue to work with residents on solutions. There may be some good news on parking in the area in the next few months.

A divot appeared in the pavement at Tennyson Avenue and after a resident alerted me to it I took swift action to get it reported.

The council have now repaired it and although I am slightly concerned about the level being raised above the pavement surface, I think with use it will gradually smooth out.

This week I received a letter from National Grid Land & Property updating me on the first stage of investigations. Below is the text of the letter:

Dear Councillor Field,

Keeping you informed: routine investigation at former gasworks site at Bristol Road, Gloucester, GL2 5YA now completed

Further to my recent correspondence, I am writing let you know that we have completed the first phase of work on the site of our former gasworks on Bristol Road, Gloucester.

Activity on site 

The work carried out involved undertaking some initial routine site investigation works to assess the ground conditions on our land. 

The findings from these site investigation works will be used to inform a planning application we anticipate submitting to Gloucester City Council later this year. This will be an application for us to carry out remediation work that will improve the environmental condition of the site so it can be brought back into future beneficial use. 

Next steps 

Throughout the summer period, we will need to return to the site periodically for post-works monitoring. However, this will not involve any further excavation activity so it is unlikely anyone will notice our team visiting. 

Subject to Gloucester City Council granting planning consent, the second phase of remediation work is anticipated as starting early 2022, with it being completed by Summer 2022.  

Keeping you informed – ongoing communications   

Should you have any questions about our work, please refrain from visiting our site. Instead, please call our Community Relations team between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday on 0800 1448 904 or via email at NGLPCommunityRelations@camargue.uk.

Gloucestershire Youth Support Team has some positions, both paid and unpaid, available.

Please see the posters below for more information.

This week I met with an open spaces officer from the city council to look at the gates at Tuffley Park, both the one halfway along the wall that is used by walkers and dog-walkers, and the main entrance to the Club at Tuffley Park.

Both gates are in need of either repair or replacement and I am going to work with officers to try to identify funding to get them fixed.

I will hopefully have more news on this soon.

Cllr Sebastian Field has hailed the recent Lib Dem victory in Chesham & Amersham. The party overturned a 16,000 Conservative majority to take the seat with a majority of over 8000.

He said ‘this was a team effort with Lib Dems from all over the country going to help. I went down and did some campaigning along with colleagues from across Gloucestershire. It was great to pull off a win and shows we can beat the Conservatives anywhere.’

I wrote an update about the wall at Tuffley Park on Facebook recently:

UPDATE ON THE TUFFLEY PARK WALL

1st June 2021

A planning application was submitted last month to remove the wall along Tuffley Park and replace it with a 1.8 metre high metal hoop-top fence.

This came about after the council looked at options to repair or replace the damage that occurred last year when the wall was hit by a car.

The plan was to use the £50K insurance money and some section 106 money from developers to pay for the fence, which would have cost £100K overall. No taxpayer money would have been spent on this project.

I posted on this page at the time and wrote to the residents most directly affected by this application. The Labour councillors in Moreland did the same.

There were a variety of responses, some in favour and some against. Some people wanted to retain the wall due to its age and the fact that it has been a feature for a long time. Others wanted to see the park opened up and some hedges planted along the fence line.

The matter was due to come to planning committee in July. The council have since taken advice from their conservation officer and determined that the fence would not have been a high quality enough replacement. The wall was also deemed to have historical, communal and landmark value.

The damaged section of wall will now be repaired. Although the rest of the wall has some cosmetic cracks it is structurally sound. The area is inspected regularly as part of the council estate but the council have added a specific check on the wall.

This matter may well be revisited in the future and I still hope that we can make improvements in this area. Of particular concern is the gate into the park which needs sorting out.

Some people will be relieved and some will be disappointed by this decision. It is important to listen to and respect all views.

What has been heartening about this debate have been all the offers of help, the goodwill of the community and the wish to make our park better. I hope that this continues.

*****

So it looks as though the wall will be staying, but we might have the opportunity to install better gates – something that lots of residents have asked me about. Let me know your thoughts on any of the above here.

June 9th was International Batten Disease Awareness Day.

Events were held in Gloucester to mark the day, especially by the family of local lad Josh who has the disease.

It was a pleasure to go along and support the event at The Club at Tuffley Park, and to wear orange (no hardship for a Lib Dem!)

Thanks to all for raising awareness of this condition.

You can find out more about Batten Disease here and you can support Joshua’s Warriors here.

I reported the manhole cover by the bus shelter on Tuffley Avenue, as it was loose, and vehicles were making a noise when driving over it. It was irritating for residents.

I am pleased that this has now been fixed. I am taking action all across Podsmead.