There will be an afternoon tea in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Sunday 10th October at 2pm, in the Whitminster Inn, Whitminster, Gloucester, GL2 7NY. Tickets cost £15.
More info from Chris and Jenny Brooker: rogertime123@hotmail.co.uk.
After residents and local agencies alerted me to the poor condition of the play area matting on Scott Avenue, I reported it to the council’s parks and open spaces officer.
An inspection was carried out and the play area matting has now been replaced.
I am pleased that this has been done. City council play areas are inspected each week but the council are responsible for dozens in the city, and sometimes things get missed. Do report to me any play areas that you notice needing attention in Podsmead.
This week Gloucestershire Live have carried a report together with my statement, about the play park at Earls Park. As mentioned, it is hoped this can open in early October.
There will be a coffee morning in The Ramblers, 62 Milton Avenue, Podsmead on Monday 27th September at 10am, until 12noon.
This is in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, as part of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.
Do go along if you are free.
Whilst delivering leaflets in Podsmead I noticed that in some of the blocks of flats, the signs on the front door were for a different building.
I have raised this with Gloucester City Homes and been informed by them that they will look into this matter and get back to me.
I have suggested which signs need to be swapped and where we might need a new one created or the names & numbers newly etched.
I have submitted a series of written questions to cabinet members in advance of the full council meeting this week.
The questions and answers are below.
Written questions are primarily to obtain factual information about aspects of council business or your ward.
I can ask verbal supplementary questions on the night.
Yesterday I was contacted by Gloucestershire Live regarding the play areas at Earls Park. I gave the following statement:
The two play parks at Earls Park, at Manu Marble Way and Neven Place, are currently in the ownership of the developer Matthew Homes and are their responsibility. Once the parks are adopted and handed over to the city council, the council will then be responsible for the maintenance of the site.
I work proactively with Matthew Homes on behalf of the residents of Earls Park. In July I had a site meeting with management, including the Managing Director, and I shared the details and action points of this meeting on my website, https://sebastianfield.mycouncillor.org.uk/2021/07/16/earls-park-site-meeting/
and my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/cllrsebastianfield
As well as urging a number of actions which have been carried out such as blocking off the illegal cut-throughs, arranging for missing street nameplates to be installed and updating on highways issues, at this meeting I again raised the matter of the parks which were fenced off and unavailable for use.
I pressed the management to get these parks open as soon as possible, in time for the summer. I was told that this should be done within two weeks, but obviously this has not happened. I have continued to press Matthew Homes on this matter and it is a source of frustration for me and residents that the parks are not yet open. I have contacted Matthew Homes to relay resident concern and frustration, and to enquire what is causing the delays.
I have spoken personally to the Managing Director today, who has informed me that the delay is due to the safety signage not being delivered yet from the manufacturer. Without this safety signage, the site is not insurable and the parks cannot be opened.
The MD informs me that Matthew Homes have been pressing the manufacturer and checking in regularly, and has just been told that the signage will be delivered by October 7th, and installed soon after. He is also looking into the matter of the grass growing through the matting, with the site team. Once the parks are opened, though, they will be maintained by the city council parks team anyway.
I am disappointed that Matthew Homes have not been able to get this site open yet but hope that we can get the parks in use by half term.
The delays are very frustrating for all, but I would rather the safety signage was in place and the parks were opened with all safety precautions taken.
I will keep checking in with the developer and the council to ensure this timetable is kept to as far as possible, and I will continue to speak up on behalf of local residents, as I always have done. I am always contactable and happy to hear from residents of Podsmead on any issue.
Gloucestershire Highways have carried out works to pavements outside Poet’s Pantry and the shops on Scott Avenue, after I reported these areas.
I am taking action all across Podsmead. Do get in touch if you see any highways issues that need reporting.
I reported the fly-tipping on Keats Avenue after it was spotted on the community litter pick.
It has now been cleared away and I am pleased to see this.
Fly-tipping costs councils and their partners thousands of pounds every year to clear up. Gloucester City Council and Gloucester City Homes work with enforcement agencies to deter people from doing this.
There are lots of options for recycling materials, booking bulky waste collections, donating items or disposing of them via charities. We must all work to reduce fly-tipping and ease the burden on our councils.
I was recently in touch with Guinness Housing to ask them to cut back some brambles that were overhanging the footpath in a street in Podsmead.
They arranged for the work to be done and it is clearer for pedestrians now.
If you spot any small issues like this in our area that need reporting please let me know.
Liberal Democrats on Gloucester City Council have laid down a challenge to the Conservatives to plant more trees in the city and improve tree maintenance budgets.
Their challenge will be heard at a meeting of the city council when it meets on the 23rd of September.
Barnwood councillor, Ashley Bowkett will move a motion calling for the cabinet member Richard Cook to: –
· identify ways the Council can do more to support tree planting and maintenance
· identify further City Council funds for this purpose
· encourage the County Council to boost funding for Highway trees, and
· set targets and map them against such further funding so that the 2020 Strategy for Gloucester can be fulfilled.
Cllr Ashley Bowkett (Lib Dem, Barnwood) who will propose the motion said:
“Trees are an essential part of the high-quality green infrastructure that our communities value, yet the current council budget allocated to this is acutely inadequate.
This is putting considerable pressure on the City and County Council to meet the commitments laid out in the 2020 Gloucestershire Tree Strategy.
That’s why I’m calling on the Cabinet Member for the Environment to detail what more can be done to support tree planting and maintenance in Gloucester, mapped alongside more appropriate funding to support it.”
Cllr Sebastian Field (Lib Dem, Podsmead), added:
“The Conservative administrations at both the city and county councils have agreed that there is a climate emergency and that one of the ways to help combat this is through increased planting of trees.
“Trees provide shade and attractiveness, as well as storing carbon and increasing O2 levels.
“But the Conservative administration has so far failed to achieve enough towards their targets on tree planting.
“As well as planting them though, trees need to be pruned and maintained, otherwise they become a nuisance or danger, and residents get irritated.
“There are many areas of Gloucester, including Podsmead, where residents make requests for maintenance of trees but there isn’t an adequate budget. The Conservatives need to get real and allocate more money to tree maintenance, which is something the Liberal Democrats have been calling for a long time.”
Ends…
Contact: Ashley Bowkett: 07938 520700
Photo: Ashley Bowkett
Lib Dem Motion for Council – Gloucester Tree Planting and Maintenance
This council notes the importance of planting more trees in Gloucester and understands that those saplings together with mature trees will also need to be maintained. It welcomes the guiding principles of the 2020 Gloucestershire Tree Strategy, valuing the many benefits that a high-quality green infrastructure brings to our communities, which includes growing trees near where people live and work.
This council recognises that while there are valuable contributions from development and external grants, for example, the Forestry Commission, there is a pressing shortfall in tree planting, maintenance and resources, the fixed budget per financial year is acutely inadequate, and this status quo has already placed increasing pressure on achieving the objectives of the 2020 strategy.
As such, this Council calls on the Cabinet member to provide members with a written report, delivered in good time for members to consider before the next budget, that will:
(a) identify ways we can do more to support tree planting and maintenance
(b) identify further City Council funds for this purpose
(c) encourage the County Council to boost funding for Highway trees, and
(d) set targets and map them against such further funding so that the 2020 Strategy for Gloucester can be fulfilled.
In essence, this council agrees that preparing a more realistic annual budget to commence from the next financial year is vital to support the planting and maintenance of trees and increase biodiversity in Gloucester.
Proposed by Ashley Bowkett
Seconded by Sebastian Field