There has been some damage done to the grass in various parts of Scott Avenue open space. I met on-site with the council officer responsible and looked at solutions.

At the Shakespeare Avenue end, there has been some work carried out recently and there has been some soil put on top of the grass. This is being looked into.

Outside Podsmead Hub there has been some damage caused by cars parking/driving on the grass.

The council are looking the possibility of putting some bollards on the field to prevent this. At it is city council land they can do this, but we would need to be careful not to interfere with utility connections. The officer is also investigating this and will get back to me.

There has been some damage done to the grass verge on Tuffley Avenue. Cars have been churning up the grass in front of the wall along Tuffley Park.

I would like to see some bollards installed to prevent further damage and help the grass recover. The county council own the land and so a request was made to them.

Unfortunately Highways have not agreed to this request (it is generally their policy not to install bollards to prevent parking/driving on grass).

This is a shame because residents are worried about the grass being damaged.

Long-term, there is an aspiration to do something more imaginative with the wall at this location. In the meantime I would discourage people from parking on this grass and damaging it.

I reported this fly-tipping near Duke of Beaufort Court to the council last week and I am pleased to see it was swiftly removed.

If you spot any fly-tipping around Podsmead please let me know.

I was in touch with the city council’s tree officer over the summer over the safety issue at Cole Avenue during the storms, and also over the overhanging trees on the red bridge which were cut back on my request a couple of months back – see my story here.

I am informed that work will be carried out to two poplar trees at the back of the bungalows on the other side of the bridge this week. In general, only urgent/safety works are being carried out to trees in Gloucester, due to budgetary concerns. A Lib Dem council would look to allocate more money to tree works.

I am pleased that this patch of pavement in Shakespeare Avenue has been resurfaced after I requested it.

This is one of a number of highways issues that I have reported in recent months.

I am fighting for more investment in Podsmead’s roads and pavements.

I called for improvements to the pavement at Hempsted Lane and some patching was carried out by the county council.

This part of Bristol Road is in Podsmead as it is the border with the Westgate ward.

I am also asking the council to repair and repair broken or faded street signs in the area.

I will report back on these when they are done.

Santa visited Podsmead on Friday 11th December, going along the streets and delighting residents.

My thanks to all involved, and hopefully this can return next year to bring Christmas cheer to young and old.

Tonight (Saturday 12th December) there will be a visit from the Travelling Light exhibition run by Squid Soup. You can read more about this interesting light installation here.

Gloucester City Council in partnership with Gloucester Culture Trust and GL4 are pleased to announce a brand new community art project for Gloucester taking place this December.

Funded by the Arts Council England, Window Wanderland Gloucester is part of Bright Nights a new programme of light installations for all the family to bring colour, light and joy to the city as the nights get longer over winter.

Members of the public are invited to enjoy the socially distanced, evening trail to see their neighbourhood in a whole new light. This is a fun community event that everyone can join in with. A map of all windows taking part can be found at: www.windowwanderland.com/event/gloucester-2020/

Window art can be seen in Matson, White City, Robinswood and Podsmead and will be illuminated every day between 5.30pm and 8.30pm before ending on Christmas Eve. The project was unveiled on Tuesday 1 December at Matson Gateway Hub, by the Mayor of Gloucester, Councillor Kate Haigh.

A number of local artists have created feature windows which include:

• ‘The Robin’s Wood’ by Harriet West – Matson Gateway Hub, Matson & Robinswood
• ‘Winter Wanderland’ by Anita Andrews, Podsmead Big Local, Podsmead
• ‘Christmas Baubles’ by Susie Walker, Manuel’s Fish & Chips, White City

Local residents can also create their own displays and take part in the trail by becoming Windowmakers. Taking part is FREE and everyone is welcome. Displays should be family friendly, be simple or spectacular and take the form of lights in the window or cut-out silhouettes.

I was in touch with the council recently after some branches had been left on Scott Avenue after the summer storms.

Unfortunately they hadn’t been collected yet but after re-reporting this, they were removed early on Friday.

There has also been some damage caused to the grass on Scott Avenue, which I have raised with the city parks department. I’ve said in my note that we perhaps need to revisit the idea of bollards along the grass, which I suggested earlier in the year.

I’ve also reported the damaged street sign on the corner of Scott and Shakespeare Avenue to the council for repair or replacement.

I continue to press for a full resurface of Scott Avenue – see my recent question to the Cabinet Member for Highways at Shire Hall, above.