We were very pleased to arrange a coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research in The Ramblers Podsmead. Thanks for Aran and the team for hosting and for the excellent breakfast! We raised over £50 for Macmillan.

With our friend Sue in the PDSA charity shop in the city centre.

A great place to buy all sorts of gifts, new and pre-loved. I often pick up books or vinyl.

At the moment they are raising much-needed funds by selling pin badges. Pop in and get one and you might end up buying other things too (like we did!)

I had a meeting with Nick Dyer, Headmaster of the Crypt School, and it was good to have a tour of the school and to discuss issues of mutual concern.

Crypt is an important part of the Podsmead community and I am keen to support the school wherever I can.

I have been approached over the last few months by many residents who wanted to see improvements to the Carmel Webb memorial garden on Scott Avenue.

The hedges and brambles were overgrown, which was not only untidy but also a security concern. There was also antisocial behaviour and littering in the garden.

I asked for the hedges and brambles to be cut back and this has now been done. The council have also installed a new litter bin at my request so this should hopefully reduce the littering problem – as long as people use the bin!

It is great to see this garden looking so good.

I am a big fan of trees ? ? but sometimes they grow over the footpath or block out the light for residents, and become a nuisance.

This tree overhanging the footpath at Scott Avenue was blocking the path, so I asked for it to be cut back and this was done very quickly.

I am taking action all across Podsmead.

Over recent months I have been reporting several street signs in the ward for repair.

They might seem like only a small thing but it detracts from the street scene if they are damaged or broken. Plus, they are useful for knowing where you are if you are unfamiliar with an area.

Here are just a few of the signs that I’ve got replaced in Podsmead.

Weeds make an area look uncared for, and so they need dealing with.

When I started campaigning in Podsmead there were weeds all across the ward. I reported them to the council as often as I came across them and they were sprayed over the summer.

Unfortunately the treatment did not take so well due to the intermittent wet weather we had over the summer.

The council have now realised that this issue needs to be dealt with properly and have contracted a machine called Weedo to do this.

I reported a long list of areas where I knew there were still weeds and I am pleased to see that they have been done.

If you know of any weeds in your street please let me know by commenting below or send me an email to Sebastian.field@gloucester.gov.uk.

Access is an important issue in our communities.

This hedge in the alleyway between Tennyson Avenue and Podsmead Road was overgrown and making it difficult for people in wheelchairs to get through.

I asked for it to be cut back and this has now been done.

I am taking action all across the ward.

The two alleyways between Shelley Avenue and Tennyson Avenue, and Tennyson Avenue through to Podsmead Road, were full of litter but I asked for a litter pick to be done. This has now been added to the schedule to be done regularly.

I’ve also asked about getting a bin installed, in the hope that this might deter people from littering. The only problem with this approach is that every bin in Gloucester costs money, not just to make and install the bin, but the ongoing cost of staff servicing and emptying an extra bin. There is only budget for so many litter bins in the city.

The better solution lies in all of us taking more responsibility for our community and not throwing litter. There are plenty of bins already in Podsmead and in the city, and more and more recycling points. Podsmead has some good recycling bins at Scott Avenue for example.

In the past we used to have a Keep Britain Tidy campaign and this was very successful. Unfortunately that is a memory for some, and others have never even heard of it. We need to bring back that spirit of tidiness to reduce litter and increase our recycling rates.

I have also asked for this hedge to be cut back after requests from residents. It makes it really hard to get through, especially for any wheelchairs. I will be following up this and the litter issue in future.