Nicholas Coombes appointed Holburne Trustee

David Martin and Nicholas Coombes at the Holburne Museum

Bathwick local councillor Nicholas Coombes has been appointed to the board of trustees for the Holburne Museum.

At the first AGM of the trustees since the re-opening of the museum new appointments were made on behalf of the University of Bath and Bath & North East Somerset Council. Soon after his election Nicholas spoke in favour of extending the Holburne at the council Planning Committee and supported the project at subsequent meetings. He has contributed towards cycle parking at the museum from his devolved funding and in 2005 gave a piano recital in the top gallery.

The second exhibition in the new Roper Gallery is due to open on Saturday 24th September. Gainsborough Landscapes explores the less well know side of the artists work, while at the same time, the Holburne has taken loan of a new Gainsborogh portrait, of Henry Beaufoy MP.

Bathwick Hill closed 12th-16th September

Potholes on Bathwick Hill

Bathwick Hill will be closed between 7am and 7pm every day of the week starting 12th September. The lower stretch will be completely restructured to repair recent weather damage.

The road will be closed between the roundabout and Sydney Buildings for five days until Friday 16th. It will also be closed for the evenings/nights of the following week 19th-24th between 7pm and 7am.

Traffic and buses will be diverted along Cleveland Walk and North road for the duration of the closures. While the diversion is in place there will be no bus service to stops between Cleveland Walk and Pulteney Road.

Local councillor Nicholas Coombes has made sure that notices have been attached to each bus stop affected, to avoid the problems of 2008. He has also ensured that the closure takes place outside of University term time to minimise disruption to bus services and congestion.

University neighbours’ forum – 6th September

University parade

The next forum for residents living near the University of Bath is on 6th September.

The meeting is for the university and its neighbours to discuss current issues and forthcoming events. Email g.gillespie@bath.ac.uk to RSVP and recieve a copy of the agenda.

After the sporting activities on campus over the summer break, major events now return to an academic base. There will be an open day on 17th September which is expected to attract 2,000 visitors by bus and private car. The main period of disruption will be the annual moving-in weekend for first year students living on campus. This will be from 23rd Septmeber, followed by Freshers week. This will climax in parallel with the world majorettes championships which will attract 1,000 participants and spectators to the Sports Training Village over the weekend from the 29th September.

Student Community Partnership

University parade

The Student Community Partnership brings together representatives of B&NES Council and the two universities and their Students’ Unions. Cllr Will Sandry of Oldfield Park has recently taken the chair of the partnership, bringing a greater appreciation of local residents’ concerns to their meetings.

The annual report of the SCP has been published here; more details of the partnership are on their website at www.townandgown.org.uk. Of most practical interest is the Student Action Line, allowing concerns to be reported to 01225 396996.

Bathwick Hill closed for resurfacing

Potholes on Bathwick Hill

Bathwick Hill, North Road and Darlington Road will be resurfaced shortly by the newly Liberal Democrat B&NES Council.

Darlington Road, leading to Bathwick St. Mary’s Primary School will be first, over the 17th and 18th September. The middle of North Road will also be done during the school holidays, with closure between 17th and 19th.

The reconstruction of the lower reaches of Bathwick Hil has been rearranged at the request of your local councillors to avoid the heavy traffic of the University terms. It is now expected to be closed for five days in early September. The surface has badly deteriorated in recent years and is in need of conprehensive resurfacing and reconstruction.

While the hill is closed between Sydney Buildings and the roundabout traffic and buses will be diverted via Cleveland Walk and North Road. There will be no service to bus stops downhill of Cleveland Walk for the duration of the closure.

Cllr Coombes new address

Cleveland Court

Nicholas Coombes has moved home from 8 to 19 Cleveland Court; the new flat has a view of Bath Abbey.

Cleveland Court is at the heart of Bathwick, at the junction of Bathwick Hill and Cleveland Walk. His postcode remains BA2 6JY. With Cllr David Martin living on Claverton Down, both of our Liberal Democrat councillors remain truly local.

Handrail installed for Darlington Steps

Cllr Nicholas Coombes at the Darlington Place steps

A handrail funded by Cllr Nicholas Coombes has been installed on the Darlington Place steps.

Nicholas has funded the handrail from his devolved funding for local projects in response to local concerns about the footpath. In poor weather, and especially during the icy winter, the steep path is difficult to traverse.

The handrail has been specially made by the local Kelston Forge to a traditional design in keeping with the area.

Lib Dem council to regulate shared housing

Houses in Multiple=

The new Liberal Democrat administration has moved to regulate houses in multiple occupation.

Shared housing (HMOs), used by students and young professionals, is generally in Oldfield Park, but a number of homes in Bathwick and on Claverton Down have been converted in recent years. Rented HMOs provide affordable housing to thousands of Bath residents, but their proliferation has caused problems in some parts of the city.

The Lib Dems are investigating methods to better regulate HMOs to drive up standards and drive out poor landlords leading to safer and better maintained houses. They have also allocated funding to formulate changes to planning policy.

An Article 4 Directive allows councils to depart from national planning policy, in this instance Use Class Orders. Current planning policy does not distinguish between the uses of family and shared homes, allowing legal conversion in any circumstance. By changing the local application of Use Classes through an Article 4 Directive, the council will bforce prospective landlords to apply for planning permission before converting a single dwelling to an HMO. This will allow local residents to respond to such applications and argue against where it would have damage to their community.

Bath MoD sites set to close

Warminster Road site

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it will close all of its bases in Bath over the coming years.

The Warminster Road site had been expected to close for several years, but there was some hope that the Ensleigh site could be maintained. The Foxhill site will also close; in total 2,600 staff will be transferred to Abbey Wood in Bristol.

The Warminster Road site was used by the People, Pensions and Pay Agency and is likely to be vacated by 2013. The site is seven hectares/17 acres and has been allocated by the council as suitable for 140 houses. This is comparable to the Minster Way/St. Christopher’s Close estate.

Funding available for local projects

Holburne cycle stands

Bathwick councillors David Martin and Nicholas Coombes have a small amount of money made available to them to support local projects.

Previously Cllr Armand Edwards has supported canal path resurfacing and funded the recycling bins on Bathwick Hill. Last year Cllr Nicholas Coombes contributed to provide cycle stands at the Holburne Museum, improvements to the path at Folly’s Bridge (over the canal), and is funding a new handrail for the Darlington Place steps.

If you know of a local community group which could use some one-off investment, or have a small project which needs funding, then please get in touch with Nicholas and David.