A zebra crossing on Bathwick Hill is now being officially promoted by the council.
A ‘traffic regulation order’ is now being advertised by the council to show the new crossing. If there are no objections, then the order will be confirmed and the crossing painted.
Bathwick’s Lib Dem councillors have been campaigning for a zebra crossing here for several years, including petitions to council, questions to the Conservative cabinet and organising a demonstration with Ziggy, the zebra.
Lime Grove School was seriously considered as a suitable location for a ‘wet house’ – a hostel in which homeless alcoholics may continue to drink.
The Conservative cabinet member for community safety let slip that Lime Grove was his second choice location during a council meeting last week.
Following outrage in Kingsmead, he has now agreed to re-consider his first choice of James Street West. The Chronicle has the story here.
While Cllr Vic Pritchard was considering using the old school building as a home for alcoholics, no local people were consulted and neither Bathwick or Widcombe councillors were involved. His accidental statement in council was the first public acknowledgement of the plan.
Bathwick councillor Nicholas Coombes has now submitted a written question to the cabinet member asking for clarification of the situation, now that his prefered hostel location is under review. Cllr Coombes has requested that local people be kept fully informed this time if the Lime Grove site is to be reconsidered as a ‘wet house’.
Armand and I are working to improve the children’s play equipment in Sydney Gardens.
The park is due major work to improve its layout and facilities which is to be funded by a lottery bid. This plan was drawn up in 1992 though, 17 years ago, so progress has been slow. Until this happens, the children’s play area in particular needs a re-fresh.
A few residents have suggested that the redundant equipment at the old Lime Grove School be used. Cllr Armand Edwards has pursued this idea as the equipment is in good order. However, the council is reluctant citing concerns about EU safety guidelines.
There is better news with the roundabout, pictured, which was merely taken away from Sydney Gardens for maintenance.
Normal service resumes with this pennant stone report:
Bathwick Hill has always had some uneven paving slabs because of its pennant slabs. The Conservative council provides enough budget to the street repairs department to replace pavements every 70 years on average. However, this applies to normal pavements; the real stone used in Bathwick is much more expensive.
The maintenance problem was obvious on Bathwick Hill this afternoon when I walked past this popped paving slab opposite the care homes. I’ve reported this to the council and hope that no one trips in the mean-time.
Today I joined the City Car Club, so I can drive without owning a car.
Since passing my test years ago I have never owned a car; I’ve never really needed one, they are very expensive to run and there’s a huge environmental cost. However, I accept that there are a few occassions when it is very hard to get by without.
I’ve been tempted by the car club idea for a while. Members of the club are able to book one of a fleet for a few hours or days and pay a standard rental charge (about £5/hr or £50/day) including petrol and insurance. However, until recently there have only been a few cars in Bath, in inconvenient (for me) places. What changed this is discovering a new car parked right outside my office this week, in its own designated bay.
I also know of plans to hugely extend the fleet across the city next year; I hope to see a bay opposite my flat on Bathwick Hill in a few months. Bathwick should also have club cars on Sydney Buildings and in the Sydney Place area in the future. From their website and my own customer service so far I would strongly recommend joining.
While I’m giving free adverts, I’d like to write that the Wessex Connect (U18, blue buses) drivers are far friendlier than their First counterparts, plus the service is considerably better value for money. I’d also like to plug the Phone Co-op, a co-operative telecoms provider. Aside from brilliant customer service and being considerably cheaper than their rivals, their phone purchasing policy is very considerate.
For those of you who tire of exhautively detailed pothole reports, we have an attractive picture of Bathwick in the evening.
Living halfway up Bathwick Hill, I have the perfect combination of a good view but without too far to walk when I head into town. Thus, every morning on my way to work I have the city spread before me. Previously it has been lit with newly risen sunlight, but recently I find myself at work before the sun has cleared Claverton Down.
This morning was particularly picturesque, however, with the mist hanging in the bowl of the city. In the foreground St Mary’s tower was set against the vapour which hid Camden and lower Lansdown, while in the background Lansdown and St Stephens were above the cloud level.
I understand that today was a fine Autumn day, but working 9-6 I never actually saw the sun. Walking home it had recently set, resulting in the pink and purple clouds pictured. Clearly the scene photographed was not that of walking up the hill, but arriving home I brought out my camera to look back and illustrate this evening’s article.
If you visited this website hoping for street furniture surveys, but instead found the dull half of a romantic novel, normal service will be resumed shortly.
I love the site http://glumcouncillors.tumblr.com/ – mostly because I guiltily recognise all of the painful situations. It was, therefore, almost inevitable (yet no less mortifying) that I be featured eventually.
In my defence, writing about potholes seems to maintain an audience of over 2,500 visits each month and that in addition to “remorselessly cataloguing in exhaustive detail every minor ailment” I do get a lot of them fixed. Nonetheless, well done glumcouncillors, I have been caught and will try to be more cheerful in future.
A government inspector has ruled that the footpath from Claverton Down to Combe Down is legally 5m wide.
This confirms the case made by local residents and the council, that footpath AQ78 is a historic vehicle track over which the public has full access. The Inspector concludes:
“the right of way subsists over the full width of the way between the [historic] boundaries.”
When I sat on the council’s footpath committee I proposed that the footpath be recorded at this full width, resulting in the public enquiry to determine this. At the public enquiry the evidence was presented fairly, but overwhelmingly showed that the footpath should be between 5 and 7m wide.
This is great news for Bathwick and Claverton; I look forward to the wooden fence being taken down.
The long Summer break is over; the undergraduates are returning to Bath University.
While the campus has been busy all Summer with researchers, postgraduates and visitors, from next week we will notice the recommencement of undergraduate courses. New first year students move into halls of residence on campus this weekend, so expect extra traffic on Saturday and Sunday. However, this is the first year in which the move is at the weekend, so traffic in town will not be as bad as in previous years.
Between now and 5th October is the Freshers’ induction week. If you are unduly disturbed by noise or anti-social behaviour, you can report this to the action line on 396996.
To all new students beginning this weekend, welcome to Bath.
A Horse Chestnut in Cleveland Walk has been given an extra few months thanks to a bird’s nest in the trunk.
The council decided to take down the tree after judging that it was in a dangerously poor state. The branches were removed in August, minumising the risk.
However, the tree surgeon discovered a bird’s nest in a hollow at the top of the main stem. The Arboricultural Officer (tree expert) decided to leave the trunk intact until the eggs have hatched and the chicks flown the nest. She expects the remainder to be felled in October.
Replacement trees will be planted this winter along the verge of Cleveland Walk.