Sydney Gardens restoration

Nicholas and David in Sydney Gardens

Lib Dems on BathNES Council have submitted a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore Sydney Gardens.

The council has allocated £500,000 as part of a proposed £5.4 million restoration project.  The first stage will be a design study aimed at producing a development plan.

Public consultation will form an important part of this stage, and your local Councillors will ensure that residents have a chance to take part in the design process.

“This is a really exciting project,” said Cllr Nicholas Coombes, “I look forward to working with residents, the Holburne and others to get a great result.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the gardens, Network Rail have proposed several barrier designs to protect their track at the low balustrade. The favoured solution is to reduce the ground height on the park side of the balustrade so that there is a higher barrier between the public area and the railway lines.

Bath Half Marathon – 3rd March

Half Marathon on Darlington Street

The Bath half marathon will be on Sunday 3rd March.

15,000 people will run twice around the Upper and Lower Bristol Roads, starting and finishing in Great Pulteney Street. The race starts at 11am, with winners generally completing just after noon.

In Bathwick, Darlington Street, the Bathwick Hill roundabout, and Pulteney Road will be closed from 9:45 until 3:30pm, with parking suspended from 6am. There are also parking suspensions planned on Cleveland Walk and North Road to allow for bus diversions and emergency vehicle access. The city-wide diversion will be around Sydney Gardens and up North Road, then around Claverton Down Road to Combe Down.

Full details of the road closures and parking restrictions are being circulated by leaflet from the event organisers to affected homes.

Good luck and best wishes to all Bathwick residents competing and their chosen charities.

Free assessment to cut energy bills

Free home energy assessments are available for householders across Bath and North East Somerset, from Wednesday February 6, thanks to Our Green Deal in Somerset, an initiative backed by seven local authorities, including Bath & North East Somerset Council, and run on behalf of the Centre for Sustainable Energy.

The initiative, which is funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, aims to get the area more involved with the Green Deal; the national, Government scheme, which enables householders to pay for energy efficiency improvements through their energy bills.

Green Deal energy efficiency improvements include: new heating systems, wall or loft insulation, secondary glazing and draught proofing. The improvements will help residents cut energy use, and their energy bills won’t rise overall either.

Councillor David Martin, the Council’s energy and climate change champion, said: “A home energy assessment shows which energy efficiency improvements would work best for a particular home, as well as whether any improvements could be funded through the Green Deal. Assessments usually cost around £175 each, however Our Green Deal in Somerset is giving away about 100 of them for free in our district. The offer ends on March 15 2013 though so people in the Bath & North East Somerset Council area need to sign-up quickly.”

The assessments are independent and homeowners are not obliged to sign up to any improvements. Private tenants can still take advantage of the offer but need to get their landlord’s permission first.

James Ryle from the Centre for Sustainable Energy, said: “The Green Deal has a lot to offer, particularly in Somerset which has a lot of ‘hard-to-treat’ homes where people are being hit by high fuel bills. This initiative will get the Green Deal rolling in Somerset.”

In addition to the free assessments, Our Green Deal in Somerset intends to launch a programme in the near future, which will see local community groups explain how the Green Deal works and the benefits of the scheme to householders in their area.

Details will be available shortly. A new website is also set to be launched soon, which will record the progress of the scheme. It will also include further information and details of reliable, local tradespeople.

For more information on Our Green Deal in Somerset, contact CSE’s Home Energy Team free on 0800 082 2234 or email at home.energy@cse.org.uk To learn more about the other energy efficiency initiatives available to Bath & North East Somerset residents, visit: www.bathnes.gov.uk/greendeal.

David Martin funds new steps on Skyline walk

New steps on National Trust land

Cllr David Martin has used his local funding to support the construction of new steps for the Bath Skyline walk.

The steps curve up through the National Trust field above North Road on the route to the Sham Castle. They form part of the circular walk through Bathwick, Claverton Down and Widcombe which is one of the most popular in the country. David’s contribution funded materials for the project which was undertaken by the local Trust ranger and volunteers.

Cllr Martin used funding from the Ward Councillors’ Initiative which allows elected members to support small projects in their ward. Your Lib Dem councillors in Bathwick have also funded recycling bins across the area, improvements to the canal path, cycle stands at the Holburne and a handrail on the Darlington Place steps.

 

Bath 2013 – the Special Olympics

Olympic torch on Bathwick Hill

Bath will host the Special Olympics, for athletes will intellectual difficulties, this summer.

The University will serve as the main ‘Olympic Park’, with some events also in the city and Bristol. The games run from 28th August to 1st September and are expected to attract several thousand competitors and supporters to the city.

Volunteer stewards, the counterpart to the Olympic ‘games makers’ are being sought; apply online at http://www.bath2013.org.uk/volunteer/.

Free warmer home check-ups for elderly and disabled

A brand new service provider funded by Bath & North East Somerset Council offering practical services supporting elderly, disabled people of any age, and vulnerable people to support them to live in warm, safe, and secure homes is offering free home check-ups in the run-up to Christmas and into the New Year.

West of England Care & Repair is now providing Home Improvement Agency services to residents in partnership with the Council in an initiative funded by the Department of Health. They offer practical help services such as small repairs, minor home adaptations and housing related advice including support to make choices about where to live.

Councillor Simon Allen (Lib-Dem, Radstock), Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, said, ““The Council welcomes one of the first actions to address the impact of cold weather from West of England Care & Repair which is to offer these free home check-ups for Winter.”

From now until 2035 the over-65 population is likely to increase by 50%, and the over-85 population is likely to increase by 110% over the same timescale.

Councillor Allen explained, “The area is facing a ticking demographic time bomb as the number of older people continues to rise rapidly. This service is part of Bath & North East Somerset Council’s overall £5 million commitment to people with intermediate or low level needs to ensure those residents are supported to live in their own home as long as possible and preventing the need for costly residential or nursing care placements.”

Craig Wilson, West of England Care & Repair’s Chief Executive, said, “We are encouraging homeowners over 60 and disabled people of all ages to contact us to book up a free warm home check-up. As well as giving you advice on essential home maintenance we are also giving out free packs to people in need which include a hot water bottle, snuggle blanket, socks and gloves, and an insulated cup.

“We want to make sure people get advice on keeping themselves and their home warmer this winter. The free warm home check-up includes advice on loft insulation, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, central heating systems and draft proofing amongst other things.”

West of England Care & Repair can help on most housing issues from repairing a leaking tap, to replacing a bath with a walk-in shower to re-wiring your house.

Residents can also find out more about help available to keep warm at home and prepare for severe winter weather by contacting the Council Home Energy Team on 0800 082 2234.

Advice and support on applying for grants and benefits for housing work and help fundraise for clients on low incomes is also available on 0300 323 0700 or visit www.wecr.org.uk

David Martin funds interpretation board

David Martin and the canal interpretation board

Bathwick councillor Dr David Martin has funded a new interpretation board on the Kennet & Avon canal as part of a circular audio trail.

The board at Darlington Wharf on Beckford Road tells the story of the canal and highlights notable features. It is one of the stops on a walking route along the canal, Great Pulteney Street and the River which takes in locks, Sydney Gardens and preserved industrial features. The trail and map is also online at http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/bath-flight.

Cllr Martin funded the board using a portion of his Ward Councillor Initiative funding, which allows him to support small projects within Bathwick. If you know of any local initiatives in need of a small grant, please contact your Liberal Democrat councillors David Martin or Nicholas Coombes.

The audio trail is also written up by the Bath Chronicle.

Free home energy savings service

David and Nicholas at the Darlington Wharf eco-houses

The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) provides free, local and impartial energy saving advice to B&NES residents.

They work in partnership with the local council and other specialist agencies to provide high quality, tailored energy advice to local people. CSE puts residents in touch with the most cost effective (sometimes free!) energy saving services in our area.

They will also directly assist low income households at risk of fuel poverty through advice, benefits take-up support and energy efficiency measures.

Please call them today on Freephone 0800 0822234.

Shared housing licensing

Houses in Multiple=

The Liberal Democrats running BathNES Council have launched a public consultation regarding additional licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in Bath.

The Council is considering extending its current licensing scheme to require all shared HMOs to be licensed around the Wards of Oldfield, Westmoreland and Widcombe as well as small parts of adjoining wards including Bathwick, Twerton, Lyncombe and Southdown. The roads affected in Bathwick would be Lime Grove, Lime Grove Gardens, Pulteney Road and Horseshoe Walk.

Additional licensing would allow the Council to ensure that HMOs meet minimum standards to protect the occupants in terms of health, safety and welfare. It would also help improve management of these properties which is beneficial not only for the occupants of HMOs but also for the wider community and, provide consistent standards for landlords. This is in addition to, and separate from, the related issue of restricting planning permission for shared housing.

The consultation seeks your views on whether additional licensing should proceed and if so, what should be included and how it could work. The consultation will run until the 30th November 2012 and your views and comments are welcomed.

Click here to view and respond to the consultation.