BathNES Council has issued a parking survey to homes in or near residents’ parking zones.

The survey is intended to discover the demand for parking and find residents views about how the system works for them. There are also questions about bicycle ownership to gauge opportunities for increased cycling. The responses will be used anonymously to help plan for new development within the city.

Please complete the survey online for residents here and businesses here.

An exhibition of possible plans for the Warminster Road site is open to the public this week.

Prior to the MoD site on Warminster Road being bought by housing developers, the council wants to establish what the public expects of the development. A draft plan is being exhibited for neighbours to comment upon and submit their own ideas for the site.

The exhibition takes place at Bathwick St Mary’s Primary School on Thursday 17th 3-7pm and Saturday 19th 9am-noon. It is also possible to take part online at www.bathnes.gov.uk/mod-conceptstatements.

More details are in the council’s press release here and on previous articles on this site.

Chronicle readers may have spotted that a conference for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is to be held in Bath’s Assembly Rooms next month. The building is owned by the National Trust and managed by B&NES Council.

As a high profile public building, I do not think that the conference should have been booked, although it now seems to late to cancel. Here’s what I said at a ‘Vision & Values’ debate in Council last night:

While discussing values, I think it would be disengenious not to mention the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle conference booked for our city.

The conference, which must not be referred to as an Arms Fair, is to be in the Assembly Rooms in June. Our council does not accept bookings which would cause offence or harm the council’s reputation. I accept that this was a difficult judgement, but I disagree with it.

Military drones kill indescriminately from the sky. The conference should not have been accepted.

The council has issued a press release welcoming the conference and stating that only one objection has been recieved. I congratulate that objector for standing up for their values.

I am now raising my objection to the conference. It can no longer be said that there was no protest. If this arms show goes ahead, it is not in my name.”

This is, of course, a personal view and not necessarily shared by other councillors. However, if you agree with me, there is a petition against the conference here. I may also see you protesting outside the Assembly Rooms in June.

Nicholas Coombes

The Ministry of Defence plan to close their three bases in Bath and move operations to Abbey Wood in Bristol. This means that the Warminster Road People, Pay & Pensions Agency site will close. The MoD intend to put the site up for sale in September and expect to move out in March 2013.

Bath & North East Somerset Council are preparing ‘Concept Statements’ for the sites with the MoD. These are intended to guide potential developers of the sites so that they know what is expected of them.

One thing is certain – at least 140 homes should be built on the Warminster Road site. Neighbours will have been aware of this likelihood for many years and the number is set out in the Council’s planning policy. There is a need for housing in Bath to accommodate our growing population and the increasing number of small households.

The Liberal Democrats who run BathNES Council, including your local councillors Nicholas Coombes and David Martin are also keen that new buildings are completed to good environmental standards, so that the homes will use little energy to build and occupy. We also want a high proportion of the homes to be affordable, so that young families and low paid workers can continue to live in our city.

Working from these assumptions, council staff have drawn up a draft plan for the site. We would like to know what you think about the site, what you like about the plan and what you would change. This is a genuine consultation and we care what you think.

The plans are available for you to read and make comments on online here.

There will also be a public exhibition at St Mary’s Primary School in three weeks time. The plans will be on display and members of council staff will be available to explain them to you and listen to your thoughts. Your local Lib Dem councillors will also be attending.

The exhibition will be open Thursday 17^th May 3-7pm and Saturday 19^th 9am-noon.

We hope that you will take part in the consultation and look forward to hearing your opinions.

Many parts of Bathwick are covered by Neighbourhood Watch schemes.  Their purpose is to unite neighbourhoods in an effort to prevent crime, by protecting and enhancing the environment and generally looking out for each other’s properties. 

Statistics show that it is a very successful crime prevention initiative.  If your area is not currently covered by Neighbourhood Watch, please get in touch and we would be happy to advise how to set one up.

The Olympic Torch will pass down Bathwick Hill on Tuesday 22nd May.

The flame is being carried for 8,000 miles across Britain before being taken to the Olmpic Games opening ceremony in July.

In Bath it will be carried from the University, through the city centre, to Newbridge. Roads along the route will be closed and parking suspended. Full details are at www.bathnes.gov.uk/torch2012.

The public is invited to line the route to cheer on the torchbearers as they pass.

Owing to an electrical fault in the depot this morning, some refuse collection lorries didn’t get out on time. This means that there wasn’t enough time to collect all of the bin bags put out today.

Two areas were missed on Claverton Down – Beech Avenue and Quarry Rock Gardens. The bin men will return tomorrow (Saturday) to collect any left over bags. Therefore if you live on Beech Avenue or in Quarry Rock Gardens, please put your bin bags out again tomorrow and they will be collected.

This month a new set of street lights are being installed on Oakley Bathwick Hill.

The old columns are corroding and their yellow tinged light is no longer reaches modern standards. BathNES Council are replacing all of the columns with clearer white lights, which have been designed focus light on the surface and reduce light pollution.

The design is also different, with shorter brackets carrying the lanterns at the top of the column. This type was installed on Widcombe Hill last year.

It is expected that the lights will be ready for use by December – arguably more festive timing than the Bath Christmas light switch on by John Cleese next week.