Best wishes for 2009.

For this, the second year of the website, I shall try to include more city-wide and national news. Here’s Nick Clegg’s new year message - it’s very watchable and only 3 minutes of your time!

http://www.nickclegg.com/video/

As the year ends, I thought I had best mention a few recent highlights. I started this website almost one year ago with a review of 2007. While I do not intend to run through all of 2008 (yet) there are a few bits I forgot to mention during the Christmas rush.

Firstly, thanks to Rev Prothero for inviting me to give a reading at the Bathwick St Mary’s lessons and carols service. The lessons were read by a wide variety of local speakers, including myself. Rather flatteringly, I was noted as a ‘representative of the local community’ in the service programme. If you are a local community member not at the service, I represented you with the second lesson, Genesis 22:15-18.

Secondly, a resident of Clan House has kindly written to thank me for having the road surface fixed for them. This was a rather good early Christmas present as councillors don’t tend to get so many thank you notes. “Bathwick ward is exceptionally well served by you and your fellow councillor Armand.” - we do our best.

This month, the Bathwick Police and Communities Together meeting re-affirmed their commitment to the previous priorities:

- tackling speeding

- mnaging anti-social behaviour in Sydney Gardens

- getting a zebra crossing over Bathwick Hill

Although there has been improvement in all of these areas since the previous meeting, the meeting decided to retain the priorities. There were very few attendees this time, so any new priorities would have been unrepresentative of the wider area. Thank you though to those who did take the time to participate.

In the last few months, our beat manager (local policeman) has moved on and his position had been filled temporarily. Avon and Somerset Police have now appointed a new beat manager and expect him to be transferred to Bathwick in the new year.

Nocturnal use of Sydney Gardens has decreased rceently, mainly due to the cold weather. However, the police have been following a new management plan recently which sees the park patrolled a lot more frequently at its ‘busy times’ ie late evenings on Friday and Saturdays. Our PCSO and supporting officers intercept alcohol as necessary from those who should not be drinking it.

Your councillors Armand Edwards and Nicholas Coombes have been pushing for the zebra crossing over the canal bridge. Since the last meeting, BathNES council have conducted a traffic survey which prove a statistical justification for the crossing, but the Conservative administration failed to include it in the spending plan. Cllr Edwards presented our petition for the zebra crossing to the cabinet member at the last meeting of the full council.

Bathwick’s next PaCT meeting is on Tuesday 16th December at 7:30pm in Bathwick St Mary’s Primary School.

PaCT meetings are hosted by the police with representatives of the council, councillors and other agencies. Residents are invited along to the public meeting to share their experiences and decide the top priorities for the area for the next six months. Priorities agreed at the last meeting were anti-social behaviour in Sydney Gardens, speeding and the need for pedestrian crossings.

Since the last meeting, Bathwick has had an interim police beat manager, with a new one due to start in the new year.

Bathwick Cllr Nicholas Coombes and North East Somerset parliamentary candidate Gail Coleshill have been working together to extend the parking restrictions on the Warminster Road.

Since residents’ parking was introduced in Minster Way, communter parking has moved onto the main road. Most parking is on the North-West (MoD) side, but there are gaps in the double yellow lines on the South-East side. Parking here, between Trossach’s Drive and Minster Way, reduces carriageway width preventing lorries from passing.

Council traffic staff have now visited the site and are drawing up plans to fill in the restrictions gap on the South-East. In a compensatory measure, some spaces may be created on the North-West side. Local councillor Nicholas Coombes has urged them to press ahead with this work, following the concerns expressed by local residents. Gail Coleshill has been speaking to Bathampton residents about the problem which affects their journey into Bath.

PS - the photo is from the Summer when we first raised this. There were no parked cars then as it was mid-holiday time for most commuters!

Cllrs Armand Edwards and Nicholas Coombes will be hosting their next public surgery at 11am on Saturady 6th December at Bathwick St Mary’s Church Hall. Residents are welcome to pop in without an appointment between 11 and noon.