Princess Victoria Street improvement works
By the time you read this, long awaited improvement works should have started on Princess Victoria Street. These works, which will take up to five months to complete, will include creating continuous raised level surface with natural stone paving, installing a strip of tactile paving to differ between pavements and the road, replacing the temporary park with permanent materials including bench seating, installing new planters and landscaping in the area, installing more cycle parking and replacing the bollards either end of the road closure with gates to prevent motorised vehicles from entering.
Councillor Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity committee said “Princess Victoria Street is a vibrant area that has really seen the benefits of offering a traffic free space. I’m delighted the scheme is progressing to the next stage which will see the temporary materials replaced with permanent infrastructure.”
Waste collection
Your councillors are aware that regular kerbside waste collection were not of a satisfactory standard in Clifton and across the city in December. These problems have included missed collections and the council’s website not updated with dates for next scheduled collections when bins have been missed. Bristol Waste has stated that there have been problems with aging vehicles and staff sickness as well as a high volume of waste during the Christmas period. Jerome spoke at the Full Council on January 14, highlighting particularly councillor concerns about streets with multiple missed collections.
Parking enforcement
Cars are getting wider! On some streets they are getting so wide that they are preventing the access of emergency vehicles and are parking illegally on pavements, restricting the movements of wheelchairs, pushchairs and walkers generally. If you’re purchasing a new or secondhand vehicle, please pay attention to its size and width as it may be increasingly difficult to park close to your home!
Call for foster carers
Bristol City Council is seeking to recruit new foster carers. Currently there are 750 children in Bristol council care, many of whom could benefit from a place with foster carers. Fostering is hugely rewarding and helps keep children in Bristol close to family and friends. If you are age 21 or over, have a spare bedroom and have time and energy to give to a young person you may well be a suitable carer. If you think you might be interested, please look at the council’s website or email fostering@bristol.gov.uk.
City council budget update
There is significant strain on the city council finances arising from multiple spending pressures including adult social care, growing special educational needs and required council home improvements following the Grenfell Fire. Proposed cuts that are being put forward include cuts to museums, libraries and a reduction in the generosity of the Council Tax reduction scheme. The budget will be finalised at the end of February. One piece of good news is that the Government has given a one-off increase in funding to Bristol of £13 million. This goes some considerable way to plug the gap between income and expenditure for 25-26 but it also that means that the pressures on the council’s finances will remain intense.
Jerome Thomas: cllr.jerome.thomas@bristol.gov.uk
Paula O’Rourke: cllr.paula.orourke@bristol.gov.uk