A strike over pay by council workers will see Bradley Stoke Library close on Thursday, 17 July 2008.

About 2,000 of South Gloucestershire Council’s workers are due to walk out on Wednesday and Thursday.

The council says that a limited selection of other services will operate to “minimise the impact on vulnerable residents”.

Bradley Stoke’s library is due to close for one day of the two-day stike.

A meeting is to be held to discuss concerns raised over pedestrian access to Tesco from Manor Farm Crescent and Hedgerows.

The problems were first highlighted at a Safer, Stronger meeting and was then taken up by South Gloucestershire Councillor Jon Williams.

An exchange of emails between Cllr Williams and Tesco’s PR department saw the firm promising to “establish a safe route whilst the footpath for the access road is constructed”.

The supermarket’s solution was to station two workmen who were directing pedestrians around the site to the Bradley Stoke Way entrance - but only between 8am and 6pm.

Cllr Williams told the Examiner he has pointed out that outside of these times the area could be a potential accident blackspot and told the firm a temporary crossing would be the “sensible solution”.

He is now due to meet with Tesco and the local police at the town centre in a bid to resolve the problem.

In video: See the pedestrian route to the town centre from Manor Farm Crescent:

Broadband customers in Bradley Stoke who are connected to the Almondsbury interchange have started to see speed increases from a new BT system.

The telecoms giant activated the Wholesale Broadband Connect service on Saturday which could see customers near to the exchange seeing boosts of up to 24Mbps.

Customers further away are likely to see more modest increases as distance has an impact on connection speeds.

But one broadband user, in south west Bradley Stoke, told us their connection speed had been boosted from 2Mbps to 3Mbps - a boost of a third.

Only Entanet resellers are offering services of up to 24Mbps but all customers should notice smaller increases from the exchange upgrade.

If you are connected to the Almondsbury interchange we would love to know if your connection has sped up - use the comments below.

Tesco has applied for permission to install a cash machine next to the new petrol filling station.

The new facility would be between the station kiosk and the town centre access road and is described by the supermarket giant as a “pod”.

The planning application claims the 4.68m2 building “does not impact on the visual amenity” of the current petrol station.

Tesco says the new cash machine would help “ease the pressure” on others within the town centre.

A boy from Bradley Stoke is appealing for funding from local businesses to buy a new powered wheelchair so he can continue to play football.

Ryan Abrahams, 12, was named player of the year for his team Villa Rockets but needs the new wheelchair as his current one is not fast enough.

The Bradley Stoke Community School student is now trying to raise £4,000 to buy it from the Wheelchair Football Association.

His mother, Mary, told the Bradley Stoke Examiner: “It’s a special wheelchair just designed for wheelchair football. It even has fans to keep the motors cool for the fast competition!

“Ryan is playing in his everyday wheelchair at the moment. In the competitions that he is playing up in Kettering there is probably only four or five kids that don’t have this special wheelchair.

“It means Ryan can’t keep up with the speed of the game. If he’s going for a goal or something they are just outpowering him.

“This chair is a lot faster and is designed for speed and maneuverability.”

Ryan says he has been compared to Manchester United’s Christiano Ronaldo because he has “all the skills”.

“I got nominated for Player of the Year when Ronaldo got voted Player of the Year,” said Ryan.

He added that getting a new chair would mean “everything” to him. “I would be able to score more goals and it would be just amazing.”

If you want to help Ryan then please get in touch with us at the Examiner on news@sadlybroke.com and we will pass on your details.

New energy-saving traffic lights are to be used throughout South Gloucestershire after a successful trial in Bradley Stoke.

The new environmentally-friendly lights were used between Vantage Business Park, Winterbourne Road  and Old Gloucester Road following the junction’s recent revamp.

The council now says they will be used at other junctions including the A38/B4509 Falfield junction and Shorthill Road crossroads in Westerleigh.

They will eventually be used at all traffic signals in the district.

Councillor Brian Allinson, executive member for planning, transportation and the strategic environment, said: “We are committed to making changes that have a positive impact on the environment, and that reduce costs to the council.

“By using these traffic signals we can reduce the council’s carbon footprint and make huge savings for the council.”

A payphone in Bradley Stoke is under threat of removal under new plans from telecoms giant BT.

The phone, on the corner of Woodlands Lane and Foxfield Avenue, is the subject of a consultation from the firm and South Gloucestershire Council.

BT wants to remove the payphone, along with a number of other kiosks, in the South Gloucestershire area that is says no longer turn in a profit.

The telephone company says that of its 61,000 payphones nationally only 40% are profit making.

The consultation runs until the end of August - residents can have their say by writing to Community Services, Broad Lane Offices, Engine Common Lane, Yate, BS37 7PN or email Josie.appleton@southglos.gov.uk