Plans for a walking route to the town centre from Manor Farm Crescent have been dropped after management said the proposal would cost £20,000.

Councillor Jon Williams has been arguing for a pedestrian crossing to be installed after road safety fears were raised as a concern at a Safer, Stronger South Gloucestershire meeting.

Cllr Williams met with representatives from the Willow Brook Centre and the police to discuss the plan several weeks ago.

At the meeting several options were discussed, Cllr Williams says, including a walking route along the acoustic fence on the perimeter of the site and a pedestrian crossing on the access road.

But centre manager Scott Lahive revealed the cost for a crossing be excessive and would require them to submit a request for planning permission.

“By the time we submit an application the new store would be open so it is a non-starter,” he told The Bradley Stoke Examiner.

He added they hope to make safety alterations in the area by adding barriers to “sections of the car park to stop people walking down there.”

The changes would leave people walking to the centre needing to walk around to the Bradley Stoke Way entrance.

Bradley Stoke’s new town centre is due to open this autumn with a new Tesco Extra store and new shops along a new indoor mall.

We’ve been talking to the manager of The Willow Brook Centre, Scott Lahive, about what you can expect from the new facility.

We started by asking him about the new Tesco where the shell of the store is complete and some of the shelving is already going up ready for opening date.

The giant supermarket will offer the usual range of groceries but also a selection of items such as electrical goods and clothing.

“It’s going to be a large store,” said Mr Lahive. “It’s certainly large enough to satisfy the needs of residents within Bradley Stoke but also to be able to provide other products such as electrical, other forms of white goods and just general non-food items that you wouldn’t expect in an average supermarket.

“So the size of the store is absolutely vast. It’s just slightly smaller than Asda on Patchway, however we have the addition of a mezzanine level, so of course you’re not coming into a big vast wide shop.

“You’ve actually got the opportunity to go up to the mezzanine level where you can purchase items that wouldn’t normally buy from a supermarket or you can come in and do your grocery shop without being lost amongst a big store.”

(more…)

A pre-school in Bradley Stoke is warning about a man who has been seen naked in his car near the Bailey’s Court Activity Centre.

A letter, sent to parents of children attending the Covey nursery says the man, who was in a gold Renault Megane Estate, was spotted by a woman recently.

The man, described as being in his 50s, was apparently “pleasuring himself” according to the letter.

The letter claims Avon and Somerset Police were informed of the incident but no registration was taken.

The Bradley Stoke Examiner understands parents of children at nearby Bailey’s Court Primary School have also been warned.

A spate of burglaries from homes in Bradley Stoke and Stoke Gifford has sparked a warning from Avon and Somerset Police to make sure buildings are secure.

The force says items such as computers, MP3 players, cash, bank cards and jewellery have been taken during the past month.

Officers are now asking residents to make sure that windows and doors are secure while the weather is warmer over the summer.

Community Safety Sergeant Kevin Wilkinson said: “We know that when we have good weather, people can be lulled into a false sense of security and leave windows open at night or while they are enjoying the sunshine in their gardens – and those are windows of opportunity to thieves.

“With fewer than half a per cent of households in South Gloucestershire falling victim to burglary last year, it is a safe place to live and work, but we all have a part to play to make it safer and stronger. ”

• Bradley Stoke crime statistics
• Contact details for Bradley Stoke police

The Willow Brook Centre, Bradley Stoke’s new town centre, is beginning to take shape - and The Bradley Stoke Examiner is the first with pictures inside.

The flooring is down inside of the new Tesco store, which is only slightly smaller than Asda at Cribbs Causeway, and shelves are beginning to go up.

Alongside that, the new mall is being built with shop units almost ready to be fitted out.

Work is also progressing on the new town square and the units alongside that.

Click below for the first photos from inside the centre and watch out at the weekend for an interview with Scott Lahive, the town centre manager.

• See more new photos from inside the centre by clicking here
• More coverage of the Willow Brook Centre development

The government has been criticised by South Gloucestershire Council over a proposed increase in housing in the district.

Baroness Andrews published her planned modifications to the South West Regional Spatial Strategy which could see new housing in the region increase from 106,350 to 117,350.

In South Gloucestershire this would mean a rise from 21,500 new homes to 32,800 - including 17,500 new homes in the Bristol urban area of the district.

An addtional 10,000 homes would need to be built on the edge of the existing urban areas such as land alongside the M32 and to the east of the ring road.

The council has stated that it does not support this level of growth and will make “strong representations” about the issue.

Cllr Brian Allinson, Executive Member for Planning, Transport and Strategic Environment, says the new housing would place “an intolerable strain on our already overstretched infrastructure, particularly our heavily congested transport system”.

“Our ambition is to achieve high quality sustainable new development. However, if Ministers go ahead with these modifications, this will pose us a major challenge and we will come under intolerable pressure just to deliver the housing numbers”

There have been some changes in the policing line-up in Bradley Stoke with Constable Michael Friis joining the team.

Special Constable James Rossiter, PCSO Jason Green, PCSO Kirsty Flicker and PCSO support Neil Hewitt complete the new town team alongside beat manager Claire Fletcher.

They will be concentrating on the current priorities set out in June which includes graffiti, speeding on Peartree Road and near St Mary’s School and road safety at Meadowbrook Primary School.

Also on the list is anti-social behaviour after pubs close and dog fouling on a path near Bradley Stoke Community School.

Related links:

• Find contact details for police in Bradley Stoke