Written by Chris (editor) on Wednesday April 30th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
The row between Bradley Stoke Town Council and Northavon Bowls Club continues with the letters page of the Evening Post the latest battleground.
Last week, Councillor Caroline Charlton wrote to the publication to say “the efforts by the town council to negotiate with Northavon Bowls Club about setting a rent fair to both themselves and town taxpayers have been extensive”.
She went on to say: “The town council is doing its level best to draw up an arrangement that is fair and equitable to town taxpayers and the bowls club. We will be contacting the club once again in an effort to progress negotiations.”
Members of Northavon Bowls Club have written to the paper to have their say - The Evening Post has yet to publish the letter but we’ve published it in full below.
Councillor Caroline Charlton certainly does not put the record straight; once again Bradley Stoke Town Council cannot recognise the truth from its own propaganda. Northavon Bowling Club does not owe any rent for last year - the Council has banked our cheque in full and final settlement for the rent to March this year and has returned our cheque for the quarter’s rent to June.
The bowls club is not subsidised - we are prepared to pay in full the costs relating to the hours that we occupy the premises. However, we are being asked to subsidise the Town Council’s costs when the building is unoccupied.
Contrary to what Caroline Charlton says, it is other users who are heavily subsidised. The Council spent £775,000 on new rooms for which their only additional income is a peppercorn rent from the youth club – a scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money. The cricket club is being asked to pay less than £4,000 when the cost of maintaining the cricket field is about £20,000 per annum. In comparison for the last six years the bowls club has paid all of its green maintenance costs, currently £8,000 per annum.
One of the main contractual differences between us relates to their refusal to make available details of the running costs of the premises and allow them to be independently audited if required. Yet they want to see our accounts, which we consent to, as part of the agreement. There is no transparency on their part and the message that this sends is that they wish to be able to charge us whatever they want, while we have no right of challenge. We are not prepared to accept this.
South Gloucestershire Council has offered to provide an independent professional mediator to help resolve this dispute. The bowls club accepted this offer early last week, Bradley Stoke Council have NOT; yet having unlawfully locked us out of a green that we maintain, they still say they want to progress negotiations.
From executive committee of NABC.
Footnote: This letter appeared in Friday’s Evening Post.
Written by Chris (editor) on Wednesday April 30th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
New traffic lights on Winterbourne Road have been turned on after several months of roadworks to improve access to the Vantage Business Park.
The work has seen new lights installed on either side of Old Gloucester Road and underneath the motorway bridge on Winterbourne Road.
The new lights mean that traffic heading from Frenchay direction now do not have to wait for gaps in the traffic to turn out of the junction which has previously caused long queues.
The work got underway at the start of February and is expected to be complete in May.
Written by Chris (editor) on Sunday April 27th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
The last day for responses on the plan for new bus lanes at Aztec West roundabout is Monday - you’ve been telling us what you think of the proposals.
If the plan goes ahead the carriageway would be widened between Aztec West Business Park and Woodlands Lane.
A new bus lane would be built which would “allow buses to avoid the queues and delays that occur … during the weekday morning and evening peak periods”.
Right-hand turns from Bradley Stoke Way into Woodlands Lane would also be banned.
Here’s a selection of the comments posted over the past few weeks.
Matt said:
A bus lane? In Bradley Stoke? There’s not enough blooming roon for the cars that are there!! There are most definately living in cloud cuckoo land with that one!!
Andy said:
An extra lane between the Aztec West roundabout and Woodlands lane doesn’t seem too bad an idea - buses stopping at the bus-stop on that short stretch cause a great deal of problems sometimes.
Brian said:
As well as Bowsland Way. All that it will achieve is to change from two moderately blocked junctions to one very blocked one. It can be hard enough getting out of Bowsland Way in the morning without adding to the number of cars using it plus those having right of way at the roundabout from Pear Tree. Absolutely stupid idea.
Dougie said:
I agree with Andy’s original comment about no right turn out of woodland lane but see the problem this would cause. I feel a camera at these lights in all directions would ensure a better, fair traffice flow to all and would either stop or make peiople pay fr jumping the lights. I feel a bus lane would be a terrible idea as everywhere else one has been installed has seen more not less congestion.
Mike said:
Shouldn’t the road improvements be up and running, proven to work etc before any more house building is allowed? Any minor shunt causes gridlock due to the poor road design and lack of foresight by planners. Congestion will only get worse with the new shops by Tesco.
Written by Chris (editor) on Saturday April 26th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Problems with noisy youths at Bailey’s Court resumed on Friday, according to a resident writing on The Bradley Stoke Examiner’s forum.
According to the correspondent about 40 people congregated in the car park next to the activity centre and were “making loads of noise, shouting, wheel spinning, screaming.. at gone 10pm”.
Our contributor says the problem with noise is “causing no end of stress”.
Bailey’s Court has been the flashpoint for fights involving up to 100 people in the past year, and has been one of the causes of the recent police dispersal zone in the town.
Written by Chris (editor) on Friday April 25th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Tesco DID go back on its promise to involve the community in the new name for the town centre, The Bradley Stoke Examiner can reveal.
The supermarket giant has named the new town centre The Brooks Centre without any consultation - a move which has angered Bradley Stoke Town Council.
In a press release issued by Tesco, which was issued on 30 November, 2007, and seen by the Examiner, a spokesman for the firm, Felix Gummer, is quoted as saying: “We now have to find a new name for the town centre and will be launching a competition to find that name in association with the town council early in the new year.”
The town council has criticised Tesco saying the new name was too similar to that of the Brook Way Activity Centre and said the proposed signage was too much like South Gloucestershire Council’s logo.
Speaking on BBC Radio Bristol this morning, Tesco spokesman Dan Bramwell said the idea of a competition to name the site was discussed but “never promised”.
“It was suggested but it was never promised at at planning meeting. A piece appeared in the local paper the following morning and the town council and myself sent a letter to the paper correcting them saying there were no promises.”
Mr Bramwell also suggested on-air that a competition to name the centre would “delay building”.
