The South Glos Post

The ground has been broken on the site of a new housing development in Kingswood.

Merlin Housing Society’s chairman Les Good, who is a Merlin resident, got the work underway last week.

Over the coming weeks and months two new buildings will be built on the site, providing ten new flats and a new Kingswood Housing Office.

“This development will provide much needed homes in South Gloucestershire and I am delighted that work is underway,” Les said. “It’s exciting to think that in the new year this site will be the home for ten families plus our new area housing office.”

The High Street development, which is due to be completed in January, is just the start for Merlin’s building plans. Over the next four years, it aims to build 100 new homes in South Gloucestershire.

Merlin Housing Society is the largest provider of social housing in South Gloucestershire, managing a stock of around 8,000 homes for single people, families and the elderly.

Source: Merlin Housing Society

South Gloucestershire Council in conjunction with the Avon Frome Partnership is organising a special 20 mile walk along the entire length of the River Frome to celebrate the wildlife and heritage of the Frome Valley.

On Sunday 4th July, we will walk the whole length of the river and discover the many wonderful natural resources within the Frome Valley, including beautiful green spaces, parks, woodlands and riverside areas from the Cotswolds, through South Gloucestershire and into the heart of Bristol.

The day starts with a journey by coach from Bristol to the source of the river at the edge of the Cotswold Hills. From here we will explore the Frome Valley Walkway on a flat, easy-paced walk all the way back to the centre of the city. There will be additional coach pick ups at Frenchay, Winterbourne, Frampton Cotterell, Yate and Chipping Sodbury.

Full details of the walk are available here on the South Gloucetsershire Council website.

The Frome Valley Walkway booklet, which gives further details on this fascinating river and how you can explore it, is available from most libraries and information points in South Gloucestershire. It may also be downloaded in PDF format from the Walks page of the Frome Valley Walkway website.

Source: South Gloucestershire Council

Police are warning people to be on their guard against a scam happening in supermarket car parks.

A man is approaching people as they sit in their cars and asking for directions. While they are distracted looking at his map, cash and bank cards are stolen from bags left in the car.

There were two incidents on Tuesday June 15 2010.

One involved a 72-year-old woman whose car was parked in a disabled bay at Morrisons at Cribbs Causeway, while the other involved a 75-year-old woman in the car park at Tesco in Yate.

On both occasions the women were approached by a man described as a tanned white man, aged between 40 and 50, about 5ft 5ins tall, stocky, wearing dark-coloured clothes and a dark-coloured beret and speaking with a foreign accent.

Anyone with any information which could help police enquiries is asked to contact South Gloucestershire police on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Source: Avon and Somerset Police

South Gloucestershire Leisure has announced that its Government-funded free swimming scheme for the over-60s is to end on 30th July.

The move follows an announcement by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, in which the scheme is described as a “luxury we can no longer afford”.

The scheme was originally introduced in 2008, when the then Labour Government said it aimed to make all of England’s swimming pools free to use by the time of the London 2012 Olympics.

Related link: Swimming in South Gloucestershire