January 2012 - South Glos Post

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Tuesday 31st January 2012 SH (Editor)

Cabinet to consider council tax freeze

Plans to freeze South Gloucestershire’s Council Tax for a second year running will be considered by Cabinet at its next meeting on Monday 6th February. If agreed, the proposals will have saved the average household over £50 per year over the two years. The revenue budget and Council Tax proposals for 2012/13 aim to keep costs as low as possible

Thursday 26th January 2012 SH (Editor)

£3m for superfast broadband roll-out in South Glos

Every home and business in South Gloucestershire will potentially be able to access broadband by 2015 with nine out of ten enjoying superfast speeds of up to 24 Mbps, thanks to nearly £3m of public investment. South Gloucestershire Council has drawn up plans to invest £2.2m of its own money in providing broadband infrastructure capable of delivering much faster speeds,

Monday 23rd January 2012 SH (Editor)

Wind farm development thrown out by planning inspector

Local campaigners have expressed their delight after a planning inspector backed a council refusal to build a wind farm near Oldbury-on-Severn, South Gloucestershire. Widely known as the ‘Stoneyard Lane Wind Farm‘ because of a public right of way accessing the site, the proposed development involved the construction of four 127m (to blade tip) wind turbines, one 80m ‘anemometry mast’

Tuesday 17th January 2012 SH (Editor)

Meeting to discuss plans for Tormarton rest area

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) and the Highways Authority will discuss the future use of the Tormarton rest area on the A46 this Wednesday (18th January). The rest area is an important facility for both drivers on the A46, and long-distance hikers on the Cotswold Way. The Highways Agency has proposed to remove the toilet facilities, and to leave the limited

Monday 16th January 2012 SH (Editor)

Council failings may lead to disabled subsidy cut

A local government spending watchdog has warned South Gloucestershire Council that failures in the way it managed grant applications from disabled people could mean central government will cut its funding. The Audit Commission has published a critical account of the way in which Conservative-run South Gloucestershire Council managed its process for awarding Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs). Councils are obliged by

Tuesday 10th January 2012 SH (Editor)

Cabinet approval for broadband partnership

Council plans to boost access to high-speed broadband in partnership with Wiltshire and Swindon councils have been officially approved by South Gloucestershire’s Cabinet. The partnership, first revealed last month, means that South Gloucestershire will now be among the first councils in the country to begin signing up a commercial provider under the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) scheme. The BDUK

Monday 9th January 2012 SH (Editor)

Severn Beach station use up by half

Rail campaigners have welcomed new figures showing dramatic increases in the use of local train services, particularly from Severn Beach station Figures published as part of the Severnside Community Rail Partnership’s (SCRP’s) 2011 Annual Report from the weekday passenger count carried out in November show that passenger numbers have increased from 135 to 201 – or by 49 per cent

Wednesday 4th January 2012 SH (Editor)

Plans underway for Sodbury 2012 jazz festivals

Following the success of last year’s Jazz Festival at Chipping Sodbury, plans are well underway for a second Jazz Festival in 2012. Last year’s inaugural festival was a big hit with jazz fans and featured Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen as the main headline act. “It was so well received by residents and supported by local businesses that the 2012