The SouthGlos Post

Wick Golden Valley Local Nature Reserve in South Gloucestershire has been awarded a Green Flag by Keep Britain Tidy for the way in which it is managed.

The Green Flag is awarded annually to organisations that meet the national recognised standard for maintaining parks or open spaces and this is the third year in a row the site has won this prestigious award.

The reserve is owned by building materials company CEMEX and is managed in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council and the local community group, the Friends of Wick Golden Valley Local Nature Reserve.

The Green Flag Award is given to parks and open spaces which meet the following criteria:

• A welcoming place
• Healthy, safe and secure
• Clean and well maintained
• Sustainability
• Conservation and Heritage
• Community involvement
• Marketing
• Management

Cllr Janet Biggin, Chair of South Gloucestershire Council, said: “The nature reserve in Wick is such a unique place with such a diverse habitat so readily accessible to the local community and I am delighted that it has been chosen to receive this award. It was once an ochre processing factory which has become a haven for wildlife, with the remnants of its industrial past hidden amongst the vegetation. Visitors also flock to the woodland to follow the audio bat trail and the river provides a home for many birds including kingfishers and dippers, and it also supports otters and a wide variety of fish and aquatic life.”

(more…)

Source: South Gloucestershire Council

A spring clean of the A4174 Avon Ring Road has produced a mammoth 550 bags of rubbish.

The clean up, conducted by South Gloucestershire Council over a three week period, involved considerable resources, including lane closures. The rubbish is thought to have been thrown out of vehicles or escaped from unsecured loads.

The spring clean was accompanied by a joint operation between council officers and the police targeting both individual motorists who throw rubbish from their cars and hauliers who allow waste to escape from their vehicles.

Littering motorists are liable to pay a £75 fixed penalty notice whilst hauliers can be fined considerably more – last year a local company received a fine and costs totalling £3,520 after being found guilty of allowing waste to escape from one of its vehicles onto the ring road.

(more…)

Source: South Gloucestershire Council

The A4174 Ring Road will get a spring clean during March when South Gloucestershire Council conducts a clean up operation to remove litter from the verges and central reservation.

Starting on 8 March for three weeks, there will be off-peak lane closures between 9.30am and 3.30pm to ensure the safety of the workers clearing the accumulated litter. The rubbish has either been thrown out of vehicles or has escaped from unsecured loads.

As well as cleaning the rubbish up, the council will also be taking enforcement action against drivers who create the litter problem. A joint operation between council officers and the police will run parallel with the clean up operation and will target both individual motorists who throw rubbish from their cars and hauliers who allow waste to escape from their vehicles. This enforcement operation follows on from a similar successful initiative last year.

(more…)

Source: South Gloucestershire Council

Volunteer groups across South Gloucestershire are urged to spring into action and help clean up their neighbourhood or open spaces, as part of national spring clean.

South Gloucestershire Council is supporting the Big Spring Clean Campaign 2010 which runs from 1 March to 30 April and is encouraging everyone to join in. From schools to scouts and voluntary groups to businesses, all are invited to take action against litter.

Cllr Heather Goddard, executive member for communities, said: “The Big Spring Clean is always hugely popular in South Gloucestershire and I’m sure this is down to the fact that people are proud of the area as a place to live and work.

“We want to encourage as many volunteers as possible to take part in the Big Spring Clean. This event can make a big difference. By reducing the litter we will improve the quality of the environment and make the green spaces of South Gloucestershire even more inviting to visit and enjoy.

“We’re hoping for a really good response to this year’s campaign and I look forward to seeing and hearing about the results of the Big Spring Clean 2010!”

(more…)

Source: South Gloucestershire Council

Trials to cut carbon emissions by switching off some streetlights for part of the night in South Gloucestershire are set to continue.

Following the success of the first phase of the trial in Charfield, a switch off trial for the Ring Road is planned to start 1 February.

A selection of streetlights along the length of the Ring Road will be switched off for a 4.25 hour period between midnight and 5am, but will only include those along straight stretches of road – lights around junctions and roundabouts will remain working throughout the night.

Cllr Heather Goddard, executive member for communities, said: “As a council, we have set ourselves ambitious targets to reduce our carbon footprint by three per cent year on year and street lighting energy is a significant contributor to this footprint.

“Given that energy prices are projected to keep on rising, we also want to make sure that we keep the cost to the council tax payer as low as possible.

(more…)

Source: South Gloucestershire Council