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South Glos council tax to rise by another 4.99 percent as annual budget agreed

Council tax in South Gloucestershire will increase by 4.99 percent from April 2024 after councillors approved next year’s budget. The financial plan includes “investing in cost-of-living support”, as well as taking action on climate change and helping residents cut down on their energy bills. The latest increase follows on the heels of an identical hike of 4.99 percent that took effect from April 2023.

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Green bin fee to double and car parking charges on the way in South Glos budget

Council leaders are set to rubber-stamp plans to double the cost of garden waste collections and introduce car parking charges in South Glos despite huge opposition from residents. Cuts to the council tax reduction scheme (CTRS) – benefits that help the poorest households pay the bill – and shorter library opening hours are also included in the local authority’s annual budget.

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South Gloucestershire schools can’t afford to turn classroom heating on

Children are having to wear coats during lessons because schools in South Gloucestershire are so cash-strapped they cannot afford to turn the heating up. Headteachers say the financial situation has hit crisis point because the district is the worst-funded of all 151 education authorities in the country. Both council-maintained and academy schools are affected.

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South Glos Council warns of “incredibly difficult” choices ahead for next year’s budget

South Glos Council’s joint Lib Dem & Labour Cabinet will meet next week to consider proposals for next year’s budget that include details of “incredibly difficult” decisions to reduce spending and increase charges. The new draft budget does not propose to make new savings, but does provide details of cost-cutting that was approved in the Conservatives’ last budget agreed in February.

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Photo of road closure signs on a bridge.

Free shuttle bus to ease chaos from closed A432 bridge over M4 motorway

A new free shuttle bus is being laid on to try to ease traffic chaos and delays from the long-term closure of a bridge over the M4 in South Gloucestershire. The half-hourly service will start on Thursday 14th September, to take passengers from Yate Park & Ride via Coalpit Heath to the Cuckoo Lane junction on the A432 Badminton Road, from where it is a short walk to…

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Photo of a recycling collection vehicle.

South Glos bin strikes called off as union members vote to accept 10% pay increase

A long-running strike by waste and recycling operatives across South Gloucestershire is officially over after union members voted to accept a new, improved 10 percent pay increase. Kerbside collections had been disrupted since Monday 12th June as around 150 employees of SUEZ, the council’s waste contractor, took industrial action in support of a 15 percent pay claim.

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Bin and recycling collections to resume as strike action paused for workers’ ballot

Kerbside waste and recycling collections in South Glos are set to resume in full from Monday (31st July) after strike action was suspended. The Little Stoke Sort It recycling centre, which has been closed due to a lack of staff during the strike, will reopen from the same date. Unite the Union says it is suspending industrial action for three days while it ballots its members on an improved pay offer.

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Photo of road closure signs on a bridge.

Badminton Road motorway overbridge closure likely to last until at least Christmas

Traffic problems caused by the closure of a bridge over the M4 look set to last until at least the end of the year. National Highways closed the A432 Badminton Road overbridge on the main road between Bristol and Yate earlier this month after finding “accelerated deterioration and cracking” to the south-east underside of the structure, which was built in 1966.

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