The Bradley Stoke Journal

Residents of The Coppice in Bradley Stoke are planning to stage a demo outside a neighbour’s house, which they claim is being used for the filming of pornographic films, according to a report by the Bristol Evening Post.

Neighbours say that sex film producer James Edwards has been operating the business from his property in the quiet cul-de-sac for about five years.

They claim that on one occasion explicit scenes were shot in the front garden of the house, in full view of surrounding homes.

Back in January 2007, more than 30 families signed a petition calling on the council and the police to take action to stop Mr Edwards’ activities.

A group of 20 residents, frustrated at the lack of official action, now say they will stage a protest demo outside Mr James’ house on Saturday morning.

Bradley Stoke residents are being encouraged to take part in an Aquathlon (swim and run) event being staged in the town on Sunday 8th March.

Thornbury Running Club is organising the event, which will be based at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre in Fiddlers Wood Lane.

The swim phase of the event takes place in the main pool of the Leisure Centre. On leaving the water, competitors will head out on foot into the adjoining Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve before returning to the finish line at the Leisure Centre.

Two courses are on offer, with the shorter consisting of a 500m (20 length) swim followed by a 5km run, while the longer includes a 1000m (40 length) swim and a 10km run.

The races, which may be entered by individuals or teams of two (one swimmer, one runner), are open to anyone aged 12 or over.

All participants are required to pre-enter (there is no entry on the day as estimated swim times need to be calculated in advance). Entries will close on 20th February or when the entry limit of 100 is reached.

The main pool will be closed to the public from 8am to 12 noon on the day of the event. The first swimmers will go off at 8am and the races are expected to be complete by 12:45pm.

An awards ceremony is planned to take place at 1:15pm in the Leisure Centre, with a representative from the Willow Brook Centre (main sponsor of the event) presenting the prizes.

Willow Brook manager, Scott Lahive, told The Journal:

“We are delighted to be supporting such a worthwhile and prestigious sporting event that’s guaranteed to put Bradley Stoke on the sporting map. It’s yet another first for Bradley Stoke, drawing participants from far and wide. It’s testament to the can do attitude of the organisers and the town”

Further Information:

• Bradley Stoke Aquathlon (Thornbury Runing Club)
• Bradley Stoke Aquathlon Run Route (The Journal)

A burst water main at the junction of Brook Way and Kemperleye Way has led to 6,000 homes in Bradley Stoke and Stoke Gifford being without water, according to the BBC.

Information on the Bristol Water website states that repairs are taking longer than initially expected, with 8:30pm being given as the estimated time for the restoration of supplies.

UPDATE from Bristol Water at 8:50pm:

The burst main in Bradley Stoke has now been repaired. We are now in the process of getting the water back into the trunk main and connected pipes that supply the area affected. This process will take time as gradually the whole system refills.

We are sorry for any problems caused. The job took longer than expected and we thank customers for their patience.

Further Information:

• Bristol Water Emergency News
• Photos of the burst water main (The Examiner)

Minutes recently published on the website of Bradley Stoke Town Council reveal that Cllr Jon Williams (Lib Dem) has made a formal apology for using “inappropriate language” at a meeting of the Full Council on 3rd December last year (2008).

The remarks in question were made after fellow Councillors had voted to switch funding for youth club provision in the town from Southern Brooks Community Partnership (where Mr Williams is a trustee) to South Gloucestershire Council.

That decision will also see all Council funded youth clubs in the town switching to the Brook Way Activity Centre – a reversal of a policy introduced earlier in 2008 that saw the Council imposing room rental charges on youth clubs operating anywhere other than Baileys Court.

The minutes of the 3rd December meeting record that:

Councillor Jon Williams commented that in his opinion the resolution had been passed without any reference to the evidence, adding “You are unable to make an educated decision; I think you are all a bunch of w*****s” and stood up to leave the meeting. Councillor Robert Jones asked that he withdraw these remarks, but Councillor Williams left.

It was then proposed by Councillor John Ashe, seconded by Councillor Mark Forsyth and carried (with one abstention) that Councillor Williams’ remarks be minuted as inappropriate language. It was then proposed by Councillor Ronnie Conway Haskins, seconded by Councillor Robert Jones and carried (with two abstentions) that Councillor Williams be asked to apologise to Council.

Cllr Williams’ written apology was received at a meeting of the Full Council on 17th December:

It was proposed by Councillor Mark Forsyth, seconded by Councillor Sarah Pomfret and carried, that Councillor Jon Williams’ apology to Council following Minute 3.1.9.3 should be recorded. He wrote, “I would like to apologise for my outburst as I left the meeting tonight. It was unacceptable and I shouldn’t have said it. I still think you made the wrong decision based on absolutely no evidence and will do the youth in the town no favours at all.”

Cllr Williams did not attend the 17th December meeting, in protest at the business being debated – a proposal to abandon the Council’s previously announced plan to move its offices to the Willow Brook Centre in favour of extending one of its own activity centres to provide the required space.

No agenda was published for the meeting of 17th December, which Council Chair Robert Jones says was “arranged at short notice”. That would appear to be in violation of the policy defined in the Council’s Publication Scheme and, by extension, its Standing Orders (constitution), as members of the public were not given the opportunity to attend.

The Journal has learned that Northavon Bowls Club, evicted from its Baileys Court base by Bradley Stoke Town Council in a row over rent, could soon be wound up.

An extraordinary general meeting of the club has been called for this Saturday (24th January), when it is expected that a vote will be taken on a proposal to dissolve the club.

The bowlers were evicted from their Baileys Court ground after they refused to sign up to a new rental deal, which would have committed them to annual increases of 8% p.a. on their £2,500 payment for room rental at the facility.

Prior to eviction, the club employed its own groundsman to maintain the green, at a cost of £8,000 p.a. This has now been taken on by the Council, which now operates the green on a “pay as you go” basis, for which  the take up is “probably non-existent” according to Council Chairman Robert Jones.

The Journal understands that, under the terms of its lease from South Gloucestershire Council, the Town Council is committed to providing a bowling facility at Baileys Court until 2041.

Having evicted the bowlers over the matter of a few hundred pounds p.a., the Council is now left in the embarrassing position of having to spend thousands of pounds each year maintaining a green that is hardly used.

With this bleak reality no doubt on Councillors’ minds, a proposal was put forward at the December meeting of the Finance & Leisure Committee for the club to be offered a much-reduced rental of £8,100 p.a. (inclusive of green maintenance), with a 6% annual increase (reviewable on a rolling basis).

This startling backtrack by the Conservative-dominated Council, which would see the effective charge to the club for room rental drop from £2,500 to just £100 p.a., was justified on the grounds of:

• Reduced membership numbers, now that many have joined other clubs since the eviction;
• The deteriorating economic climate; and
• A (newly discovered) case for subsidising maintenance of the green.

The proposal, which also required the club to provide two personal guarantors, was carried (much to the surprise of the Town Clerk) by two votes to one, with a remarkable seven Councillors abstaining.

The club is understood to have since informed the Council that, with its depleted membership, it can afford to pay no more than £6,600 p.a. and that no members are prepared to act as personal guarantors.

The Council has said that it can reduce its costs to £7,000 p.a. by maintaining the green to “public usage” standard instead of the more demanding level expected for “club usage”.

The bowls dispute in pictures:

• Police called as bowlers invade Baileys Court
• Media on hand to record retreat of the bowlers