The Bradley Stoke Journal

Students at Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) are to stage a quiz night on Friday 25th June to raise funds for their World Challenge project, which will see a group of year 10 & 11 students travel to South India in Summer 2011.

World Challenge aims to provide educational expeditions to the developing world which teach life skills and expand minds outside the classroom.

The quiz night will help the students raise some of the £3,000 that they each need to raise to enable them to join the trip.

Teams can consist of up to six people and the quiz is open to adults and students in years 10 and 11. The cost per head will be £5 per adult and £3 per student and this will include food.

Completed entry forms, with cheques made payable to ‘Bradley Stoke Community School’, should be sent to the school marked for the attention of Tom Hill.

A recent ‘bag packing’ weekend at Bradley Stoke’s Tesco Extra store raised just under £1,700 towards the expedition.

Vandals have struck again at the play park on Jubilee Green just days after a large number of  trees and shrubs forming the final phase of the original Beacon Play Scheme project were planted.

Two silver birch birch trees planted behind the staged seating area at the rear of the park were snapped off within a week of being planted at the end of April and a third tree was damaged last weekend.

Plants forming a new hedge around a patio at the nearby Jubilee Centre have also been pulled up, as have plants and grasses in the moat that surrounds the play park.

Michelle Dent of the independent Friends of Jubilee Green volunteer group told The Journal:

“We are naturally very upset that one or two individuals are trying to destroy the trees and plants. But, we remain focused that the park is enjoyed everyday by families, dog walkers, grandparents, teenagers and the wider community.”

“We will continue to work with Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) and the police to try to find solution to this problem and ask the community to help us look after this park, our community park.”

Michelle adds that the hedge has now been re-planted, the silver birch trees smeared with lard to try to hinder any good grip on the trunks and all the swale grass and other plants in the moat replanted.

Users of the park and local residents are being asked to contact the police on 0845 4567000 if they witness any acts of vandalism, bullying or any other worrying behaviour.

Read on for some positive news about the park »

Bradley Stoke Town Councillors have successfully fought off plans to install a ‘raised table’ cycle crossing on Baileys Court Road, which they claimed would have caused damage to vehicles and hindered emergency vehicles.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), which had proposed the feature as part of its Cycling City Route 3 scheme, has agreed to alter the crossing to use a dropped kerb design. The 5m wide crossing will now be constructed level with the existing road surface and be painted green.

The U-turn comes after one Town Councillor described the proposed crossing as an “obstruction of the highway”, while another claimed it was a back door way of imposing a lower speed limit for motorists.

SGC says it considered the alternative of installing a signal-controlled crossing but the estimated cost of £100k would have been “far beyond budget”. A zebra crossing, although cheaper, would “not be ideal for cyclists” it added.

The concession was accompanied by a request for the Town Council to contribute towards the cost of re-siting of a nearby bus stop and shelter, said to be needed to improve road safety.

That plea fell on deaf ears as the Town Clerk was instructed to inform SGC that “in the current financial climate, the Town Council would be unable to make any contribution”.

A similar ‘level’ crossing to the one now foreseen for Baileys Court Road is currently being installed in Fiddlers Wood Lane (pictured above), close to its junction near the Savages Wood Roundabout on Bradley Stoke Way.

Another crossing, this time part of Cycling City Route 4, is to be constructed across Brook Way, close to its junction with The Common (East).

Bradley Stoke Surgery has announced that it has introduced an online appointment booking system “following feedback from its Friends group”.

The news follows criticism at the 2009 Annual Town Meeting, where one resident likened the surgery’s appointment system to something that might be found in a Third World country.

Patients leaving feedback on an official NHS website have complained of continuously engaged telephone lines when trying to book same-day appointments.  An anonymous comment left earlier this month on the feedback page for Bradley Stoke Surgery complained:

“The appointment system is hopeless as you struggle to get through on the phone only to be told there are no slots left. If you are prepared to queue up at 8am outside the Surgery without shelter you may get an appointment before lunch.”

Two other recent commenters described the appointment system as “appalling”.

News of the new online system came in the Spring issue of the Friends of Bradley Stoke Surgery newsletter circulated at the 2010 Annual Town Meeting.

According to the newsletter:

“Patients can now register to have the facility to book their appointments online at their convenience. Patients need to register in order to use the Book On Line system and this can be done in person at reception.”

When The Journal checked the online system at 7am this morning (Monday 24th), two morning and one afternoon appointments were available, all with the same doctor.

Read more: new telephone system to be installed »

Ben Walker (Conservative) was elected the new Mayor of Bradley Stoke at last night’s Annual General Meeting of the Town Council.

He received the ceremonial chain of office from outgoing Mayor Mark Forsyth, who had previously announced that he had raised a total of £6,735 for his two nominated charities during his year in office.

The money in the Mayor’s Fund comes principally from  the Community Festival in June and the Fireworks Display in November (the latter attracting a record crowd in 2009).

Cheques for £3367.50 were presented to Pat Jones of the Bristol Dyslexia Centre (left photo) and John Francis of the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association (BLESMA).

Cllr Walker, who lives in Little Stoke and runs a building services company, represents the Lakeside parish ward of Bradley Stoke. His achievements as a Councillor include helping to form the Lakeside Residents’ Association and heading the recent negotiations towards the formation of a new bowls club at Baileys Court.

The new Mayor’s charity will be St Peter’s Hospice, which provides, within the wider Bristol area, specialist palliative care to adults suffering from life-threatening illness.

Related link: More photos from the Town Council AGM (PicasaWeb)