The Bradley Stoke Journal

The judging panel tasked with selecting a name for Bradley Stoke’s new town centre development has chosen “Willow Brook” as the best suggestion submitted in a public competition jointly organised by Bradley Stoke Town Council and Tesco.

The competition was held after a remarkable U-turn by Tesco, which had previously insisted on using the name “The Brooks Centre“, despite having previously promised the Town Council that residents of the town would be given a chance to choose the name in a public competition.

The winner has asked to remain anonymous and has donated the winnings to the Mayor’s Charity, the local branch of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC). Tesco has also matched the sum so that the charity will benefit by a total of £100.

The entry-level personal computer that was also offered as part of the prize package will likewise go to the NACC.

The naming competition was open to all UK residents, not just those living in Bradley Stoke. Dan Bramwell, Tesco Public Affairs Consultant, has however assured The Journal that the mystery winner is a local resident.

Construction of the new town centre is now well under way and Tesco recently began advertising management positions available at the new Tesco Extra store that is scheduled to open in “late autumn [2008]“.

More information about Bradley Stoke’s new town centre development can be found elsewhere in The Journal:

• New Town Centre posts
• New Town Centre pages

Photos of the new town centre construction work can be seen in our PicasaWeb Gallery.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has quietly opened a second round of public consultation on the proposed bus priority scheme for the Aztec West roundabout.

Richard Lewis of consulting group Mouchel (working in partnership with SGC) told The Journal that the new consultation concerns the same scheme as before, “but revised following the public consultation”.

Respondents to the original consultation have told The Journal that they feel the exercise was “a waste of time”, as most of their comments were rubbished in the SGC responses, with many issues raised being rejected on the grounds that they were considered “outside the scope” of the proposed scheme.

Local Liberal Democrats have criticised the lack of publicity given to the original consultation, although they seem to be unaware that a mail drop was made to properties near the roundabout and an exhibition of the plans was held in the shopping centre of the Aztec West Business Park.

No mention of the original or current consultation can be seen on the Bradley Stoke Town Council website, which preferred to inform residents about “Rabbit Roundabout” during the period of the initial consultation.

Links to the consultation pages on the SGC website:

• Aztec West - Proposed Prohibited Right Turn Order (Greater Bristol Bus Network)
• Aztec West Roundabout - Bus Priority Scheme

Details of the proposals may also be viewed at Bradley Stoke Library.

Closing date for comments is Monday 30th June 2008.

[Postscript]: SGC has provided the following statement listing the changes that have been made since the first consultation:

The public consultation received a number of comments asking for improved facilities for cyclists and pedestrians. The scheme has been revised to include a new pedestrian/cycle refuge to assist crossing the Bradley Stoke Way exit of Aztec West Roundabout. We have also highlighted that cyclists are able to use bus lanes and that the pedestrian facilities are being upgraded at the Bradley Stoke Way/Woodlands Lane junction. The new information is explained on the Statement of Reasons on the public website.

Warm and sunny weather saw crowds flock to the Jubilee Centre in Savages Wood Road for the main day of Bradley Stoke’s Community Festival 2008.

The day got underway at 11am with a demonstration of gamegoers’ dogs, falcons and ferrets and continued throughout the afternoon with events alternating between arena and stage. Highlights of the day included performances by Queen tribute band Monarchy and James Dylan Stuntworld (motorcyle riders). The day was rounded off by musicians and dancers from the South Gloucestershire Asian Project at around 5:50pm.

Over on Jubilee Green, the annual Community Fair took place between 1:30pm and 5:30pm, featuring stalls from local charities, community groups and businesses.

The Leisure Centre in Fiddlers Wood Lane was the venue for a skate park competition organised by Southern Brooks Community Partnership.

Fine weather is also forecast for tomorrow (Sunday 8th), when the main Festival event is the Bradley Stoke Festival Fun Run at 10am. The Journal’s interactive map of the race route shows you where (and when) you can see the runners go by.

The National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC), Mayor Robert Jones’s nominated charity for his year in office, will benefit from the proceeds of the weekend’s events.

There are more than 140 photos of the day’s events in The Journal’s PicasaWeb Gallery:

• Jubilee Centre [album; slideshow]
• Skate Park Competition [album; slideshow]

Please contact us if you would like a free full-size copy of any of our photos. In due course, we plan to add captions to our photos, so please also let us know if you have any information (e.g. website address of your charity/group) that you would like us to include.

Entries for the town centre naming competition, organised by Bradley Stoke Town Council and Tesco, must be received by 5pm on Friday (6th June).

Judging is set to take place on Monday (9th June). The winner will receive a £50 Tesco shopping voucher, with an entry level personal computer being presented to their choice of local school or nominated registered charity.

Bradley Stoke’s annual Community Festival gets underway on Friday (6th June 2008) with a coffee morning and flower arranging competition, a four mile walk around Bradley Stoke and a “picnic in the park”.

The main events take place on Saturday in and around the Jubilee Centre [map], Savages Wood Road. Stage and arena acts are scheduled from 11am to 6pm, while a Community Fair, with stalls from local charities, community groups and businesses, takes place between 1:30pm and 5:30pm.

Sunday sees the third running of the Bradley Stoke Festival Fun Run, a 10km multi-terrain race, which starts near the Leisure Centre at 10am. Race HQ and finish is at the Jubilee Centre. Residents are urged to turn out and support the competitors along the course - see The Journal’s interactive map of the race route to see where (and when) you can see the runners go by.

Bradley Stoke’s newly elected Mayor, Robert Jones, has chosen the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC) as the organisation to benefit from his charitable fundraising efforts during his year in office.

Last year’s Mayor, Julian Barge, raised £5823 for his his two chosen charities - the Bristol Urological Prostate Cancer Appeal and the Nicola Corry Support Foundation. The Mayor’s charity fund benefits from donations and special money-raising events held during the Mayor’s year in office – notably the Community Festival in June and the Fireworks Display in November.

In a press release issued by Bradley Stoke Town Council today, Councillor Jones reveals that he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease five years ago. By choosing the organisation as his charity for the year, he hopes to raise awareness of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases as well as raising money to support the activities of the charity, which include research, information and support.

Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) and Southern Brooks Community Partnership (SBCP) are urging local community groups to showcase their activities at the town’s Community Fair that takes place between 1:30pm and 5:30pm on Saturday 7th June 2008.

Registered charities and community groups will be charged £10 per table, while the charge for commercial outfits will be £30.

A stallholder’s application form may be downloaded from the SBCP website.

The Community Fair is part of the town’s Community Festival that runs from 6th - 8th June. More information can be found on the Festival page of the BSTC website, including photos from Festivals in previous years.