The Bradley Stoke Journal

A charity looking to build an MS therapy centre and respite care facility on land adjacent to Wheatfield Primary School has won its appeal against South Gloucestershire Council’s (SGC’s) decision to refuse planning permission.

Permission to build the therapy centre was granted in November 2009, subject to a condition that the site be accessed exclusively from Bradley Stoke Way – following scores of objections from residents of Wheatfield Drive who feared that the alternative of allowing access via their street would worsen already-existing traffic issues in their neighbourhood.

But when the charity later submitted plans for a respite care facility on another part of the site, the proposed access switched to Wheatfield Drive because, it was said, fibre optic cables had been discovered running immediately beneath the line of the proposed access road off Bradley Stoke Way.

A BBC article at the time said it would cost an astonishing £1 million to move the cables, which the charity said it couldn’t afford.

SGC failed to issue a decision on the revised access plans within the stipulated eight-week period, leading to the application being referred to the Planning Inspectorate.

Despite the referral, Councillors on SGC’s Development Contol (West) Committee went on to consider the application and finally voted to reject it in late June. That decision was made against the advice of the Council’s officers, who had concluded that the access proposals were:

“safe … and would not result in a material impact upon highway safety and amenity.”

Bradley Stoke Town Council’s Planning Committee had previously voted unanimously to reject the application and residents’ concerns were supported by local MP Jack Lopresti.

In the decision report published yesterday, the Inspector says:

Overall, I conclude … that vehicle movements associated with the proposed development would not unacceptably affect the safety and convenience of road users in the area and would not unacceptably affect the living conditions of residents in the surrounding area.

Read on to find out how the Inspector justifies the appeal decision »

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An unnamed store at Bradley Stoke’s Willow Brook shopping centre has vetoed the Town Council’s plan to establish a monthly farmers’ market in the Town Square.

July’s meeting of Full Council had been told that Council staff were keen to set up a regular farmers’ and artisans’ market in the Town Square and that initial discussions with the Willow Brook Centre had proved fruitful.

Staff had made contact with a local market organiser and advice had been sought from officials at South Gloucestershire Council.

Some Councillors expressed surprise that Tesco had not objected to the plan on the grounds that it might affect their trade but Town Clerk Sharon Petela explained that experience elsewhere showed that the reverse was true, citing  the market held outside Waitrose in Portishead as an example.

However, hopes were dashed at last night’s meeting of the Leisure , Youth & Amenities Committee, where it was reported that Willow Brook Centre Manager Scott Lahive has since “received objections from one of the major tenants [of the centre]“.

Councillors expressed dismay at the change of heart, with Cllr Julian Barge describing the objections as “narrow minded”.

The first market had been due to take place on Wednesday 6th October and the monthly event had already been publicised on the Farmers’ Markets page of the Taste South Gloucestershire website.

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Bradley Stoke’s newly-elected Conservative MP Jack Lopresti has vowed to make the fight to secure faster, more reliable, broadband coverage across his constituency one of his top priorities.

The pledge came after Mr Lopresti organised a meeting with the new Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey MP, to highlight the long-standing issues with broadband connections in the Bradley Stoke area.

As a result of the meeting, Mr Vaizey has promised to write to both BT and Virgin Media to ask why the service has not been upgraded, and the reasons behind the delay in providing fast broadband across the town.

The MPs were joined at the meeting by a delegation of local Councillors, including Bradley Stoke Mayor Ben Walker and Cllrs John Ashe, Robert Jones, Brian Hopkinson and Sarah Pomfret.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Lopresti said:

“I was delighted to be able to not only secure this meeting with Ed Vaizey MP, the new Communications Minister, but also that he agreed to write to both BT and Virgin Media to see exactly why the service isn’t better than it is.”

“Yet that is what we must aim for, and as soon as possible. This meeting allowed us to present our case to Ed Vaizey MP directly, we asked him to look into the issue on our behalf, and he has agreed to do just that.”

“This is such an important issue for so many people in and around Bradley Stoke, that it deserves to be treated as one of our priorities.”

“This issue has proved to be a real challenge already, and it will take dedication and hard work to ensure that our broadband connections are improved to the proper and deserved standard.”

Because Bradley Stoke doesn’t have its own telephone exchange, being served instead from Almondsbury or Filton, ADSL broadband reception is poor or non-existent in many areas of the town. Although some users are able to choose cable broadband as an alternative, many do not have this option due to the incomplete coverage of Virgin Media’s network.

Read on to find out how Bradley Stoke has missed out in recent BT upgrade announcements and let us know what broadband speeds you’re getting in your street »

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The organisers of a Community Fair to be held at the Willow Brook Centre on Saturday 2nd October are inviting local groups and businesses to book stalls.

The second “Community Showcase event for the Severnvale locality”, which will be held in a marquee erected in the Town Square, aims to promote “the many and various community groups and businesses with a community focus that operate in the local community”.

Winsome Barrett-Muir of organisers Southern Brooks Community Partnership (SBCP) says:

“People are invited to meet groups that are mainly run by volunteers and that enrich the communities around.”

“It’s an opportunity for local residents to find out in one place about the social groups, special interest groups, etc and for these groups to promote themselves and possibly recruit new members.”

Local groups wishing to get involved are invited to get in touch with SBCP on 01454 868570 to book a place.

The event runs from 11am to 2pm and is supported by the Willow Brook Centre, Matters Magazines and the Aztec Hotel & Spa.

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Bradley Stoke Radio is holding an open evening on Thursday (22nd July) for anyone looking to find out more about the town’s new community radio project.

The event, which takes place in the Culbone Suite of the Aztec Hotel & Spa (7pm start), will be an informal get-together for anyone interested in getting involved with the radio station. Members of the Committee will be on hand to discuss all aspects of the project.

The last few weeks have been very busy for Bradley Stoke Radio since their debut presence at the Community Festival in June.

The group’s programme covering the Community Festival was recently broadcast on air on BCfm (Community Radio for Bristol)  and a number of interview podcasts have been published on the station’s own website.

More recently, an interview with Bradley Stoke schoolgirl Abigail Newton Smith, an 8-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer who is hoping to travel to the USA for surgery, has been picked up for broadcast on the BBC.

Read on for more details of the station’s aspirations and plans »

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