The Bradley Stoke Journal

October’s meeting of Bradley Stoke Town Council’s Planning Committee, which was inquorate because only three of its eight members turned up, has submitted the following consultee response to South Gloucestershire Council for each of the seven planning applications it was due to consider:

“Bradley Stoke Town Council has ‘No Comment’ to make on the above mentioned planning application.”

Draft minutes of the (non-)meeting explain:

“Councillors agreed that, as a response was required from the town council, to all the above planning applications, before the next town council meeting, a ‘No Comment’ response to all the above planning applications should be lodged with SGC Planning Department.”

Of the five absent committee members, three are recorded as having submitted apologies (Cllrs Keir Gravil and Tony Griffiths were the ones who didn’t).

Agenda topics that had been scheduled for discussion at the meeting included an “update on Road Safety concerns on Bradley Stoke Way”.

The Council’s standing orders permit any Councillor to nominate a substitute to attend a meeting.

In a few weeks time it’ll be elections again. And I would like to appeal to voters in Bradley Stoke, in regard to the Town Council elections.

It may not be common knowledge (and is not always apparent at voting time) that the composition of the present Town Council is 7 residents of Bradley Stoke and 8 non-residents.

Which is a highly unusual situation. All of the five adjacent town/parish councils consist solely of residents of their own town/parish. And this is surely as it should be.

It is my belief that the local council should comprise of local people, that is to say, those who experience day-to-day life in the town. Whereas the majority of Bradley Stoke council members simply come for meetings or photo opportunities, and then return to life in their own home parish.

To give an instance of this non-residence domination, recently a vote was taken on a controversial proposal to build an extension to the Jubilee Centre in order to house the Town Council administrative staff.

The voting was 6 for, and 4 against. Of the residents voting, it was 2 for, and 3 against. Furthermore, a consultation had been carried out, and the responses listed showed 13 for the proposal, and 42 in favour of continuing to rent. This was almost completely ignored by the Councillors before voting.

Another instance of the situation, is that in each of the last two years a non-resident has worn the Mayoral chain.

Please, please, please voters make your first consideration RESIDENCE of the candidates. Not their political persuasion. I wish all candidates were independent, but that is unlikely.

Ensure that Bradley Stoke is managed by Bradley Stoke people, not visitors.

Yours sincerely,

John Miller, The Beeches, Bradley Stoke

Ed: Interested in standing for the Town Council? Read this: Standing for Election (candidates). The deadline for nominations is 12 noon on Monday 4th April 2011. More info: 2011 District and Town Elections (The Journal)

The annual Bradley Stoke Fireworks Display is to remain at the Jubilee Centre in 2011, despite concerns over crowd safety being raised following last year’s event.

Cllr Mark Forsyth, Senior Health and Safety Officer for last year’s display, had warned that the event had “become too successful for its own good” and a meeting was arranged between the firework company, the event management company and Council officers to discuss a way forward.

Last week’s meeting of the Town Council was told that a plan has been agreed to launch the fireworks from the upper football pitch, leaving the lower football pitch available for spectators.

Firework sizes and types will be adjusted (reaching 250ft rather than 350ft) in order to comply with regulations relating to the proximity of buildings.

The Town Council has announced that the Bradley Stoke farmers’ & artisans’ market has changed to the last Friday of every month, starting tomorrow (Friday 28th January 2011).

The market was trialled on three Wednesdays in October, November and December last year and organisers have now decided to make it a permanent fixture.

Held in the Town Square at the Willow Brook Centre, the market brings together producers from the surrounding countryside, offering a wide selection of locally grown/produced wares.

Related link: Markets in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)

At Wednesday night’s meeting, Bradley Stoke Town Council proposed spending some £3,500 of council tax payers’ money (possibly rising to £4,500) on celebrating the forthcoming Royal Wedding. This will take the form of a large TV screen, stalls and bunting etc. Personally I am against this proposal, especially in the light of our current financial and economic conditions but I would like to hear the views of others. Bearing in mind that the ceremony is only expected to last about an hour, is this public money well spent?

Roger Avenin
BS Town Councillor

Having read of the Town Council’s desire to mess around and wreck with the ‘Jubilee Centre’ to accommodate themselves at great expense to the local tax payer whilst diminishing the usefulness of the building, would a better option not be to use all the empty office space above the ‘Willow Brook Centre’ so the seat of local government is right in the middle of the town and everyone can see it and find it easily?

Bit of a ‘Big Society’ type of approach.