Patchway Journal

A 3,700+ signature petition calling on South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) to abandon its plan to close Highwood Road to general traffic is to be presented to a top-level meeting of the Council in Kingswood next Wednesday (23rd May).

Launched in March by Patchway Town Councillor Chris Mills, the petition has been available to sign online and, in paper form, in shops and community centres throughout the town. The critical milestone of 2,500 signatures, required to secure a debate at Council, was reached at the end of April.

Following the presentation of the petition to Council next week, a formal debate on the matter must be held at the next Full Council meeting, currently scheduled for Wednesday 18th July.

Cllr Mills told The Journal:

“The response to the petition has exceeded our expectations. To have collected over 3,700 signatures with two weeks left to run is great. It shows the consultation SGC carried out was flawed and does not reflect the feelings of its residents.”

“The petition will be presented to SGC at its meeting on 23rd May; it’s important that residents attend this meeting and voice their concerns on the planned closure.”

“A small coach has been arranged to take people to this meeting. It will leave the Patchway Town Council office at 6pm.”

“Please ring 07720 669840 or 07975 890591 to book a place on the coach; the cost is £2 return.”

More: Town Councillors want final decision to be deferred until July »

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Bristol and South Gloucestershire residents who are battling to find their next job are being offered help at a careers fair being held in North Bristol tomorrow (Tuesday 15th May).

Merlin Housing Society is working with a host of local organisations to arrange the fair at The Edge Church, 1160 Park Avenue, Aztec West Business Park [BS32 4TL, map], from 12 noon to 7pm. The day will include a wide range of opportunities including information on apprenticeships, CV writing, and volunteering. There’ll also be the chance for people to chat with employers and recruiters to find out what vacancies they currently have.

Merlin’s Community Investment Manager Jen Griffiths said:

“We’re committed to improving our communities and the lives of the people who live in them and helping people back into employment is an important part of this. Times are tough and we wanted to give people a chance to learn new skills or find out what options are out there.”

“This is a great chance for people of all ages to come and have a look at what is on offer locally. By learning how to improve their interview technique, picking up new skills from a demonstration or by finding out what opportunities are out there, this event could make a real difference to anyone who is looking for work.”

Merlin will be running workshops on preparing for interviews plus plumbing, and carpentry demonstrations.

More: List of organisations attending the careers fair »

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The Rolls-Royce plant in Patchway is set to benefit from a Government U-turn on a major defence project.

The Ministry of Defence has changed it mind over the type of fighter planes it is ordering for the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, saying it wants to revert to its original plan of deploying the F35-B jump jet version of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF),  the engines for which incorporate key components made in Patchway.

The previous Labour Government’s original plans for the aircraft carrier project included the F35-B version but the Coalition Government’s defence spending review in 2010 concluded that the ‘conventional take off’ F35-C version would be a better choice.

The decision was justified by the F35-C’s longer operational range and the fact that fitting the aircraft carrier with catapults and arrestor gear would allow interoperability with aircraft from other nations.

But the estimated cost of fitting the “cats and traps” system has risen from £950m to £2bn “with no guarantee that it will not rise further”, according to Defence Secreatry Philip Hammond – speaking in The House of Commons yesterday.

Because of the development problems, it will now be cheaper in the long term to order F35-B jump jets, as originally planned, he added.

The U-turn is likely to mean more work for the Patchway Rolls-Royce factory, which specialises in short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) technology, including the LiftSystem propulsion system that is a principal component of the F35-B design.

The Patchway factory is already committed to work on hundreds of LiftSystem units for aircraft ordered by US defence forces.

The Government estimates the U-turn will cost taxpayers around £100m but Labour puts the figure at nearer £250m.

Read more: Jet fighter U-turn is boost for Rolls-Royce (The Post)

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Children and their families welcomed the Bookstart Bear to a special story time session at Patchway Library yesterday (Wednesday 9th May) to celebrate the launch of Bookstart 20 in South Gloucestershire.

Cllr Mike Drew, Chair of South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), was on hand to lead the celebrations and cut a special Bookstart birthday cake.

Bookstart is the much-loved national reading programme that gifts free books to babies, toddlers and three-year-olds and it is now in its twentieth year of operation. Several independent studies have found that reading to babies and toddlers on a daily basis is the strongest predictor of childhood development and positive educational outcomes – even more important than socio-economic factors.

Yesterday’s special storytime session was the first of a series of events taking place across South Gloucestershire to mark the national Bookstart 20 celebrations where people are being asked to make a simple pledge: share 20 books with children this year.

South Gloucestershire library service is inviting residents to sign up to the pledge by visiting your local library or Surestart Children’s Centre or online at: www.booktrust.org.uk/bookstart20. The campaign is supported nationally by well known faces including HRH the Duchess of Cornwall and Colleen Rooney.

Cllr James Hunt, SGC’s  Executive Member for Communities, said:

“The value of reading to children can never be under estimated and South Gloucestershire Council has an excellent track record of supporting and encouraging parents to read to their children. I hope this campaign will encourage everyone to make the effort of reading just 20 books to children this year.”

More: Library holds regular storytime and wriggle & rhyme time sessions »

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