MJ Ray - slef on WsM Forum http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?action=profile;u=5;sa=showPosts This page contains news around Weston-super-Mare and Kewstoke. I'm a parish councillor for Kewstoke since April 2008 and some of these items get discussed by it, so please let me know your views. My third-sector (Cooperatives-SW and North Somerset Partnership) activities appear on my work news website and aren't usually repeated on this particular page. 2008-08-26 MJ Ray en-gb Most permissions granted - see front page of site TV / Kewstoke on TV - community path bid http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=155.msg428#msg428 2008-11-13T13:34:00Z I suspect Kewstoke will be on ITV next week because of the community path bid.

I thought it was for upgrading the footpath from Sand Bay up to Worlebury, but I missed the start of the last council meeting (stuck in traffic at J21) rather than the bridleway (Old Kewstoke Road).  I've mixed feelings towards it - steps on a cycle route? - but it would probably be a good thing overall.

There might be some more info at tonight's Cycle Forum meeting at the Campus Locking Castle, 6pm.  Let us know when you have more info about it too!
]]> Current Issues / UFOs Detected in Banwell http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=152.msg420#msg420 2008-11-11T08:10:00Z
Quote from: Somerset Bob on http://www.bobkingsley.co.uk/blog/?p=209
The hollow construction of the pole might also have served to magnify the effect of the energy being inducted into it.

No-one knows for sure what propulsion systems UFOs use, but it would not be out of the question for them to utilise some sort of electro-magnetic field generator that repulses the Earth’s magnetic field to give them the lift they need to stay aloft.

Perhaps my neighbour’s old aerial pole is, in effect, a UFO detector!
Well, what do you think?
]]> Current Issues / Kewstoke Council November Meeting http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=151.msg419#msg419 2008-10-28T19:55:00Z The November meeting of Kewstoke parish council will take place in the village hall at 7pm on Monday 3 November.  Topics for discussion include the highways, village green hedge, New Inn substation fence (Western Power Distribution still haven't fixed it), the drainage board, Crookes Lane footpath (village hall to fish shop, I guess), the toll road, the bin opposite 24 Beach Road and fixing the date and venue for the Christmas Celebration.  The half-year accounts will be inspected (apart from bank charges and village hall hire, everything seems to be within budget at first glance).

Immediately afterwards, the planning meeting will consider applications for buildings at Karibu, Lower Norton Lane (with a revision to last year's application), Beach Road and Court Road.

Each meeting has an opportunity for members of the public to speak at the start, or you can leave comments here or email me if you'd like to forward information to the meeting.  This time, please try to send comments before Sunday night if you want me to forward them.
]]> National Issues / businesses are stockpiling Tamiflu – despite government warnings http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=150.msg417#msg417 2008-10-21T11:32:00Z There's an amazing story from Lincolnshire Echo claiming that banks and other businesses are stockpiling anti-flu drugs.

Are you worried about flu?  Have you had an anti-flu jab?  Was it from your doctor or your work?  Do you think they're a waste of time?
]]> Places to Visit / Wildscreen Festival, Bristol http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=149.msg416#msg416 2008-10-19T15:02:00Z Celebrating local expertise in wildlife films, the Wildscreen festival is at the Watershed in Bristol until next Sunday.  Film screenings are free, but tickets need to be collected at least an hour before the start.  See the Watershed's Wildscreen page for details.

If you go to a film, let us know what you think of it here... just register or log in and click Reply...
]]> Places to Visit / Share the Harvest Events, Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th October http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=148.msg414#msg414 2008-10-18T11:10:00Z The Meaning of Food Film Festival at the Pierian Center, 27 Portland Square, St. Paul's, Bristol, BS2 8SA.

Films, open days, more events.  Today and tomorrow.  Anyone going?

http://www.sharetheharvest.co.uk/index.php?Content=Events=main
]]> Current Issues / Report on Kewstoke Council October Meeting http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=145.msg408#msg408 2008-10-07T10:45:00Z Last night's Kewstoke council meeting heard a report from a member of the public (sorry I didn't get the name) about the footpaths.  Two footpaths are missing from the council directory (numbers 7 and 11), one has deteriorated into a sheer drop down Monks Hill and two were impassably muddy.  A written report and photos will follow.

The police report delivered by PC Terry Stevens was a mixed bag. It was a fairly quiet month, but included 5 road incidents and 1 driver coming off the toll road.  Progress was reported on the Police and Communities Together plan (there'll be something in next month's Kewstoke magazine) and there may be a safety barrier installed where the footpath from Crookes Lane joins Kewstoke Road near the school.  The council will write to an inspector to express concern about Kewstoke beat manpower shortages.

Youth activities are being planned, probably transport to Barcode on Wednesday nights.  There will be a call for parents to help soon, probably in the Kewstoke magazine, Mercury and through Police Community Support.

Highways: North Somerset Council (NSC) Officer Louise King is leaving (maybe explains last meeting's unapologetic no-show) and we will have a new officer from mid-October. Hedge and verge cutting control is passing to Streets and Open Spaces.  The Elmsley Lane barrier has been removed.

Flooding: Gullies were emptied within 24 hours of the last meeting (following a councillor contacting people at NSC) and the waters haven't gathered again yet.  Councillors expressed concern about the high level of the rhynes with more rain forecast for the next few days.  The drainage board foreman will be contacted Tuesday morning about this.  The drainage board did not hold a special meeting after the recent floods, their next meeting will be before the end of the year and the council will make a flood plan.

Shorter items: The village green hedge involves more work than first hoped, so there will be a site meeting to examine what works to commission. Western Power Distribution still haven't repaired their fences.  The council heard reports about the ongoing Sand Bay Management Committee, Crookes Lane Footpath and various expenses. A Children's Christmas Party will be run on 20 December and an organising committee formed.  One of the seafront bins will be replaced because it has been misused.  An offer will be made to help repair a damaged gravestone.

Councillor reports: a signpost was removed, a dangerous hedge cut as asked, Kewstoke Road verges are not being cut properly, the orderly is overworked by rubbish being spilled by NSC collections, a sixth GP will open in Worle but still no service in Kewstoke (clerk to write to Chief Exec I think?), magazine items need to be submitted before next meeting, Sand Road is giving way into the rhyne at one point and its lay-by has potholes.  Cllr Bates is now a school governor.

The planning meeting considered applications at Manor Farm, Collum Lane and a turkey oak at Woodspring Priory but made no adverse comments on either.  Updates were received on several past matters and guidance given to take away and read for a future meeting.

Comments and feedback welcomed for future meetings.  This is what I think happened, not an official statement of any sort.  Please check official sources before acting on this.
]]> Places to Visit / Taunton by Bike and Train http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=147.msg406#msg406 2008-10-06T09:55:00Z I was at a meeting in Taunton, wearing my Cooperatives-SW hat.  I also had two other things to visit and no particular desire to sit in Taunton's typical Saturday traffic jams, so I took a bike on the train.  The Sprinters which we're seeing around WsM have flip-up-seat bike bays at each end, but they're not quite long enough to fit an adult male road bike in and there's nothing to secure your crossbar to, so it's a bit precarious - but that's not what this message is about, really.

Cycling in Taunton is a good demonstration of how much above average Weston-super-Mare is now.  There are some common flaws - neither town has cycle maps at the railway station like Bristol does - but Taunton has only one signposted route (NCN 3) and many of those signs were in undergrowth.  There were two badly-signposted diversions on the town centre-station section of NCN 3 - one due to building work and I saw no reason for the other besides fences across the track.  NCN 33 is marked on the OS map, but it isn't signposted and it's twisty enough that the OS map blobs and dashes weren't sufficient to follow it.

Finally, NCN routes 3 and 33 east of the rail station are tests of bravery, with narrow canalside towpaths under bridges and steep inclines on loose gravel.

So... I now feel: well done Weston!  The cycle routes may be a long way from perfect but I think a cyclist arriving here and using the non-road routes would find their destination without asking quite as many people as I needed to, and I think our non-road routes are far more comfortable to use, especially when carrying cargo!

Maybe I was spoiled by King's Lynn's useful cycle routes (and flat terrain) - although Norfolk County Council built some farcilities just before I left.  How do you think WsM's routes compare to other towns?
]]> Current Issues / First Thoughts On Grand Pier Designs http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=146.msg404#msg404 2008-10-01T09:35:00Z At first glance, I like Grimshaw's design for the new pier (what a view from the top and what an unusual sight from the Rozel and the Trop), but I'd bet on the two front-runners in the Mercury vote: Meek and Stride Treglown.  I'd be happy with either.  Any pavillion is better than the burnt wreck or an empty platform, isn't it?

BBC and itv coverage was completely divided.  Is it any coincidence that BBC loved Meek (itv called it "four beer cans") and itv praised ST's wheel?

What were Ray Hole and AWW thinking, picturing it against a stormy sky?  We don't like to be reminded about bad weather, do we?

Anyone else going to the exhibition in the Winter Gardens?
]]> Current Issues / Kewstoke Council October Meeting http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=145.msg402#msg402 2008-09-30T10:54:00Z The next Kewstoke Council meeting is next Monday (6th) at 7pm.  There will be reports on youth activities, highways and the Crookes Lane bend footpath, drainage, Sand Bay Management, the village green hedge, dog and litter bins, the New Inn substation fence, Children's Christmas Party and damage to a gravestone.  I'd also like some feedback on what the local policing priorities should be.

The planning meeting afterwards will consider an application at Manor Farm, Collum Lane and review guidance from North Somerset Council about planning policy H/7 (the one which restricts construction of new commuter homes in Kewstoke, as I understand it).

I expect to be there, so let me have any questions or comments about any of the above, here or through my own website by Monday lunchtime and I'll take them along.
]]> Current Issues / Transport Forum - what happened http://www.wsmforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=142.msg401#msg401 2008-09-29T10:49:00Z Well, I'm not taking much hope from the Joint Transport Forum.  Yet again, councils have horrendously perverted the idea of a "forum" - the event would have been better titled "Joint Transport Lectures" because nearly all our time was spent watching council officers and consultants tell us how wonderful transport is here (they're meeting 18 out of 21 targets, you know!) and what roads and bus roads they will build next.

I guess I should have expected the road emphasis from the location: @t Bristol has a big car park, but is a fair way from train and bus stations and a nuisance to walk or cycle to, around the harbour and swing bridges, over cobbles and with a pitiful amount of cycle parking.  The chairwoman proudly declared at the start of the meeting that she had travelled into central Bristol by car because "it's about choice".  Funny - I thought it was about developing better choices than that before our area gridlocks.

We were told to raise questions with the "partner" on our table (some council officer with no legible name tag) who was supposed to notify the chair, but promptly ruled the first two questions raised by us as out of order.  One of our number spoke anyway, without involving the partner, but hey, I was new there... The number of "stealth attendees" from the councils and companies like FirstBus was very disappointing.  I guess if we knew who they worked for, we might have told them what we thought of their work!

Apart from the presentations on "Cycling City" from Bristol City Council and a mention of velib-like electric bike hire in the Bath "Civitas Renaissance" project, there was very little mention of pedestrians or cyclists and nothing about 20mph zones.  I think it was only during the open mic session in the post-lunch "sleepwatch" slot that ideas like home zones and pedestrian connections got an airing.

Rail fared a bit better.  As well as the "Rail Update" presentation which included ambitions for a "Bristol Metro" service (something like the London Overground Network idea - frequent services on the short-distance routes), there seemed to be growing recognition that Temple Meads needs to be more of a transport interchange because it's far harder to relocate rail than anything else.  The Bristol Rapid Transport (bus road?) line will link Temple Meads through the centre to Long Ashton Park and Ride. This is a shortened version of the original proposal that included running buses along the Bristol-Bath Railway Path, although it seems that they still have ambitions there.  Another bus road route in Bath will come as part of the "Bath Package" and two more are planned. I'm not going to try summarising the Bath Package because the presentation was obviously misleading - parts could have come straight out of "How to Lie with Statistics".  Argh, I'm writing about roads again - see how even rail topics were really about road links?

One last thing about rail: there was a strong call from the audience that people should ask the South West Regional Assembly to include rail schemes in their Regional Funding Allocation 2, especially the Portishead to Temple Meads and Henbury to Parkway lines.  Apparently this is allowed, but SWRA look like they'll spend all the money on roads, which seems surprising. Portishead's expected to grow by 7000 souls, many of them will look to Bristol for work and you can't really put more roads through the Avon gorge.

Back to the roads: there's a Greater Bristol Bus Network which has a huge amount of central government funding (£70million). As far as WsM is concerned, it's not a network: it's a line, which looks like the current X1 route, except maybe it will travel one direction along Somerset Avenue instead of Locking Road - I guess that's to take advantage of the Weston Package's bus-only road.  Don't expect much benefit from GBBN in Weston (and this was the point I wasn't allowed to ask about...).  One of the open mic session presenters complained about how FirstBus drivers still don't know how to sell through tickets, despite the much-publicised council-supported launch of the "freedom" ticket last spring.

I've written about the Weston Package on the forum before and this presentation only added one thing for me: the cycle route on the Cross-Airfield Link will still be built, but isn't shown on the map because it isn't part of the Package bid.  Chatting with the Weston presenter at lunchtime revealed one other interesting thing to me: ACL are planning to serve Kewstoke and Sand Bay over the winter too.  I'll be watching for details because ACL seem to have done well here with their summer evening orange buses.

The last presentation I saw before leaving to return to work was the "South Bristol Link" project, which seems to mean building a new road from somewhere near Parson Street through the Ashton Expansion to the Long Ashton Bypass (I don't have a copy of the blurry map shown).  That road-building was roundly condemned by many members of the public, but I somehow doubt those plans will change much.

Add a load of minor niggles about the venue management (not open at the stated time, bottled water, not enough of it, inappropriate room layout for the event, ...) to the general lack of "forum"-like opportunities and I reckon that I could have spent the hour/hour and a half around lunchtime there, instead of the whole day, and found out almost as much.  Unless  the West of England Partnership show signs of realising what a massive waste of time the event is, that's probably what I'd advise in future.  The whole event seems like a colossal waste of resources for all involved.  You're much better off commenting directly to formal consultations like the Weston Package or when they're drafting the real transport plans.
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