Highlights from Westbury Forum
30th October 2023
30th October 2023
Those present – The meeting was attended by 13 members of the public, together with our three Councillors and two representatives of the police.
Apologies received from Mike Chant, Hilary Long and Henry Duval, due to a clash of dates with the Village Hall AGM. Andy Renshaw also sent apologies.
The War Memorial in Westbury village is in the process of being cleaned, the lettering repainted and the surfaces repaired. The flower tubs are being replanted and a group of volunteers, led by Hilary Long, will be carrying out weeding.
All necessary arrangements for Remembrance Service on Sunday 11th November are now complete and everything should now be in place for future years.
Crime Statistics and Policing Issues
PC James Allford and PCSO Azeem Wazir, spoke about recent crime statistics (shown in the appendix) – the local priorities at the moment are vehicle interference, non-domestic burglaries, shop theft and dangerous E-bike and E-scooter usage.
There have been a number of reports of people attempting to enter vehicles by using their “keyless” systems. Owners are encouraged to keep their key fobs away from the front of the house or to put them in a shielded box, such as a metal tin.
Non-domestic burglaries are those involving outbuildings such as sheds and garages. In many cases, the thieves are taking high-value bicycles, especially electric ones.
Incidents of shoplifting remain high with 39 retail offences in the last month. Shopkeepers are asked to report all incidents so that police can focus on the relevant areas. While, historically, most shoplifting was linked to people looking to fund their drug use, increasingly people are stealing to feed themselves and their families; in such situations, the police tend to issue a caution and try and link them with support groups and food banks.
While there are a number of “violent crimes” reported, the large majority of these are domestic incidents or disputes outside pubs, etc. and do not involve other members of the public.
A particular concern recently has been the appearance of high-power electric bikes, which are often ridden in a dangerous manner. While the police are keen to stop their use, they have to be mindful of the possibility of the rider having an accident if pursued and so have been instructed not to give chase, so they would be grateful of any information regarding the owners and riders of these bikes.
Police need community help to stop antisocial and criminal behaviour.
They emphasized that, following any incidents in our street, we should phone 101 or go on the police website (www.avonandsomerset.police.uk ) and fill out the online report form in addition to warning the other residents in the street.
Councillor Updates:
Steve Smith
The Westbury Rd road works are moving towards Westbury. Councillors have had long discussions to mitigate the timing of closures on Westbury Hill. The replacing of traffic lights at Henbury Road junction on Falcondale Rd is planned for early 2024, following which the planned work on the A4018 between Greystoke Avenue and the Crow Lane roundabout should take place.
The new draft local plan is now published and will be discussed by the full Council on October 31st. before being sent to the Planning Inspectorate for final approval. While the entire document is several hundred pages in length, it is well set out and Steve urged us to look at the sections which will affect our area. These are in particular the future of our green spaces and plans for future building projects. It should be available for viewing online at www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/planning-and-building-regulations/planning-policy-and-guidance/local-plan/local-plan-review, although it was not listed at the time these notes were written.
Green Spaces are divided into 2 categories (1) reserved and (2) local green spaces. Category 2 has the highest level of protection and the majority of our spaces are in that category. Two sites earmarked for development are the old St. Ursula’s school site, which includes the chapel and graveyard, and a space behind the Police Houses in Canford Lane. Accommodation for 500 students is planned in Parries Lane.
Geoff Gollop
The Council Medium Term Financial Plan shows a deficit of between £32 million and £82 million over the next two years. The Mayor’s proposal to cut the council tax reduction scheme is being challenged so the minimum deficit could increase to £35 million. The Mayor will have to hold a new consultation on this as the budget needs to be approved by Christmas Eve.
Not enough financial information has been given to the Scrutiny committee. Next year a Council committee will be deciding the budget so there will need to be a full flow of financial info on which to base their decisions.
The Beacon development will be finished this month.
We cannot compare the financial situation of our Council directly with others, as all councils face different challenges. We do not yet know how much better or worse the new council arrangements next May will work as it will take new councillors some time to learn enough to challenge the decisions of council officers.
Sharon Scott
Some of the hubs for the Voi E-Scooters which were removed have been used wrongly by the new company providing Green E-Scooters. They have been contacted. Van dwellers’ situation – a letter has gone to MP Darren Jones as no response has been received from the Mayor.
Every single pothole has been logged with the council.
Traffic Flows through Westbury
The Transport and Placemaking Group (TPM) has produced a discussion paper on the issues surrounding traffic flow through Westbury – issues which are expected to worsen with increased traffic on the A4018. Their full report is available online at www.westburytransportplacegroup.org . At some point it is expected (hoped?) that the Council will have consultations with the local community before producing their proposals on regulating traffic through the village. In the meantime, TPM are planning to carry out a survey of the traffic using Passage Road, once Westbury Rd is clear of road works.
Car Park Charges
At the last meeting Andy Renshaw gave a presentation on the results of a survey of the use of Westbury Hill car park. Tony Hoare, a member of the TPM group and the Primary Care Centre patients’ panel, started by saying that the TPM and WotSoc Surveys of the car park use were complementary.
To compare the other council car parks with ours, 8 out of 10 have been visited. Two are adjacent to primary care centres as ours is. However, no common case can be put forward as both Fishponds and Shirehampton have dedicated car parks for patients and staff in addition to the general council car park. Ours is a special case as there is no patient parking and staff have to access their car park through the main car park.
Charging will have a significant effect on those visiting the Primary Care Centre, those organising or being dropped off for / collected from activities at the Methodist Church as well those visiting the town centre (Westbury Village is classified as one of four “town centres” in Bristol).
An ANPR (automatic number plate recognition software) would be able to provide a facility to register short term or 24-hour exemptions for Primary Care Centre patients and staff and for those using the church premises. There is no technical reason why this could not be done, in a similar fashion to systems used by the White Lion and Southmead hospital. However, it was felt by councillors that there was little likelihood of Bristol making use of such a system. It appears that the cameras recently set up at our car park were probably to monitor numbers of cars rather than for future use with ANPR.
We are still waiting on the publication of the draft Traffic Regulation Order and only 3 to 4 weeks will then be given for consultation submissions. Our councillors will publicise this online as soon as they know.
Planning Issues
As Andrew Renshaw was unable to attend, Malcolm Neave gave a brief summary of present outstanding planning applications. More details are available on the WoTSoc website www.westburyontrymsociety.org.uk together with details of applications, outcomes, and reponses by the Society
Open Forum
There was a short discussion on the van dweller situation in Bristol. It was felt likely that removing the vans from one location would merely transfer the problem to surrounding roads.
Concern was expressed as to the deleterious effect that the bank closures are having on footfall in Westbury Village. While it was understood that the Council has no control over the decisions made by banks, the possibility of a banking hub was raised. The comment was made that Nationwide has stated that none of its branches will be closed and that their current advertising is based on this commitment.
Future Dates
The next Forum meeting at Westbury Library will be on Tuesday January 16th at 7:45pm
The next Councillor Zoom Meetings are November 7th and December 12th. At 7:00pm
Apologies received from Mike Chant, Hilary Long and Henry Duval, due to a clash of dates with the Village Hall AGM. Andy Renshaw also sent apologies.
The War Memorial in Westbury village is in the process of being cleaned, the lettering repainted and the surfaces repaired. The flower tubs are being replanted and a group of volunteers, led by Hilary Long, will be carrying out weeding.
All necessary arrangements for Remembrance Service on Sunday 11th November are now complete and everything should now be in place for future years.
Crime Statistics and Policing Issues
PC James Allford and PCSO Azeem Wazir, spoke about recent crime statistics (shown in the appendix) – the local priorities at the moment are vehicle interference, non-domestic burglaries, shop theft and dangerous E-bike and E-scooter usage.
There have been a number of reports of people attempting to enter vehicles by using their “keyless” systems. Owners are encouraged to keep their key fobs away from the front of the house or to put them in a shielded box, such as a metal tin.
Non-domestic burglaries are those involving outbuildings such as sheds and garages. In many cases, the thieves are taking high-value bicycles, especially electric ones.
Incidents of shoplifting remain high with 39 retail offences in the last month. Shopkeepers are asked to report all incidents so that police can focus on the relevant areas. While, historically, most shoplifting was linked to people looking to fund their drug use, increasingly people are stealing to feed themselves and their families; in such situations, the police tend to issue a caution and try and link them with support groups and food banks.
While there are a number of “violent crimes” reported, the large majority of these are domestic incidents or disputes outside pubs, etc. and do not involve other members of the public.
A particular concern recently has been the appearance of high-power electric bikes, which are often ridden in a dangerous manner. While the police are keen to stop their use, they have to be mindful of the possibility of the rider having an accident if pursued and so have been instructed not to give chase, so they would be grateful of any information regarding the owners and riders of these bikes.
Police need community help to stop antisocial and criminal behaviour.
They emphasized that, following any incidents in our street, we should phone 101 or go on the police website (www.avonandsomerset.police.uk ) and fill out the online report form in addition to warning the other residents in the street.
Councillor Updates:
Steve Smith
The Westbury Rd road works are moving towards Westbury. Councillors have had long discussions to mitigate the timing of closures on Westbury Hill. The replacing of traffic lights at Henbury Road junction on Falcondale Rd is planned for early 2024, following which the planned work on the A4018 between Greystoke Avenue and the Crow Lane roundabout should take place.
The new draft local plan is now published and will be discussed by the full Council on October 31st. before being sent to the Planning Inspectorate for final approval. While the entire document is several hundred pages in length, it is well set out and Steve urged us to look at the sections which will affect our area. These are in particular the future of our green spaces and plans for future building projects. It should be available for viewing online at www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/planning-and-building-regulations/planning-policy-and-guidance/local-plan/local-plan-review, although it was not listed at the time these notes were written.
Green Spaces are divided into 2 categories (1) reserved and (2) local green spaces. Category 2 has the highest level of protection and the majority of our spaces are in that category. Two sites earmarked for development are the old St. Ursula’s school site, which includes the chapel and graveyard, and a space behind the Police Houses in Canford Lane. Accommodation for 500 students is planned in Parries Lane.
Geoff Gollop
The Council Medium Term Financial Plan shows a deficit of between £32 million and £82 million over the next two years. The Mayor’s proposal to cut the council tax reduction scheme is being challenged so the minimum deficit could increase to £35 million. The Mayor will have to hold a new consultation on this as the budget needs to be approved by Christmas Eve.
Not enough financial information has been given to the Scrutiny committee. Next year a Council committee will be deciding the budget so there will need to be a full flow of financial info on which to base their decisions.
The Beacon development will be finished this month.
We cannot compare the financial situation of our Council directly with others, as all councils face different challenges. We do not yet know how much better or worse the new council arrangements next May will work as it will take new councillors some time to learn enough to challenge the decisions of council officers.
Sharon Scott
Some of the hubs for the Voi E-Scooters which were removed have been used wrongly by the new company providing Green E-Scooters. They have been contacted. Van dwellers’ situation – a letter has gone to MP Darren Jones as no response has been received from the Mayor.
Every single pothole has been logged with the council.
Traffic Flows through Westbury
The Transport and Placemaking Group (TPM) has produced a discussion paper on the issues surrounding traffic flow through Westbury – issues which are expected to worsen with increased traffic on the A4018. Their full report is available online at www.westburytransportplacegroup.org . At some point it is expected (hoped?) that the Council will have consultations with the local community before producing their proposals on regulating traffic through the village. In the meantime, TPM are planning to carry out a survey of the traffic using Passage Road, once Westbury Rd is clear of road works.
Car Park Charges
At the last meeting Andy Renshaw gave a presentation on the results of a survey of the use of Westbury Hill car park. Tony Hoare, a member of the TPM group and the Primary Care Centre patients’ panel, started by saying that the TPM and WotSoc Surveys of the car park use were complementary.
To compare the other council car parks with ours, 8 out of 10 have been visited. Two are adjacent to primary care centres as ours is. However, no common case can be put forward as both Fishponds and Shirehampton have dedicated car parks for patients and staff in addition to the general council car park. Ours is a special case as there is no patient parking and staff have to access their car park through the main car park.
Charging will have a significant effect on those visiting the Primary Care Centre, those organising or being dropped off for / collected from activities at the Methodist Church as well those visiting the town centre (Westbury Village is classified as one of four “town centres” in Bristol).
An ANPR (automatic number plate recognition software) would be able to provide a facility to register short term or 24-hour exemptions for Primary Care Centre patients and staff and for those using the church premises. There is no technical reason why this could not be done, in a similar fashion to systems used by the White Lion and Southmead hospital. However, it was felt by councillors that there was little likelihood of Bristol making use of such a system. It appears that the cameras recently set up at our car park were probably to monitor numbers of cars rather than for future use with ANPR.
We are still waiting on the publication of the draft Traffic Regulation Order and only 3 to 4 weeks will then be given for consultation submissions. Our councillors will publicise this online as soon as they know.
Planning Issues
As Andrew Renshaw was unable to attend, Malcolm Neave gave a brief summary of present outstanding planning applications. More details are available on the WoTSoc website www.westburyontrymsociety.org.uk together with details of applications, outcomes, and reponses by the Society
Open Forum
There was a short discussion on the van dweller situation in Bristol. It was felt likely that removing the vans from one location would merely transfer the problem to surrounding roads.
Concern was expressed as to the deleterious effect that the bank closures are having on footfall in Westbury Village. While it was understood that the Council has no control over the decisions made by banks, the possibility of a banking hub was raised. The comment was made that Nationwide has stated that none of its branches will be closed and that their current advertising is based on this commitment.
Future Dates
The next Forum meeting at Westbury Library will be on Tuesday January 16th at 7:45pm
The next Councillor Zoom Meetings are November 7th and December 12th. At 7:00pm