The County Council’s budget consultation has revealed very strong support for the Conservative-run authority’s plans to freeze council tax– even among groups who use council services most. In a statistically representative sample of county residents, 74% backed the freeze, with 17% opposing it. Even among service users, who regularly receive council help, 64% supported the freeze, with 19% opposed. The research, which was carried out independently, asked respondents if they backed a council tax freeze, even if it limited the council’s ability to raise funds in future. It formed part of the statutory consultation that the council has to carry out prior to setting its council tax for the year.

The results will be presented to a meeting of the council’s cabinet tomorrow, which will consider recommendations that Gloucestershire County Council’s share of council tax be frozen for a second year running. In the four years of the last Lib Dem and Labour administration, council tax rose by an average of 8% per year. Under the Conservatives since then, it has risen by an average of 2.4%.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, commented:

“These results are a resounding vote of support from people in Gloucestershire for the Conservative plans to freeze council tax – and for the coalition Government’s decision to give us the money to do so. We’ve always worked hard to keep tax down, but when money is short for everyone it is even more important than ever that the council avoids the old Lib Dem and Labour route of huge tax hikes at Shire Hall.”

Gloucestershire County Council today announced an investment package to bring better infrastructure, skills and jobs to the county.

Worth more than an estimated £100 million, the package includes investments in high speed broadband, better road links, skills for young people and deposits for first time buyers.

At a meeting of budget Cabinet (1 Feb), councillors agreed a proposal to pump millions of pounds worth of investment over the next two years, into kick-starting Gloucestershire’s economy. The young, the unemployed, low skilled and rurally isolated were at the heart of the proposals.

The proposal will now be put to a meeting of Full Council on 22 February 2012 for approval.

Gloucestershire County Council Leader, Mark Hawthorne said: “I am delighted to announce this economic stimulus package, which shows that this council is committed to helping grow Gloucestershire in a time of austerity.”

“Whilst we are working hard to reduce costs, we also have to invest in Gloucestershire’s future. Our priority is to invest in schemes that will keep young people – and talent – in Gloucestershire. As the county’s biggest employer, the onus is on us to help deliver growth, create jobs and get the housing market moving.”

Both the Local Enterprise Partnership (G1st) and District Councils are supporting business and homeowners with their own stimulus packages. However, Gloucestershire County Council has identified further areas in which investment is needed.

The proposal contains priority commitments in three main areas:

·         Connecting the county through improved infrastructure, from roads to broadband

·         Giving young people the right skills to get jobs

·         Helping first time buyers get on the housing ladder so keeping talent in Gloucestershire.

Highlights include: £7.5million to bring superfast broadband to rural areas; delivering the £10 million Cinderford Spine Road; £1million for deposits for first time buyers; Skills Summit event to bring business and education leaders together: £1million GCC resources into an opportunities fund; around 25 GCC apprenticeships.

This investment contributes to an overall package of projects worth £100 million.

A further £22,000 has been secured to extend a grant scheme to help businesses in Gloucester.
Funded by the City Council the Gloucester Means Business scheme, launched in April 2010, has helped around twenty businesses in the city. In addition to assisting start up businesses in Gloucester there is now also support for existing business in the city which are between one and five years old.
The business start-up grants can see businesses receive up to fifty percent of their rent within the first year of trading. A maximum of £2,500 per business is available for businesses occupying ground floor premises within the city centre.
A maximum of £1,000 is available for those occupying non-ground floor premises within the city centre and a maximum of £1,000 for businesses in other parts of the city.
For established businesses there is also funding available to help access specialist support and advice. This can be through a range of means such as mentoring, support and advice, coaching, training or one on one support.
Paul James, Leader Gloucester City Council and cabinet member for regeneration said, “It is a sign of our continuing commitment to the local economy that we are offering this practical support to business.
“We have seen an increase in enquiries from businesses who are interested in taking a closer look at moving their operations to Gloucester and I’m sure the grant scheme helps to play a part in this.”
The extension of the grant scheme forms part of the City Council’s recently-announced package of support for the city centre.
For more information on the Gloucester Means Business grant scheme visit www.gloucester.gov.uk/business

New Year’s resolution – be a Firefighter

Are you fit, need a challenge for 2012 and want to do your bit for your community?
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service is looking for retained firefighters to work at a brand new station in the north of Gloucester.
Six retained firefighters are needed for the new community fire station currently being built on Cheltenham Road East in Churchdown and opening later this year. 
Two drop-in events for potential recruits will take place at between 6.30pm and 9pm on Wednesday 25th January and from 10am until 2pm on Saturday 28th January at the current Gloucester Fire Station on Eastern Avenue in Gloucester.
Retained part-time firefighters combine their day jobs and duties with being “on call” as a fully qualified firefighter.  They are the backbone of the county’s fire service with more than 80% of cover provided by them. Retained duty firefighters are “on call” at home or at work, rather than on duty at a station, and ready to respond to emergencies 24 hours a day.
Successful applicants will need to be aged over 18, live or work within five minutes of their nearest retained fire station and be physically fit.  They will receive full training and be able to use the most up-to-date equipment and the new heavy rescue vehicle which could be used if there are major accidents on the A40 or M5, both of which are close-by to the new station.

Retained firefighters help save lives by attending emergencies, including fighting fires, chemical spills, road traffic accidents and animal rescues. They are also trained in specialist skills such as cliff and water rescue and breathing apparatus support and can be called upon to provide these skills at major incidents anywhere in the county.
Cllr Will Windsor-Clive, Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: “Being a retained firefighter is one of the most exciting and rewarding jobs you can do and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service couldn't operate without their dedication and commitment.
“It’s such a valuable service to provide to your local community and I would encourage people to apply if they feel it’s a commitment they could make.”
Information leaflets and posters will be distributed to all households and businesses within the 5 minute response time area, in the next week.

Waste less and reduce your festive footprint!

In Gloucestershire we will generate nearly 26,000 tonnes of waste - that’s a staggering 10% of the year’s total rubbish during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.  It amounts to an extra four or five sacks of waste for a typical family!

During the festive season, it is predicted that Gloucestershire residents will use an extra 134 tonnes of glass bottles and jars,– from champagne and sherry bottles to mincemeat and cranberry sauce jars.  These can be easily recycled.  All of the local councils collect them, as part of their door-to-door collection scheme.  They can also be taken to your local Recycling Bank or Household Recycling Centre, which will be open every day throughout the holiday period excluding Christmas Day and New Years Day.  Full details are on www.recycleforgloucestershire.com

The amount of wrapping paper estimated to be thrown away in the UK this Christmas could stretch around the equator nine times or to the moon if each sheet was laid end to end!  Why not use string to tie up parcels, so that the paper can be reused.

Whilst preparing the Christmas dinner we create a mountain of waste, including peelings from 240 million sprouts; 105 million potatoes and 20 million carrots across the UK.    Why not start home composting?  You can make use of all that additional uncooked food waste (excluding dairy, meat and fish).  If you make a start now, you could have some good compost for your garden by the summer.

Prices for compost bins start from £15 (plus £5.49 delivery, per order). Buy one get another one 1/2 price!  Not only does a compost bin make a unique and useful gift, it is also a positive way to start the New Year by helping to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, whilst reaping the benefits for your garden.  So what are you waiting for?  Visit www.recycleforgloucestershire.com for more details.

Research has shown that around a quarter of our Christmas gifts are unwanted.  Pass on your unwanted gifts to a local charity shop, or offer them on the web for free via www.freecycle.org.uk or www.ilovefreegle.org/ .

If you’ve been inundated with junk mail this Christmas, contact the Mailing Preference Service to remove your name from mailing lists.  Register online at www.mpsonline.org.uk or call 0845 703 4599.

Finally, if you have any small electrical items you no longer want, ‘don’t bin it, bring it’ to your local Household Recycling Centre.

Cllr Stan Waddington, Cabinet Project Champion for Waste, said: “As you can see from these statistics, there will be a significant amount of waste generated over the festive period.  Where possible, we encourage residents to reduce, reuse and recycle to reduce the impact on the environment.”

Gloucester residents who have recycled hundreds of tonnes of waste food have helped save the city thousands of pounds over the past six months.

Between April and September more than 1400 tonnes of food have been recycled instead of being sent to the land fill site. A tax has to be paid for every tonne of rubbish dumped and this means that residents have contributed towards a saving of £81,000.

And the operators of the processing plant that takes Gloucester’s unwanted food have praised the city for the quality of the loads that get taken there to be turned into a soil nutrient.

Councillor Steve Morgan, cabinet member for the environment, commented: “We have to make almost £4 million worth of savings this year. This massive effort by residents means that this is £81,000 we don’t have to find just to fill a hole in the ground. That would have put an even bigger strain on our services than we are already facing.

“We are strict about the way in which we collect our food waste. We ask people to use newspaper to line their food caddies - we don’t allow plastic bags. The food decomposes faster and also means that there is less contamination of the loads because of the wrong type of plastic being used. The processing plant uses the end product as a soil conditioner for farming and it is also sold to the public.

“I would like to thank our residents for embracing this aspect of our recycling programme so enthusiastically. They are not only helping the environment by preventing the production of greenhouse gasses but they are also helping to save money that would have had to be paid in landfill tax.”

“Councillor Morgan added: “In the run up to festive period and during the holidays themselves we are all likely to be eating and drinking more. I would urge everyone to remember to recycle.”

The city council’s kerbside recycling services includes food waste, garden waste, paper, food and drink cans, mixed glass, plastic bottles, light card and domestic batteries.

Further information on recycling can be found at the city council website at www.gloucester.gov.uk

Planting a tree is one of the simplest things you can do to help combat climate change, so why not plant a free tree today?

For the fifth year, running Gloucester City Council is giving away trees to local people.

Residents wanting to receive their free trees must pre-book before 2^nd December 2011, by filling in an application form.

Steve Morgan, cabinet member for the environment said: “Residents must own, be responsible for the land, or have permission to plant trees on the land.

“Schemes like these help to involve local people in taking responsibility for changing the way the city looks and improving its green credentials. It also helps to attract wildlife.

“The trees shouldn’t grow too tall, but I urge residents to think about what these trees will look like in 20 years time and not to plant them too close to walls, drains or buildings.

Residents planting trees in their own gardens will be given up-to ten trees. Organisations such as schools can have more, by contacting the council’s tree officer.

Nine varieties of trees are available including; birch, wild pear, mountain ash and blackthorn. Trees are approximately 2-3 years old and around 1 metre high.

Collection will be between 10am and 3pm on Friday 9^th and Saturday 10^th December from Robinswood Hill Country Park, off Reservoir Road.

Trees soak up carbon dioxide and reduce the impact of extreme weather conditions. They are great at breaking up strong winds and help reduce flash flooding. During a heat wave, a city with trees can be up to 4 degrees cooler than one without.

Trees can be arranged to be delivered for those who are disabled or have limited mobility. For further information visit www.gloucester.gov.uk|.

Applications are available from www.gloucester.gov.uk|, or by contacting Gloucester City Council’s tree officer on 01452 396396 begin_of_the_skype_highlightingend_of_the_skype_highlighting.

As the weather starts to turn colder, Gloucestershire County Council is stepping up its winter preparations and launching gritter twitter.

The council’s ‘gritter twitter’ is now live and staff will be using @GlosHighways and @GlosCC to update the public on where and when we’re treating roads, weather updates and road conditions.

The council will be using gritter twitter around the clock to keep people up to date on what’s going on out on the roads.

Cllr Will Windsor Clive, cabinet member for communities, said: “When we have severe weather people want to be reassured that we are out treating the roads, where we have been and when.

“We also know that informed decisions by the public about whether to travel or how to plan their journey can be equally as important to keeping them safe on the roads and keeping the county moving.

“Using twitter is a simple, free way of getting these messages out there and more and more people are using twitter every day.

“Within seconds important information could be reaching people all across the county and while you can still visit our website or call us for information, Twitter is definitely the quickest way to keep up to date this winter.”

As well as launching gritter twitter, the council is increasing its salt stocks once again this year by opening two new salt domes – one in Cannop, and one in Stroudwater depots which will be operational for this winter.

This will boost salt levels from 9,600 last year to just over 11,000 tonnes this winter.

Over the past few winters, Gloucestershire, unlike some councils, did not run out of salt, but the council is keen to do all it can to be prepared.

New programme of events from Gloucester City Council’s Museum Service aimed at silver seniors.

This Autumn those who class themselves as silver senior, (or even those who don’t just yet), will be able to take part in the sessions running at the City Museum on 29^th September, 13^th and 27^th October, 10^th and 24^th November and 15^th December.

The first session on Thursday 29^th September will begin with a tour of the gallery and a chance for those taking part to let staff know how they would like the future sessions to form.

The event programme is part of the improvements enabled by the lottery heritage funding received for both the City Museum and Folk Museum and Art Gallery.

The events include talks, walks, concerts and practical crafts and skills to try out as well as a chance to have a coffee and a chat after the sessions.

There is no formal membership to any of the clubs running at the City Council run museums, so people can attend as and when they wish. Normal admission charges for the City Museum apply, but there is no extra charge.

Admission to the museums are £3 for adults, £2 for concessions and the ticket enables visitors to visit both museums, anytime for a month after purchase.

For those wishing to be a regular visitor an annual family membership ticket priced at £20, for two adults and up to five concessions. Or an individual membership is priced at £10 per year. Entrance to Cafe Nerva and the shop is free.

Further sessions are planned for 2012 based at the Folk Museum

It's hard to think back a month ago to the Local Elections but I would like to say a big thank you through AbbeyViews to all those who voted for me and also those of you who gave up their time to help me during the election campaign.

I look forward to representing all the people in Abbey for another four years and to working with my fellow Councillors Andrew and Gordon  to keep Abbey as a great place to live.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is anything you feel I may be able to help you with.

Best Wishes

Norman Ravenhill