Longlevens News - September 2009

Kathy says Thank you Longlevens

Kathy Williams would like to thank people in Longlevens for re-electing her to the County Council in the elections held on the 4^th June. Kathy won by a majority of over 900 votes, compared with just 50 when she was first elected four years ago.

Kathy said, Im very pleased to have been re-elected. Its been a busy four years and weve made some real progress in Longlevens. There is still a lot to do and Ill continue to work hard for the area. Im fortunate to have a first-class team of helpers and Im grateful to all of them.

Kathy, Paul and Jim continue to represent you on the City Council.

New Chair for Neighbourhood Partnership

Steve Austin-Sparks, Pastor of Kendal Road Baptist Church, has been elected chair of Longlevens Neighbourhood Partnership. Steve takes over following the sad death of Andrea Print. Our thanks go to treasurer Susan Drew for keeping the Partnership running in the interim. We wish Steve well in his new role and will support him however we can.

Oxstalls Lane/ Cheltenham Road junction

A feasibility study is underway to establish the best way to improve the Oxstalls Lane/Cheltenham Road junction. We know that many people would like to see traffic lights installed, but it appears the traffic engineers favour some form of mini-roundabout. We will keep you informed.

Road and pavement resurfacing

Many of the roads and pavements in Longlevens are in poor condition and we know from speaking to many of you during the election campaign that this is a priority for you. We have gained commitments from Gloucestershire Highways to resurface Park Avenue, as well as Highbank Park and Fairmile Gardens.

We know that many other roads are in need of treatment and we are pressing for Longlevens to be allocated as much of the available budget as possible for this year and future years.

Allotments

The City Council is to employ an Allotments Officer for six months to improve the citys allotments and bring vacant plots back into use. There is a waiting list of people wanting to take on an allotment, but extra resource is needed to sort out the problem of vacant plots.

The Estcourt Road allotments have an active Association, but the Innsworth Lane site does not. If you are interested in helping to form one, please let us know. The brick building adjacent to the Innsworth Lane allotments has been withdrawn from auction by owners Severn Trent. The Council will be discussing with them the future use of the building.

Longford Lane

The long-awaited play area has now been completed and is proving popular with local children. This is the second new play area in Longlevens in recent times, following the replacement of the Paygrove Park equipment last year. Consultation is being undertaken on providing an area for slightly older children in the Greyhound area.

Plock Court

At Jims request, the broken fencing has been replaced to guard against unwanted traveller incursions. We are also trying to ensure the drains on the service road are cleared regularly.

Brionne Way

Kathy has arranged for the alley opposite Firethorne Close, leading into Hazel Close, to be cleaned. Kathy has also arranged for Horsbere Meadow to be tidied up. A new path has been provided, following complaints from residents, paid for from funds from the County Council flood levy.

Private hedges

A number of problems have been brought to our attention where private hedges have overgrown the pavement. This can cause problems for people with pushchairs or with disabilities. If your property has a hedge on its boundary with a public area, can you please ensure that it is regularly cut back.

Housebuilding at Innsworth

The City Council made representations to the recent public inquiry, saying that it had concerns about the infrastructure, potential flooding and the timing of the proposed development as brownfield sites in the city centre should be developed first. We hope the Government inspector will listen.

Holy Trinity Church

Kathy recently opened the Holy Trinity Church fete, which raised a good amount for Church funds. It does a great job at the heart of our community and is celebrating its 75^th anniversary this year. Special events are being planned and we hope people will support them.

The Longlevens Junior School Songsters sang in the Church that afternoon and greatly impressed their audience. Paul is arranging for them to perform at a Charity Concert in the Cathedral at Christmas.

Paul and Kathy keep cabinet posts

Paul has been re-elected Leader of the City Council and keeps his regeneration brief, being responsible for the major developments in the city as well as tourism, marketing gloucester, planning and economic development. Kathy remains as Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods, with her responsibilities including flood defence and alleviation projects, emergency planning and neighbourhood partnerships.