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December 2007

Turn on lights! Revel Christmas Tree
Major Construction on Sewer Upgrade Starts
Policing in Pucklechurch
Revel Photography Competition
China Challenge: Anna's Asian Amble
Fascinating Fact
Pucklechurch Parish Footpath Wardens
Be wary of who is at your door

Community Reports
Letters to the Editor

Turn on the Lights! Revel Christmas Tree

Sunday, 2nd December
Near the Millennium Stone
4.00pm -- Hand bells
4.30pm -- Christmas Songs
5.00pm -- Visit from Father Christmas

t mulled wine t soft drinks t mince pies & other goodies t

Thanks to the Rose & Crown and Rainbow International for their support of this event

There is no charge for this event

Major Construction on Sewer Upgrade Starts

If you have been in the vicinity of Feltham Road or the bottom of Castle Road recently, you will have seen that major construction work has started in the area. As reported in the last issue of Pucklechurch News, Wessex Water are upgrading the sewer system. In a letter to the Parish Council, Wessex stated that the objectives of the scheme were to:

1. Eliminate sewage flooding from manholes on Marsh Farm, along Feltham Road, and in the gardens of 42 & 48 Abson Road.
2. Reduce the amount of sewage spilled at the overflow by providing storage within the pipes.
3. Improve the quality of the sewage when the overflow operates by screening to remove unsightly particles.

This will be achieved by including a large diameter pipe (1250mm -- appox 4 feet) along Feltham Road between Abson Road and the bottom of Castle Road. Because the capacity of the pipe from Feltham Road to the Sewage Treatment Plant is not being upgraded, there will still be times when sewage will overflow into the ditch running to the south of Feltham Road. However, Wessex Water calculates that the number of times this will happen will be reduced from 46 to 9 times per year. This is where the other main component of the scheme comes into operation, which is the screening mentioned in point three above.

Does this scheme go far enough?  No, was the opinion of the Parish Council, who pushed Wessex Water to undertake a more comprehensive scheme to upgrade the sewage system so that all the flows would be taken to the sewage treatment plant and dealt with there.

Wessex Water's response to the Parish Council was:

We are not obliged to eliminate rather than improve the existing CSO*. However, if this were required, a second sewer would need to be constructed to the sewage treatment works (STW). At the STW, extra land would be necessary to install a new screening plant and flow-splitting facility at the head of the works along, with a new tank to settle the storm flows. This cannot be readily achieved and the benefits of this option over that currently being pursued are not clear given that:

• this option inherently involves more risk
• surface water flooding would still be an issue,  and
• the improved CSO* has a low environmental impact.

*CSO refers to the current consent granted by the Environment Agency to Wessex Water to discharge sewage into the ditch in Feltham Road.

It is important to note that surface water from roads is carried in a separate drainage system from sewage, but the surface water discharges into the same ditch in Feltham Road. However, part of the work by Wessex will enlarge the ditch so that it should be able to handle the flows during storm conditions for both surface water and sewage.

While on the subject of surface water, it is worth mentioning that South Gloucestershire Council (who have responsibility for this) have found and fixed a number of problems found in the system over the last six months.

There is no doubt that this work will make a significant improvement to Pucklechurch. Not only should it eliminate sewage spilling into our streets and across farmland and reduce the number of times the system overflows, but it should also remove unsightly content from such overflows. Wessex has already brought this project forward from 2009 to this year under pressure from our local MP Steve Webb and the Parish Council, and Wessex feel it is expedient for it to proceed. We will, however, continue to monitor the situation and, should it be necessary, seek further improvements.

Cllr. Martin Smith

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Policing in Pucklechurch

I have been asked to write a short article for the newsletter about policing issues in Pucklechurch. First, I would like to introduce your neighbourhood policing team: PC Chris Skelton and Police Community Support Officer Ashley Rowland. Chris is an experienced officer who has patrolled the area for some years now. Ashley is relatively new, has recently completed his tutor period, and is now doing solo patrol. They have been working together during Ashley's introductory period, but will increasingly work opposing hours in the future to maximise coverage. Chris and Ashley cover the Boyd Valley/Bitton beat, which covers Pucklechurch, Doynton, Dyrham, Hinton, Abson, Marshfield, Wick and Bitton.
 
Chris's mobile number is 07919 628315. Ashley's mobile number is 07825 388936. A note of caution needs to be sounded about these numbers: they should not be used if you require an immediate response. The officer may be off duty or even on leave. For most calls, the best number to use is 0845 4567000, except in an emergency when 999 is, of course, the number to use. The above mobile numbers are fine to get a message to Chris or Ashley of a non-urgent nature.

People sometimes complain that when they call the police they do not get a response. This is genuine issue, and I will try to explain why this happens. Usually at Staple Hill Police Station we have five or six uniformed Police Constables on response duty at any one time. There will also be neighbourhood officers and PCSOs, but they will be confined to their own beats, usually on foot or on bicycle. The problem is that we sometimes get a number of calls requiring a Police Constable at the same time. For example, I was working a night shift recently when three calls came in at the same time – a burglar alarm, a road traffic collision and a youth on a mini-motorcycle riding up and down the streets annoying people. Of my six PCs, two were dealing with a person they had arrested. The other four were available, working in pairs. I had to make a decision, so I sent two to the road accident and two to the burglar alarm, leaving the nuisance motorcyclist to be dealt with later. In practice this meant we checked the area an hour later, by which time he was long gone. I appreciate this is not a great response to a real concern, but it was the only practical option. This is just one example – this sort of decision has to be taken several times every day, and inevitably some calls to the police have to wait for a response. We average just over 70 calls a day at Staple Hill, and with the numbers we deploy, this means we have to delay attendance to some calls. We always manage to respond quickly to the genuine emergencies such as burglary in progress or injury road collisions, but other calls often have to wait.

If the issue is a continuing problem, I would get the local neighbourhood police officer involved. An example of this happened in Kingswood recently. We had nine calls over a three-day period relating to youths riding in the same street on a mini-motorcycle. Because of workload and commitments, the response teams did not get to these calls very quickly and we did not catch him. However, the neighbourhood officer, with her local knowledge, knew of a local youth who owned one of these machines. She visited him a couple of days later, extracted an admission, and seized the motorcycle, which I am going to have destroyed. In this way neighbourhood officers can deal with situations the response teams can't. Although we cannot always give the immediate response we would like, we can pick up on issues and deal with them later. The key to this is effective communication from the public – please tell us what is happening and we can try to do something about it.

My phone number is 0117 945 4201, and I am happy to discuss any issues affecting the local area. We'll do what we can to deal with issues of concern.

Inspector Angus Krouwel, Staple Hill Police

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China Challenge: Anna's Asian Amble

In 2004, just after she had taken her A levels, my youngest daughter became seriously ill with meningitis and encephalitis. She spent five days in intensive care, and she was so ill that she might not have survived. We were fortunate in that she made an excellent physical recovery. For this we have nothing but praise for the NHS. However, her convalescent has not been so satisfactory. She found it so difficult dealing with the side effects that she did not go away to university as planned. Obtaining help for her proved very difficult... until we found the Meningitis Trust.

They offer a whole range of support completely free. They helped us tremendously and have promised to continue as long as required. As a result, my daughter started at Bath Spa University in September 2007. Initially, it's only part time, but we hope with the continued support from the Meningitis Trust she will, in time, feel able to go full time.
Besides helping people affected by meningitis, they are also concerned with raising awareness of the disease, and they need to raise funds for their work. One way they do this is to arrange challenges. The people who accept these challenges secure as much sponsorship as possible. Our family really appreciates the support that the Trust offers. In an attempt to repay this in some small way, I have decided to take up the China Challenge, which takes place in August 2008. I would like to raise a whopping £5,000 to show just how much we value them. I cannot imagine raising such a large sum, but I have lots of ideas. I hope to round off my efforts with a barn dance in the village hall some time in June 2008. I hope as many of you as possible will come and celebrate with me.

My dogs will enjoy helping me with my training, though they will not be accompanying me on the challenge. Will I be able to do it without them?! Just as I need them, so I need your help, support and encouragement if I am to succeed. I cannot do it on my own.

Anna Sharpe
10 Eagle Crescent
Pucklechurch BS16 9SE
0775 4550 174

It's easy to donate online at:

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Be wary of who is at your door

South Gloucestershire Trading Standards would like to remind consumers to be vigilant when choosing a trader and to be wary of those visiting unexpectedly. Trading Standards have been made aware of a company knocking on residents' doors unsolicited. They offer a free examination of the roof, and then offer to do repair work for £200. In one instance it was not clear what repair work had been carried out, but that which was obvious was done to a poor standard. The men involved are travelling in a blue transit van and are giving an address in Ledbury, Herefordshire.

There are a number of steps consumers can take to avoid becoming the victim of a rogue trader:

Be wary of traders who cold call and the deals they offer you –  it is unusual for genuine tradesmen to need to cold call to drum up work!

If they claim work needs doing, get a second or even third opinion from other professional tradesman.

Obtain a number of quotes, in writing and detailing what work will be done.

If you agree to work following an unsolicited visit, you are afforded cancellation rights by law, and these should be given to you in writing.

Ensure you have the correct company name and/or owner's name and the full postal address this will not guarantee the work is done satisfactorily but may enable you to take further action if things go wrong.

If the goods/services cost xxxx100 or more, try and pay some or all of it on a credit card as this may afford you additional protection.

If you find yourself in dispute with a trader or would like some further pre-shopping advice, please contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

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