Local Plan Consultation Begins in Cotswold District

Posted on By Town Clerk

Cotswold-District-map-504We have received the following press release from Cotswold District Council. The Local Plan 2011-2031 is an important document – it will set out local planning policies and determine which sites can be developed for housing or other uses over the 20-year period of the plan. Don’t miss this opportunity to have your say!

RELEASE DATE 13 JANUARY – A Local Plan consultation document detailing the Cotswold District’s development strategy, proposed site allocations and strategic policies is being made available for public comment from Friday 16 January to Friday 27 February 2015.

During this period, the public will be able to view the document online at www.cotswold.gov.uk/go/ForwardPlanning  and hard copies will also be available at Cotswold District Council’s Trinity Road headquarters and Moreton Area Centre office, as well as public libraries across the District. Each Town and Parish Council will also have copies and the public can contact any of them if they wish to view the document.

Cotswold District Council is also hosting two drop-in sessions for residents to view proposals and discuss them with the Forward Planning team – Wednesday 28 January at the Council HQ, Trinity Road, Cirencester and Thursday 29 January at the Council’s Moreton Area Centre in Moreton-in-Marsh.  Both sessions will run from 2 pm to 6.30 pm.

Continue reading Local Plan Consultation Begins in Cotswold District

Parking Update – Free Parking in Jan/Feb & New Tariffs

Posted on By Town Clerk

Free parking trial in January and February

Cotswold District Council will be allowing motorists to park for free in its car parks on Mondays and Tuesday afternoons during January and February 2015 between 1pm and 6 pm. Unfortunately, there was some confusion when signs on the pay machines were not put up on time nor were the machines turned off so a number of customers paid.

Cllr Hancock said: “We apologise for this oversight and can assure residents that notices are in place. We will also make regular checks to ensure that the notices remain in situ for the duration of the free parking trial.”

Cotswold District Council will refund anyone who paid unnecessarily on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  They are also extending the scheme to include free parking after 1 pm on Monday 2 March as a gesture of goodwill.

To claim a refund, send your ticket to the Parking Team, Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX. Alternatively, call 01285 623000 or email parking@cotswold.gov.uk.

Improved car parking tariffs take effect in January

Following approval at the Cotswold District Council Cabinet meeting in December 2014, the following improved tariffs will take effect from Monday 12 January 2015:

  • removal of overnight parking charges (between 6pm and 8am) at the Brewery Car Park, Cirencester;
  • introduction of a new off peak ‘plus’ ticket – allowing parking for both off peak periods and all day on weekends in any car park – at a proposed charge of £50 per year;
  • introduction of a £2 all day tariff at the car parks in Old Market Way, Moreton-in-Marsh and West Street, Tetbury;
  • at car parks where Sunday charges apply, the 8 am to 6 pm charging period will reduce to a 10am to 4pm period, to better reflect retail activity.

Commenting on the changes, the Cabinet Member for parking issues Cllr Chris Hancock said:
“We are always looking to improve our car parking services, and feedback from residents has shown that they are concerned about the availability of on-street parking overnight in the centre of Cirencester. We felt that removing parking charges at the Brewery Car Park from 6 pm until 8 am would help resolve the situation. We also think that the £50 per year off peak ‘plus’ ticket will be welcomed by residents faced with no resident parking zones or in streets with high parking demand – as well as bringing benefits to regular shoppers and those who only work on weekends.

Council Leader Cllr Lynden Stowe will be giving his full support to the proposals next week:
“We are mindful of the need to keep down costs for car park users and have already pledged to freeze all car parking charges until at least 2016, as well as introducing several price reductions and offers over the last few years, including weekly off-peak season tickets and the popular £2 all day parking fee at the Beeches car park in Cirencester. I believe that these latest proposals will bring even more benefits for residents, businesses, working people and shoppers across the district. We are also hoping that the new measures will enhance the visitor experience and increase the time spent in our market towns.”

Leader’s Update from Cotswold District Council, December 2014

Posted on By Town Clerk

Please find attached the end of year update from Cllr Lynden Stowe, the Leader of Cotswold District Council. It contains a lot of information about what has happened this year, including updates on affordable housing, recycling, employment and their plans for 2015.

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You can find out more about some of the topics mentioned at the following links:

(Note: the link to the budget strategy survey in the Leader’s Update doesn’t work – you can go directly to the survey here https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GW3J2Q3.)

Christmas and New Year Waste Collections

Posted on By Town Clerk

Grey-refuse-bin-and-beige-sackCotswold District Council has advised us that the waste and recycling collection service provider, Ubico Ltd, will not be making collections on the Christmas period Bank Holidays – Thursday 25, Friday 26 December and also Thursday 1 January.

However, the crews will be working on Saturday 27 December and Saturday 3 and 10 January to catch up, and the revised collection schedule will be as follows:

Week commencing Monday 22 December 2014

Normal collection day Revised date
Mon 22 Dec 2014 No change
Tues 23 Dec 2014 No change
Weds 24 Dec 2014 No change
Thurs 25 Dec 2014 Will move to Sat 27 Dec 2014
Friday 26 Dec 2014 Will move to Mon 29 Dec 2014
Mon 29 Dec 2014 Will move to Tues 30 Dec 2014
Tues 30 Dec 2014 Will move to Weds 31 Dec 2014
Weds 31 Dec 2014 Will move to Friday 2 Jan 2015
Thurs 1 Jan 2015 Will move to Sat 3 Jan 2015
Friday 2 Jan 2015 Will move to Mon 5 Jan 2015
Mon 5 Jan 2015 Will move to Tues 6 Jan 2015
Tues 6 Jan 2015 Will move to Weds 7 Jan 2015
Weds 7 Jan 2015 Will move to Thurs 8 Jan 2015
Thurs 8 Jan 2015 Will move to Friday 9 Jan 2015
Friday 9 Jan 2015 Will move to Saturday 10 Jan 2015

The collection schedule will return to normal on the week beginning Monday 12 January 2015

Commenting on the changes, Scott Williams of the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Team said:

“We are hoping that the temporary alterations to the normal schedule will not disrupt households too much. Basically, after ‘collections as normal’ on Wednesday 24 December, there will be some delays until Saturday 10 January and then everything will be back to normal again for the week beginning Monday 14 January.”

“The Christmas season always generates a lot of recyclable waste and we would urge everyone to make maximum use of our kerbside recycling services, as well as the recycling facilities across the district.  However, it is inevitable that there will also be a build-up of non-recyclable waste at such a busy time and we will be allowing a ‘side waste amnesty’ for every household’s first full collection after Christmas Day. Residents will be able to leave out additional amounts of non-recyclable waste in bin liners next to their grey wheeled bin/beige refuse bags on their temporarily revised first collection after Christmas Day. Please place all containers at the kerbside by 7 am on the revised day of collection so we can ensure that everything is picked up.”

Cotswold Leader’s Update – June 2014

Posted on By Town Clerk

Please find below the latest update from Cllr Lynden Stowe, Leader of Cotswold District Council. It includes an update on joint working with the Forest of Dean and West Oxfordshire district councils, information on the 5-year housing supply and details on homes for local people. It also gives details about the campaign for new local ambulances, which you find out about at www.3morenow.org.uk.

kind regards
Cat Crompton

Clerk
Northleach with Eastington Town Council

[dg]

Update from CDC on Citizen’s Advice, Garden Waste Licence

Posted on By Town Clerk

Cotswold District Council has issued two press releases, copied here:

Cotswold District CAB closed between 31 March to 6 April

Release date: 21 March 2014

The Cotswold District Citizens Advice Bureau will be closed from Monday 31 March for one week and will reopen on 7 April. The CAB are refurbishing their office to increase capacity to help more people.

Nick Lee, Bureau Manager said: “We are very sorry for the inconvenience this may cause people. Anyone needing advice during the week can telephone our advice line on 01285 652908 or access our email advice via our new website www.cotswoldcab.org.uk”

The CAB services help people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice. In the last three months, the main enquiry areas dealt with by the CAB have been money, welfare benefits, employment and housing problems.

ENDS

Slight delay in delivery of new Green Waste licences

Release date: 21 March 2014

Due to reasons beyond the control of Cotswold District Council, there will be a slight delay in the delivery of new annual green waste licences which are due to come into effect on 1 April.

We apologise for this delay and have been assured by the distributors that they will arrange for new licences to be delivered next week. However, to ease any potential problems should the licences not reach residents by 1 April, our waste contractor Ubico Ltd has agreed to collect ALL garden waste bins between 31 March and 4 April – even if they are not displaying the 2014-15 licence. After that date Ubico crews will only collect green waste bins displaying a valid 2014-15 licence.

We appreciate the cooperation of many our residents who have participated in the green waste scheme over the years and we would like to thank everyone for signing up and helping to contribute to the Council’s impressive recycling/composting rate of almost 60% – yet again one of the best in the UK.

It’s not too late to renew your green waste licence for 2014-15 – we’ve pegged the cost of the service for 2014-15 at £30 per licence to use the green wheeled bins. Anyone signing up will have all their garden waste collected weekly, and they will also be able to empty their unwanted food waste into the green bin. There is also a cheaper alternative – a resident could agree to share their bin with a neighbour should the latter wish to contribute to the cost of the licence.

Additional licences can be purchased for a further £30 each per year. For those who cannot accommodate a green wheeled bin at their property, 50 compostable brown paper garden waste sacks can also be purchased for £30 (available from the Council’s Trinity Road offices or at the Moreton Area Centre.)

Residents who receive Council Tax or Housing Benefit are entitled to a 50% discount.

For more information, visit our website or contact the Council’s waste hotline on 01285 623123.

ENDS