Fracking in Gloucestershire

Maisemore Parish Council has received a letter from Stroud Town Council, which will be discussed at the MPC meeting on 7th November.  It says:

"Gloucestershire County Council are currently consulting on a draft Minerals Local Plan for Gloucestershire (www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/extra/EmergingMLP).

It is a very large document, but within it on page 54 there is a draft Policy “MW06 | Oil & Gas” which opens the door to fracking in our county. The policy reads,

'Minerals development proposals for the exploration and/or production of oil & gas including through the deployment of unconventional techniques, will be permitted.'

By “unconventional techniques” what they mean is fracking. Stroud Town Council will be strongly opposing the draft Minerals Plan and has also adopted a policy on fracking.

If your council feels strongly about the idea of fracking in Gloucestershire we would encourage you to respond to the consultation and write to your local county councillor.  The closing date for comments is 5pm on 24th November 2016."

The full text of the letter and Stroud Town Council's policy on Fracking are here.

What is fracking and why is it controversial?  Here's a brief explanation on the BBC website.

The basics of shale gas extraction by fracking

Phone box to be removed

BT intend to remove the payphone kiosk by the bus shelter opposite the entrance to Persh Lane.  It is one of 40 payphone boxes in the Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and Gloucester area that BT intends to remove.

According to their records, only 20 calls were made from this box in the last 12 months.  There is now a period of public consultation, which ends on 14th January.  BT say that around 98% of the population has the use of a mobile phone with 3G or 4G coverage, from which emergency calls can be made even if the phone has no credit.

If you want to object to this removal, you should email btp.authorisation.team@bt.com or write to BT payphones, pp 4th Floor Monument TE, 11-13 Great Tower Street, London EC3R 5AQ.  You will need to keep proof that the email was sent (or apply a read receipt) or obtain proof of posting a letter from a post office.

Local Historians Wanted

Historic England is asking for local history groups and individuals to share their knowledge and pictures of listed sites, so that they can record important facts about them, and even unlock the secrets of some.

The National Heritage List for England has almost 400,000 entries, from palaces, piers and pigsties to cathedrals, windmills and rollercoasters. These are the most significant of England's buildings and places, ensuring that they can be protected for the future. The List is a unique record of the country's evolving history and character, and is available to search for free online here.

Can you help?

If you have stories to tell and pictures to share about a listed place, Historic England would love you to take part in their project. Enrich the List is intended to keep the List rich, relevant, and up to date. Since launching in June over 15,000 contributions have been received.

You can share photos, whether old or new, add details of historical events or social history, record later changes since a building was listed, and add information about the architecture or archaeology.

To find out more and to sign up as a contributor, click here to visit the Enrich the List page on the Historic England website.

Reporting road safety concerns

A new one stop shop for reporting road safety concerns in Gloucestershire has been launched this week.

The Road Safety Community Hub was launched on Friday 28th October by Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership - made up of Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucestershire Constabulary, the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office and Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service.

The new hub will be the main point of contact for residents to report any concerns they have about road safety in their local area. Reports can be made via the Road Safety Partnership’s website.

This one central hub will bring together the expertise of the police, engineers and the road safety experts to provide a better, more efficient way of resolving the problems encountered in our towns and villages. It will bring a more consistent approach and, once people know where to go with their concerns, their ideas or for advice, it should make decision making more accountable.

Please do not hesitate to contact the hub with your concerns.

Information from Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group

Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (GCCG) is looking to improve the experience of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
If you have COPD, or care for someone who does, GCCG would like to talk to you about their ideas for supporting people to:

• manage their condition day-to-day
• recover after a stay in hospital
• access advice and care when needed
• connect with their local community

GCCG wants to understand what currently helps you to stay well and what would make a difference to you in the future.

Two workshops have been arranged, one in Stroud and one in the Forest of Dean, and GCCG would like to invite you to attend:

Thursday 10th November, 2.30 - 4pm, The Main Place, Coleford GL16 8RH

Friday 11th November, 2 - 3.30pm, GL11 Community Hub, Cam GL11 5JS

Refreshments will be provided.

Please contact Lucy Bird if you would like to attend either workshop, and also let her know if you require help with transport. Email lucy.bird1@nhs.net or tel: 0300 421 1554.