The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) Tree Life Centre has just been awarded a prestigious Planting Places Award. The Centre is a volunteer-run tree nursery based at Grimsbury Farm in Kingswood, which is owned by South Gloucestershire Council. The BTCV volunteers, who come from many different backgrounds with people aged from their late teens through to sixty plus, have
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Avon and Somerset police have just launched a new online service for victims of crime. TrackMyCrime allows ‘victims’ to track the progress of their crime as it’s investigated by police officers, by providing access to information extracted from police systems. Deputy Chief Constable Rob Beckley said: “We’ve introduced TrackMyCrime to keep victims informed about the status of their crime in
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South Gloucestershire Council, in partnership with Jobcentre Plus, is holding two job fairs at the end of March for people interested in a career in Care. The events will be held on Wednesday 30th March at Yate Library, 44 West Walk, Yate and on Thursday 31st March at Kingswood Library, High Street, Kingswood. Both events start at 10am and run
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South Gloucestershire trading standards is urging local residents to be very careful signing home improvement contracts when dealing with doorstep salespeople. Several block paving businesses which operate in the region are suspected to be routinely back-dating contracts when they are signed by customers. This has the effect of denying them their legal entitlement to a seven-day cooling off period, within
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The over 60s and those of any age with disabilities can have minor household repair jobs done at a reduced rate by South Gloucestershire Council’s Handy Van service. The idea is to help people maintain their properties so that they can enjoy living independently for as long as possible. One Downend resident was particularly pleased. Brian Smith, 77, usually does
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A market trader from Wolverhampton has been ordered to pay nearly £12,000 following a confiscation order being made against him. This follows a sentence of 120 hours of unpaid work which was handed to him last November after he pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit Nike trainers at a market in Filton. Surinder Singh, 40, originally appeared at Bristol Crown Court
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Young people in South Gloucestershire are bucking a national trend and getting into education, employment or training when they leave school. The district’s 16-18 year-olds are defying national statistics and are increasingly seeking an occupation or study after full time education. While national statistics show the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) is on the
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Up to 100 young flautists from South Gloucestershire will take part in a workshop at Kingsfield School in Kingswood on Thursday 24th March, with the celebrated flautist and composer Ian Clarke. Organised by South Gloucestershire Music Service (SGMS), with support from B&NES Music Service and sponsored by John Packer of Taunton,the workshop enables young flautists to have the opportunity to
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A parish council is facing demands from local Conservatives to explain why it has wasted thousands of pounds needlessly replacing local bus shelters. A report taken to South Gloucestershire Council’s transport scrutiny committee has confirmed that LibDem-run Yate Town Council went ahead and replaced its own shelters, even though it had been told by South Gloucestershire Council not to do
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Police are appealing for witnesses and information after two men forced their way into a 79-year-old woman’s home in Alveston on the night of Thursday 3rd March. The lady answered the door at about 7pm after hearing someone knocking repeatedly. Two white men, wearing dark-coloured clothing, then pushed their way in, knocking her to the floor, before taking cash from
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