New national planning rules that will force a massive 30 percent rise in housebuilding in South Gloucestershire are a “potential disaster” and an “attack on green spaces”, critics have warned. It means an increase from 1,317 at present to 1,717 every year over the next 15 years – a total of 6,000 more homes than currently planned in the latest draft of the authority’s new Local Plan.
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A total of 1,751 more homes across 17 new sites have been included in the latest draft of the South Gloucestershire Local Plan – with over half of the proposed developments in the green belt. The extra houses and flats are in addition to the previous draft of the 15-year blueprint, published last autumn, which envisioned 20,490 homes to be built in the district between 2025 and 2040.
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Lib Dem councillor Maggie Tyrrell has been elected as the new leader of South Gloucestershire Council. The decision at a meeting of Full Council on Wednesday 17th July followed the resignation of predecessor Claire Young, who stepped down after winning the Thornbury & Yate MP constituency at this month’s general election and is now in Parliament.
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Work to deliver new primary and secondary schools in Lyde Green is under way after the final funding agreements and contracts were signed to deliver the new facilities in time for the start of the 2026/27 academic year. The 420-place primary school will be run by the Castle School Education Trust and the 900-place, 11-16 secondary school will be run by the Olympus Academy Trust.
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The region will go to the polls next month to decide who should be responsible for Avon and Somerset Police. The police and crime commissioner sets the police precept part of council tax, decides how the budget is spent, sets local policing priorities, and can appoint and dismiss the chief constable. Election day is Thursday 2nd May.
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South Gloucestershire Council has told the government it needs to reduce black bin collections to once every three weeks. The local authority, which last month launched a search for a new waste partner to collect rubbish from the kerbside, says doing this less frequently will help it plug a funding gap and hit recycling targets.
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Council tax in South Gloucestershire will increase by 4.99 percent from April 2024 after councillors approved next year’s budget. The financial plan includes “investing in cost-of-living support”, as well as taking action on climate change and helping residents cut down on their energy bills. The latest increase follows on the heels of an identical hike of 4.99 percent that took effect from April 2023.
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Council leaders are set to rubber-stamp plans to double the cost of garden waste collections and introduce car parking charges in South Glos despite huge opposition from residents. Cuts to the council tax reduction scheme (CTRS) – benefits that help the poorest households pay the bill – and shorter library opening hours are also included in the local authority’s annual budget.
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