People living and working in the Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) area are being urged to reduce the risk of fire in their properties following the confirmation of a national strike by firefighters. In an on-going dispute with the government over pensions, the Fire Brigades’ Union (FBU) has announced a four-hour walkout on Wednesday 25th September from 12 noon
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Ashfield prison to lose nearly 200 staff
Plans to halve staff numbers at the Ashfield prison facility in Pucklechurch will come as a ‘hammer blow’ to the local community, according to the village’s campaigning councillors. Serco Group plc – the contractors who manage and operate the facility – have announced 194 job losses as part of wider plans spearheaded by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), part
Continue readingSixth form students organise charity fashion show in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust
Sixth form students from Chipping Sodbury School are to hold a fashion show in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust’s South West Appeal. The event, on Thursday 23rd May, is being organised by A-Level textile students who are making their own clothes for the show. The theme of the fashion show is ‘Upcycling’ which refers to turning waste materials into new,
Continue readingJobs boost at Yate Shopping Centre
Over 100 new jobs are being created at Yate Shopping Centre with the opening of three new retail units in the next few months. Within two weeks of the jobs being advertised on the Yate Shopping Centre website and Facebook page, there have been over 3,500 enquires. During May and June, Marks & Spencer Simply Food, Sports Direct and Costa
Continue readingCouncils sign superfast broadband deal with BT
South Gloucestershire Council, in partnership with Wiltshire Council, has agreed a deal with BT which should enable 94 per cent of homes and businesses in South Gloucestershire to have access to world class broadband speeds by the end of March, 2016. The remaining premises within the project area will see a significant improvement in their speeds with the vast majority
Continue readingAsian Project Annual Show on Saturday
The South Gloucestershire Asian Project (SGAP), a non-profitable, social and cultural community organisation started in 1999, is holding its Annual Show in Bristol on Saturday 26th January 2013. This marks the 14th anniversary of SGAP. Many dignitaries in the socio-cultural spheres will be attending this year’s Annual Show. Honourable Robert Bernays OBE (Her Majesty the Queen’s Vice Lord Lieutenant of
Continue readingNominations now open for South Glos Community Awards
Calling all community heroes! Nominations are now open for the 2013 South Gloucestershire Chair’s Community Awards. This year’s annual celebration of community work and volunteering marks the tenth anniversary since the awards scheme began in 2003. From charity fundraisers to local football club managers, sports coaches and arts festival organisers, South Gloucestershire Council has honoured the dedication and commitment of
Continue reading‘Part night’ street lighting scheme to cover whole of South Glos by October
Measures to conserve energy by switching off street lights between midnight and 5am have reduced South Gloucestershire Council’s annual carbon emissions by 12 per cent and are already saving approximately £90,000 in energy costs each year. About 6,000 of the district’s 29,500 street lights have been switched to ‘part night’ operation since the scheme was adopted by the council in
Continue readingApprenticeship open day success
Dozens of young people came along to an open event to learn about an apprenticeship with Merlin Housing Society and the hope of a new job in the new year. Around 70 would-be plumbers, plasterers and electricians attended the event at Merlin’s apprenticeship partner, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College last Wednesday. They were there to learn more about Merlin’s apprenticeship
Continue readingOldbury nuclear firm completes transition to Hitachi
Horizon Nuclear Power, the developers of a proposed new nuclear power station at Oldbury, today welcomed completion of the company’s purchase by Hitachi Ltd of Japan, four weeks after agreement was reached with shareholders E.ON and RWE. The company its assets and its staff have now been acquired by Hitachi as a going concern. Horizon Chief Operating Officer Alan Raymant
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