Thank you to everyone who responded to the recent public consultation about introducing more consistent and suitable speed limits on the A368.  

We know that dangerous, speeding traffic is a concern to residents across our area and that over the past ten years, 53 collisions have been recorded along the road between Marksbury and Ubley. I’m pleased that our hard-working Chew Valley councillors, Dave Harding and Anna Box, actively encouraged residents to have their say.  

The council will now carefully consider all responses before making the final decision about whether to implement the changes. 

As you may have seen, the council is seeking a volunteer to chair the Chew Valley Reconnected Partnership.  

Chew Valley Reconnected is one of the council’s “Green Infrastructure” partnership projects, seeking to better connect and improve wildlife, water and wellbeing and address the impacts of climate change locally. The role of chair is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is passionate about the Chew Valley’s natural environment and wants to engage with local communities around improving our connections to nature.  

I’d like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thanks to Selena Gray who has been our chair over the first year of the Partnership and helped establish links with many vital partners over the past 12 months. 

You can find out more about the role of chair, the partnership and about Green Infrastructure and nature recovery on the council’s website. 

I am delighted that we have appointed Nicola Medin as a Ukrainian Youth Ambassador to support young Ukrainian nationals living in B&NES - another step in our commitment to support people displaced by war.  As part of our Friendship Agreement with the Ukrainian city of Oleksandriya, we have also welcomed Bohdan Kolmakov – a 2022 world champion in parkour – to Bath. Bohdan has been progressing plans for parkour events in Bath later this year in support of the Friends of Oleksandriya. 

Finally, I would like to highlight the “Ageing Well” initiative by Age UK Bath and North East Somerset and the St John’s Foundation. Over 1,000 B&NES residents took part in the first ever ageing well survey, which will inform a local action plan, and councillors recently unanimously backed the initiative at July’s Full Council meeting. The goal is to build an Age Friendly Community which supports and enables older people to live in a secure, safe environment, enjoy good health and continue to participate fully in society.