Liberal Democrats today stopped Conservatives from making it harder for the vulnerable to get housing. The Tory-led Adults & Housing committee was about to agree a draft Code of Guidance for Housing Allocations, when Tory Cllr John Godwin proposed amending it. Under his plans, the council could have decided that a person had more right […]

A significant step forward in getting an integrated transport system for Greater Bristol was made last night (Weds 16/10) by South Gloucestershire Council. The Council meeting was held in Patchway Community College in a hall packed with angry Patchway residents. After listening to many speakers expressing their opposition the decision was taken to make the […]

Tories threw the future of waste collections in south gloucestershire into chaos in Thornbury. The Communities committee was meeting to decide on a package of waste issues, like charging for green bins, and increased recycling of plastics and tetrapaks. But the Tory group had a secret proposal. Eight months after they asked for a misleading […]

At a vote in full council, South Glos Councillors came to cross-party agreement to protect the current funding arrangements for youth services. A Conservative party motion had been put forward to rip up the contract signed with Yate Town Council. If this had happened, Yate would have been left scrambling for funds. Claire Young (Liberal […]

South Gloucestershire residents awoke to good news this morning (11th June) – they’re likely to live longer than almost anyone else in the country. Data released by the Department of Health showed that South Glos had the fifth lowest rate of early death (before 75) out of 150 council areas looked at. The data looked […]

Liberal Democrats on South Gloucestershire Council have won backing for two energy initiatives. Funding has been identified for a Switch to Save scheme and to kick-start a community energy co-operative. Cllr Dave Hockey (Liberal Democrat, Frampton Cotterell) said, “I’m delighted to hear that other councillors are supporting the proposal I made in May to introduce […]

Councillor Claire Young (Lib Dem, Westerleigh) has called for more transparency at South Gloucestershire Council. The council is run by a series of service committees, each of which controls a large budget. But the budget breakdowns available to the public only cover high level information, with no detail on individual services used by residents. Now […]

The New Homes Bonus grant from government is meant to help communities with a lot of development to plan new projects to help them cope. Last year, Liberal Democrats persuaded the council that Area Forums should decide how some of this money is spent in their area. This year, Conservative and Labour groups had wanted […]

Lib Dem councillors have backed a motion condemning the poor handling of the announcement that Ashfield YOI is to become a unit for sex offenders and have called for the prison to work with the community. Cllr Claire Young (Lib Dem Lead Member for Communities) said, “We share the local community’s frustration about how this […]

Liberal Democrats in South Gloucestershire have welcomed Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s visit to Filton, and the announcement of the Industrial Strategy for Aerospace. Ruth Davis, Liberal Democrat leader on South Gloucestershire Council said: “South Gloucestershire has a long history of aircraft development. This announcement will be a great boon to our local economy – […]