The following decisions were made at the Town Council meeting on 18th November 2008.

1. That the superannuation contribution be increased to 20% from 1st April 2009.

2. That internet banking be used for internal transfers only if both the Town Clerk and the Deputy Town Clerk are present.

3. That the request from St Francis’ Church to extend the grant to Easter be agreed.

4. Traffic and Safety Scheme for Old Bristol Road - the Council welcomed this clarification.

At its meeting on 21st October 2008 the Town Council made the following decisions:

It was agreed that the Multi Wheeled Facility Working Party will continue to meet to oversee the project.

Town Council adopted its Training Statement of Intent.

The Model Publication Scheme of the Freedom of Information Act was adopted.

The Council agreed to include £500 in the budget for 2009/10 to support the Kennet and Avon Canal Bi-centenary (the money to go towards a destination panel).

The Council agreed to replace the five town boundary signs.

The Council decided not to have the dead tree in the cemetery turned into a sculpture.

The Governments proposals for the number of new homes, jobs and economic growth that are to be built in the South West over the next 20 years are set out in the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). The Government has recently published its Proposed Changes to the RSS for public consultation.

For the West of England, which includes Bath and North East Somerset Area, the proposed number of new homes and jobs and overall spatial strategy is set out in policy HMA1. In summary the proposals are as follows to:

21,300 homes – 3,000 in Keynsham, 8,000 in an urban extension to Bristol somewhere within an ‘area of search’ between Whitchurch and Hicks Gate

20,200 new jobs in the Bath Travel to work area – any new jobs in Keynsham are included in the figure for Bristol Travel to Work Area

Economic growth at a rate of 3.2% per annum – in recent years economic growth has been about 2.5% and is currently much less than this

Removal of land from the Green Belt to enable urban extensions to be developed and strain on the current infrastructure resulting from new development

B&NES Council and Keynsham Town Council have both responded to these plans. The response of the Town Council is set out below.

• 1. Raise concern that the number of homes for the B&NES area was raised by the EIP from 15,500 to 18,300 and that this figure has now been raised to 21,300. The initial figure was that which B&NES felt was possible given the land use in the district.
• 2. That the number of dwellings built in the B&NES area has averaged 400 per annum. For the government figures to be met this would need to rise to over 1,000 per annum - an unsustainable figure.
• 3. The RSS has indicated a growth rise of 3.2% year on year, yet within this area during the boom years the growth was only 2.8%. How is this higher figure to be achieved over twenty years?
• 4. Green Belt - The RSS says that the green belt between Bath and Bristol will be maintained. In actuality there is a green belt between Bristol and Keynsham, Keynsham and Saltford, Saltford and Newton St Loe, all of which maintain the identity of the different communities. These should be maintained.
• 5. There are concerns that the present infrastructure, especially transport issues, are not currently fit for purpose, the RSS does not say how this will be improved or who will be responsible for paying for the improvements.
• 6. 3000 homes within the Keynsham area are not sustainable without the increase in jobs and yet Keynsham is part of the designated Bristol Travel to Work area so any increase in jobs would not count towards the total required for the Bath Travel to Work Area. Keynsham does not want to be part of the Bristol conurbation.
• 7. Concern was raised that there has been no possible direct input from Town and Parish Councils since the draft RSS was published.

So what can you do to stop these plans ? –

We are now currently in the consultation phase of these plans – you have until 24th October 2008 to make your feelings known and submit your comments to the Government Office for the South West. In order to make sure your comments are considered you need to make it clear which policy or paragraph you are commenting on.

You can do this in a number of ways.

Write to: quoting policy reference HMA1

Government Office of the South West
Regional Spatial Strategy Team
2 Rivergate, Temple Quay
BRISTOL
BS3 6ED
E-mail: rssconsult@gosw.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0117 900 1705
Fax: 0117 900 1914

If you fail to act NOW it will be too late!

Welcome to the new look news page at our website.
These new pages enable you, the visitor, to read and leave comments on the news articles which are posted here by the members of the Keynsham Town Council. (Please note all comments are checked by council staff before being publish live on the site).

2008 has been a landmark year for raising awareness of Fairtrade in Keynsham. Keynsham Fairtrade Group worked with the Music Festival Association and More to Life 08 to bring the Fairtrade message to this year’s Music Festival. The Fairtrade Group sponsored the Fairtrade River Stage, with support from Urban Espresso, the Co-operative Membership, Bristol Banners and Signs and More to Life 08.

Two artists who campaign for Fairtrade performed at the Festival; Danelle Harvey and Gareth Davies-Jones. Gareth also performed a brilliant and thought-provoking set at the Fry Club as part of the pre-festival programme. Stalls at the Festival were encouraged to think ‘local and Fairtrade’ and there is no doubt that visitors to the Park that day got the message loud and clear that Keynsham is a Fairtrade Town.

The Fairtrade Group is always looking for volunteers to join in. Meetings are friendly and informal. To find out more, contact Rachel Ward on 0117 9868683 or email rachel_ward@bathnes.gov.uk

The event was very successful, with over 150 people attending throughout the course of the day. There was a small exhibition showing the site being excavated whilst the bypass was being built. There were samples of some of the smaller pieces of stone work that are not usually on display. The wall hanging created by year 6 of St Keyna School was also on display with a range of different activities for children to participate in. There were examples of geophysical surveys of the site undertaken by the Bristol Young Archaeologists on the day and a bone flute was carved out on site.

Wall hanging created by St Keyna School Year 6	Visitors viewing display at Archaeology in the Park
A capital excavated from Great Cloister, Keynsham Abbey site