News Flash

Faster Rural Broadband

posted 22 Feb 2012 07:49 by parish council

Plan for 100% broadband underway

A request by Bath & North East Somerset Council to join the Connecting Devon and Somerset Broadband programme has been formally accepted by the bid partners.

The Council’s investment together with funding from Government will unlock significant further investment for local broadband infrastructure.

The Connecting Devon and Somerset project is an ambitious programme that will result in all our homes and businesses in the area being able to access broadband speeds of at least 2mbps by 2015 with almost nine out of ten enjoying superfast speeds of up to 24Mbps. Complete superfast coverage is anticipated by 2020. The project is one of the first 3 national schemes chosen to roll out superfast broadband to the ‘hard to reach’ areas that will not be touched by the private sector.

Councillor Cherry Beath (Lib-Dem, Combe Down), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities, said, “The acceptance of our request by the Connecting Devon and Somerset Broadband programme is really good news for Bath & North East Somerset Council residents because it takes us another step towards 21st century standard broadband infrastructure.

“Faster broadband speeds are a vital part of our plan to build a stronger economy through supporting businesses to be more competitive and cost efficient, helping local people to access services, and provide information and learning opportunities. The Council is looking forward to working with our partners and the community to roll this out across the District. We need people to play their part and fill in the surveys that will help inform the Connecting Devon and Somerset programme.”

Play your part in our broadband future

The plan for comprehensive local broadband is already in action. Bath and North East Somerset residents need to show strong demand for faster broadband and show what current speeds and coverage we have in the area.

To do this residents are being asked to register their interest on www.connectingdevonandsomerset.co.uk where there is a simple survey to complete.

Alternatively they can call our hotline on 0844 463 6887. The survey was originally due to close on 29 February but is being extended into April to ensure residents and businesses in Bath and North East Somerset have time to participate.

In addition information leaflets will be sent to businesses and residential addresses across the District. People at these addresses will then be contacted by telephone and invited to respond to the survey in that way.

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Have your Say!

posted 19 Jan 2012 13:19 by Claudia Towner [ updated 19 Jan 2012 13:22 by Freshford Village Webmaster ]

Public meeting at 7.30pm on Tuesday 31st January 2012 in Freshford Memorial Hall.

We want to hear your views on the future of Freshford and Limpley Stoke and contribute to the development of a community plan for the future.To find out more visit our website for the new Neighbourhood Plan for Freshford and Limpley Stoke.

The mobile library service is in danger of being shut down. Say no!

posted 19 Jan 2012 12:45 by Freshford Village Webmaster [ updated 19 Jan 2012 13:03 by parish council ]

B&NES Council is contemplating discontinuing its mobile library service as a simple means of achieving its savings target. The rationale can be seen here, where there is an invitation for all users to have their say. The closing date is 10th February 2012.

The Parish Council will be responding vigorously, setting out the reasons why the service is important to the parish and should continue. This will be posted on this website shortly.

In essence, savings of £159,000 per annum are being sought which, conveniently, is almost £10,000 less than the sum spent on running the mobile library service. It seems to the PC that this sum could be saved by making a closer examination of all the activities of the library service, not just the mobile service, where proportionate savings could be made – all totalling the target sum.

If you or any member of your family use the service and value it let B&NES know before 10th February and please send copies of your response to your District Councillor Neil Butters (CllrNeilButters@aol.com) and to Councillor David Dixon who has lead cabinet responsibility (David_Dixon@bathnes.gov.uk). If you have ever thought of using the service but have yet to do so, sign up now (to complete the questionnaire they require your library ID number) and let B&NES know how you feel. But do it now.

Additional carriages for local trains welcomed

posted 19 Jan 2012 12:38 by Freshford Village Webmaster

Improvements to First Great Western rail services calling at stations in Bath and North East Somerset have been announced. Services from Bristol Temple Meads to Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Bath Spa and Freshford will benefit from an additional carriage each at 08:41 and 17:49 (both 4 carriages instead of 3) on Mondays to Fridays.

Services from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads via Oldfield Park and Keynsham will benefit from additional carriages at 08:47 (4 carriages instead of 2), 14:15 (2 carriages instead of 1), and 16:07 (3 carriages instead of 2). These trains all run on Mondays to Fridays and also call at Freshford 12-13 minutes before Bath Spa.

Each additional carriage contains 70 - 75 seats. They will be placed into service as and when First Great Western receive them. The process should be complete by mid-December.

Statistics published by the Office of Rail Regulation confirm that there were 30% more rail passenger journeys to and from stations in Bath and North East Somerset in 2009/10 than in 2004/5.

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