Reported on tv that Bristol city council will plant fruit trees and various things to tidy ground up in front of the mansion house.That way they say they will spend the money else where in the city.Funny how they found that money in the first place.Skinflints spring to mind.
 
Reported on tv that Bristol city council will plant fruit trees and various things to tidy ground up in front of the mansion house.That way they say they will spend the money else where in the city.Funny how they found that money in the first place.Skinflints spring to mind.
I missed that. The Mansion House at Clifton, the Lord Mayor's official residence?

 
Bristol airport has been voted number 1 in the UK for providing accessible facilities for its passengers.
 

This week Bristol City Council planning committee recommended approval of the plannning application for a 17,000-capacity arena at Filton. The matter will be referred to the secretary of state who can either make the final decision or leave it to the local authority.

This arena would replace the long-held idea for an arena on 'Temple Island' near Temple Meads railway station, a location that now looks set to be turned into yet another mixed-use area that will include a conference centre in this case.

Highways England supports the Filton Arena but requires a number of conditions be imposed aimed at reducing traffic congestion.

Part of the approach to the site is outside the Bristol City municipal area in the neighbouring unitary authority of South Gloucestershire to whom a number of related planning applications will be made.

The backers of the arena have a 2023 opening date.

If this goes ahead alongside the Bristol Sport proposal for a 4,000-seater arena that can double as a conference centre at Ashton Gate that I highlighted in this thread a few days ago, Bristol will go from famine to feast.

I can't help thinking that if Bristol Sport owner billionaire Steve Lansdown was running the council, or perhaps even better his forceful Joe Blunt North Countryman former compatriot billionaire Peter Hargreaves (they of the eponymous FTSE100 financial group Hargreaves Lansdown although neither has any control of it these days), things would be done in Bristol instead of being endlessly talked about, something that Steve Lansdown alluded to this week in a video interview recognising the 125th anniversay of Bristol City Football Club, part of his Bristol Sport stable along with Bristol Bears RFC and other sports teams.
 
The latest update. I really can't see how this could work.

In today's Budget the Government said it will support the Western Gateway, which is a strategic economic partnership across South Wales and the West of England, with an independent economic review to identify long-term economic opportunities and challenges for the region.

I really can't see this working. For starters, Wales is a country with its own government that has tax raising and borrowing powers whereas the West of England consists of a number of local authorities at the highest 'goverment' level with no tax raising and limited borrowing powers (compared with the Welsh Government).

The chancellor today spoke of the growth of every region and nation in the UK being important for boosting the economy and creating a strong and inclusive society. In addition, the government will publish an English Devolution White Paper in the summer, setting out how it intends to meet its ambition for full devolution across England.

I don't know what they mean by full devolution across England. Unless it includes such things as first ministers in every region as well as law-making, tax-raising and substantial borrowing powers (it won't) it can't in any way be comparable with the devolerd governments in the UK.

Returning to the Western Gateway, the two airports alone are commercial rivals and if Wales did finally have APD devolved to it and axed it, which is seems is what they want to do, that would be another taxation differential.

I'm not going on and on with more examples about the differences that would make the two regions of their respective countries almost certain impossible bedmates but I believe very strongly that is the case.
 
Well looking at it the UK government seems to want to establish regional/area Mayors. Not sure how that would work for the West country.
The West of England Combined Authority already exists with its own elected mayor (covers Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset councils - North Somerset Council in whose area BRS is situated opted out).

Bristol has three mayors: the elected city mayor (Labour); the elected combined authority mayor (Conservative); the city's Lord Mayor (ceremonial). No wonder many people are confused especially as the city mayor and the combined authority mayor seem to overlap with some of their responsibilities.

The combined authority mayor is in effect the city region mayor which in no way could compete with a national government (the WG).
 

With everything going on in the country and in the wider world this mob has to make a nuisance of itself again. I'd call them morons but morons have more intelligence and common sense.

Police and other emergency services are going to have their hands full in the coming months. Any emergency legislation should include the right of police to apply to a High Court judge for an order to have such demonstrations banned. Anyone flouting the court order would be in comtempt and should be shown the inside of a prison cell for a few months.

People's lives are at stake and this shower of excrement take it upon themselves to divert valuable public resources.
 
I must agree with all you have said TLY no thought or sense,if they had brains they would be sdangerous. It goes to show that these demonstrations that take place are done with no thought on any one else. The coronavirus has hit hard and will hit much harder and people demonstrateing with this going on,no thoughts to people that have lost their lives and the prospect of many more deaths,and also people very ill.With the prospect of groups of people in a rally or what ever else going on,will these idiots take notice of this.Lets hope some one sees sense and cancels demonsreations. In my book peoples lives come before any demonstration about any subject you care to mention.
 
For anyone who may be interested Michael Portillo's Great Railway Journeys will be in Bristol, the birthplace of UK aviation.

The synopsis suggests that he will be preparing an A380 for landing at Filton.

BBC2 at 18:30 this evening.
 
Learned this morning a bus driver died due to coronavirus the end of last month. Thoughts are with his family. Shows bus drivers have a diffacult job.
 
Learned this morning a bus driver died due to coronavirus the end of last month. Thoughts are with his family. Shows bus drivers have a diffacult job.
According to press reports nine bus drivers have died from the virus in London, two in the North West and one in Bristol. TfL are now taking steps to ensure that passengers now board and alight via the middle doors away from the driver. Quite how they activate their oyster card this way I don't know. Apart from the metro buses, most Bristol buses don't have central doors.

In my experience passengers board via the front door and exit via the middle doors in London as they do on metro buses in Bristol.
 

The secretary of state has decided not to 'call in' the YTL planning application for an arena at the old Brabazon hangars on the former Filton airfield site. The site straddles Bristol city council and South Gloucestershire unitary authority areas and both councils had previously approved planning permisison for their respective parts of the site.

It means the project is free to proceed with a likely opening date in 2023.

The 17,000-capacity arena would be the third largest in the country, behind the O2 in London and a Manchester arena.

Two other hangars would be turned into a 'Festival Hall' and a 'Hub'. The former would cater for conventions and exhibitions and the latter would house a visitor attraction, leisure, workspace and food and drink.

The 4,000-seat arena at Ashton Gate that will house the Bristol Flyers basketball team is still at the preparatory stage. That will have an element of a conference centre as well, so too might the mixed development planned for Temple Island next to Temple Meads station that was the original site for an arena.
 
Now there is to be no planning inquirey on the arena is good news. Now down to the builders to get busy with hope fully money in place to carry on.With large planning issues over the years it seems there is a element that try and block projects going ahead. Its very much like North Somerset council are the same blocking what ever is in front of them,and like Bristol has projects passed after gone to the minister.Bristol like North Somerset council seems to live in the victorian days rejecting what ever project is put in front of them.It will be nice to nsee the new arena up and running and like wise BRS airport with their planning application as well.
 
Now there is to be no planning inquirey on the arena is good news. Now down to the builders to get busy with hope fully money in place to carry on.With large planning issues over the years it seems there is a element that try and block projects going ahead. Its very much like North Somerset council are the same blocking what ever is in front of them,and like Bristol has projects passed after gone to the minister.Bristol like North Somerset council seems to live in the victorian days rejecting what ever project is put in front of them.It will be nice to nsee the new arena up and running and like wise BRS airport with their planning application as well.
Bristol has traditionally been a conservative (small c) local authority when it comes to planning matters, although the post-WW2 council allowed the monstrosity that is Broadmead shopping centre to go ahead, albeit in the 50s and early 60s it was often lauded as one of the first major British post-war shopping developments until people began to realise how much better it might have been.

The adjoining Cabot Circus shopping centre is not universally feted although it seems to attract far fewer critics than Broadmead; there are plans afoot to demolish parts of Broadmead and rebuild.

There are lots of part suburbs in the course of modernisation or recently completed: for instance Redcliffe, Finzels Reach, Avon Street, east end of Castle Park, Wapping Wharf (the last major area of Harbourside not fully developed), with plans also either approved or supported by the council to redevelop the remaining large parts of Temple Island and Temple Quay. Further ahead in time the city council having, bought the block on the west side of Temple Gate that contains a pub, a hotel, cafe and retail outlets, intends knocking it down and rebuilding, with the longtime derelict hotels at the junction of Temple Gate and Temple Way at long last due to be incorporated into another scheme.

Most of the development I mentioned in the previous paragraph was relatively uncontroversial and did not meet much opposition from the planners, although tweaks were often necessary before consent was granted.

I wonder what John Betjeman would think of 2020s Bristol. In the later 1950s, despite the worst excesses of the Austrian corporal's air force and the local post-war planners, he was still writing that Bristol was his favourite English city. He also made the point that Bristol then was a city "that keeps itself very much to itself".

I'm not sure that too much has changed in that regard. Arguably, Bristol is still the least known of England's larger cities both within and without the UK, despite its status as one of Englands' three major provincial cities in the centuries prior to the Industrial Revolution (the others being York and Norwich). When I've been to such places as the USA or Australia I find that few people have heard of Bristol, England.

Slightly odd given that Bristol has featured as the sixth or seventh most visited UK city/town by overseas visitors for many years according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The latest ONS stats are for 2018 and show that, excluding London, the top ten UK cities where overseas visitors spent at least one night were in descending order: Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton & Hove, Bath.

Bristol had about twice the number as Bath whose raison d'etre is mainly tourism, although the stats were not broken down into leisure and business visits and it's likely that Bristol had more of the latter.
 
I see they opened a regional coronavirus test unit at the airport yesterday.Thats fine to open a unit like this,but from which area you travel from you have to get some means of travel, which it seems crazy to open this more or less in the middle of the country side.
 
I see they opened a regional coronavirus test unit at the airport yesterday.Thats fine to open a unit like this,but from which area you travel from you have to get some means of travel, which it seems crazy to open this more or less in the middle of the country side.

This is the explanation on the airport website.


Bristol Airport Coronavirus Regional Testing Centre opens for Key Workers
Created: 20th Apr 2020

A drive-through coronavirus testing facility is to open at Bristol Airport as part of the Government’s UK-wide drive to increase testing for thousands more NHS and other key workers.

Drive-through coronavirus testing facility at Bristol Airport

The site sits alongside a rapidly expanding network of testing sites being set up around the UK, and is operating on an appointment-only basis for NHS staff and other key workers. The facility will be piloted for its first few days of operation.

This follows the launch of the Government’s partnership with universities, research institutes and companies to begin rollout of the network of new labs and testing sites across the UK, with 32 testing sites opened to date.

This network will provide thousands more PCR swab tests - which are used to identify if you currently have the virus - for critical key workers, starting with NHS front line staff. This means those who test negative for coronavirus can return to work as soon as possible, and those who test positive are able to recover.

Health Minister Lord Bethell said:

“The Government is rapidly scaling up the national effort to boost testing capacity for coronavirus to protect the vulnerable, support our NHS, and ultimately save lives.

“This new service will help end the uncertainty of whether NHS and social care staff and other key workers need to stay at home, meaning those who test negative will be able to return to work.

“This is a national effort and we are proud to be working with a number of partners to turn this ambition into a reality and roll out additional capacity to where it is needed.”

Professor John Newton, National Coordinator for the UK Coronavirus Testing Strategy, said:

“New testing sites such as this one are a key pillar of our 5-pillar plan to scale up testing, and are critical in supporting NHS staff and other frontline workers who are isolating at home to return safely to work if the test is negative.”

“This is a brilliant example of industries and businesses turning their resources to creating and rolling out mass testing at scale, which will help to deliver on our aim of carrying out 100,000 tests a day across the UK by the end of the month.”

The testing centre is being operated in partnership with G4S and Boots, and is offering assisted and self-administered tests. Those tested will receive their results within a few days.

Dave Lees, Bristol Airport’s CEO said:

“I am very proud that Bristol Airport is able to play a small but extremely important role in supporting the government’s target to test more and more frontline NHS and keyworkers by making available our staff car park and facilities to become a large scale drive-through testing station. We have been in constant contact with the government to play our part in the Covid-19 response plan including facilitating repatriation, essential flying, military and medical flights and all vital air links necessary at this time.

“I would like to say an enormous thank you to all the teams involved at Bristol Airport and within the Department for Health and Social Care, who have mobilised really quickly to make this testing station a reality. Covid-19 has impacted all families across the UK and we are indebted to all NHS, carers and all keyworkers helping to keep everyone safe during these unprecedented times.”

Gordon Brockington, G4S Director said:

“We are proud of our important role in setting up and managing this Covid-19 testing site, and other similar sites across the UK. It has been inspiring to see the enthusiasm of our employees to step up and support the government, our health services and the public during this crisis.”

Mike Hickey, Area Manager for Boots in Bristol said:

“We feel incredibly proud to be supporting COVID-19 testing for NHS workers in Bristol.

“Boots has been at the heart of UK healthcare for 171 years and has always come forward to support the community in times of need. Our team in Bristol is no exception. Some of our colleagues have already stepped forward to volunteer to run this COVID-19 testing station, which will start testing its first critical workers today.”

The Government is also urgently working on setting up a home-testing service for critical key workers, supported by Amazon's logistics network and other commercial partners.
 

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9 trips in 9 days done 70 miles walked and over 23-00 photos taken with a large number taken at 20mph or above. Heavy rain on 1 day only
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