22 May 2023Waste and recycling collections spring forward for bank holiday
Somerset Council is reminding residents that with the late spring bank holiday around the corner there will be a change to household waste collection days.
Crews will be collecting all waste a day later during week beginning Monday 29 May. This includes recycling, refuse and garden collections.
If your recycling and/or refuse is usually collected on a Monday, then it will be collected on a Tuesday, if your usual day is a Tuesday it will be collected on a Wednesday and so on. That includes collections that would usually take place on Friday 2 June taking place on Saturday 3 June.
To help crews speed up collections, please present boxes, bags and bins by 7am on the day of collection, or the night before.
With waste collections a day later a higher volume of waste is likely. Squashing, crushing and flattening waste can help to reduce the number of trips that teams need to make to empty their trucks, as well as creating more space in resident’s containers.
All 16 recycling sites will be open as usual at weekends, 9am to 4pm. And, if opening Mondays is part of their normal opening pattern, they will be open on Bank Holiday Monday (29 May), from 9am to 6pm. For opening times and to find a full list of what can be recycled please visit: www.somerset.gov.uk/recycling-collections
01 May 2023Urgent / emergency road closure
Urgent / emergency Road Closure: – ttro448596SE - OR - South Road, Brean
Please be aware that we have received a notification of a TTRN (urgent / emergency) road closure at South Road, Brean which will commence on 2nd May 2023 - 3rd May 2023 (09:30 - 15:30) for a total of 2 days.
This will enable Openreach to carry out works to replace pole.
The contractor has indicated that access for Emergency Services through the site is permitted on this occasion.
For any further information about this closure please contact Sunbelt Rentals Ltd on 03700 500 792, quoting reference: ttro448596SE.
Please visit one.network https://one.network/?tm=133896222 where you will see the map of the affected area (in red), together with the supplied diversion route (in blue).
Please note: this diversion route could be subject to change on review.
20 April 2023Bank holiday changes to waste collections in May
26 March 2023Advance Notice - 2023 Great Weston Ride
Message from organisers of Great Weston Ride
This is just a quick note regarding the 2023 Great Weston Ride, the long-established challenge bike ride from Bristol to Weston-super-Mare via the Mendips & Somerset Levels, to notify you of arrangements for this year’s event.
The route (see attached image) goes through Long Ashton, Failand, Barrow Gurney, Winford, Chew Stoke, Compton Martin, Ubley, Blagdon, Cheddar, Rodney Stoke, Wedmore, East Huntspill, Burnham, Uphill and Weston so, as you can see, the event passes either through or near your local community, and this year’s Ride is scheduled to take place on Sunday 23rd July 2023.
Obviously we’d like to try to minimise any inconvenience that the Ride may cause by alerting as many people as possible in advance, and hopefully some people might also want to support - or even take part in – this major West Country challenge event. And with the majority of participants coming from the Bristol and Somerset area it’s likely anyway that there will be people from your area already taking part.
So we’d like to ask if you could please spread the word as widely as possible within your community so that as many people as possible are aware that the event will be happening on Sunday 23rd July, and we’d be extremely grateful for any help that you can provide in this regard. Our aim is to try to ensure that it doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone on the day, and advance notice should enable people to plan their own activities accordingly
You might also like to know that, on the fundraising front, around £470,000 has already been raised by participants for charities and good causes since the Ride began and this year we’ll be helping to raise funds for the Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity, which supports the Bristol Children’s Hospital as well as NINE other local hospitals in our area (see attached poster).
And we’re also continuing to promote and provide financial support for the Mendip Hills Fund – we think it’s a fantastic initiative for local communities, and it’s a great way for us to say ‘thank you’ and put something else back directly into the area.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation, and hopefully all the local communities along the route will once again support and encourage the riders and help to make it another enjoyable and safe day for all concerned. If you have any queries, or if you need any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email or by phone (07956 858851).
Kind regards.
The Great Weston Ride Team
26 March 2023Advance notice of road closure
Somerset Council
Parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge
Temporary Closure of Berrow Road
Somerset Council in exercise of its powers under Section 14 (1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act
1984 as amended, have made an Order prohibiting all traffic from proceeding along;
Berrow Road - from the junction with Gore Road, to the junction with Brightstowe Road. A total
distance of 160 metres.
This Order will enable Bristol water to carry out works to replace a fire hydrant.
The Order becomes effective on 11th April 2023 and will remain in force for eighteen months. The
works are expected to commence on 18th April 2023 and last until 19th April 2023 between the
hours of 00:00 - 23:59 for a total of 2 days.
Please visit https://one.network/?tm=133049876 for further information on the alternative route.
Please note that should you require to view a closure which is more than two weeks ahead, you will
need to register for free with One.Network.
For information about the works being carried out please contact Bristol Water on telephone number
0345 702 3797 quoting reference number ttro639968SE
Duncan Sharkey
Chief Executive
Dated: 11th April 2023
26 March 2023Summer hours at recycling sites from 1 April
All of Somerset’s 16 recycling sites switch to their summer timetables from the start of
April.
When open weekdays, they will continue to start at 9am but close an hour later, at 6pm.
The year-round Saturday and Sunday hours remain 9am-4pm at all 16 sites.
Opening days vary from site to site. For information about you local sites, when they are
open and what materials they take, please visit somersetwaste.gov.uk/recycling/centres
Somerset’s recycling site network is open every day of the year except Christmas Day,
Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and receives around 1.5million visits each year.
Nine of the county’s recycling sites have online queue cameras if you want to make sure
you avoid waiting at busy times: Bridgwater (Saltlands), Chard, Highbridge, Minehead,
Street, Taunton (Priorswood), Wellington (Poole), Wells (Dulcote) and Yeovil.
Winter hours – 9am-5pm when open on weekdays – resume in October.
Please note, that from the start of April all waste services - including collections and the
recycling site network - become the responsibility of the new Somerset Council.
Residents should see little change. The contractors making collections and managing
recycling sites on our behalf remain the same, and the Somerset Waste Partnership team
behind the scenes become part of the new council.
However, all the information and functions current available on the
www.somersetwaste.gov.uk standalone website will move to a dedicated waste section of
the new Council website.
Our dedicated @somersetwaste Facebook and Twitter channels will continue for all things
waste, along with the SORTED e-newsletter.
06 March 2023‘Bus It’ bonus as £2 single bus fare in Somerset is extended to the summer
Bus users in Somerset can now travel on most routes in the county and beyond for just £2 until July.
The major fare cut is part of a national initiative funded by the Government aimed at boosting bus use while helping passengers to save money. It was introduced in January and was originally due to end on 31 March.
Now thanks to further funding it will continue for an extra three months, until 30 June. It’s welcome news for people in Somerset as the cost of living crisis continues to bite, fuelled in part by high petrol and diesel prices.
The £2 single fare is available from all participating operators, which includes Somerset County Council. The initiative will apply to the majority of routes in Somerset until 30 June. You can check here https://www.somerset.gov.uk/
It’s worth remembering that the initiative applies to cross-county services, which means for example you can travel from Street to Bristol for just £2.
Somerset County Council and the Somerset Bus Partnership have launched the ‘Bus It’ campaign to encourage more people to use bus services at a time when some routes are under threat due to lack of use. It’s hoped the new £2 fare will provide a major boost to patronage and support these aims.
The 13 operators involved in the scheme are:
- ATWEST
- Bakers Dolphin
- Community Transport (South West) Ltd
- FromeBus
- Libra Travel
- Mendip Community Transport
- Somerset County Council
- Dartline
- Faresaver Buses
- First South West (Buses of Somerset)
- First West of England
- Hatch Green Coaches
- South West Coaches
Cllr Mike Rigby, Somerset County Council’s Lead Member for Transport and Digital said: “The £2 fare is vital in helping us encourage more people to choose the bus. I wrote to the Secretary of State requesting this extension so it’s great news that this has been extended.
“If we’re going to make bus travel attractive we have to start with making fares attractive. Getting on the bus makes supports our climate change objectives, it could well save you money, and it’s the best way to help preserve bus routes.”
Visit https://www.somerset.