A petition has been launched by the Liberal Democrats to put right a flooded path in the Quedgeley area of Gloucester.

Before Christmas, the heavy rains brought floodwater across the city.

Since then, the waters have retreated and life has gone back to normal but that is not the case for one area in Quedgeley which still remains flooded and muddy.

The path behind the Causeway leading towards Highclere and Green Farm suffered badly as many other places across the city did.

The path behind the Causeway leading towards Highclere and Green Farm suffered badly as many other places across the city did.

This flooding was not helped due to a combination of overgrown ditches and debris limiting the flow of water leaving the area.

After the water levels dropped they left behind large areas of soft mud and huge puddles.

One such puddle is at the bottom of Shelduck Rd where the path remains flooded and impassible without wellies.

Community activists for the Liberal Democrats in Quedgeley, Liam Harries and David Bebbington, want to see this section of path behind Shelduck Road pumped to remove trapped water and a new temporary surface put down.

Mr Harries said: “If left in its current state the site will likely remain wet and muddy for months to come as the water saturates the ground below.

“In the longer term, this path needs some serious investment but short term we would like to see a temporary surface such as wood chipping’s or gravel put down to quickly deal with the particularly muddy spots.”

Mr Bebbington added: “The area at the bottom of Shelduck Road is by far the worst spot but is not the only one.

“A bad patch can be found at the other end of the path between Green Farm and Taylors Ground and there are many more in-between.”

The city council was contacted requesting action to make the paths usable again but has refused to tackle the issue.

The council stated: “As there is no risk of flooding to property it would not generally receive funding for works.”

A petition has been set up in the hope to encourage the council to make the path usable again.

Having promised, in October 2020, to plant 35 million trees by 2030, Gloucestershire County Council today reached the unenviable milestone of falling one million trees behind its necessary schedule.

Having declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, the County Council finally acknowledged the critical importance of acting fast to dramatically reduce our county’s carbon footprint.  Planting new trees across our county is one incredibly important measure to which can slow climate change by sucking carbon dioxide from the air as they grow. 

Last year, on 14 October, the Conservative Cabinet committed to planting 35 million trees by 2030.  Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats wholeheartedly supported this challenging ambition, which would require 10,000 trees to be planted every day for ten years. 

Since that commitment, however, the County Council has yet to oversee a single tree being planted in Gloucestershire, while also presiding over the chopping down of nearly 3,000 trees, with no replacements.  On that basis, Gloucestershire County Council is now already one million trees behind target.

Commenting on the MILESTONE, Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, leader of Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats said:

“This Conservative Council loves to write press releases about its green credentials, but when it comes to fulfilling their promises they consistently fall short. 

“Tree planting in Gloucestershire is going to be critical if we are to meet our Climate commitments.  This is why I have consistently sought reassurances that we are on target since the promise was made last October. Unfortunately, they have let us all down once again, and now an incredibly challenging target has become even more difficult.  

“Gloucestershire deserves better than warm words and unfulfilled promises.  Gloucestershire residents deserve an administration that would make the tree planting pledge a reality.”

From Monday 24th stagecoach are changing their bus timetables.

In Quedgeley the 12 will run every 15 minutes daytime Mondays to Fridays. Half hourly in the evenings and on Saturdays, and hourly on Sundays.

You can view other changes across Gloucestershire on the stagecoach website here.

Bristol road will be closed at the bridge across the A38 dual carriageway in Hardwicke for 6 weeks starting on January 11th until February 26th to carry out bridge maintenance works.

During lockdown it can still be possible to improve your fitness. I definitely intend to!

Here is a list of online workouts you can do for free. I hope you find it useful.

After recent heavy rainfall this huge puddle appeared on Old Elmore lane at the turning junction used by many parents of children at Meadowside school. It was caused by a drain being badly clogged with leaves.

It has since slowly soaked away but I have contacted the highways department at the county council to clear the area so that the next rainfall does not cause this issue again.

If you spot any other blocked drains do let me know and I will arrange for them to be cleaned.

Over the Christmas period, waste collection days are adjusted to fit around the holidays.

The council has distributed leaflets like the image above detailing the changes to regular collection dates.

Collections will also be accepting additional recycling from Tuesday 29 December until Friday 8 January 2021 to help cover the increase in demand.

You will be able to dispose of Christmas trees at various locations in the city, the closest to Quedgeley is Robinswood hill.

You can find more details of the changes on the city council’s website here.