News

Weston Re-wilding

Weston Re-wilding Project
As we are now in another period of lock down we are sadly unable to restart volunteering as we would have liked/planned.  We are continuing to plant the trees with our contractors and staff, the trees from the woodland trust for the next round of planting has started to arrive.
We are really sad about this development as we were really looking forward to inviting you out with us.
Our goal now is to focus on the spring sessions, where we will be looking at the ongoing maintenance of the trees.  As explained previously the style of planting we are using, planting whips, does mean that maintenance requirements are low.  However, we will need to ensure that the trees have been mulched, weeds from around the base have been removed and  canes/spirals are still in place.  All of these things help the young trees to establish in their first few years.  We will also need to monitor the success rate to see if sites may require more planting or even thinning in the future.
In the Spring we will be looking for volunteers that may like to help us to monitor the biodiversity changes related to rewilding. So if you have an interest in botany and happy to share your experience or expertise please let us know.
Obviously all these volunteer activities are very dependent on how the current health situation develops over the coming months.  We very much hope that we are able to do this, but at this time we are unable to provide any further information, sadly, as to possible dates/work plans etc.
Kind regards

North Somerset Council Natural Environment team

 

22 January 2021 Comments (0)

Keep Uphill Tidy

The Uphill Village Society attempts to organise at least 2 village clean ups each year as part of the Keep Britain Tidy campaign. Next one due in a few months as part of the Great British Spring Clean. However following the government announcement of a national lockdown, we are all being asked to stay at home. Stricter and legally enforceable rules on outdoor activity are now in place. There are prescribed reasons for being outdoors, which do include provision of voluntary and charitable services and for the purposes of exercise (but only once a day).

However, it’s not clear from the government’s guidance whether volunteer litter picking, would be covered by either of these criteria. Therefore, taking a precautionary approach, we are asking all our volunteers to pause any organised litter picking events until further notice. Should you choose to pick up litter on your daily exercise, please ensure you do so safely and, in line with the latest government guidance, you should only undertake outdoor activity as an individual, with one other person or with members of your own household/support bubble, while maintaining social distancing at all times.

For the present therefore the Society calls upon residents to do what they can to pick up litter as they go particularly on their daily exercises and when litter is more noticeable. It has a limited number of litter pickers available if they would help – contact info@uphillvillagesociety.org.uk  for details and can supply black sacks although are trying to source something more environmentally friendly to use.

The Society works with NSC whenever possible. Particular problems arise after the weekly waste collections. Householders are encouraged as not to put their green boxes out ahead of time even with a light wind sees recycling spread around the village. In addition ust a few minutes clearing up after the collection would all help.

17 January 2021 Comments (0)
woodland-trust

The Plantation & Bluebell Field

 

The Plantation and Bluebell Field is a plantation wood and parkland field and is an important landscape and historic feature for Uphill village and Weston-Super-Mare, as well as being a popular recreational green space in the area. 

The mature veteran trees and parkland of wood pasture are an important part of the former historic landscape of Uphill Manor. The site comprises a mid-19th Century plantation of predominantly mature beech, with sycamore, oak, yew and horse chestnut with a holly dominated understorey, and The Bluebell field – a parkland field of wood pasture rich in spring flowers, particularly bluebells and snowdrops which carpet the field in springtime, and contains scattered mature veteran trees. The field is managed by late summer and autumn grazing with cattle. It was also known locally as the Donkey Field as it was used to over winter the donkeys from Weston Super Mare beach.

Owned and managed by the Woodland Trust the plantation is open to the public for quiet informal recreation, but the field is closed to protect the displays of spring flowers from damage. 

The field is grazed from late summer to autumn by Dexter cattle, with the pavement and highway of Uphill Rd South and Old Church Rd offering good views of the field, which is bordered by traditional Victorian wrought iron railings.

The wood is well used with a network of small paths leading from an adjoining public footpath and the public highway. However it has recently been subject to inappropriate use and damage as a consequence of which the Trust has been obliged to restrict its use for cycling which is no longer permitted, notices this effect have been put up and it will be flattening the jumps and repair other damaged caused.

Visitors to the site are asked to respect its importance to ensure that the integrity of the historic landscape will be preserved for future generations to enjoy and continuity of the historic wooded landscape and remain a high quality recreational resource to be valued by local users and visitors alike.

 

16 January 2021 Comments (0)

Uphill Parking

As well as the off-street car parks and on-street pay and display parking, NSC  are also responsible for enforcing

  • double and single yellow lines
  • blue badge bays
  • limited waiting bays
  • taxi ranks
  • loading bays
  • parking in bus lanes and stops
  • zig-zag markings at schools (if restrictions apply) and pedestrian crossings
  • parking across dropped kerbs where there’s a crossing point, with or without tactile paving
  • double parking (parking too far from the kerb)

You can report illegal parking to the council online. It will use your report to plan future patrols.

The police will continue to be responsible for dealing with:
  • dangerously parked vehicles including where there are no parking restrictions in place such as on bends, brows of hills and junctions
  • obstruction offences – for example pavement with no parking restrictions
  • moving traffic offences including double white lines, one-way traffic, white hatched areas and box junctions

You can report these issues to the police by calling 101.

Parking across dropped kerbs where there’s a crossing point and tactile paving, double parking or parking too far from the kerb and parking on zig-zag markings at pedestrian crossings can be enforced by both us and the police.

A homeowner has no special legal right to park directly outside their property. All road users have the same right to park anywhere on the public highway as long as they do not contravene parking restrictions

Keep clear markings

These are white H shaped advisory markings that are painted in front of a driveway to draw attention to a dropped kerb and encourage people not to park across across it.

The marking is only painted across the extent of the dropped kerb, from one taper to the other. If you want the marking to go across a neighbour’s property you need to have written permission from the owner or occupier. This also applies to shared access – all properties will need to agree in writing.

Applying for a keep clear marking

To apply for a marking, contact:

  • your ward councillor if you live in Clevedon, Nailsea, Portishead or Weston-super-Mare
  • your parish council if you live elsewhere in North Somerset

They will review your application and consider whether parked cars are regularly causing an obstruction.

Markings are not normally provided if the councillor or your neighbours refuse the application, or if the location already has double yellow lines.

The councillor or parish council will explain their decision in writing. If they approve your request, you should forward their letter to NSC, with any other supporting information or necessary consents.

When NSC receive your application they will invoice you for £95 and include the marking on the next available lining works order for our contractor. The width of the H bar will be 50mm.

NSC don’t routinely maintain these markings. If you want to have a marking repainted you should apply using the same process so NSC can check that it still meets the criteria for a marking.

 

3 January 2021 Comments (0)

Uphill Traffic

Uphill Traffic

Traffic and parking issues in the village continue to be a cause of concern to local residents as recent comments on social media confirms.

Over the years the Village Society has been pro-active in trying to find a solution to these issues engaging in lengthy correspondence and meetings with council officers, the police, ward councillors and local employers.

Most recently the society has been in correspondence with Westhaven School as to the potential effect of the introduction of their policy to charge staff for parking cars on site. History shows that when this policy was introduced at the hospital there was a considerable increase in on street parking in the village which  continues to be a hazard and nuisance to nearby residents.

A copy of the school’s response is attached- Westhaven

The Village Society would encourage those effected by the increase in on street parking to provide it with any evidence they have to confirm where the vehicle owner works or is visiting. Nearby residents may find benefit in monitoring the issue during the course of a school week to identify numbers and length of stay for vehicles connect with both the school and the Hospice so that further approaches can be made to both establishments to try and find a solution to the problem.

If cars are seen to be parking dangerously this is an offence and should be reported to the police.

Comments and views on possible solutions are welcomed by the village society and should be addressed to secretary@uphillvillage.org.uk.

On the traffic front it is understood that funding has now been identified by the local authority for the introduction of a village wide 20mph speed limit. Accordingly the Society is looking to pursue the discussions and site meetings held with officers earlier this year which agreed an outline scheme requiring minimum physical barriers and signage to support the limits.

Updates on both issues will be included in the village magazine and on the village website and Facebook pages.

11 December 2020 Comments (0)

Uphillviews – Winter edition 2020

The Winter edition of Uphillviews  is now available and has been distributed to all Village Society members.  All the news from round and about Uphill including FREE  Scarecrow Festival supplement with photographs of all the scarecrows on display last year. For copy contact infor@uphillvillagesociety.org.uk (cost £3.00 plus p&p)

22 November 2020 Comments (0)

Uphill Calendar 2021

The 2021 Uphill calendar is now available to buy. Featuring local views from local photographers it’s a must have for anyone with a love of Uphill.

It is available to buy in the village shop and hairdressers our from 51 Uphill Road South, Uphill. Otherwise email your contact details to info@uphillvillage.org.uk and we will let you know how you can buy and pay online.

28 August 2020 Comments (0)

Neighbourhood Watch and latest alerts

Be a part of the Neighbourhood Watch

Watch schemes are a popular way for people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in working together in the community.  Watch schemes operate all over the country and can:

Reduce crime and the opportunities for crime

Help and reassure vulnerable residents

Encourage good neighbourliness and closer communities

A watch scheme is a community led initiative that brings people together to address local crime and other community issues.  A successful watch scheme requires close liaison between residents, the local police and other agencies.

A watch scheme can be large covering most households on an estate, or it may involve just a few local residences.

You may already be living in an area with an active scheme, in order to find out please contact your local Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) who will be able to tell you if there is one.

You can also use the postcode search on the National Neighbourhood and Home Watch website www.ourwatch.org.uk and if there is a group in your area listed you will be able to contact the scheme co-ordinator to find out about joining.

 

26 July 2020 Comments (0)

Uphill Play Area

In consultation with the Uphill Village Society, Weston Town Council is carrying out repairs and improvements to the village play area.
New fencing has been installed and the play equipment repaired.
Repairs to the soft play surfaces will be carried out in due course and the Village Society has agreed to fund additional seating and litter bins which will be installed shortly along with the restoration of the existing seats around the site.

 

 

19 July 2020 Comments (0)
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