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Our town is a very nice town

THE online community newspaper for Nailsea people, their family and their friends

There is a new abridged What's On 2020 HERE postponed events have been archived

November 2020

PROPERTY PEEPS

January homes for sale by Property Peeps page sponsors Hunters Estate Agents and Letting Agents in the High Street HERE. Plus news that district council has decided to go it alone with a Local Plan is also on this page

Christmas 2020

We have a panto at Weston-super-Mare and an alternative to the Nailsea Community Christmas Lunch but most pubs, cafes and restaurants will close on Friday, December 25. Read more HERE

Breaking News

The latests rules and regulations on the coronavirus in pubs, clubs, shops and more with news of confirmed cases in Nailsea and nearby plus where you can get help and advice from go to the Breaking News page by clicking HERE

Gallery 2020

A slideshow from Halloween and the pumpkin trail plus the markets and the ongoing Project 366 by geography graduate Eloise Massett. There is a cache of sunset and sunrise photos and more. Thank you Nailsea people for sharing. Click HERE to view more

Nailsea in Bloom Remembrance Day poppies

UPDATE: see story on Breaking News page and slideshow in Gallery 2020

Marking Remembrance Day will be different this year given the restrictions imposed by Covid-19.

There will be no parade in Nailsea, special church service, bugler and roll call with all the uniformed services laying wreaths at Holy Trinity.

Nailsea Town Council and others like the police will leave wreaths but without a ceremony - see police photo below.

To compensate Nailsea in Bloom gardeners have been busy planting big poppies in several flower beds in the town.

Chairman Wendy Mobbs said: “After last year’s success with the Poppy Appeal Nailsea in Bloom decided to run the scheme once again with the support of Royal British Legion who unfortunately will not be able to sell poppies this year due to the Covid-19.

“There will be no collectors with boxes in supermarkets, shops, pubs or schools by the local branch of Royal British Legion.

“The appeal will be carried out by the supermarkets themselves which has been organised by RBL and supermarkets head offices.

“We will place our large poppies in one of four beds which Nailsea in Bloom looks after in the town and will donate the proceeds to the appeal.”

Nearly 100 residents sponsored a poppy which can have up to four names written on each poppy in memory of a loved one.

The large poppies will be placed in the beds until mid-November.

Parking fine

The volunteers from Nailsea in Bloom were shocked earlier this year to get a ticket for parking in the Crown Glass Shopping Centre bay near Iceland.

The group have been tending the nearby raised bed for many years and were busy with its summer planting.

The parked vehicle was left in the closest car parking space as their tools and boxes of new plants were too heavy to carry over a large distance.

Wendy said: “We were putting in plants donated by the community and parked in a bay on Station Road.”

Despite protesting to the shopping centre a refund was refused and the £60 fine was paid by a volunteer.

It has been a difficult year for the Nailsea in Bloom horticulturists as Covid-19 stopped some of its activities but it launched a successful appeal to ask for seeds, cuttings and plant donations as its usual contractor Blaise Plant Nursery wasn’t able to supply its usual amount of plants due to cut backs by Bristol City Council.

The 20-strong volunteer band of gardeners tend the flower beds in Nailsea town centre while Nailsea Town Council has responsibility for the hanging baskets.

The award-winning group have been working tirelessly for nearly 20 years to bring colour and vibrancy to our street scene.

Wendy who has led the gardening group for the past four years added: “Our aim is to help Nailsea look good with new plants twice a year.”

Nailsea people could be asking ‘where did all the flowers go’ when councillor Liz Frappell told a Nailsea Town Council meeting that although Nailsea in Bloom will be tending the ground level planters next summer the hanging baskets could be a casualty of the proposed cuts by Bristol City Council to its nursery service Blaise Plant Nursery which supplied many adjourning towns and villages – Nailsea has 80 hanging baskets

More wilding and more houses on green space

A further 20,000 trees will be planted at sites across North Somerset this winter as part of North Somerset Council's ambitious rewilding programme.

The first phase of the rewilding programme took place in February when, with the help of approximately 400 volunteers, 5,000 trees were planted in parks and open spaces across the district. It is planned to plant a total of 50,000 trees over the next two years creating 25 hectares of new woodland.

In Nailsea trees were planted at Pound Lane 289 trees; Rhyne View 85 trees; Sedgemoor Close 302 trees; and Trendlewood Way Park 159 trees, and Elm Farm, Wraxall 332 trees – look in Gallery 2020 to see all the photos.

Rewilding also involves creating around 40 hectares of tall grass areas where the grass will be allowed to grow. This summer saw the introduction of the first tall grass areas with a good range of grass species and associated flower species already starting to show.

Together, these initiatives will create more habitats for wildlife to flourish and increase biodiversity, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The areas where tree planting took place earlier this year have been assessed by the council's tree team who have found that, despite a very wet February followed by the driest spring on record, the overall success rate has been high with around 70 per cent of the trees surviving.

Over the winter it is planned to revisit sites where the success rate has not been as good to replace the lost trees.

As part of its plans to tackle the climate emergency the council carried out a three-month consultation on its rewilding proposals at the end of last year with more than three-quarters of respondents supporting rewilding.

North Somerset Council' executive member for the environment and climate emergency Bridget Petty who is the ward councillor for Backwell said: "Planting trees is a great opportunity to get involved in shaping the future landscape of North Somerset.

"Evidence-based research shows that trees are good for the community. The planting of trees provides more interesting birds and wildlife to see and more evidence of the changing seasons.

"Last year the council declared a climate emergency, but it means nothing without action. The council is committed to taking action to make a better future for our children and grandchildren. I fear the worst if we do not act now.

"Tree planting is just one aspect, but I am proud of this council's commitment and leadership in providing green spaces that offer benefits for this generation and the ones to come.

"Where local communities have concerns about our plans for open spaces we will listen and consult with them about what is most appropriate for those areas. As well as walking and spending time in woodlands, there is a need for locations for picnics, playing sports and flying a kite and I hope that North Somerset Council land will be a balance of both."

For more information about the rewilding project, including a map of all the locations, go to www.n-somerset.gov.uk/rewilding although North Somerset Council plans to build on an ‘amenity area’ at The Uplands.

The authority was awarded £557,000 in funding from Homes England to build more than 50 new homes on the land.

What's open and what's shut

The latest reported seven-day rate for North Somerset is again showing an increase with a seven-day rate for North Somerset of 159 per 100,000.

New national lockdown rules, which will be in force from Thursday, November 5 November to Wednesday, December 6, are:

Pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops must close
Schools, colleges and universities can remain open

You will not be able to leave or be outside of your home except for specific purposes. These include:

for childcare or education, where this is not provided online
for work purposes, where your place of work remains open and where you cannot work from home (including if your job involves working in other people’s homes)
to exercise outdoors or visit an outdoor public place - with the people you live with, with your support bubble or, when on your own, with one person from another household.
for any medical concerns, reasons, appointments and emergencies, or to avoid or escape risk of injury or harm - such as domestic abuse
shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which should be as infrequent as possible
to visit members of your support bubble or provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer

Residents in North Somerset have shown resilience and community spirit during the pandemic but we must all continue to do everything possible to protect our families, friends and neighbours.

Cases are rising fast locally so the council was already in discussions with neighbouring councils, partners in health and social care, and the government about moving into a higher alert level.

All age groups are becoming infected so everyone must do their bit to help break the chain of infection.

Act like you already have the virus and keep practising the rules of ‘hands, face, space’.

At this time of year, hospitals and care settings face their normal winter pressures so we have to work together to make sure the system can cope and care for those in greatest need.

Moving to these more stringent measures means it will reduce the risk of these added pressure of Covid cases that we saw earlier in the year.

Anyone with symptoms of a high temperature, a new and continuous cough, or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste, should self-isolate and book a test immediately online or by calling 119.

In line with the national lockdown rules council leisure centres, the Campus, the Playhouse Theatre, and Tropicana will be closing.

North Somerset Council is waiting on definitive guidance about other services, such as recycling centres and libraries, but it is our intention to keep services open unless we are required to close them.

The message of hands, face, space remains critical in halting the spread of coronavirus:

wash your hands well, and regularly
wear a face covering when indoors in public places, and in enclosed public spaces such as public transport
keep your distance – two metres is best.

While it is not compulsory to wear a face covering outdoors it is recommended in crowded situations where physical distancing is not always possible, such as at the school gate or at the entrance to a building.

Support for businesses and employees

Advice and support are available for businesses at risk of closure and anyone facing financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

We are committed to protecting jobs and strengthening the local economy in a sustainable way.

A range of free information, advice and guidance is available to those businesses at risk of making redundancies.

To give you a chance to find out more, and ask questions, we are holding a webinar on Thursday, November 5, 4-5pm hosted by North Somerset Council chief executive Jo Walker wo will be joined by other senior council representatives.

It will be available to watch on YouTube and you’ll be able to ask your questions via Slido www.slido.com using event code #NSCUPDATE

If there are any particular topics that you’d like us to address on Thursday please let us know by replying to by email to CSD-PressOffice@n-somerset.gov.uk.w.n-somerset.gov.uk/connect.

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For 12 years Ben had been one of the team at The ICT Workshop which provided a wide variety of computer services to Nailsea, Clevedon, Yatton, Backwell and even Weston-Super-Mare.

Ben felt it right to continue the same great service customers had previously experienced but under new branding for a new business and The Tek Hut was born.

Trading at the familiar location in Nailsea, The Tek Hut will continue to offer the same cost effective, new laptops and PCs, upgrades, onsite support for homes and businesses through to a wide range of workshop services and accessories.