Residents' Update:
Sunday 7th June 2015
Dear All,
As Summer weather finally arrives it’s time for another update.
Residents' Parking Schemes – Updates; Wild Flowers for Quinton Park; Whitley Bridge Update; Repairs for Quinton Pool; Have More in Cheylesmore; Quinton Park Toilets; Alcohol licence application; Friargate Update; Ring Road Junction 6 - night closures; Motofest Update; Positive Images Festival;
Dates for your Diary; And Finally …..
Residents' Parking Schemes - Updates
A number of residents have contacted us recently asking for an update on the proposed parking schemes in Cheylesmore East. Roger, who presented all the eleven petitions to the Council, has been chasing for an update. Without these petitions there would not be a parking scheme taking place in Cheylesmore. At the end of March the Council’s traffic team was reduced in size by a third and as such there is a backlog in responding to enquiries. We will keep you informed as the scheme progresses in the coming weeks. The email below states that it is still intended to commence in July 2015. This is a general update on some schemes in the ward provided to us by the officer now working on these - Caron Archer.
Parking Scheme implementation – 3 schemes Cheylesmore West, Cheylesmore East, Earlsdon
This is our priority
The legal advertisement of the 3 proposed schemes was undertaken and the objections received were considered and recommendations for the way forward approved by the Cabinet Member (Public Services).
The response to the objections has resulted in a change to the proposals for Morningside, which means the scheme will operate Monday to Friday (8am – 6pm), the other schemes will continue to operate Monday to Saturday (8am-6pm). This requires an experimental traffic order (ETRO) to be made for Morningside. The making of the ETRO and the sealing of the other TROs will all occur at the same time. It is intended that the scheme will become operational in July.
Arrangements are currently being made so that permits can be applied for on line. Letters to advise the residents are being finalised. As soon as the letters are available copies will be forwarded to the Ward Councillors, this will happen shortly.
Wild Flowers for Quinton Park
Residents using Quinton Park will have noticed the flower beds next to the Daventry Road have been dug over and flattened. The council has used this area to plant wild flowers instead of the usual flower displays. Wild flowers were planted at Whitley Island and along the A45 last year, which received welcome reports from residents. Do let us know your views on them being planted on Quinton Park.
Whitley Bridge Update
Work has been delayed by a week, so the first slip road will now open on Monday 15
th June. This will be the road that leads southwards from JLR etc onto the A444/A46. When this road is open, work will continue to complete the new northbound slip road onto the A444 from JLR. To allow this work to be undertaken, the existing north bound slip road out of JLR will be closed. This will mean
all traffic will have to exit JLR/ Business Park/ Hotel and Gym onto the A444 southwards towards the Festival Island, and Leamington Spa. Those wishing to travel southwards towards Leamington Spa / Warwick direction will simply merge onto the A444 and continue their journey. Those wishing to travel towards London Road will have to turn at the Festival Island and return northwards along the A444.
Repairs for Quinton Pool.
Last week we reported that vandals had set fire to the coir matting at Quinton Pools. Please see the response from the Park’s Ranger
Dear Hazel,
The Rangers have replaced the burnt coir roll and will monitor. The coir rolls allow vegetation to establish in a much more stable way than bare earth, which will hopefully stop the geese puddling all the mud. The Rangers will check when possible, but as you know we can’t guard things 24/7 unfortunately
Kind Regards,
Michelle A Tyrtania
Ranger Manager
Have More in Cheylesmore
A Facebook page has been setup called “Have More in Cheylesmore”, to give information about the Residents’ Participatory Budgeting Event which is being held on 18
th July. Details about who can bid, how to put in a bid etc will be posted there shortly. Click
here to view the page.
Information posters are also being prepared that will be displayed in key locations soon.
Quinton Park Toilets
It’s been two years since the toilets on Quinton Park were closed because rain had got into the roof, damaging the electrics. Unfortunately major repairs are needed with an estimated cost of £40,000. The Council has been conducting a review of all its toilets across the City including the ones at Quinton Park. We have again asked Council Officers to update us on what the future plans are. We would like to see Cheylesmore residents also consulted on any decision as we know there are mixed views.
Residents have also recently asked us why there is no public toilet at the new ASDA store. It’s well known that Hazel and the then Councillor Kevin Foster were against giving Asda planning permission. Three years ago at the Council’s planning committee meeting when the Asda (Cheylesmore) planning application was discussed Hazel did ask ‘’If the Planning Committee are minded to give permission could public toilets be included in the permission given? Then the building on Quinton Pools could be knocked down’’. Unfortunately the Council and the planning committee did not listen to your Councillors' requests.
We will keep you informed when we get more information and will continue to ask that residents are consulted on any decision.
Alcohol licence application
Devlin’s Newsagents at 125 – 127, Daventry Road, have requested an alcohol licence from 9:00 – 22:00, 7 days a week. Date of last objection is 9
th June.
Friargate Update
The new road layout at Junction 6 of the Ring Road has now opened but is causing some confusion to drivers. We’ve asked for installation of better signage.
Major road changes around the railway station have also taken place. Manor Road from its junction with Park Road is now permanently closed and Eaton Road has become two way with an entrance and exit directly onto Warwick Road /Junction 6
Ring Road Junction 6 - night closures
On 10
th & 12
th June, Junction 6 exit of the slip to Warwick Road, in a clockwise direction, will be closed from 20:00 to 5:00 for resurfacing.
Motofest Update
The Motofest held last weekend appears to have been a success, some residents have contacted us about the poor notification of bus changes and some have raised concerns about the tyre marks left on the recently resurfaced Ring Road
. Eddie, who is Cheylesmore resident and a car enthusiast / reporter, has sent us his review of the weekend:
After my early scepticism, I found Motofest to be a real asset to the City. I was impressed by the sheer size of the crowd on both days, even on the wet Sunday morning. Stars from circuit racing ran in noisy crowd-pleasing action on a section of Coventry Ring Road, most prominently circuit racing star Rob Austin. He was joined by Clio Cup drivers and a host of short oval and spectacular drift racers. The solitary dragster of local Nuneaton driver Dave Nelson, the renowned Nelson family built ‘Dorris Dormouse’ was easily the noisiest car on show and people flocked to the top of the high walls every time the car was fired up.
As the event drew to a close late on Sunday afternoon Motofest Festival director James Noble explained: “There is no doubt that this event is now firmly in the calendar and will develop further. Coventry City Council want us, local businesses want us and the large crowd we have attracted this weekend tell that they want us. "This is a new audience we are attracting to motorsport, we have faced some challenges during the event but the team, all volunteers, have taken on and defeated them with enthusiasm” continuing “the motorsport industry itself needs to abandon its scepticism of this event and look at what we have done and recognise the possibilities for the future as legislation develops in our favour."
A straw poll of the invited competitors was positive throughout. British Touring Car Championship favourite Rob Austin told me “There is definitely a future in street circuits with the change in legislation and this event is all about bringing motorsport to new people rather than expecting those new people to go and find the motorsport.”The spectacular opener each day was a racing cross section of the locally based Jaguar Heritage fleet including the 1988 Le Mans-winning XJR-9, 1956 long-nosed D Type, 1974 Group 44 E-type, 1976 Broadspeed XJ12 Coupe and the legendary never-raced XJ13. In addition, Jaguar used the event to launch the F-Type R All-Wheel-Drive Bloodhound SSC Rapid Response Vehicle, which celebrates the firm’s association with the world land speed record-chasing Bloodhound SSC team.
Positive Images Festival
The popular Positive Images Festival, which celebrates its 21st anniversary this year, begins on Saturday 13th June with a Multicultural Book, Craft and Food Fair in Smithford Way (outside the Central Library) from 10.00am to 4.00pm. 20 stalls will exhibit and sell jewellery, books, paper crafts, delectable dishes and much more… An added attraction is an entertainment programme, including drumming, dances, music, etc.
The festival has a full three week programme, incorporating more than a hundred events – a literary trail (showing Central Coventry’s connection with great names in British literature), an industrial walk, a community information fair, storytimes, yoga sessions and lots of other exciting activities.
For more information, click
here or collect a copy of the festival booklet from your nearest library.
Dates for your Diary
Sunday 14
th June. 2015 - the Styvechale and District residents association is holding their Styvechale open gardens. Funds raised will go to the Warwickshire & Northampton Air Ambulance. Tickets are £3.50 adults, children are free, and are available on the day from West Orchard Reform Church, Baginton Road. Refreshments will also be available. For further information please contact Graham Pountney on grahampountney@
btinternet.com
Sunday 14
th June is the next London Road Cemetery tidy-up day. Meet at the Paxton Memorial at 10am. Click
here for the Friends’ of London Road Cemetery website.
On Saturday 18
th July 2015 the Residents Participatory Budgeting Event will be held at Christ Church Hall, Frankpledge Road. Local groups and residents from Cheylesmore can put in bids for funds from the remaining 106 Section (Asda) money. Residents will vote upon which groups / projects will receive the money. Click
here to view the Facebook page.
And Finally…With roads at Junction 6 on the Ring road and the Whitley Bridge works now being re-opened. Click
here to see photos of what’s happening at the Tollbar Island Improvement works.
