20 MPH Speed Limit Petition At July’s North Somerset Council’s meeting I presented the petition with over 500 signatures in favour of Wrington Parish Council’s proposals for a 20mph speed limit. NSC as the Highways Authority has to make a decision on the proposed speed limits, but to date has not responded. Waste Collections In July Cllr Peter Bryant, the Executive member responsible for waste, said that some reorganised routes were still too long, and need to be adjusted. This could not be done straight away, as Biffa is using different routes with different crews, since some crews are faster than others. These further changes may have been made by the time you read this. Unfortunately unfamiliar routes take longer to collect and probably lead to more missed collections when some properties are harder to find. It is clearly going to take longer for the new system to settle down than was anticipated. There have also been complaints about the difficulty of reporting missed collections on the NSC website. There are plans to make the website more helpful, with a message to say when particular roads will be collected. I have had reports of recycling being thrown into vehicles without being separated. I asked about this, and in some places a ‘split back’ vehicle is being used. Recycling and food waste are kept separate in the lorry and the recycling gets sorted in Avonmouth. Please keep on sorting your recycling boxes as usual. Recycling Electrical Items NSC has organised a re-use and electrical recycling Event in Wrington Memorial Hall in September or October – see the Parish Council article for details. You can take small unwanted household electrical items up to the size of a vacuum cleaner to the Event. If you have larger electrical items such as cookers and fridges then NSC can take them away for a fee (ring 01275 888 802 or email <streetsandopenspaces@n-somerset.gov.uk> for details) or take them to a Recycling centre. Remember that you need a (free) permit for a van, trailer or pick-up. Permit application forms can be downloaded from NSC’s website online at <http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/my-services/waste/recyclingcentres/vanpermits/> or contact me for a paper copy. Rickyard Road pond The second stage of Wrington’s flood alleviation scheme started in early July. This involves building a flood storage area next to the brook in the field off Rickyard Rd. A bank up to 2 metres high will hold excess water when the brook is full and will include a small outlet for the brook to flow through. The bank should hold water from a ‘one in fifty year storm’ and prevent properties from flooding, although gardens may still flood during extreme weather.