Great Western Coffee Shop

Well the show is over, and does anyone have an idea what Tim Bowles stood for regarding transport policy.

All I can find is mention of Stockwood Lane drainage, and Motorway Junction 18a to produce another gridlock point on the ring road.

No mention of MetroWest, Metro Bus, simple single ticket system, park&ride sites etc.

Our community is a great place to live, and the economy is one of the most successful anywhere in the country. But that means there is huge demand for homes, putting green fields at risk. As our area has grown, infrastructure particularly transport simply hasn’t kept pace.
The last Labour Government and Labour and Liberal Democrat Councillors failed to meet the challenge. Instead they tinkered with small schemes that have frustrated motorists but done nothing to tackle the problem.
Worse, often Councils have bickered with one another, failing to deliver the transport schemes enjoyed in other parts of the country.
Progress has been made in recent years.
Now is our chance to get an even better deal for our area.

Tim Bowles, the Conservative candidate for West of England Mayor, met councillors in Bishopsworth to discuss measures to improve the road network and ease traffic congestion in Bristol.

Tim met Richard Eddy and Kevin Quartley, the Conservative city councillors in Bishopsworth, next to the new South Bristol Link Road.

The three-mile road, which opened in January, connects the A370 Long Ashton bypass to Hengrove Way.

The route will help motorists get around the south of the city and travel to and from Bristol Airport, while easing congestion in areas like Bedminster, Hartcliffe, Bishopsworth, Inns Court and Ashton.

While the road has so far proved a huge success for commuters and local residents, Conservatives are pressing for various issues to be put right.

These include improvements to the sequencing of traffic lights at key junctions and roundabouts and making signage and road markings more clear.

Tim said: “Improving the road network in Bristol and the rest of the West of England is one of my top priorities.

“Congestion is an all too familiar problem for motorists across Bristol and I’m keen to look at a range of schemes, large and small, to make journeys safer, faster and more reliable for everyone.

“The South Bristol Link Road is an example of a project that makes a huge difference for residents, commuters and businesses, delivered thanks to joined-up thinking and government support.

“Better infrastructure gets business and the economy moving and creates better jobs with better pay.

“I have discussed some of the issues local people face with Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and if elected I will continue to work with local MPs, councils, the government and other stakeholders to ensure the improvements we need are delivered.”

Cllr Eddy said: “It was good to meet Tim and discuss measures to improve our roads and ease congestion in Bristol.

“Tim is the candidate best placed to talk to the government of today and press for solutions to the challenges we face in transport and other issues.”

Our community is a great place to live with a growing economy and new jobs. But success brings demand for more housing - and transport infrastructure is just not keeping up. Local people want to see further improvements to transport and they want it easier for people to get on the housing ladder.

If elected, I will adopt a better approach to development – so the right homes are built in the right places, protecting our green spaces and prioritising urban regeneration. I’m also determined to make transport a priority like a new station at Henbury and Horfield, speeding up the Portway Park and Ride station, and increased services from Sea Mills and Shirehampton stations.

What is the point of yet another tier of Local Government with a fancy name? The % turnout tells you how many people care about it!

No, it wouldn't have changed the result at all - and nor did I suggest that it would have done so.  But the inclusion of the innately conservative, and safely Conservative, North Somerset Council would have made the new Conservative West of England Mayor's position all the more powerful in deciding issues such as transport, housing and business development.

 ;D

Yes but how many people know anything about it?

People voted at the London Mayoral elections in large numbers.  When the Welsh Assembly was first proposed the referendum was only just in favour. Subsequent referenda to increase its powers have been much more decisive.

It is the job of the first Mayor to make it relevant to people then we shall see. 

Really can't agree with calling this bloke's area of responsibility the "West of England", I'm afraid.   WTF is going on here?

Paul

Couldn't agree more.

It's an unfortunate choice of name. But then "Former Avon Regional Territory" would be even more unfortunate.

Really can't agree with calling this bloke's area of responsibility the "West of England", I'm afraid.   WTF is going on here?
Paul

Seriously though, what could you call the region? ....

I'm struggling to think of other geographic features that could form the basis of a regional name.  ....

I've scratched around with a few maps and thoughts and come up with a History of Wales (http://thehistoryofwales.typepad.com/t/2012/12/the-early-kingdoms-of-powys-and-pengwern-430-854.html) website showing ancient kingdoms of Wales and England.  I note that Wales has stepped back to some of its ancient names - such as Powys, which was once a mighty and large Kingdom.  And on that basis I propose Atrebatia.

I don't expect huge whoops of delight ... I don't expect people to be striking their foreheads with the ball of their hands and saying "Of course - why didn't I think of that?".  But there is a logic to it. In olden times, Kingdoms were much shaped by geographic / travel and transport structures, and much of that remains to this day.   So Atrebatia is a surprisingly apt area - covering a larger swathe of land to the side of the river (Bristol) Avon up to Bath, and carrying on to include much of West and North Wiltshire which are so logically part of the travel to work area, yet seem to have little or no influence over the overall planning for that area.

You won't find #Atrebatia trending on Twitter.   You'll find very little on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/atrebatia.uk/ - but then someone has to grab the real estate with such a brilliant idea, haven't they?

Sounds like an indigestion treatment. "Pass the Atrebatia dear, I knew that third pasty was going to be too much!"

....ah, but you have forgotten that the Government now refers to the far 'South West' not as the 'West of England' but as the 'South West Peninsula'...... ::) :P

Avon might hark back to the past, but is simple and most people remember it.

John

The Rugby Union's South West Division goes from Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire right down to Cornwall.

The Royal Mail's South West Region includes the RG and OX postcodes (as all mail from there goes to the Swindon Mail Centre) so that includes Banbury, Bracknell and Basingstoke.

Makes me ask, "what's in a name"!

Alternatively you could go for Fromeside, but BANES has no attachment to it. It'd be amusing to hear commentators mispronounce it though. 

But people would then relate it to the Town of that name further South

Is there a secret government plan to drag Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and the rest of Somerset into this area?

You may jest but I think that Wiltshire was being encouraged to consider joining MetroWest. I suspect that the complication for the mayoral deal is that only North Somerset and Wiltshire are unitary authorities.