Peasedown St John councillors bid for extra £210,000 to be spent in village

With just a few weeks to go until B&NES Council debates the next financial year’s budget, councillors in Peasedown St John have released details of funding requests they’ve made for the village.

Councillors Karen Walker and Sarah Bevan (Independent) have been in discussions with council leaders since November in a bid to ensure Peasedown St John isn’t left out of any new spending plans.

Cllr Karen Walker said: “The role of any local councillor is to always put their community first. On a regular basis, Cllr Bevan and I meet with residents, visit them in their homes, and discuss issues that matter to them.

“After several months of Advice Surgeries and public meetings, we’ve put together a wish-list of items that residents have told us they’d like to see included in the 2019/29 B&NES Council Budget.”

The proposals, some of which were presented to the council’s Resources Scrutiny Panel at the Guildhall in November 2018, are:

• £30,000 for play park improvements in Eckweek Lane Play Area
• £25,000 to complete the resurfacing of pavements in Eckweek Gardens
• £40,000 for Lower Peasedown road resurfacing
• £10,000 for Lower Peasedown/ Firgrove Lane road safety signage
• £25,000 for cycle enhancements around the community
• £40,000 to resurface Braysdown Lane
• £45,000 for street lighting improvements
• £10,000 for Peasedown Youth Centre maintenance

The councillors have also asked for the £57,000 currently in council funds for the design of a roundabout at the A367/Bath Road to be released, plus £150,000 for Peasedown Primary School from CIL planning funds to be made available for spending.

Cllr Sarah Bevan added: “All of our proposals are based on requests that residents have put to us over the last year.

“The funding for cycle enhancements has been spurred on by residents since the ‘Tour of Britain’ came through Peasedown St John last September. Local people want to see more opportunities for cycling by creating ‘cycle-friendly’ public spaces and links to the Colliers Way.”

The independent councillors will be presenting their wish-list for a second round of discussions on Wednesday 6th February at a Cabinet meeting at the Council offices in Keynsham.

The 2019/20 budget will then be agreed by a meeting of the Full Council on Tuesday 19th February.