Harry Patch was born in Combe Down in 1898, and is one of only three living survivors of the First World War.  Like many of his generation he was reluctant to speak about his war time experience and had maintained a silence for 80 years. He got his first mention in a local paper at the age of 92 for helping Bath City Council to explore a disused limestone quarry, it didn’t know existed. He had an invaluable knowledge of the layout of the Combe Down Mines.

In 1917 he spent four months as a private in Ypres from June to September. On 22 September a light shell, known as a Whizz Bang, exploded above his head killing three members of his team. Harry was pierced by shrapnel in the lower abdomen region but survived. He was very close to his team mates and said: “I’d taken an absolute liking to the men in the team, you could almost say love.” September 22 is his personal remembrance day.

Harry didn’t want to join up and waited until military conscription was enforced before enrolling. In his autobiography he said:

“I didn’t want to go and fight anyone, but it was a case of having to.”

On Friday 7th November we met with MP Don Foster, and local Sculptor Alan Dun (who also created the models for the popular King Bladud’s Pigs) who showed us his bronze portrait of Harry on display in Bath Abbey. Remarkably Alan produced this bronze after only one meeting with Harry in a local Pub! He had been told Harry was there, and went round to meet him. He then returned and did the portrait entirely from memory. It is a very remarkable piece.

We are meeting with Alan again and hope to find a way of permanently commemorating Harry in Combe Down. 

Let us know about your ideas

You would be forgiven for thinking that it would be easy to get yellow lines painted when roads in Combe Down were unstabilised, removed.  Well think again.  The lines in Church Road and in parts of The Avenue have no longer been necessary for the past 2 years, but despite repeated requests for removal they are still there.

A Traffic Regulation Order (the bureaucracy needed to remove them) was signed in July, following the map we supplied 2 years ago, but despite council promises to remove them in August they are still there at the end of October.

Removal of the lines would take pressure off parking space outside the shops and Primary School, and make illegal parking in the village unnecessary.  With the recent closure of Church Road following a new discovery of mine voids, residents and businesses need all the parking they can get.  We are at a loss about what to do next!  If you have any ideas or some black paint let us know!

The photo shows Cherry and Roger, in the rain, looking at some of the ‘temporary’ yellows in Church Road.

The War Memorial in Combe Down is the subject of special interest for a visitor from Canada, Robert Taylor, who is working to gain a Masters in Research post at Gloucestershire University for the February term, including the Subject of Cenotaphs and War Memorials.

This has been a long standing passion of his, particularly the eras of the First and Second World Wars. Combe Down’s Memorial has special significance because of Harry Patch, the longest living survivor of the First World War,  who was born in the Village, and would have known many of the names inscribed on it as his contemporaries.  Mr Taylor saw the memorial when visiting a friend in Bath as he was driving past.  He wondered why it was in the middle of a work site, so he contacted us to enquire about it.

We met Robert at the Memorial with well known Combe Downer Phil Bishop, Chair of the War Memorial Committee who looks after the Memorial and organises the Remembrance Services in Combe Down.  The usual Remembrance service will again be held at the War Memorial on 11th November at 11am this year.

The photograph shows Robert Taylor with Phil Bishop, Cherry and Roger.

B&NES Council does not have any money invested in Icelandic Banks, which is good news,

but North Somerset has £3million invested in Landsbanki and  Bristol City Council has £8million.

Yellow Lines

We have been told that the wet weather in August rendered the machines that burn off the lines to stop working. Apparently the Liners are contracted for only four days per month and then move on to another Authority.  The Parking Manager thought that the work had been done in September, but we have pointed out that it has not been, and that the delay has a severe negative knock on effect.  We are promised that this will be looked into speedily. 

The Firs

We are querying the multiple unloading yellow lines on the kerbs at the end of The Firs near the junction with The Avenue. These were put on before the Summer, and I do question their necessity. They are an ugly sight and the Parking Services are reporting back to us on this. The Firs is due for resurfacing and tidying up, (first acheduled to happen before Combe Road closed) and we are meeting with Hydrock and Highways tomorrow to go over the plans for these works. 

Church Road Emergency Closure

It was assessed on Friday that the area of mine underneath the section of Church Road East from the end of The Avenue towards the junction with Belmont Road was unstable due to the detection of voids and required immediate road closure. Work on the stabilisation begins today.

Rockhall Lane

A section of the road will be closed for work underground testing the infill to mine roof level, checking that no voids are there. The team are flexible in the times in the day it will be closed, and will want to inconvenience residents as little as possible. 

Summer Lane

Summer Lane was one of the roads originally planned for closure, now no longer needs to be closed to complete works.  The verification works will be able to be done by restricting parking and closing a section of the footpath.  Up to three boreholes will be drilled at the locations shown on the attached plan.  This work will take up to two weeks to complete.

Hadley Arms Bus Shelter & Southstoke Road Build Out & Bradford Road Pedestrian Refuge

We have been given the following from The Transportation Manager today;

“Work is progressing on the pavement build out and pedestrian refuge and the shelter should be installed this month as programmed.”

We continue to lobby for these long delayed works and other works to be completed and will keep you posted.

Following the previous post on the Regional Spatial Strategy, we are wanting to alert residents to  an upcoming meeting, where residents views on this important subject can be heard and taken into account by our MP Don Foster.  

As you probably know every Council in the Country has to agree with Central Government a document called The Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the next 20 years.

Put simply, this identifies the number of new houses, jobs, roads, schools and facilities that a Council plans for its area.The main issues that concern residents are where these houses, roads and schools will be built and the planned numbers.

As a Council we submitted a plan to the Region last year that included 15,500 new homes across the area. The Region has increased this to over 18,000 and the Government has since increased the number even further to more than 21,000 new houses in Bath and NE Somerset.

The Council has responded to the Region and the Government as mentioned in our last post.

The Liberal Democrats are planning to also submit their own individual response because:

1) The Liberal Democrat Councillors are appalled that the Government should be increasing the number the Council put forward by over a third.

2) We do not agree with the downgrading of environmental standards in the Government response and we are completely opposed to the Government view which would bring forward green belt options at an early stage of the plan. We do not think the case has been made to change our green belt at this point. 

3) We think that much more attention needs to be given to the needs of young families and families on low income. 

4) We think the Government need to address our infrastructure deficit (road and rail links) as the plan progresses and not at a late stage.

 Before we submit our response we are consulting with residents across Bath for their views.

A Public Meeting is being chaired by MP Don Foster at :

The Guildhall, Tuesday September 30th, 7.30pm. 

 This meeting will help inform him on views from Bath in advance of his meeting with the Minister responsible planned for early October.

Please come and put forward your view on this important subject. If you are unable to attend please send your views to : don@bathlibdems 

We would be grateful if you can send / cc them to Roger and I also, so we can be up to speed with the views of our residents in Combe Down. You can leave a comment on this site, or contact us by email.

Liberal Democrat Councillors in Bath and North East Somerset are opposing the Government’s proposed requirement that over 21,000 homes should be built in the district by 2026.

We urged Council last Thursday, 11th September, to say no to this new figure,  which sets a hopelessly exaggerated economic and jobs target for the area to cater for this amount of additional homes. Council did vote against this unrealistic amendment from Govt, with a motion which called for a return to the original figure 15,300 required by Govt, which still raises questions about where these will go, and is the infrastructure in place.

At the Healthier Communities and Older People Scrutiny Panel yesterday, I put forward a motion from the Panel calling for the Cabinet member Vic Pritchard to instigate a strategy and thorough investigation into the use of empty properties, particularly with a view to catering for vulnerable groups and the homeless in the City. It is an issue which concerns me, and I believe there is not yet enough political will to really do something about these vacant premises. I will want to continue to flag this up.

At last week’s Council meeting I put forward the motion that this Council should back the Royal British Legion’s Campaign to “Honour The Military Covenant”. There has been much in the press and elsewhere of the lack of support particulary to wounded service personnel and bereaved families, and successive Govt’s have in many ways failed in proper support to our Military people, who we ask so much of, in risking their lives for their Country.

The motion was unanimously carried, and calls for greater commitment from Govt to support serving Military personnel, ex-military personnel and their families, in terms of:

•  a just compensation scheme to recognise the commitment and sacrifices made when serving the nation; 

• Support in  supplying high standards of equipment and provisions, and adequate overall numbers of Battalions/personnel

• and for more support for bereaved service families.

Similar motions have been adopted by Councils across the Country and this motion had the approval of the national campaign office of The Royal British Legion

Furrther details on this campaign: http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/index.cfm?asset_id=516704

 You can’t miss the broken down wall alongside Ralph Allen Road, on the boundary with Prior Park’s historic gardens. Mind you it is such a familiar feature now, having been in a state of disrepair for some two years or so, and fenced round with temporary metal screens, which fall over from time to time. The Council undertook to do this much needed repair over two years ago, but it has been left undone. We have recently been informed that the work will not be done for at least a further year (late 2009) because of “Financial constraints”…

This  means over three years before it might be repaired. This is a dangerous and ugly eyesore, which is not a good advertisement of this Administrations care for special historic sites such as Prior Park. In recent years the National Trust has done an excellent job of renovating the gardens and landscape of the park, to provide a visitor attraction.

The Council has recently received a large £5m VAT refund, why can’t the monies for essential repairs like this and other badly needed works be raised?

 We, together with Cllr Ian Gilchrist, Widcombe Ward, are raising this issue with Cllr Malcolm Hanney, Cabinet Member for resources, and asking him why the unnacceptable delay here.

Tell us what you think.  

On Saturday 6th September The Peggy Dodd Centre held a champagne tea Celebration to mark the tenth year of their work in Brierley House, Summer Lane, Combe Down. MP Don Foster called in to encourage them, and Roger and I visited as well as the Mayor and the Mayoress, Cllrs Tim and Sharon Ball, see the picture. The Charity was started many years ago by Bath resident Peggy Dodd, spurred on by the harrowing experience of caring for her husband. It offers invaluable help and support for  people and their carers with Alzheimers disease and other memory loss and dementing illnesses. They operate up to five days /week care, providing a breathing space in lovely surroundings, and offer supports such as bathing, chiropody, and a carers support group, and a variety of other activities.  The volunteers and workers there are committed and compassionate, and the atmosphere warm and cheerful. I was very impressed.

Also in the picture is (seated) Martha Flower, Chair of the Centre, Mary King, retiring Chair of the Friends, and (standing) Margaret Ktestadt, the New Chair of the Friends.

The Centre is always delighted to have local people come and volunteer a few hours of their time, and would especially welcome younger people. If you would like to know more, or would like to visit, contact the Centre on: 01225 835520.

Under the Regional Spatial Strategy process the Council put forward a plan which proposed 15,300 houses should be built across B&NES over the next 20 years. The Regional Assembly and Regional Development Agency want this increased to over 18,000 and the Government have just announced they want the target further increased to 21,300. The Council will be considering our response to both the RDA and the Government on September 11^th and we would be grateful for your views. Personally, we think the increases are unsustainable and unwarranted. We would also like to see any new student accommodation which is being built count towards the targets. At present the Government ignores these new dwellings.  We think this is completely unreasonable and are working for a change in the rules. If you agree please visit our campaign website and sign our petition at: www.ourcampaign.org.uk/studenthousingshouldcount 

Julian House Circuit of Bath Walk:  The annual walk on footpaths forming a circuit around the City of Bath is taking place on Sunday September 28^th to raise money for Julian House. You can join in where you like and leave where you like. If you would like more details, please contact Cathy Adcock: cathya@julianhouse.org.uk or see the website: www.julianhouse.org.uk

The Bath Heritage Open Week Sat 25^th October to Sunday 2^nd November - free for residents with a discovery card. Get your discovery card from Roman Baths. See Museum of Bath at work for free. www.bath-at-work.org.uk  

Heritage Open Days 11 – 14 September: Eight historic buildings in Bath and North East Somerset will open their doors to the public for free entry, as part of an event coordinated and promoted by the Council.
Always popular with visitors, the Heritage Open Days event, from Thursday, 11 September to Sunday 14 September, includes two buildings run by Bath & North East Somerset Council – No 4 The Circus, and St John’s Museum Store, on the corner of upper Bristol Road and Locksbrook Road. . Anyone who has always wanted a glimpse inside a Georgian house, or wondered exactly what went on when the Victorians went for spa treatment, now has the chance to find out.   Local sites open are Englishcombe Tithe Barn, Saltford Brass Mill, Bath Masonic Hall, Central United Reformed Church, 4 The Circus, St John’s Museum Store, St Swithin’s Church and Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust. Heritage Open Days is a national, annual event co-ordinated by the Civic Trust and English Heritage. It allows free access to those enticing places that the public know exist, but cannot usually get to see. 
A leaflet can be downloaded from www.bathnes.gov.uk/heritageevents or you can pick up a copy from the Roman Baths, the library or any of the Council reception points.