Bath & North East Somerset Council is asking local residents to be aware of an email scam in operation in relation to Council Tax.

The Council has had reports of a bogus email informing Council Tax payers that they have an outstanding Council Tax debt. The email goes on to say that the Council has been unable to process their recent payment and that they should pay again by clicking on the link within the email. These emails are not from Bath & North East Somerset Council.

If you are unsure whether you need to make a payment, please contact us on 01225 47 77 77, or email counciltax@bathnes.gov.uk

If you have received a scam email:
· Do not click on any links in the email.

· Do not reply to the email or contact the senders in any way.

· If you have clicked on a link in the email, do not supply any information on the website that may open.

· Do not open any attachments that arrive with the email.

· Report it to Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06.

· If you think you may have compromised the safety of your bank details and/or have lost money due to fraudulent misuse of your cards, you should contact your bank immediately.

the same applies for banks and building societies as well. Never click on links unless you trust the sender and be wary of any email asking you for security information.

Bath’s Grade II* Listed Victoria Bridge officially reopens on Thursday 15 January following a £3.4 million refurbishment by Bath & North East Somerset Council to make the historic structure suitable for modern use for the growing population of Crest Nicholson’s Bath Riverside development and link the Upper and Lower Bristol Road for people on foot and cyclists.

Built in 1836 to a design by James Dredge – Bath resident, brewer and bridge builder – Victoria Bridge was the first of over fifty ‘taper’ suspension bridges to be built worldwide, and is one of only a handful remaining today.

The newly-refurbished bridge will be officially reopened by descendants of James Dredge – who are pleased to see his legacy live on.

The refurbishment work has been successfully completed according to plan. The presence of the temporary truss, which was installed by the Council in 2011, and the use of some innovative construction techniques by the Council’s contractor, Balfour Beatty, enabled public access across the bridge to be maintained for over 90% of the construction period, even though the bridge superstructure had to be completely dismantled and reconstructed.

Councillor Caroline Roberts (Lib-Dem, Newbridge), Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “Our completion of the work ensures the future use of the bridge as a safe and efficient route across the River for pedestrians and cyclists, including local residents and school children. This supports the growing local community and helps people move around the city more conveniently, as well as contributing to the evolving public realm of the Bath Western Riverside residential development.”

Much research work was undertaken as part of the project to understand the history and context of the bridge and the life and role of its designer, James Dredge. This gradually uncovered an enormous of amount of previously unknown information about the Bath brewer and engineer, including details of over 50 of his bridges in the UK and overseas (from South America to India), his ideas for the Clifton Suspension Bridge and his family history in Bath and Wiltshire. This incredible set of over 1,500 documents has recently been deposited in the Bath Record Office at the Guildhall and is available for the public to view.

Councillor Ben Stevens (Lib-Dem, Widcombe), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities, said: “The refurbishment of the Grade II* Listed Victoria Bridge illustrates Bath & North East Somerset Council’s commitment to restoring this important piece of heritage infrastructure for future generations to enjoy. This magnificent structure which plays a significant part in the story of Bath’s industrial development and the advancement of bridge engineering through the Victoria era.”

Ruth Garner, Principal Adviser for Heritage at Risk for English Heritage in the South West, said: “Bath’s Grade II* listed Victoria Bridge is an extraordinary survival of one of Dredge’s early suspension bridges which has now been saved for future generations. We were pleased to have been able to provide expert advice and support to Bath & North East Somerset Council on this successful refurbishment project and, as a result of the work, have been able to remove Victoria Bridge from our Heritage at Risk Register.”

Balfour Beatty began construction in March 2014 which involved the bridge being taken to pieces and reassembled with a series of new, steel components added to make the structure sufficiently strong enough to meet modern bridge design standards. The original Bath stone towers have also been cleaned and conserved and some new foundations built to support the Bridge’s north and south backspans.

To find out more about the Victoria Bridge refurbishment visit: www.bathnes.gov.uk/victoriabridge.

A scheme which could see up to £2million in business rates being retained to boost the local economy across Somerset has been approved by the Government.

As part of the recent Local Government Settlement, the Government has given the go ahead for the establishment of the Somerset Business Rates Pool; consisting of Somerset County Council, Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) and North Somerset Unitary councils, Mendip, Sedgemoor and South Somerset District councils, and Taunton Deane Borough Council, forming a continuous geographic area centring on the ceremonial shire county of Somerset, with a combined population of over 900,000.

The Pool will build on the economic and community links between Bath, the Somer Valley and Mendip market towns of Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Frome, Shepton Mallet, Street, Wells and Glastonbury in the east, and the principal towns of the Somerset Levels in the west; including Bridgwater, Burnham on Sea, Weston Super Mare, Nailsea, Clevedon and Portishead. The administrative centre of the county is located in Taunton, with the M5 motorway passing Wellington and running to the south of the county and Yeovil and small market towns including Wincanton, Chard and Ilminster.

Bath & North East Somerset Council has been named as the lead authority for the Somerset Business Rates Pool. Councillor David Bellotti (Lib-Dem, Lyncombe), Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Resources, said: “Overall, we estimate the pool has the potential to ensure around a further £2million of Business Rates are retained locally to be shared between the member councils, encouraging closer working on the management of business rates between the partners.

“The region is forecast to experience above average growth over the next few years. Pooling Business Rates will help to mitigate local demographic and service pressures arising from additional growth and, by fully rewarding our communities for delivering such economic growth, will provide additional stimulus to new development. This will act as a further incentive for all the pooling authorities to proactively work together to drive economic growth within Somerset. The Pool will provide improved opportunities for co-ordination across the region, further re-investment in transport links in the area and will build on the joint-working that is already taking place, for example, between B&NES and North Somerset, including immediate opportunities to share expertise across the Pool membership.”

The rationale for the Somerset Business Rates Pool is to encourage economic growth; therefore Pool members are committed to using the additional business rates resource to promote further growth in the local economy. Subject to budgetary constraints, each Pool Member will allocate a significant proportion of their allocated Pool Dividend for activities that support:

· The creation of an environment where it is easy for businesses to start, locate and thrive
· Acceleration of the growth of the economy in Somerset through targeted support in the key strategic sectors.

The Somerset Business Rates Pool will complement B&NES and North Somerset councils’ participation in the West of England City Deal agreement and support and incentivise the growth in construction businesses and suppliers associated with the major development at Hinkley Point, the expansion of Bristol Airport as well as investment in large-scale distribution centres within the region, development at key junctions on the M5 corridor and the Firepool central commercial district in Taunton, plus commercial development arising out of the recently-announced dualling of the A303. A wider Pool for Business Rates Retention would allow the full benefits of economic growth arising from the strategic transport and infrastructure investment expected from the City Deal and these other major developments to flow back to the local bodies, and therefore their communities, hosting that development.

ENDS

What a great stage day it was yesterday on Stage 6 of the Tour of Britain starting out from Royal Victoria Park. As a Council we worked hard with the tour and sponsors to ensure that not only was the race a great sporting success but that also the community side of it and the spectator opportunity was great.

We had a cycle village in the park and touring round the stalls stopped for a chat with the cycle bath campaign group, up on the stage awarded t-shirts and certificates to all the young people from schools from across B&NES who lead the race out and then enjoyed all the teams being introduced to the crowds.

It was a great honour to, with Laura, drop the flag at the start line to get the stage race of to its start.

At Bath and North East Somerset Council we are encouraging staff to save via payroll deduction direct into one of our 2 local credit unions. We are served by Somerset Savings and Bristo CU. On Wednesday this week I signed up to save direct from my payslip into both unions. They are the best way to get access and loans for the many people who for whatever reason do not have bank accounts and they are certainly preferable to the loan sharks and pay day lenders that are on offer.