Latest news with #Filton
BBC News
7 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Day of traffic chaos in Filton 'was caused by human error'
Severe city traffic causing hours of delays was the result of human error, the leader of a council has said. Maggie Tyrrell from South Gloucestershire Council said jams throughout Monday in Filton, north of Bristol, happened after contractors mistakenly "closed off a turning that shouldn't have been closed".One woman told the BBC a journey that would normally take 20 minutes lasted three Democrat Ms Tyrrell was speaking to BBC Radio Bristol's John Darvall in an hour-long interview that also covered parking charges in Kingswood and council tax rises. The traffic in Filton was partly caused by the planned closure of the A38 flyover for roadworks. Ms Tyrrell said a "perfect storm" of an issue on the M5 at the same time exacerbated the problem. But she said months of planning and traffic modelling meant the impact of the A38 closure should not have been so severe. Kingswood parking charges Ms Tyrrell said that parking charges recently introduced to Kingswood, Bristol, would not be businesses have reported a decline in footfall as a result – and a butcher in Kingswood Indoor Market has decided to close. But the council leader said: "We have to bring in the revenue and we've kept the charges as low as we possibly can."We are monitoring what's going on. In all the authorities that we've looked at where parking charges have been imposed, there's been a dip [in footfall] and then it's come back up to where it was."It is a question of people basically coming to terms with it."She said more people were now using buses "which is great news". Rising taxes As is the case with local authorities across the country, South Gloucestershire Council is struggling with a funding Tyrrell said there was currently a gap of around £25m between revenue and said council tax in South Gloucestershire was likely to rise again next April."At the moment we can't see how it would not [go up]," she said."We need government to step in," she listen to the interview in full, go to BBC Sounds or watch via this link.
BBC News
05-08-2025
- BBC News
A38 Filton: 'Gridlock' problems being 'urgently' looked at
Options to alleviate congestion are being looked at "urgently" after commuters said several sets of roadworks were leading to short journeys taking several hours on "gridlocked" roads.A major bus route has had to be diverted and there have been reports of residents missing hospital and court appointments after the flyover on the A38 in Filton, north of Bristol, was closed on Monday. The traffic problems have been compounded by other work on nearby Bradley Stoke Way, emergency work on Orpheus Avenue and several other bridges being Gloucestershire Council said the work had been planned for the summer holidays "when traffic volumes are normally lower". The council added that a right-turn from Gipsy Patch Lane towards Hayes Way was "closed in error" on Monday creating traffic issues "felt for large parts of the day", with the problems made worse by vehicles diverted into the area following a crash on the flyover is due to remain closed until 31 August, with the nearly 50-year-old structure requiring extensive maintenance work, but residents say the traffic issues are being exacerbated by a number of other roadworks in the area. 'This is hopeless' Christine Butler, 60, spent three hours on her commute from Patchway to Filton on Monday - a journey that usually takes 20 minutes. In all her 40 years of living in the area she said she had "never" seen traffic like it, describing the roads as "gridlocked". "I didn't realise it was going to be this bad," she said, describing how she had heard of people missing hospital and court appointments as a result of the traffic issues. "A lot of people were pulling over and just getting out their cars, just parking up thinking 'this is hopeless, I'm going to turn around' - it would have been quicker for me to walk really." The work is not just affecting cars and vans - bus services in the area have also been unable to run normally. First Bus confirmed on Tuesday that the 75 service, the major route serving the area, was suffering "major disruption" and would be diverted until further Y6 would also be temporarily rerouted, the transport provider said. Shanice Brake, 33, from Winterbourne, also got caught up in the traffic chaos with her commute to Cribbs Causeway taking two hours - more than six times the length it would normally be. Working in healthcare, she said she had seen patients having to be turned away because they were so late for their appointments, with some even calling to say they were "stuck" on their way in. Both she and Ms Butler expressed their "frustration" at how little work they could see being done along the closures, as well as their concerns that they had seen people carrying out illegal manoeuvres on the A-road. "All I saw was a lot of colleagues on their phones or just sorting signs out, and you're thinking 'if this is going to take four weeks please let them be working 24/7 to fix this'." A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said the authority was "urgently looking into options for changing traffic light sequencing" and would "monitor traffic flows to see where we can make changes""We appreciate drivers' frustration and apologise for unnecessary delays, however bridge maintenance and improvements do need to happen for the long term benefit of those drivers and other road users for the long term," they added.
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Airbus workers vote to strike over 'poor pay' offer
Airbus workers have voted in favour of industrial action in a dispute over a "poor pay" offer. More than 3,000 aircraft fitters and engineers at sites in Broughton, Flintshire, and Filton, Bristol, were balloted by the union Unite, and 95% of union members voted in favour of strikes on an 80% turnout. In a statement, Airbus said it was not formally notified of any industrial action, and while it had made a "competitive and fair" pay offer, would be open to further discussions with the union to find a way forward. The Unite union said it remained committed to trying to avoid industrial action if the company would be prepared to re-negotiate. UK company to build satellite system worth £127m Extra defence cash could be spent in Wales - minister Airbus confirms deal for Spirit operations in Belfast Airbus said the pay offer for 2025 totalled an increase of more than 20% over the past three years. However, Unite said while the pay offer would not be made public as negotiations continued, it was below inflation and a "real-terms pay cut". Rhys McCarthy, Unite national officer for aerospace, said the vote "shows the depth of anger that our members have over the poor pay offer from Airbus". "It is not too late to avoid industrial action if they get back around the negotiating table with a new offer that is acceptable to our members," he added. "Otherwise they will see that anger first-hand on the picket line." The workers produce aircraft wings for the A320 family, A330, A350 and A400M military transport aircraft - core programmes in Airbus's global operations. If there is no resolution, strike action could begin in September, with dates to be confirmed.
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Broughton Airbus workers to strike over 'poor pay' offer
Airbus workers have voted in favour of industrial action in a dispute over a "poor pay" than 3,000 aircraft fitters and engineers at sites in Broughton, Flintshire, and Filton, Bristol, were balloted by the union Unite, and 95% of union members voted in favour of strikes on an 80% union said it remained committed to trying to avoid industrial action if the company would be prepared to re-negotiate. Rhys McCarthy, Unite national officer for aerospace, said the vote "shows the depth of anger that our members have over the poor pay offer from Airbus". "It is not too late to avoid industrial action if they get back around the negotiating table with a new offer that is acceptable to our members," he added. "Otherwise they will see that anger first-hand on the picket line."The workers produce aircraft wings for the A320 family, A330, A350 and A400M military transport aircraft - core programmes in Airbus's global there is no resolution, strike action could begin in September, with dates to be confirmed.
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
New Bristol arena 'could have larger capacity of 20,000'
The group behind a massive new music venue planned for Bristol says it is now planning for a maximum capacity of 20, YTL Arena is being created inside a hangar on the old Filton Airfield, with the latest estimates saying it could open in plans suggested it would be able to hold 17,000 fans, with that later increased to 19, a statement YTL Arena Chief Executive Andrew Billingham said increasing the capacity beyond even those numbers is "really important". Plans for the arena in Filton were first announced in 2018, with it set to be the centre point of the Brabazon development, which will also include 6,500 huge scheme has been much delayed, with the developers - Malaysian-owned YTL - initially saying it could be open by expected opening has already been pushed back by six years, and the idea to increase capacity will now require new planning permission from South Gloucestershire Council. Andrew Billingham, Chief Executive of YTL Arena, said: "We want to attract the biggest artists and events to Bristol, so increasing the capacity to 20,000 is really important to us."We'll achieved this by maximising the size of the floor of what will be our standing area, where concertgoers will be stood on the very same concrete where Concorde was built."The Filton arena was promoted as a more affordable alternative to a previously council-backed scheme next to Bristol Temple Meads railway was first proposed in 2003, but building work never started, and while the plan was resurrected in the 2010s, former city mayor Marvin Rees scrapped the construction is yet to begin on the Filton arena, work on a railway station to bring concert-goers to the venue is under brand new station, North Filton, is set open as an unstaffed station in late 2026, though this is set to be enlarged later when the arena nears hundreds of people have already bought and moved into new homes as part of the development, and there are plans for schools, student accommodation and sports facilities.
