Police are appealing for information following a catalytic converter theft in Congresbury.

On Monday 28 February, the catalytic converter was stolen from a black Honda Jazz while it was parked in the car park at Cadbury Garden Centre, close to the store entrance.

It’s believed the theft took place between the hours of 3.20 and 5.20pm.

Police would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the theft or noticed any suspicious activity.

If you can help, please call 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5222052711, or complete the online appeals form.

Catalytic converters contain precious metals such as rhodium, platinum and palladium. The sharp rise in the value of these metals over recent years has driven up the rate of catalytic converter theft.

They can take less than a minute for a thief to cut and remove.

Avon & Somerset Police are urging motorists to help protect their vehicles from becoming an easy target by taking these steps:

• Avoid parking half on the pavement, half on the road, as this may provide thieves with easier access to the underside of your vehicle.
• Park your vehicle in a locked garage whenever possible.
• Try to park in busy, well-lit areas, or areas covered by CCTV.
• Ask your garage to tell you your catalytic converter’s serial number, and make a note of it.
• Consider purchasing forensic liquid and using it to mark your catalytic converter.
• Place a protective covering over your catalytic converter.

For more information on catalytic converter theft visit Crimestoppers: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/keeping-safe/home-property-safety/catalytic-converter-theft

The Centre for Sustainable Energy is running an online consultation about renewable energy on behalf of North Somerset Council. The centre held a public workshop in January when residents supported the possible development on wind turbines and solar farm expansion.

Have your say on this in this short survey: https://communityenergyplan.commonplace.is/proposals/congresbury-and-puxton/step1

A tree has come down in the Community Café courtyard and the café will not be opening on Saturday February 19.

Storm Eunice has been declared a major incident by the Avon and Somerset Local Resilience Forum due to the potential for severe disruption.

A red weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for extremely strong winds between 7am and midday on Friday 18 February.

The storm has the potential to cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions along the length of the west coast of Somerset through the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary into Gloucestershire.

The Environment Agency has issued a flood warning for Severn Beach and flood alerts for Porlock Weir, along the Severn between Avonmouth and Sharpness and along the Avon into Bristol. You can check your area’s risk of flooding on their website.

There is also a risk of 90mph gusts of wind causing coastal flooding and affecting trees and temporary structures. This could cause disruption to the road and rail network, flights, power and communications systems with a high likelihood that both the M4 Prince of Wales bridge and the M48 Severn Bridge will be closed.

Members of the public are asked to avoid travelling on Friday morning wherever possible and to follow weather and travel bulletins on local radio or check on local media websites.

Travel information will also be shared by National Highways, Travel Somerset, Travel West or you can check with your local public transport provider.

Emergency services, local authorities, National Highways and other voluntary and statutory agencies are on stand-by to put well-rehearsed plans into place.

You can report trees fallen into a major road to National Highways and on local roads to your local authority. 

Please call 999 if there is an immediate risk to safety such as a fallen live power cable. 

Links:

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/alerts-and-warnings

https://nationalhighways.co.uk/travel-updates/

https://travelwest.info/travel-updates

The Centre for Sustainable Energy held a public workshop on behalf of North Somerset Council on 23^rd January. At this, residents in Congresbury and Puxton gave conditional support to the possible development of wind turbines and the expansion of existing solar farms in the area. 

At the workshop, participants (all residents of the local area) gave conditional support for:

• Medium scale wind turbines (up to 1 megawatt in output and 100 metres in height), ground based solar panels and community scale battery storage by the M5 to the northwest of West Hewish, on the condition the turbines are community owned.
• The significant expansion of the four existing ground based solar farms within the two parishes with the potential to approximately treble their size.

Please share your thoughts on what was said and view a map of the suggestions in this short survey: https://communityenergyplan.commonplace.is/proposals/congresbury-and-puxton/step1

The workshop and this online consultation will inform North Somerset Council’s planning policies for renewable energy in the emerging Local Plan. The consultation will be open until Monday 14^th March. There also will be further opportunities to comment on the Council’s emerging planning policies. Please share the consultation with friends and family so they can feed in their thoughts. I have also attached a poster to help you spread the word.

If you have any questions please email communities@cse.org.uk OR call 0117 934 1400 for a paper summary and form.

A garden shed has been broken into overnight on the 9th in Weetwood Road, Congresbury. The offender smashed the latch securing the door to establish entry and once inside nothing was stolen. It is thought the offender may have been disturbed during the attempt.

Any information please contact the Police on 101 quoting reference number: 5222006990 stating NHW release. Or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

North Somerset council will increase the number of dog warden patrols in Congresbury following complaints about dogs fouling the King George V Playing Field and children’s play area.

This is the latest development since the council launched a county-wide crackdown on dog fouling and irresponsible dog ownership towards the end of 2021.

North Somerset Council is asking residents to report locations of dog fouling using the app Pooper Snooper – https://poopersnooper.app/get-started

The reports residents provide through the app will inform the council of the worst offending areas and add to the list of hotspot areas the council already has.

Targeted areas will be patrolled by the council’s contractor Local Authority Support, who will issue fines under the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for:

• anyone seen not picking up after their dogs

• anyone seen not disposing of bagged dog waste correctly by taking it home or putting it in a bin

• not having a receptacle to pick up after their dog (for example a bag)

• having dogs off a lead in areas covered by the current PSPO

• walking their dog within a dog exclusion zone.

During the campaign officers will proactively engage with dog walkers to ask them whether they have a means to pick up after their dog. If they cannot show the officer a dog bag, they will be fined £75 for breaching the PSPO and given a bag to ensure they have one for the rest of their walk.

Cllr Mike Solomon, the council’s executive member for neighbourhoods and community services, said: “Unfortunately, due to a minority of dog owners who don’t clear up after their pets, dog mess continues to blight our towns, villages and open spaces. It remains a big concern for many of our residents with 90 per cent of respondents in a recent survey agreeing it was reasonable to issue on-the-spot fines to deal with the issue.

“By proactively asking dog walkers to prove they have a means to pick up after their dog we will be tackling this issue head on. We hope this campaign will change people’s behaviour and improve our local environment, helping North Somerset to become a cleaner and greener place for everyone.”

More information on dog related orders contained within the PSPO and the other offences covered can be found at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/pspo.

A motorist was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving offences after crashing in Congresbury in the early hours of Wednesday morning. He was driving south on Brinsea Road when his BMW Z3 sports car hit a garden wall on the west side of the road before demolishing a front garden fence on the east side of the road. The driver was unhurt.

A home has been burgled in High Street, Congresbury on the evening of December 2nd between 5pm and 8pm. No visible signs of damage were present to suggest a point of entry and once inside a thorough search of the property was conducted, with all rooms entered and cupboards emptied. Nothing was stolen from within.

Any information please contact the police on 101 quoting Ref number: 5221283758 stating NHW Release or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

A stables / store room has been subject of an attempted theft between 6pm on the 25th & 6:45am on the 26th in Langford Road, Langford. The offenders cut through the door lock but were prevented further progress because of the deadlocks and reinforcements on the other side. The offender even tried using a shovel which had been left in the yard space, again without success.

The culprits then gained access to the garage by removing tiles from the roof. At present it is unclear if any items have been stolen from within.

Any information please contact the Police on 101 quoting Ref number: 5221278142 stating NHW Release or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Thank you for your support.

A garden shed has been unlawfully entered sometime between the 27th & 29th in Wrington Mead, Congresbury. The owner had placed a bin and flower pot outside of the shed door as it had opened due to the bad weather. Upon checking on the morning of the 29th, the bin and flower pot had both been moved and a DeWalt drill had been stolen from within.

Any information please contact the Police on 101 quoting Ref number: 5221280630 stating NHW Release or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Police are appeal for information following damage to a motorcycle parked on Cobthorn Way, Congresbury at around 7:40am on Saturday. The motorcycle had been set alight causing around 20 per cent damage before the fire was extinguished. Any information please contact 101 quoting Ref number: 5221273403 stating NHW Release or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Police are seeking witnesses to a burglary in Congresbury at the end of October.

A safe was stolen from a residential address in the Station Road area between 6.30pm on Saturday 30 October and approximately 1.30am on Sunday 31 October.

Police are keen to hear from anyone who saw anybody acting suspiciously in the area, or noticed an unknown vehicle parked up in the vicinity, during those times.

If you can help, call 101 and give the call-handler reference number 5221255266. Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Dangerous children’s play equipment on both the Millennium Green and King George V playing field has been removed by the parish council as part of plans to revamp the areas.

“We are very pleased with the removal work as the equipment was rotten and dangerous and we did not want it to deteriorate any further especially over the winter months,” said the council.

“We are gathering information on the costs of different equipment. Many of you asked for the zip wire to be replaced and climbing equipment to be included and therefore we are concentrating on looking at different options incorporating these ideas.

“There is currently a considerable lead time for the ordering and completion of any play equipment at the mpment. Hopefully we will be looking at a spring installation for new equipment.”

A home has been burgled in Station Road, Congresbury, between 6:30pm on October 30th and 1:30am on the 31st. The offender/s forced entry via the rear and once inside an untidy search was conducted with items being stolen from within.

Any information please contact the police on 101 quoting Ref number: 5221255266 stating NHW Release or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

There will be a meeting between the PCSOs and the community at Congresbury Youth Club  building this Friday at 6pm.  Short notice, because they are very keen to show that they are taking the recent spate of complaints about anti-social behaviour by young people seriously, and to work WITH us to address them.  

The PCSOs are making the point that they can’t tackle this alone, and we as a community need to be part of the solution, so it would be great to see some people showing up with positive ideas.     Please publicise this widely to anyone who is interested in a positive co-operative approach.  We will ensure the meeting doesn’t move into the mood of blaming either the police or young people.

Alex Ballard

A home has been burgled overnight on the 30th September in Wrington Mead, Congresbury. The offender gained access by climbing over a side gate by using a bin. Once inside the grounds they then forced entry via a downstairs window by snapping the hinge. Inside the property a messy search was conducted where it was clear the offender was looking for jewellery. Once the search was completed the offender then made off via the same method of entry.

Any information please contact the Police on 101 quoting Ref number: 5221228825 stating NHW Release or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Thank you for your support.

Villagers who regularly exercise their dogs on the King George V playing fields are being asked to stick to the byelaws which require dogs to be kept on leads at all times on any part of the playing fields.

This applies to the cricket field, the children’s play area, and the grass area between the two.

The KGV Trustees point out that there are several signs (pictured right) on the entrances to the grounds telling owners that dogs must be kept on leads and to clean up after their dogs.

“The problem of people walking dogs on the fields but off leads has been around for some time but has been getting worse, possibly exacerbated by the pandemic,” said a representative of the Trustees. 

The Trustees point out that the KGV fields were left in trust for the playing of sport and recreation and the byelaws specifically prohibit the taking of any dog onto any part of the fields unless kept on a chain.

The cricket club, which maintains the cricket ground, has asked the Trustees to take further action if matters do not improve.

A property has been damaged in Park Road, Congresbury, on Thursday between 11am and 11:30am. A rock was thrown at a window of the property causing it to smash. 

Any information please contact the police on 101 quoting Ref number: 5221221943 stating NHW Release or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

North Somerset council plans to restart garden waste collections from the end of September but only every four weeks instead of fortnightly.

“This is a pragmatic approach that enables us to offer a garden waste service to all our existing customers while still dealing with the driver shortages. We are amending the garden waste collection calendars and these will be available on our website before collections begin again,” the council said.

New calendars will be available from Friday and can be downloaded from www.n-somerset.gov.uk/calendar.

The council notes that driver shortages are still a very serious issue. “We remain in a precarious situation with our staff resources so the situation could change again.”

There will be a discount on next year’s collections to compensate residents for the disruption. “You don’t need to contact us to qualify for this offer – it will be automatically available at renewal,” the council said.

North Somerset is also setting up trial satellite sites across the area so existing customers have the option to take their garden waste to staffed drop-off points if they don’t live within easy reach of one of the three recycling centres. These will be announced to customers living in those areas as soon as they’re up and running.

North Somerset council is halting all garden waste collections between September 6th and 17th because of a national shortage of HGV drivers.

“Despite our best efforts to keep your garden waste collection service running as normally as possible over recent weeks, we have made the difficult decision today to suspend collections for at least the next two weeks,” said the council.

Recycling and black bin waste collections will continue as normal.

North Somerset notes that neighbouring councils suspended their services earlier in the summer, adding that it has been able to continue collections – with limited disruption – until now.

“We have now reached the point where the national shortage of HGV drivers means that we cannot continue to provide all services. We are working hard on doing what we can to fix the situation locally and will have a clearer picture on compensation for our customers and what we’ll do to mitigate further impacts within the next two weeks. We’re also lobbying government to resolve the national crisis.

“We are really sorry for the inconvenience this causes you and will be in touch again before your next garden waste collection is due with an update.

“Our recycling centres will be open as normal if you’re unable to store your garden waste at home. Home composting is also a good way to deal with any extra garden waste generated.”