Travel to Work Survey 2021
The West of England Travel to Work Survey 2021 will be taking place this year from the 8th to the 14th of March 2021. Pre-registration is now open until 1st Feb 2021. Click here
M5 J19 southbound exit/entry-slip overnight closure – 16th Jan ’21
To alleviate congestion at J19 of the M5, Highways England is reconfiguring the lanes within the exit-slip and roundabout to allow traffic to flow more freely. An overnight closure of the southbound exit and entry-slips is planned for Sat. 16th January 2021. There will be no access onto the J19 gyratory between these points from 20:00 in the evening until 06:00 the following morning.M5 J19 will be closed from the exit slip round to the entry slip and there will be no access to Gordano Services from the M5. Clearly signed diversion routes will be in place as agreed with N. Somerset and Bristol City Council. Please note: the B3124 is unsuitable for heavy vehicles and does not form part of the diversion route. Highways England would encourage all drivers to stick to the officially signed diversion route.
M5 J14 to J18 resurfacing works
We have been informed by Highways England that essential surfacing works need to be carried out on the M5 north bound between junction 18 and junction 14. Sections of the M5 northbound willl need to be fully closed overnight. The work will be carried out in phases, starting on the evening of Mon.18th Jan ’21 and finishing on the morning of Sat 27th Feb ’21. It will take place overnight on weekdays only between 8pm and 6am. The phases are as follows: 18/1/21 to 21/1/21 – overnight closure of the M5 northbound between junction 18 and junction 1522/1/21 to 17/2/21 – overnight closure of the M5 northbound between junction 17 and junction 1618/2/21 to 27/2/21 overnight closure of the M5 northbound between junction 16 junction 1422 January, 16 February and 22 February – complete closure of the M5 junction 16 entry slip17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25 and 26 February – closure of J16 to M5 North traffic Whilst work is happening, a fully signed diversion route will be in place. Please allow extra time for your journey
Jan. 21 Virtual Business Breakfast
Date: Thurs. Jan 28th from 08:00 to 09:00 Venue: Zoom Host: SevernNet Please join us to catch up after the Christmas break and discuss opportunities for the area in 2021. Register now for January’s Business Breakfast. We want to hear from you. We’ll be hosting via Zoom and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday morning, 28th Jan. Book your ticket now. SevernNet Virtual Business Breakfast’s are an opportunity to meet and collaborate with local businesses and stakeholders. There’ll be an opportunity for everyone to introduce yourself and your business. You’ll have to bring your own breakfast!
Regional Recovery Plan, help for business and boosting local skills
Summary of SevernNet Business Breakfast – 26th Nov. 20 Thanks to everyone who participated. It was a very interesting and informative event and good to see the investments being made in business support and improving skills. Avonmouth Ward C19 Task Force Invitation The Avonmouth Ward are seeing high levels of infection and Bristol City Council’s Public Health is working with the local community to set up a localised approach to outbreak management. Businesses are invited to participate in a Zoom meeting on Tues 1st December at 13:30. More information here. Regional Recovery Fund – Increasing support for businesses and residents WECA’s Director of Business & Skills, Stephen Bashford, provided a clear overview of the various support mechanisms available for businesses and the various skills and training programmes. We encourage you to have a look and share within your businesses and communities, and where relevant, with colleagues who might benefit from the skills opportunities. Stephens’s presentation is available here, and a summary document here. You can keep up to date with the latest news from WECA and the West of England LEP by signing up here. Career College and Logistics Simon Arnold, Managing Director of Partners in Bristol at City of Bristol College introduced the Career College for Logistics. This collaboration between seven colleges in the UK and STC college in Rotterdam is aiming to address the lack of ambition and knowledge young people have about the career opportunities in the logistics sector. Providing a vehicle to bring new talent into logistics, each college will offer new Level 2 and 3 qualifications in Logistics and International Supply Chain Management. Find out more here. Ways2Work and the new One Front Door Chris Mitchell (Employer Account Officer, Bristol City Council) explained the changes introduced to Ways2Work to enable a greater focus on supporting individuals seeking work as well as support to employers. Schemes include Move in and Move Up to support the homeless, One Front Door which provides more intense support for individuals, an easier way for SMEs to access Kickstart and ‘WE WORK for Everyone’ which is a scheme for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). You can find out more from the presentation available here. Skilling up for high value green industry careers Mark Pepper, Development Manager at Ambition Lawrence Weston shared an update on delivering the Lawrence Weston Community Plan. Significant progress is being made including: Planning permission gained for a community owned on-shore wind turbine in Avonmouth which, when completed, will deliver renewable energy and sustainable income to the communityFacilitating more affordable and good quality homes to be built and working with Housing Associations etc.Finalising plans for a £1.7m Community Hub including training facilities and workshopsAddressing the massive skills gap in the area The ambition is to introduce a sector based academy that can deliver the skills needed for local people to develop careers in the renewables sector and in the developing field of MMC (Modern Methods of Construction). Discussion and conclusions An interesting discussion followed including: Steven King from Kings Heavy Haulage shared the benefits they have gained from training up young people who can then progress through the business.The need for communication to be improved around the various schemes within the business and residential communities was raised and noted by WECA.Sam Marsh (Severn Ride&Stride) noted that e-bikes/bikes were available to help people get to work across the area and other support is available. More here.SevernNet is organising an Economy, Employment and Skills Forum for December/January to bring stakeholders together from across the area. There is an opportunity to progress the SevernNet area (Portbury, Avonmouth, Severnside) Skills Academy concept to benefit businesses, local people and training providers.More information on skills, employment and business support will also be provided on SevernNet website. Road Safety Campaign and ‘No Need to Speed’ Neil Stradling, Avon Fire & Rescue emphasised the message from last weeks Road Safety week campaign. ‘No Need to Speed’. Please share this within your businesses and organisations. Next Business Breakfast Next Business Breakfast will be on Jan 28th 2021. SevernNet wish everyone all the best for what remains of 2020 and a better, we hope, 2021.
Avonmouth Ward C19 Task Force
Setting up a localised approach to outbreak management A message and invitation from Ami-Louise Duggan, Public Health Bristol. If you’re able to participate (details below) please email info@severnnet.org
Firstly I would like to say Thank you for your endless effort to help your communities in such uncertain times, it’s been a hard year and your work is so valuable!
As Covid 19 rates in Bristol are high, we now need a localised approach to outbreak management. I am setting up a Avonmouth Ward C19 Task Force to tackle issues in the communities and what we can do as community workers/businesses/volunteers to help bring the rates down.
We will discuss ideas such as signage, marshalls, community champions and enforcement.
Everyone will have a part to play in this meeting whether its community intelligence from being on the ground and seeing everyday situations, have some capacity to pop up some posters on lamp posts or buildings or having the knowledge and resources to keep your employees safe in their workplace.
The first meeting will be based around the facts and figures of Covid rates in the Avonmouth ward and the structure of the meetings going forward.
Meeting date: Tuesday 1st December, 1.30pm-3pm, Location: Zoom (invite link to follow in a separate email Tuesday morning)
So as the first agenda I suggest: Welcome and introductions – Ami
Brief description on Outbreak Management and stats – Mohammed
Structure of this meeting: is there anyone missing? How often? Who should lead the meeting? – All
What are the problem areas within our communities? (Community intelligence) – All
Ideas to increase knowledge and reduce rates? (signage, myth busters, marshalls etc) – All Hope to see all of you on zoom Tuesday.
Many Thanks, Ami
It’s Road Safety Week 2020 – No Need to Speed
This is a call to action … we’re inviting you to get involved in Road Safety Week 2020 running until 22nd November . SevernNet and Severn Ride and Stride are committed to improving road safety for those who drive, walk, cycle and ride in the area. With recent serious accidents, we really need to work together to improve awareness. We’d also like to offer our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the people who recently died on the roads in this area. Road Safety Week is the UK’s biggest road safety event, coordinated annually by Brake, the road safety charity. The theme for 2020 is NO NEED TO SPEED. You can sign up here.We encourage you to get involved by sharing the message this week with colleagues, printing the posters below and putting up in prominent places e.g. on the way to the car park. You can also invite colleagues to take a selfie with a poster to share to spread the message. There are a number of different posters to choose (see below). If photos are uploaded to social media you could add @SevernRideandStride and #Roadsafetyweek2020. If you’d like more information on the above or have any questions please email There are information and resources on The Road Safety Week website and we’ve brought lots of material together here on SevernNet Ride and Stride Road Safety page.Additional resources we can signpost you to include: Free driver training currently via ZoomFree motorcycle trainingHGV awarenessFree basic or advanced cycling training If you’d like more information on the above or have any questions please email
Laying of fibre optic cable between Merebank Rd, Kings Weston Lane and Access 18 – Mon. 16th – Wed. 18th Nov.
Work will be undertaken over the three days from Mon. 16th to Wed. 18th November to lay a fibre optic cable duct from the junction of Merebank Rd and Kings Weston Lane, along Kings Weston Road and into and across Access 18. The nature of the works is such that it can only be done during the working week and daylight hours. To minimise impact on morning and afternoon peaks the works will commence at 09:30 and run until 15:30 on each day. Manned traffic management will be in place throughout to help minimise congestion (see below) Any questions or concerns please get in touch by email. Phase 1 Traffic management Three way lights with manually operated STOP/GO boards at Boundary Rd. Phases 2 and 3 Traffic Management Rolling 2-way traffic signals as work progresses between Boundary Road and Access 18 entrance, with manually operated STOP/GO boards at Access 18 entrance
Finalising work from water pipe burst at junction: St Andrews Road and Kings Weston Lane
A number of problems were encountered last week during the repair of the burst water pipe. The water main is still leaking under the footpath. The footpath isnt wide enough for work to be undertaken without interfering with the traffic flow. It has been agreed that the work should be undertaken over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday the 7th and 8th November. The digging out and repair will be done on Sat 7th November and reinstated on Sun 8th November. Traffic management will be in place throughout.We hope that inconvenience and congestion will be minimsed through weekend working. 21st October 2020: Update on burst water pipe Apologies to all for the unavoidable traffic congestion this morning, particularly for those travelling north from direction of M5 and Avonmouth Village.Traffic signals have now been adjusted to give more time to traffic travelling North and we understand this is now moving more freely. The work, and traffic management, should be removed by 20:00 tonight (22/10/20), all being well.There may be a time when there appears to be no or limited activity. This will be when the tarmac is being given time to set properly. Please be patient.The work is due to a burst pipe that needs urgent repair.If significant congestion builds up later today please let us know and we will pass this on. Thanks to those of you who got in touch earlier.
M5, J19 southbound slip road night time closures
Work on short term improvements to M5 junction 19 is progressing well and Highways England is now moving to the next stage of their works to alleviate congestion on the M5 J19 southbound exit-slip. During this phase they’’ll widen the entrance to the southbound entry-slip, move the kerb and safety barrier and finally resurface the road. This will necessiate overnight closures of the southbound entry-slip road from 20:00 to 06:00 on the following dates: Monday 2nd Nov to Saturday 7th Nov 2020Monday 16th Nov to Friday 20th Nov 2020Monday 23rd Nov & Tuesday 24th November 2020 During the day the entry-slip will remain open as usual DiversionWhilst these works are ongoing locally signed diversions will be in place as agreed with North Somerset Local Authority and Bristol City Council.Please note: the B3124 is unsuitable for heavy vehicles and does not form part of our diversion route, we would encourage all drivers to stick to the officially signed diversion route. Thank you for your patience whilst these works are carried out.