The council was awarded unitary authority status in 1996, when Avon County Council was abolished under the local government review. It is a mixed urban and rural authority, with the major urban centres in Thornbury, Yate and the north fringe area bordering Bristol. The M4, M5, M32, M48 and M49 all pass through South Gloucestershire.
South Gloucestershire Council is rated an excellent four star authority by the Audit Commission.
During 2006 South Gloucestershire Council worked with the other ex-Avon councils of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol City and North Somerset to set up the West of England Road Safety Partnership (WoE RSP). This partnership includes other representative bodies such as the Primary Care Trust, Fire and Rescue Service, the Highways Agency, Avon and Somerset Police, Safecam, the West of England Partnership and the Magistrates Court. The Partnership is responsible for delivering the road safety strategy detailed in the Joint Local Transport Plan.
A key aim of the Partnership is to achieve even greater safety improvements and casualty reductions by using the available resources in a coordinated way throughout the area. In partnership with Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire has recently been awarded Cycle Demonstration City status for the Greater Bristol area.
The Council’s road safety officers can offer advice or training on:-
• Bikeability. The council had received national recognition for its highly successful cycle training and is fully accredited under this scheme, which ensures youngsters are trained to a national standard and have the skills and confidence to ride their bikes on today’s roads.
• Primary school road safety days
• Road Safety Resource Boxes for pre-school groups
• Coaching for powered two wheeler riders
Contacts
Rob Joyce
Senior Road Ssafety Engineer
Broad Lane
Yate
BS37 7PN
T: 01454 863752
E: highways@southglos.gov.uk
E: www.southglos.gov.uk