All change – will the new broom’s sweep clean. We will all have to wait and see! I will pass on changes that could affect small to medium businesses as and when they reach my desk.

To put my positive spin on things, we must treat this as an opportunity, but that will entail reacting to change very quickly to get the best for our individual businesses.
I am very impressed that one of the first objectives is to cut through some red tape – “bring it on”!!!

The world markets are on radar but just observing and the numbers will tumble and rise in line with policy changes.

RBS announced a further 2,600 job cuts bringing the total to 22,600 – were they over staffed???!!!
22 June is the first budget (hold tight).

Two thirds of businesses not ready for carbon reduction. MORSE report that 72% of respondents are unaware of how to reduce their emissions.

It has now been definitely confirmed that John Penrose MP has taken the post of Minister for Tourism which, as a seaside town, is great for us!

Quote of the Week:
“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it” – Dennis Kimbro

The Weston Echo news team is made up of volunteers, most of which have day jobs and dedicate a small amount of time per week to writing about the local subjects that interest them most.

We are expanding our news team as there are various areas that we do not currently cover in local interest which we would like people to write for, these categories are listed below so please have a look through to see what you would enjoy writing about. If you have any friends, family or work colleagues that would be interested please point them in our direction.

Benefits of writing for the Weston Echo

• Get your voice heard in the local community writing about the things you love
• Local recognition for your writing talents
• Free promotion for your personal or business enterprise
• Exclusive yourname@westonecho.co.uk email address
• Being part of something new and exciting

The following categories currently require more writers to submit their stories:

• Education
• Local Affairs (General News)
• Food, including restaurant reviews
• Sport – Football, Motoring, Rugby to name but a few
• What’s on, cinema and theatre

Are other categories not listed here always have space for more articles so take a look at the menu at the top, or even suggest a new category for us!

Contact Matthew Stone at editor@westonecho.co.uk for more information on getting started.

Matthew Stone is the Editor of the Weston Echo. He is also an established I.T. Professional working for a local database marketing company

According to the latest weather reports, Weston could be in line for a further flurry of snow this weekend. With tempertures dropping as low as -8C at night, the snow which is still covering most of our minor access roads and has turned them into ice rinks looks set to last for a while longer.

The Weston Echo is launching a plea to all able bodied residents to stop moaning that no-one has cleared the roads and do what they do in every other snowbound country in the world: Pick up a shovel and start digging the snow off your section of pavement outside your house, and if applicable the road too.

If you live near someone who might struggle to get outside in this weather, go and check they are all right and help them clear their path and pavement and do what ever you can to help those who can’t help themselves.

I can guarantee you that almost all of the accidents on our roads in the past few days have been caused by idiots! The simple fact is no-one really knows how to drive in the snow, yet we carry on as though its not even there. Our advice to motorists is to keep your speeds down, there is no rush; Don’t drive in too low a gear, more power will be transferred to the wheels causing them to slip; Do not use your brakes when travelling above 5mph, I can’t stress this one enough. If you need to slow down on snow-packed roads, change down through the gears using your clutch to control your speed, when the car is almost at a stop gently apply the brake and the car will come to a gentle stop.

Use common sense and you can stay safe. Keep watching the Weston Echo for more information on the weather.

Matthew Stone is the Editor of the Weston Echo. He is also an established I.T. Professional working for a local database marketing company

The snow which left more than 40% of the nations workforce stranded at home, has caused travel misery for countless others is causing more problems in the form of black ice, in un-gritted areas the snow has been compacted and smoothed by cars and pedestrians and another freezing night has turned many roads into an ice rink.

The local council has kept most of the major routes clear which has meant that buses have resumed main road only services on most routes, however all of the large housing areas such as St. Georges, North Worle, Bournville, Oldmixon and the Coronation have been left without bus services due to the slippery conditions.

Despite the doom and gloom that faces commuters, with local schools and colleges still closed, children and teenagers (and their parents!) continue to enjoy the wintery weather.

The current weather forecast shows no more snow due until possibly the weekend, although tempartures will stay low meaning the snow and ice could be with us for a longer than expected. Keep watching the Weston Echo for more information on the coming weather.

Matthew Stone is the Editor of the Weston Echo. He is also an established I.T. Professional working for a local database marketing company

Every time I get in the car and make a trip across town at some point in the journey something makes me wonder, who at Bristol Zoo do they let out once a month to come up with the latest road plans for Weston? I might be a little unfair comparing our districts road planners to the residents of the Monkey Jungle but I can think of at least 2 examples of what are possibly the worst  junctions in Weston, and I’m going to share with you the reasons that they are.

Malfunction Junction (see map)

Probably the most famous badly designed junction in Weston that received alot of press coverage when it first opened due to the wonderful traffic light programming that was possibly a result of GCSE Electronics project from the work experience student at the time.

Its been several years since the traffic light problems were allegedly resolved, and what is the result? Well this writer being a resident of St. Georges has the dis-pleasure of experiencing this junction several times a day and I can tell you that the traffic lights still let too many or not enough cars through depending on your direction of travel, and lets not forget the annoying two lanes that suddenly disappear before the bridge.

Despite the council’s efforts traffic is still a nightmare at all but the quietest of times, and we are left to suffer with lengthy journey times and many near miss accidents that almost happen every day.

Hutton Moor Roundabout (see map)

Another junction that has become the bain of many Locking Castle residents daily commutes is the Hutton Moor roundabout, built originally as a major interchange across the loop line. Yes you read correctly, if you take a look at our map link  you’ll notice that from the roundabout through to Locking Road there is a section of open land either side of the railway, which is owned by the council for a now shelved plan to build a new bridge to replace the current single lane one way bridges that cause traffic bottlenecks during rush hour.

So why is this roundabout such a problem? Because of the missing connection on the north side traffic gathers too much speed which makes it difficult to pull out from Locking Castle, and causes long tail-backs on the approach over the bridge. What is the council proposing to do about it? They plan to move some disused traffic lights from Portishead onto the roundabout to create what we have at Asda, Will it work? I think it will not, the only thing that would sort out the traffic problems here would be to demolish the roundabout and replace it with a traditional slip road junction that you would typically find on a dual-carriageway, or ideally take the new bridge plan off the shelf and solve two problems in one hit.

In conclusion I think our local council needs to take a long hard look at how it plans the local infrastructure and stop playing with the life’s of the people who pay their wages and start employing someone who understands what this town needs.

Matthew Stone is the Editor of the Weston Echo. He is also an established I.T. Professional working for a local database marketing company