Organisations, groups and residents are being invited to attend a series of local meetings to find out how Bath and North East Somerset Council and its partners are planning for winter.

The five area forums within B&NES: Bath, Bathavon, Chew Valley, Keynsham, and Somer Valley, will be hosting the discussions in late November and December.

The meetings will be looking at some of the financial pressures facing the Council as it prepares its budget and will also provide an opportunity to consider some of the winter pressures facing our local communities and services.

Speakers from the Council, B&NES Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, and the RUH will be setting out the challenges they face in winter when demand for their services increases significantly, alongside the additional pressure from Covid.

Councillor Kevin Guy, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “As we head into winter, it’s important that people are aware of the significant budget pressures on the Council.

“These meetings will be an opportunity to outline our plans for the winter and discuss how we can all play a positive part in supporting our communities and building on our local strengths and resilience. It will also be a chance for people to let us know what they think of our plans, to voice their opinions and share feedback.”

Details of the Council’s new communications campaign, which offers B&NES residents help planning for winter, will also be shared at the meetings: 23rd

November: Chew Valley Area Forum, 6 pm – 7 pm, 24th November: Bathavon, 6 pm – 7.30pm, 25th November: Somer Valley, 6 pm – 7.30 pm (www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/neighbourhoods-and-community-safety/connecting-communities/somer-valley-area-forum), 30th November:

Keynsham, 6 pm – 7.30 pm, 1st December: Bath (registration required), 6 pm –

7.30 pm, 2nd December: 3SG meeting (registration required), 5 pm – 6.30 pm. Meetings can be watched again online.

The Forums are supported by B&NES Council and aim to facilitate discussion about the issues that affect the local area and enable the community to give

feedback about local services. In addition, 3SG are hosting a session for the voluntary and community sector on Thursday, 2nd December at 5 pm.

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