A message from Cllr Kevin Guy, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset CouncilWith great sadness we are flying the City of Bath Arms at half-mast above the Guildhall as a civic tribute to of Ex-Mayor Honorary Alderman Rob Appleyard who has passed away. Councillor Rob Appleyard served as a Bath & North East Somerset councillor from 2007 to 2023 and was Chair of Council in 2012/13. Rob served first as a councillor for Westfield and then for Lambridge. He was Mayor of Bath in 2022/23 and was also made an Honorary Alderman in 2023. He served as cabinet member for Adult Services 2019-21, and on a wide range of other bodies including the Planning and Licensing Committees and the Avon Pension Fund. Rob served the council and our community with great passion, commitment and common sense and was known for his work in advocating for the elderly and vulnerable. He also worked closely on local community projects and his efforts significantly improved the lives of many residents. Our thoughts and condolences go to Rob’s family and friends. He will be greatly missed. A minute’s silence to pay respects will be held at the Council Meeting on 21st November. Yesterday we held our first drop-in Bath Community Conversation. Thank you to everyone who came along to St Andrew's Community Church in Foxhill to take part and have their say. Bath Community Conversations are a series of events in different venues around the city which have replaced the Bath Area Forum. They are open to residents to attend and raise issues, hear what the council and other partners including health and housing are doing. It’s an informal way for you to have your say. They are part of the Connecting Communities programme which includes the Area Forums which run across rest of Bath & North East Somerset. If you want to take part you can find out more about them on our website. Giving people a bigger say is one of our priorities and we are asking for your views on exciting new proposals to introduce four active travel routes to make getting around the city safer and easier without having to get into your car. The aim is to create more than 6.7km of cycling routes across Bath on advisory lanes, dedicated spaces and quiet routes as well as providing significant walking and wheeling improvements, such as upgraded crossings. Bath Walking, Wheeling, Cycling Links consultation only takes 10 minutes to fill in and runs for six weeks. There are drop in events and you can find out more on our website. I am pleased to report we have secured an additional £856,000 grant from the West of England Combined Authority for our regeneration work in Midsomer Norton some of which will fund a new bus interchange. It means anyone travelling by bus from the town will benefit with the relocation of bus stops to a central position in the High Street. The interchange will have widened, accessible pavements and new bus shelters with real-time information displays. The work is part of our Market Square improvement project which should be completed early next year. During October there have been events across Bath and North East Somerset to celebrate Black History Month. These have included marking the 70th anniversary since His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, returned to his home in Bath and was awarded the Freedom of the City. He presented his home, Fairfield House, as a gift to the city in 1958. Fairfield House is hosting a pop-up multicultural celebration of the anniversary at the National Trust Assembly Rooms on Saturday from 11am-8pm. Have a good weekend. | 
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