Help is here for you as winter approaches and the bills rise

As October stretches into November and temperatures start to drop I am concerned that the choice between heating and eating is very real for many in our community. I have one simple message: help is out there. The Community Wellbeing Hub, on 0300 247 0050, allows people to access support from a wide range of local agencies, such as Citizens Advice, Age UK and Bath Mind. The Hub can offer support on energy costs, money matters, bills, benefits and much more.

You can find out more information on our dedicated cost-of-living web pages at www.bathnes.gov.uk/ costofliving.

We also recently set out our ‘Warm Welcome’ package for our libraries and are working with local groups to establish an online map warm spaces that can help households struggling to meet the costs of energy to heat their homes. Thank you to all the organisations that have signed up so far.

I am also concerned about the impact of the cost of living crisis on local businesses. I am conscious that the vast majority of our businesses are small, independent and employ fewer than five people. The council is working to maintain and develop the vibrancy of local shops and other businesses, such as hospitality in Bath city centre. We have recently attracted new lettings into council-owned commercial properties and many of those are independent retailers investing in Bath.

I want to highlight examples of how Bath and North East Somerset Black History is being marked this October. Bath Record Office has an online exhibition at www. batharchives.co.uk featuring stories of black people who lived, worked or visited Bath from the 18th century.

The Roman Baths Museum, in collaboration with Fairfield House, will also have a temporary exhibition displaying objects that belonged to His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, who lived in Fairfield House from 1936 to 1941. This free exhibition starts on October 24. Watch out for information throughout the month.

We recently awarded Fairfield House Bath CIC (Community Interest Company) a two-year lease. This will enable this historic site to continue being used as a lively community hub, day care centre for the elderly and heritage attraction for visitors worldof wide. From 1936 to 1941 the villa was the residence of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, who gifted the property to Bath Corporation in 1959 as a home for the aged in gratitude for the warm welcome he received from the citizens of Bath. I was particularly pleased to attend a recent open day at Fairfield House and meet Princess Esther Sellassie Antohin, co-chair of Fairfield House Bath CIC.

We have opened Cleveland Bridge to two-way traffic with an 18 tonne weight limit. We’ve removed the traffic signals, and monitoring and enforcement equipment has been fitted. I want to thank businesses and residents living on and near Cleveland Bridge for their patience during this complex refurbishment of a 200-year-old structure.

Finally, I am proud that the internationally important Fashion Museum Bath will be moving to a new location at the Old Post Office in the centre of Bath. The project will provide a home for the collection, which will hugely benefit the local area.

The council has received a £2.4 million grant from the West of England Combined Authority, which will contribute towards the regeneration of the Milsom Quarter, including the new Fashion Museum. To help deliver the project – and a new Fashion Collection Archive in Locksbrook – the council has submitted a £20m bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. I will let you know the outcome of this bid.