Filton Journal

The London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay will pass through part of Filton early this Wednesday (23rd May) as part of its 70-day national tour.

Day 5 of the torch’s journey, which started at Lands End on Saturday, will see it travel from Bristol to Cheltenham and Filton residents will have a chance to cheer it on as it covers a short stretch of Southmead Road.

The torch convoy is expected to cross the South Gloucestershire boundary near BAWA at 9:05am and proceed up to the junction with Charborough Road (9:09am), from where the torch will continue by vehicle towards Chippenham.

An ‘activation convoy’, which includes a police escort and lead car, with activation vehicles from each of the Presenting Partners (Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung) giving out keepsakes, will pass through around five minutes ahead of the torch.

South Gloucestershire Council says a rolling roadblock system will be used along Southmead Road from BAWA to the junction with Charborough Road, closing this section of road from about 8:45am in advance of the arrival of the torch and reopening once the convoy has passed.

Delays should be expected between 8am and 10am and you are advised to plan accordingly and to allow extra journey time. There are also likely to be delays on some bus services.

More info: The Olympic Torch visits South Gloucestershire

More: Torch will be carried by 58-year-old Corinne Day from Bristol »

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Collision investigators have issued an appeal for witnesses after an 88-year-old woman was injured in an incident involving a bus in Filton.

The woman was a passenger on a single decker bus – the number 18 service operated by First Bus – which was travelling along Southmead Road towards Golf Course Lane, possibly at 11:35am yesterday (Wednesday 16th May).

During its journey, a car driven by a woman is reported to have driven across the path of the bus into Gold Course Lane, forcing the bus driver to brake sharply.

The driver of the car – which has been described as a small dark coloured, rusty brown vehicle – stopped and shouted something at the bus driver before driving off.

Two people were on the bus at the time. The 88-year-old woman was thrown forward and hit her head on the back of the seat in front of her. She received hospital treatment, for a neck injury, when a broken neck was diagnosed.

Police are keen to speak to the other woman who was travelling on the bus.

They have also appealed to the driver of the car to contact them, so they can piece together what happened.

Anyone able to help the police investigation is asked to contact the force’s collision investigation unit on 101.

UPDATE (18th May): A message on the police website reports that the injured 88-year-old woman passed away today.

Related links:

• Police in Filton (The Journal)
• Bus Services in Filton (The Journal)

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As a way of recognising the fantastic work carried out by people volunteering and living in Filton, the “Unsung Heroes” awards have been launched.

The award organisers (Filton Community Lead Group) are looking for nominations and examples of the very special work volunteers have been carrying out in our neighbourhood.

Do you know someone who helps others take part in improving your community? Someone who goes that extra mile to make a difference to others?

If so, why not nominate them for Filton’s Unsung Heroes 2012 award?

These awards, split into four categories of Unsung Hero (individual over 18s), Unsung Hero (individual under 18s), Unsung Hero (group) and Unsung Hero (project) will be presented as part of the Celebrating Filton’s Community ceremony on 10th July 2012.

The ceremony will be held at Abbeywood Community School from 4pm to 6:30 pm. Certificates will be presented to all of the people nominated and there will be an opportunity to find out more about the school and see some of the activities that the pupils take part in.

Director of Southern Brooks Community Partnership, Julie Close, said:

“This is the opportunity for Filton residents to recognise the hard work, determination and ambition people show in dedicating their life to our community; taking no reward from it other than the pleasure of helping others to take part and enjoy their neighbourhood.”

The search for Filton’s Unsung Heros is taking place through April and May and into June. Nomination forms are available at seven voting stations:

• Filton Town Council Office, Elm Park
• St Peter’s Church
• Filton Leisure Centre
• Abbeywood Community School
• Filton Sure Start centre
• St Therese’s Church
• St Andrews Church and Youth Centre

Nominations must be returned by Friday 10th June 2012.

More: Nominees must be living in or working in Filton »

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The GKN Aerospace plant at Filton has commenced production of precision machined titanium structures for BAE Systems, a principal subcontractor to Lockheed Martin, for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft (JSF).

The Filton site will work in partnership with the GKN Aerospace sister operation in St. Louis, USA, with Filton undertaking manufacture of ten titanium structural parts. These will be assembled into the aft and tail sections of the aircraft which are supplied by BAE Systems for final assembly by Lockheed Martin.

Phil Swash, CEO and President, GKN Aerospace – Aerostructures, Europe explained:

“The ability to machine highly complex titanium parts such as these for the JSF is a core competency for GKN Aerospace globally and one which our team at Filton have employed on commercial airframes for a number of years. This work package sees their expertise now being applied to military aircraft, extending the skills base at the site in a direction that is at the very heart of our long term aero-structures strategy.”

GKN Aerospace has invested in excess of £17m in the Filton facility in the 39 months since acquiring it from Airbus in 2008. This has included the installation of state of the art capital equipment which will increase manufacturing accuracy, consistency and speed for these critical F-35 structures.

The company is the major independent supplier of aero-structures in Europe and one of the leading three operations globally. It is a world technology leader in the use of both composites and metallics in aviation, pioneering new production techniques that are improving the quality and consistency of manufacture at increased production rates.​

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