Bath Liberal Democrats

Freshford School Bathavon South is one of three rural wards the Liberal Democrats hold. It is a small ward in terms of people - only some 2450 people live there, and it has only one councillor (Gitte Dawson). But it is very large in area, measuring six miles from one end to the other.

It is made up of seven very attractive villages and spectacular countryside in between. The villages are Freshford, South Stoke, Midford and Monkton Combe which fall into Don Foster’s Bath Constituency and Hinton Charterhouse, Wellow and Shoscombe which are part of the Wansdyke Constituency. The ward is at the south-eastern edge of the Council area, bordering on Wiltshire and North Somerset.

Large parts of Bathavon South are in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and in the greenbelt. Six of the seven villages have a conservation area at their heart.

Freshford has a railway station; all villages have a bus service, financed by the Council. Hinton Charterhouse and Midford is also well served by commercial buses travelling along the B3110.

The ward is served by three village schools - in Freshford, Wellow and Shoscombe - and a great secondary school, Ralph Allen School on the edge of Bath.