The long-awaited amendments to the two Orders relating to HMOs have at last been published. You can find them as follows -

Use Classes Order at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2010/uksi_20100653_en_1 (this sets up a new Class C4: HMOs, and defines HMO as in the Housing Act 2004);

General Permitted Development Order at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2010/uksi_20100654_en_1 (this allows a HMO to return to a dwellinghouse, without planning permission).

Also good news from Plymouth, Cllr Shaun McGall has found out that Halifax Building Society recently refused a buy to let mortgage in the city due to the impending legislation in April.

Partners and Communities Together (PACT) gives you a chance to meet the local Police team, your local councillors, Will and Shaun, and influence priorities in our neighbourhood.

It will be held at Moorlands Infants School, Moorfields Road, and start at 6.30pm. Please come along to discuss any issues of concern you may have in your community.

Current public priorities were established on 4th November 2010:

1. Problems with residents of the flats on Poplar Close and Monksdale Road;
2. Street Cleansing, state of the pavements;
3. Speeding on First, Second and Third Avenues, Oldfield Lane, and King Edward Road. Potential implementation of a One Way system?

If you are untable to attend, but want to voice your local priorities or issues, please email us at: oldfieldbath@googlemail.com

Bath MP Don Foster can reveal that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is considering leaving all of their premises in Bath. Previously, the MoD had admitted that it was planning to move Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) services out of sites in Foxhill and Warminster Road, but it was assumed MoD staff would remain at Ensleigh. Now the MoD is studying the possibility of moving Ensleigh staff to the new site in Abbey Wood.

Bath MP Don Foster has written to the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Defence, Kevan Jones MP, asking for further information and to secure a meeting to discuss the subject. Don said,

This announcement is worrying, as it could see further jobs leaving Bath. Ensleigh has just had a major IT infrastructure upgrade, so I believe it makes sense to keep MoD jobs at the site. Any move would also increase congestion in the area, as Bath-based staff would have to make their way to Abbey Wood.

Read the rest of this entry.

A North Somerset Council South Area Committee is set to decide on the controversial expansion of Bristol International Airport at a meeting this Wednesday [3rd March]. Officers at North Somerset Council have recommended the expansion be approved.

The plans involve the expansion of the terminal building and an increase in flight numbers. Environmental groups across the region are campaigning against this expansion, which will lead to a massive rise in carbon emissions.

Bath’s Lib Dem MP Don Foster joined other Lib Dem MPs across the region asking for the planning decision to be called in by the government. Don said,

The expansion plans for Bristol International Airport are clearly of a regional importance, and therefore should be called-in for the government to determine. What we need to see is real investment in high-speed rail links, not an increasing number of internal flights which will be highly damaging to the environment. The last major planning application for the airport, in 1991, was called-in, and I believe there is every reason for this application to be heard by the Planning Inspectorate.

Read the rest of this entry.

Quite often there has been bad press arising regarding the relationship between students and permanent residents in Oldfield Park. In order to help remedy this and improve the relationship between permanent residents and students in this area, the charity V Inspired, the Council, University of Bath and Bath Spa University’s Students’ Unions have created a project that aims to do just that.

The project, run by a core volunteer group of 4 students, seeks to match underutilised student household gardens with permanent residents who wish to grow their own food (responding to a local lack of allotments). The proposal is for a research project that will lead to a pilot scheme, designed and delivered by the volunteer group working in and with the community.

Currently being carried out is research into the market by distributing questionnaires, and semi structured interviews to determine the likely supply of gardens and also estimated demand for growing space in the community. The group are also attending local community meetings and collaborating with similar schemes that already exist such as the Bath Area Garden Share (part of Transition Bath) and Bath Organic Group, and taking inspiration from existing garden share schemes such as the one in Totnes, Devon.

The aim of this part of the project is to find out if it is feasible within the Oldfield Park area. If it is found to be feasible, by the middle of April it is hoped that two gardens will be being piloted with members of the local community using student gardens to plant their vegetables in, just in time for the recommended planting season!

If you feel your garden has a good space that someone could grow their veggies in please contact us!! If you are interested in getting involved or would like more information please email: op.growers@googlemail.com

B&NES Council met tonight to discuss the budget for 2010/11. Liberal Democrat Councillors did not support the Council budget proposed by B&NES’ Conservative Cabinet. Leader of the Lib Dems Councillor Paul Crossley (Southdown) said:

The Liberal Democrats will not be supporting this budget. The budget process put in place by the Cabinet keeps Councillors out of the loop, ignores input from O&S and permits Cabinet members to drip feed information rather than being transparent and democratic. We are deeply concerned about the bottom-up approach to job cuts that the administration is taking and about the ‘extra’ funding announcements, which are merely surface dressing to distract from cuts.

Councillor David Dixon (Walcot) led for the Lib Dems on the budget paper, saying:

The Liberal Democrats see this as a budget which has asked services to make considerable cuts, cuts to frontline services while protecting our senior officers. It is a budget that offers very little new money for services, but only serves to move money about.

Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has set out plans to revitalise Britain’s high streets, such as Moorland Road, ensure the future of the Post Office, and help small businesses establish and grow in a fairer marketplace.

Our national policy document entitled, “Vibrant Local High Streets“, includes proposals to:

* Encourage the development of a PostBank and free the Post Office from the Royal Mail to enable it to develop new business

* Introduce a local competition test for all planning applications for new retail developments to establish a fairer balance between local independent stores and large supermarkets

* Establish a system of Local Enterprise Funds and regional stock exchanges to ensure small businesses get access to cost effective equity that meets their needs
Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

Bath Spa University is consulting on their initial proposals for the future development and combining enhancement of the Newton Park campus.

The University would like to hear your views on the emerging Newton Park master-plan exhibited here, which will provide the basis for planning applications coming forward in the future.

We both believe that it is important local residents of Oldfield Park have their say about the need for the University (actually both universities) to build and house more students in Halls of Residents on their campus and take some of the pressure off the local housing in our community.

Both Will and Shaun have already attended the exhibtion and have spoken informally with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Frank Morgan, about the plans. We will be also adding our formal comments to the online consultation exercise.

The University has stated that local residents comments and views are important to them in helping to shape their proposals. Feedback from the exhibition and future consultation will be carefully considered as part of the ongoing design work.

The consultation documents are also availble as a large (6MB pdf) doc.

Please do respond to this consultation exercise and encourage your friends and neighbours to also respond.

The Progress Report (January 2010) from the Sevenside Community Rail Partnership reports that average passenger numbers on weekdays have risen from 841 in 2007 to 974 in 2009.

The Partnership was formed in the summer 2004 to identify and implement measures to encourage the use of local train routes in our area. The Partnership covers the area bounded by Gloucester, Bath / Freshford, W-M-S, Taunton and the Severn Estuary.

Our Council finally supports the partnership along with other local Councils, FGW, Business West and English Partnerships. This last year as seen the Government’s announcement of the planned electrification of the London - Bristol route by 2017, which should bring benefits to Oldfield Park station.

Last year artwork prepared by Oldfield Park Infant School was installed at Oldfield Park Station. Thanks to the hard work of June Player and the ‘On-board’ - the Oldfield Park station group - further landscaping was carried out. ‘On-board’ are always looking out for further members, so please to contact us to find out more details.

Our MP, Don Foster, has called for more police to be out on the street in Bath. Don spoke after the Lib Dems launched our policing manifesto for the 2010 General Election.

Since March 2005, Avon & Somerset Police have lost 99 officers, and is one of 18 of 43 forces to have lost officers in this period. The Conservatives have run the local police authority for this time, and also run two-thirds of the authorities who have shed police since 2005. Labour run the other third. The loss of 99 officers means the force ranks 8th in terms of officers lost since 2005, and in 2009 the force lost 56 officers. Bath MP Don said,

The best way to prevent crime is to catch criminals, and the best way to catch criminals is to have more police officers out on the beat. The Conservative-run police authority has let this area down, by cutting police numbers. The police we have do a superb job, but they cannot make up for the fact that we need more police out on the streets catching criminals. That’s why the Liberal Democrats would scrap Labour’s illiberal ID card scheme, and instead fund 3,000 extra police officers for the nation.

Read the rest of this entry.

Bath MP Don Foster has signed up to the Royal British Legion campaign, ‘Time To Do Your Bit’.

The campaign sets out the Legion’s priorities for the next Government to improve conditions for Service Personnel and their families, the bereaved, veterans and dependents. Don Foster commented,

I am delighted to support The Royal British Legion. They have an important role to play in highlighting the needs of the whole Armed Forces family. I have pledged to do my bit, and will continue to work with my colleagues in Parliament to ensure the welfare of our service men and women is a priority.

The Royal British Legion manifesto and further details of the campaign are available at www.timetodoyourbit.org.uk

Liberal Democrats in Bath are “over the moon” following the government’s announcement of new powers for Councils to control ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation’ (HMOs). Councillor Shaun McGall and Don Foster MP have been campaigning on this issue for 10 years.

Today’s announcement shows that the government has finally bowed to national public pressure and has given local Councils the much-needed powers to control the spread of high concentrations of shared rented homes. This will allow Councils, such as ours, to tackle pockets of unsafe and substandard accommodation run by bad landlords. Liberal Democrats in the city headed by MP Don Foster had been calling on the Government to speed up action on the subject. Local MP Don Foster said:

I warmly welcome this announcement from the Minister. HMOs play an important role in providing affordable housing, but a dense population can have serious effects on the local community. It is great that the government has finally realised this and changed the law.

This is good for local residents giving control over unregulated profit driven changes to the community. Good for HMO tenants, as it will improve standards and get rid of bad landlords, by providing a mechanism for councils to set up local landlord licensing schemes.

The changes mean that landlords will need to apply for planning permission in order to establish a new HMO with a change of use, for example when the use of a property is altered from a family home to a shared house, with three or more tenants who are not related.

We would like to thank residents from across the city who responded to the Government consultation last year following our campaign.
Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

All four local Councils have written to Lord Adonis regarding our joint concerns over the lack of clarity on the provision of sufficient rolling stock to cater for passengers using train services in the West of England. A copy of the letter was also sent to Mark Hopwood, Managing Director of First Great Western.

The full text of the letter can be seen below:
Read the rest of this entry.

Many local residents are furious that a new forest of “To Let” signs has sprung up across Oldfield Park. Residents think it’s quite unnecessary to have so many To Let signs when the agents are mainly trying to attract students. Students will either be looking online for accommodation or using the accommodation lists the universities provide.

The signs are also upsetting for the people who live in the houses at the moment; some have told me that the signs single them out as a house in multiple occupation and are an advertisement to thieves. Cllr Will Sandry said,

I asked the police, and unfortunately the Oldfield crime data confirms that student houses are targeted in particular at this time of year, when the signs go up.

Read the rest of this entry.

Bath MP Don Foster has written to Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government John Denham, asking him to call-in the planning decision to expand Bristol International Airport. In his letter, Don says that,

the expansion of the airport would have significant effects beyond its immediate locality, and has generated a large amount of regional controversy.

Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

Bath MP Don Foster has written to Bath & North East Somerset Council asking them to count the general election result on election night itself, and not wait until the following day.

Local authorities are allowed to make their own choice as to when to count, and B&NES are expected to announce their decision at the end of this month. Liberal Democrat group leader on the Council, Cllr Paul Crossley has co-signed the letter with Don. Don said,

It’s my belief that democracy is best served by us counting on the evening. Voters are entitled to expect a speedy conclusion to elections, and I think it’s important that the count takes place on election night. That’s why I’ve written to the Council to urge them to hold the count on the night of the election.

Read the rest of this entry.

This weekend your local neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs will be security marking bicycles, which increases your chance of having your bicycle returned to you if it is lost or stolen.

They will also be giving advice of how to keep bikes safe and less attractive to potential thieves. Everyone who has their cycle marked can enter a free draw with a chance of winning a £150 voucher towards new accessories such as lights, locks and helmets. Bring your bike along to one of these locations:

Twerton, Whiteway and Southdown (Southside Youth Centre, Kelton View, Twerton)

Saturday 23 January 2pm-3.30pm
Sunday 24 January 2pm-3.30pm

Foxhill (Bradford Road shops)

Saturday 23 January 10am-11.30am
Sunday 24 January 10am-11.30am

City Centre (Green Park Station)

Saturday 23 January 2pm-3.30pm

Larkhall (Alice Park)

Saturday 23 January 11am-2pm

Bath MP Don Foster is writing to the new Minister for Housing and Planning, John Healey MP, asking him not to let the response to this summer’s consultation on House of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) drag.

Earlier this year, the government consulted on changing the use class order of HMOs which would, in effect, mean someone wishing to convert a family home into a HMO would have to apply for planning permission.

Oldfield ward Lib Dem Councillor Shaun McGall has been lobbying for changes to the law for a number of years. He said,

Where areas have a high concentration of HMOs it can add a number of strains to the community, for example in car parking and refuse collection. Councils have not had the ability to do anything about the rise of the HMO, meaning that communities, such as Oldfield Park, can change very quickly as private landlords buy family homes to convert. HMOs do serve a purpose, but they need to be controlled so that local communities aren’t damaged. That is why this government consultation is so important.

Bath MP Don Foster said,

This consultation was finished in August, but the new Minister doesn’t seem to have any expectation of when the findings will be published, partly because of the overwhelming response. I have written to him to stress the importance of this issue, which is affecting communities up and down the country. When we clearly need more affordable housing, it is important that councils have the power to prevent more family housing being converted into HMOs, especially in the most affordable areas of our city. HMOs should be spread across cities, not concentrated in certain areas which can have a massive effect on the local community.

Please see below for the full text of Don Foster’s letter to John Healey MP. Read the rest of this entry.

Cllr Will Sandry has formally submitted the following question to the Tory controlled Council on its Salting / Gritting Policy. The question will be formally put at the Cabinet meeting on the 3rd February 2010:

I understand that there is a priority system for gritting our highways during extreme weather. I have been contacted by numerous residents with individual gritting requests, however the common theme that seems to stand out is the need for improved gritting immediately around schools.

I understand that Chantry Mead Road (Moorlands Junior School) and Upper Oldfield Park (Hayesfield School - Widcombe Ward) were particularly treacherous. Would it be possible for your team to consider specifically adding these roads, or generally “roads around schools” throughout the district to the gritting programme in future years?

We shall let you know what formal response we get from Cllr Charles Gerrish in early February.

Liberal Democrats in B&NES are calling for the Government imposed targets for housing and other land use to be rejected and are saying planning policies for the future should focus on real local needs.

B&NES Council is currently consulting residents and others on a vision for our area for the next 20 years. Liberal Democrats have criticised the ‘Core Strategy Spatial Options Consultation’ document for being based on Government targets for housing and jobs which are based on flawed and outdated economic projections and which do not fit in with what local people really want.

Plans for the future of our area must start with the needs and views of the community and not be driven by ridiculous Westminster targets. We have previously said ‘No Way to 21k’ and we continue to reject the Government’s agenda to impose housing targets on local people.

The Government requirement to build urban extensions is a key example of a crazy idea dreamed up in an office in London. We oppose the proposals to despoil Bath’s beautiful surroundings by building isolated and soulless new settlements on green belt land.

Yes we do need more housing in the district, but we should first make sure that all present housing is fully utilised – this includes empty homes, flats above shops and basement properties – and we must make sure ‘brownfield’ sites are used before any new land is even considered for development. This will include challenging the MoD to make a decision concerning their surplus land in Bath and finally getting to grips with Bath Western Riverside.

Village communities should be able to work out their own local solutions for affordable housing for villagers, as Hinton Charterhouse has done.

Where we do build new houses we should insist on a high percentage of social and affordable housing – it is a scandal that our own young people cannot get onto the housing ladder because of high land values and high house prices.

A familiar problem in many parts of Bath is family homes which have been turned into houses in multiple occupation. We should insist that most students are housed either on campus or in purpose built blocks and the Government should take purpose built student accommodation into account towards housing targets.

Cllr Will Sandry has responsed to the Council’s consultation on the development of it Core Strategy (planning strategy) for the area. This is what Will stated:

It is shameful that the Universities have increased the combined number of their students by about 10,000 over the past fifteen years without building very much student accommodation on campus or in purpose built blocks in the City. Their inaction, leaving accommodation to “market forces” has meant that many young people in the City are disenfranchised. Young people who would like to be first time buyers have been priced out of the market by a lot of the housing stock in areas such as Oldfield Park being taken up by investors letting homes to the student market.

As first time buyers have moved to Frome, Midsomer Norton and Radstock, they now have to travel to their workplace in Bath. This has put a huge strain of the transport networks, the environment, and the local housing sector in those towns.

There should be more in the core strategy about student housing. The Council should set tough targets for the Universities to house more of their students on campus and the Core strategy should make it easier for the Universities to build on their campus. Unless the Core Strategy delivers a robust and sustainable strategy for housing our student population (about 20,000 people or 20% of Bath’s population) the Core Strategy will have failed the people of Bath and North East Somerset.

Both Will and Shaun have responsed to the Core Strategy consultation as part of the Liberal Democrat Group on the Council.

Almost 2,000 pensioners in Bath could be missing out on cold weather payments this winter due to the government’s complicated system.

Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, which goes unclaimed by as many as 1.7m pensioner nationally.

Analysis by the Liberal Democrats estimates that 1,955 of eligible Bath pensioners were not claiming Pension Credit in 2007/8 (the most recent year figures are available). Thus, they would not be receiving the Cold Weather Payment.

Bath’s Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster said,

Fuel prices are at an all time high, making Cold Weather Payments all the more important to people already struggling on a poverty pension. Labour has failed pensioners by creating a complicated system that makes it difficult for them to get the help they desperately need.

The Government should be making every effort to identify pensioners who are missing out and get them this extra cash.

Councillor Caroline Roberts, Chair of the Safer Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel, has warned that the improvements in street cleansing promised for Bath may be impossible if the job cuts which have been threatened in the Council’s Environmental services section actually happen.

Councillor Roberts (Newbridge, Lib Dem) said:

Members of the Bath City Liaison Forum delivered a very detailed report on improvements to cleansing in the city of Bath, and the recommendations were accepted by the Cabinet member for Customer services.

These services are already being delivered with very limited resources and any reduction in service would not be looked at very favourably by local residents. We will be scrutinising the budget papers very carefully at our January meeting.

We were shocked that ‘at risk’ notices were delivered to staff during the festive season; this was a major blunder by the Council administration and is certainly no way to treat the Council’s loyal and hard working staff.

Local Lib Dems are calling on the Conservative Council to begin a weekly collection of kitchen waste from April 2010. The Conservatives have repeatedly postponed the collection of kitchen waste from 2008 to the current implementation date of Autumn 2011.

Kitchen waste is soon to be collected weekly at kerbside across the old Avon area, except in B&NES. North Somerset Council has just decided to appoint May Gurney, the company that does B&NES’ recycling, to collect kitchen waste at kerbside.

Bath and North East Somerset is now the only old Avon authority not to collect kitchen waste. The Conservative administration here has deferred the start of kerbside collections from 2008 – the date originally planned by the Liberal Democrats – to Autumn 2011.

The budget for 2010/2011 has not yet been set, so there is still time to implement the collection of kitchen waste from April this year.

We used to be a leader nationally when it came to recycling, but even from a high base in 2004, it has lost ground over recent years to many other Councils through delaying the collection of kitchen waste.

This Conservative administration has had to be dragged kicking and screaming towards collecting kitchen waste and even then it will be a full three years later than was planned by the last administration.

Collecting kitchen waste is not only good for the environment, but it is cheaper than sending it to landfill, so in a Council which is making drastic cuts in its staff, surely there is a duty to make savings where it can.

We have just writing to all the estate agents and letting agencies in the city about the use of “To Let” boards.

We wrote reflecting many local residents’ general concerns including:

· The large number of signs are unsightly, they feel that most of the people you are marketing to will be looking online for properties in first instance.

· As you mainly market the properties to students, students will use the accommodation lists provided by University.

Please let us know of any road where letting agencies and estate agents are using excessive numbers of “To Let” boards.

Bath MP Don Foster this morning [Monday 9th November] met with Tim Nickolls, Network Development Manager (South West) of Post Office Ltd, to discuss the current situation with the closed branch in Weston village.

Don has been in regular contact with Post Office Ltd since the branch closed unexpectedly in June. They are currently advertising for applications for the vacant branch, the deadline for applications being 1st December.

The Bath MP commented,

I had a positive meeting with Post Office Ltd this morning, who are committed to re-opening a post office branch in Weston. Although no formal applications have yet been received, there are active negotiations with four interested parties.

“Post Office Ltd have set a deadline of 1st December for applications to be in, and I am urging them to stick to this to make sure that a branch can be re-opened as soon as possible.

“The post office is an important part of the local community, and other shops suffer as a result of a post office closing, that is why it is important we get this branch open, and I am pleased Post Office Ltd are working hard to do that.”

Bath MP Don Foster will meet Tim Nickolls, Network Development Manager (South West) for Post Office Ltd, next Monday (9th November) to discuss re-opening a post office branch in Weston as soon as possible.
Don has been in regular contact with Post Office Ltd since the previous branch closed unexpectedly in June.

Don said, “It is vitally important that Weston village has a post office, and Post Office Ltd have remained committed to re-opening the service in Weston, anything less would be unacceptable.

“Unfortunately, commercial negotiations have not been as smooth as originally hoped, but representatives from Post Office have made visits to Weston to speak to interested parties.

“As we know from previous closures, other businesses are also affected. For example at Mount Road in Southdown, when the post office closed trade dropped by around 15%. The post office needs to be open soon or there could be long-term consequences for Weston village.

“However, there are differences between this and other closures. Post Office Ltd did not want this branch to close, in the past we have had to deal with government closures ordered by Labour and the Conservatives, neither of whom have grasped the true social value of the post office network.”

Liberal Democrats have been calling for Bath and North East Somerset Council to join the Government’s Cycle to Work for several years now. They have therefore welcomed news, announced to Council employees this week (as part of the Council’s Green Week), that the Council has finally signed up to the scheme.

The Cycle to Work scheme offers employees the chance to purchase new bikes repaid by loans through a salary sacrifice system. Employees could save up to half the cost of a bike!

Councillor Roger Symonds (Combe Down) is a keen cyclist and the Council’s Member Champion for Cycling. He commented:

“I’m delighted that after several years in the asking the Council has finally signed up to the Cycle to Work scheme. This will be a real benefit to employees – saving money and improving their health and fitness – and the community as a whole through a contribution to reducing traffic.

“In Bath we are lucky to have Cyclescheme – the country’s leading company in providing bikes through this salary sacrifice idea – right here in the city, so it’s especially right that we should sign up.

“Many other employers in the area have already joined the scheme.”

The scheme has won the backing of MP for Bath Don Foster, who said:

“I am pleased that the Council has finally shown leadership and signed up to the Cycle to Work scheme. The Council has long been trying to encourage people to cycle more, but yet has done little to help its own employees cycle to and from work.

“It is great that a Bath company is leading the way in promoting this programme, and that so many employers are signed up to the scheme including Bath employers such as the RUH. I hope that the scheme will now go from strength to strength, and that more employers will look to join in.”

Councillor Paul Crossley (Southdown) added:

“I welcome this news but I am amazed that the Council’s Conservative leadership has been so far behind the curve. We have been calling for the Council to join the scheme for a long time now, whilst the Administration said it was too complicated.

“Now that the Council has joined the cycle purchase scheme I call on them to sign up to the full ‘Cycle to Work Guarantee’ and start looking at what other facilities cycle commuters need, such as lockers, secure storage and even showers. ”

Bath MP Don Foster is joining forces with Breast Cancer Campaign to raise awareness of for its award winning fundraising event, wear it pink, on Friday 30 October 2009.

It’s time to wear it pink, it’s time to beat breast cancer and Don is urging residents, young and old to get their pink outfits on. Schools, colleges and businesses throughout the country are encouraged to wear it pink in support of Campaign and donate £2 each to fund innovative world-class breast cancer research.

Last year over one and a half million people took part in wear it pink to help improve survival rates for the one in nine women who experience breast cancer during their lifetime. This recession busting fundraiser is affordable and easy to take part in, giving everyone the chance to help make a difference.

Don Foster MP says:

“Every year over 45,500 women and 300 men in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer. Like many others, I know people who have lost friends and family members to breast cancer. I would like to encourage everyone in Bath and throughout the country to support wear it pink on October 30, to raise valuable funds for breast cancer research.”

To take part in the UK’s original and best pink day. Call freephone 0800 107 3104 or visit www.wearitpink.co.uk and register to receive your free fundraising pack now.

Liberal Democrats on Bath and North East Somerset Council have welcomed news that the Council is signing up to the 10:10 climate campaign.

Councillor Ian Gilchrist (Widcombe), who is B&NES Council’s Energy and Climate Change Member Champion, commented:

“I welcome the Council’s move to sign up to the 10:10 climate challenge. I am pleased to note that the recent LibDem conference called on all local authorities to do so, and am therefore delighted that B&NES has lost no time in following the call. At this point it only remains to ask other public and private bodies, such as the RUH, the universities and businesses to consider doing the same. And if enough private individuals do likewise this will increase pressure on our own government to go to the Copenhagen climate change conference with a clear mandate from the British public on a commitment to CO2 reductions.”

Councillor Paul Crossley (Southdown), who has recently signed up to the 10:10 challenge as an individual, said:

“The 10:10 challenge is a simple call to action to everyone in our community. Tackling climate change is something we can all do. My pledge is to reduce the amount of meat and dairy foods in my diet and to have one day a week that is based on a vegan diet. This is in addition to all my other commitments around recycling, transport and energy use.”

Earlier this year Don Foster met with local business owners and discussed plans to boost the Bath economy during the recession. After this meeting Don formed his “8-point plan”, which included opening park & ride sites on Sundays.

Don has since met with Justin Davies, Chief Exec of First Group, who said they would be interested in running the park and ride buses on Sundays. Bath & North East Somerset Council indicated in May’s ‘Recession Action Plan’ that they would look to offer this service, but haven’t announced any further information.

Don said,

“Sunday is now a full trading day in Bath and opening our park & ride sites on Sundays will help to encourage shoppers into the city.

“It’s such an obvious thing to do, and would show our local businesses that we are serious about helping the city economy.

“The Council should at the very least be looking to implement this for a properly advertised trial period.”

You can support Don’s campaign by signing the petition at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/bathparkandride

Speed limits of 20mph are set to be piloted in Bristol by the Liberal Democrat run city council.

Two areas of the city – Ashley/Easton/Lawrence Hill/Eastville/St George West and Southville/Bedminster/Windmill Hill – are being proposed for trials. Major roads running through these areas, such as the M32 and Stapleton Road, in Easton, and North Street, in Southville, would be exempt. The 20mph limits will not involve the introduction of any physical traffic-calming measures, such as speed humps or chicanes. Executive member for transport and sustainability Cllr Jon Rogers said:

The primary aim is to make walking and cycling in these communities safer and more attractive to more people.
Reducing the speed limit to 20mph should also help to reduce the number of road accidents. We will be monitoring the success of the two pilot areas and listening to comments before we look at whether they could be extended to other parts of the city. We are not expecting the schemes to cause any significant delays to drivers.

The Council is seeking the public’s comments before September 30.
Please let Will and Shaun know which roads in Oldfield Park you think should have their speed limit reduced…

Bath MP Don Foster has vowed to continue to fight the controversial proposed-BRT route, after it passed through B&NES Council’s Development Control Committee at the third attempt.

The BRT is now subject to an Article 14 declaration, which means that Secretary of State John Denham will decide whether or not to call for a public inquiry into the scheme. Don said,

In many ways last week saw a sad day for local democracy, the Conservative Cabinet have just forced this scheme back to the planning committee until they got the result they wanted.

Local people must be understandably worried as to how this decision has been reached, especially after public letters from the Department for Transport and Government Office of the South West. However, it is still possible that we can overturn this decision, as John Denham will have to cast his eye over the proposals first.

Cllr Gerry Curran (Lib Dem, Twerton), the Liberal Democrat lead on Development Control, commented, “I will continue to oppose this unwanted scheme.

At each planning meeting to discuss the BRT, the Council has had to back down over a number of claims. They will now readily admit that it will do nothing to reduce congestion or pollution. It is just a waste of tax payers’ money, to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.

Local Lib Dems will be adding their voice to those calling for a public inquiry into this proposal, and will be writing to John Denham shortly.

What we really need is work to improve the Lower Bristol Road, such as the widening that has been promised for years. This would actually help to reduce congestion in Bath.

Bath MP Don Foster is backing the Live Music Bill put forward by Lib Dem Peer Lord Clement-Jones. Don has also signed a petition on the number 10 website, calling on the government to change laws which came into place as part of the 2003 Licensing Act.

The Live Music Bill aims to revive live music by:

• Creating an exemption from licences for the performance of any live music in a pub or similar venue

• Reintroducing the rule allowing up to two performers to play live music anywhere without the need for a licence

• Enabling hospitals, schools and colleges to perform live music without the need for licences

Don said, “When the licensing laws were changed in 2003 we were promised an explosion of live music, but in reality many small scale events have been stifled by bureaucracy.

This Bill will not only make it easier for local musicians to get a gig, but it will help small venues who cannot cope with the cost of applying for a license.

It is time that common sense prevailed, and small venues, hospitals and schools were allowed to host live music without having to cope with an expensive, bureaucratic nightmare.

Councillor Terry Gazzard, Tory Cabinet Member with responsibility for Libraries, has confirmed that he will not be implementing the published proposal to cut the mobile library service (Cabinet Member decision E2015).

However, Cllr Gazzard has indicated that he will now be requiring Council Officers to draw up revised consultation proposals with a range of options, including the option of status quo.

If Cllr Gazzard is to consult on a range of options including the staus quo, surely the other options will either be therefore to increase the level of the service or to cut the level of service. The Tory Cabinet on the Council must use this revised consultation to truly listen to local communities on how the service can best meet the needs of service users.

The previous announcement of Tory cuts can be found here.

The Police are asking residents to report any instance of cold-callers knocking on doors trying to sell cleaning materials and the like. In some cases they state that they are ex-prisoners trying to earn an honest living. Although many of these visitors are genuine, there are concerns regarding the activities of some of them. The Police would like to check these peddlars have the relevant licences and are legitimate traders.

As always, check that any back doors are locked before answering the front and always use a door chain if possible. Don’t let anyone you don’t know or aren’t expecting enter your home.

If you are visited by any suspicious callers, please report it to the Police on 0845 456 7000.

The winner of the 5th ‘Bath’s Bloomin’ Students’ Garden competition this year is Ronald Bradberry, a PhD researcher in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bath, for his flat in Beaufort East.

The competition was originally set up by Cllr Shaun McGall and is organised by the Student Community Partnership, made up of the Council and student and staff representatives of the University of Bath and Bath Spa University.

James Turner and housemates from the University of Bath came second closely with Fiona Haines from Bath Spa University third.

This year the competition was sponsored by Roman City and Trustease Lettings and the entries were judged by Graham Evans from the Council’s Parks dept.

It is great that this annual competition is now in its 5th Year, and those who enter the competetion do a great job with their gardens.

However, in our honest opinion the mast majority of gardens in privately rented houses across Oldfield Park are not maintained well by their landlords/ladies.

The Council really now needs to work with the ‘good’ landlords and letting agencies, such as Roman City, to work towards the introduction of garden maintainance standards in the Council’s HMO Accreditation Scheme which cover nearly 2,000 HMOs in Oldfield Park and the wider Council area. Please email us with your thought on this idea.

A consultation exercise is soon to be carried out by the Council on cutting the mobile library service. Many of these cuts fall on villages, but they also fall on communities in Bath. In Foxhill, for instance, the two library stops in Hawthorn Grove and in Bradford Park are to be cut. Mobile library visits to Twerton will be cut altogether.

These cuts fall on the least well off and most vulnerable in our communities. Getting to the central library by bus is too expensive. The mobile library service gives easy access to books, in particular, for children from the poorest households. This administration seems unable to recognise the importance of making books available to our less well off residents.

This move by the Conservative Administration is about shaving off a relatively small amount of fuel costs, and we are concerned that a valuable service that goes out to residential areas is under threat of reduction. The danger is that some people might well be put off altogether from using the library.

The mobile library will disappear from Twerton altogether. What message does that give to youngsters eager to improve their reading skills? Email us or contact us via the website and let us know your views on these proposed cuts by the Council.

Thanks to the efforts of Mrs Dixon and Cllr Dixon (Lib Dem, Walcot) the Council is planning improve play facilities for children and young people at Sand Pits play park, Monksdale Road, Oldfield Park, Bath.

Local children and young people together with their families are invited to find out more and put forward their views at an open event on Friday August 7, from 2 - 5pm.

Mrs and Cllr Dixon together with us, Council Officers, the play park designers and the Police will be there to talk about the scheme and gather the views of as many local children and young people (and their families), as possible, to help develop ideas about the design of the park.

The investment into Sand Pits play park is part of £2.5 million investment across the area to encourage more children and young people to play outside safely in their own communities.

We are looking forward to showing these proposals to the local community and listening to their feedback. The Sand Pits has long been in need of some attention, it is a well used park with people from all over the city visiting.

Anyone unable to attend but interested in the improvements is invited to take a look at the Facebook group: ‘I love the Sand Pits!’.

For more information about the Play Pathfinder project in Bath & North East Somerset contact pathfinder_enquiries@bathnes.gov.uk, tel 08000 731214 or visit www.bathnes.gov.uk and select pages on Play Out, Hang Out.

“A chance to swing the balance towards permanent residents “is how Liberal Democrats in Bath are describing the current government consultation on shared houses.

The government is thinking of changing the rules controlling Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) or shared houses. Currently some HMOs are subject to licensing conditions under the Housing Act 2004; however one of the options now under consideration by the government is a change to the “Use Classes Order” which would allow tighter planning controls over HMOs. The consultation is open till 7th August.

Oldfield Councillors Shaun McGall and Will Sandry have responded to the consultation themselves and have also written to residents in Oldfield – an area with many HMOs – to alert them to this opportunity.

This consultation is a chance to swing the balance towards permanent residents. There’s nothing wrong with HMOs in themselves, but problems can occur when areas become dominated by this type of living arrangement, as has happened in certain parts of Oldfield Park.

It is our view that local residents and Councils should be given the power to control over-concentrations of HMOs through the planning process. I would strongly encourage as many local residents as possible to consider responding to the consultation by August 7th – all the necessary information can be found here on our website.

Don Foster MP commented:

It is high time that the government looked at altering the rules on HMOs. It is quite clear that a heavy concentration of such houses causes certain issues and strains on communities, and currently there is little we can do to protect such communities.

Don hopes that residents living in areas of Bath which are densely populated by HMOs, such as Oldfield Park, will take the time to respond to the government consultation, as he will be. This is not about stopping people living in HMOs, clearly they serve a purpose, but about being able to control how and where they grow and finding a balance for local communities.

Owners and managers of businesses serving Bath’s evening economy are joining Bath MP Don Foster is voicing their concern over the Council’s decision to increase evening car parking charges by 50%.

The dispute comes after a major campaign last year against increased charges. The Conservative Council recently completed a 3 month parking review, which it was claimed would also take into account the current economic downturn.

None of the businesses Don has spoken to were consulted during this 3 month period, they first heard the news when it was published in the local media. Don said,

It is vital, especially at a time of recession, that we help support our local businesses all we can, but this increase is going to make people think twice about visiting Bath.

Levels of public transport, especially for those living just outside the city, are far from adequate in the evening and for many people driving into town is the only option, but with extra costs they might look elsewhere or not bother at all.

We am deeply concerned by this move from the Conservative Council, and it is made even worse by the fact that apparently none of these businesses were even spoken to about the change.
Read the rest of this entry.

Our MP Don Foster has warmly welcomed the news that the government is to begin immediately with plans to electrify the Great Western line from London to Swansea.

Although the work will take 8 years to complete, it will provide numerous benefits including increased capacity on trains, shorter journey times and, most importantly, a reduction in CO2 emissions.

Liberal Democrats have long campaigned from electrification of the rail network, and this plan was included within the “Green Road out of Recession” document that the party launched in autumn 2008. Don said,

Electrification of the Great Western line is long overdue, and something that I have been calling to happen for some time. This is great news for rail users in Bath, as well as all of us conscious of rising levels of CO2.

We have recently seen an increase in reliability of this service, so Bath and Oldfield Park train users are now finally getting a better deal. However, we still have the problem of hugely expensive fares – the London to Cardiff line is the 3rd most expensive per mile in the world.

There are still improvements needed to our service in the eight years before electrification, but there is now clearly a brighter future ahead for rail users in Bath.

Local campaigners’ hopes that the new school year could bring improvements to school transport arrangements have been dashed by B&NES Cabinet members’ decision to reject key proposals from a committee review.

The Council’s Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting on Monday night was dominated by a paper on the Transport to Secondary School Review previously initiated by the panel.

In responding to the recommendations within the review, the Cabinet members for Children’s Services and Customer Services accepted a number of proposals such as investigating sources of funding for school transport, but crucially rejected proposals on:

• A flat rate weekly fare of £10;
• Cheaper weekly tickets for second and third children in a family;
• Making school transport a priority for the Council;
• Revising the distance which children may be expected to walk or cycle to 1.5 miles rather than 3 miles.

Councillor Nathan Hartley (Peasedown), who is the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet member for children’s services, commented:

I am disappointed that, despite a hard fought campaign by parents and a full review by the panel, the Cabinet is still refusing to take any definite action to address the issue of school transport.

The Cabinet members said in their response that school transport is not a financial priority for the Council and that the Council was not in a position to tell parents what is an acceptable distance to walk to school. The Cabinet has made it clear they are not going to bring about any significant change, and that they will not be willing to look at this matter again.

Everyone in this area knows that if we could improve arrangements for transport to school it would go a long way towards tackling congestion, particularly in Bath. We’re sure many people are looking forward to clearer roads now the school holidays are here – if we could encourage more people to use public transport to get to school, it could be like this all year around.

You could have a say in how millions of pounds seized from criminals is spent on community projects

A new pilot fund is giving people a direct say in how the ill gotten gains of criminals can be used to benefit their communities in the fight against crime – and you too can have a say.

The £4 million Community Cashback scheme is being funded by money and assets seized from wealthy criminals. It allows the public to choose which worthwhile community projects are funded by feeding in their views to a new dedicated website, neighbourhood policing meetings or through Citizens’ Panels.

Successful bids will have to show how the local community has been involved in selecting the project, demonstrate good value for money and be related in some way to tackling antisocial or criminal behaviour locally. This might include renovating a vandalised play area, investing in a youth centre or installing security measures on estate.

To suggest a scheme for Oldfield Park click here.

The Community Cashback fund will ensure a portion of the ill gotten gains of criminals are ploughed back into communities at a grassroots level, funding the projects that the public decide will make the most positive difference to their lives.

Seizing capital assets deprives criminals of money, reduces the incentive for crime and promotes fairness and confidence in the criminal justice system. But schemes like Community Cashback fund are only successful if people use them. We hope you will use it.

The message behind Community Cashback and Community Payback is simple – the public must have a stronger voice in the criminal justice system – after all, it operates on their behalf and must have their backing.

An inquiry begins into whether tighter controls are needed over tanning salons after “ever younger” children are burned.The mother of a teenager who was burned using a sunbed has told members of the Welsh Assembly of the experience.

Kirsty McRea, 14, received first degree burns over 70% of her body after visiting an unstaffed tanning salon.

Her mother Jill told an assembly committee she was worried her daughter may have suffered long term damage to her skin.

She was addressing an assembly committee investigating the rules governing tanning salons in Wales, but should the rules be also reexamined in England?

Kirsty spent 19 minutes on the sunbed and her mother said it took about two weeks for the skin to heal superficially.

Representatives from Cancer Research UK told the committee that under 18s should not be permitted to use sunbeds and she called for unstaffed salons to be banned.

Kathy Banks, chief executive of the sunbed association, told the committee their members had an age restriction of 16. But the association was “not convinced” the age limit should be raised to 18 although they were debating the situation. But she said unstaffed salons were dangerous.

“Children egg each other on, and accidents can happen,” she said.

So what do you think about the salon on Moorland Rd?

Read the rest of this entry.

The opening of a regional fire control centre covering the west country has been delayed until May 2011.

The centre, which is opposed by the the Liberal Democrats, Avon Fire Authority and the Fire Brigades Union, will handle emergency calls from Gloucestershire in the north to Cornwall in the south.

It was supposed to open two years ago, but has been delayed again because of problems with the IT system.

The government said it was a complex project which would deliver benefits. Cllr Shaun McGall, a member of Avon Fire Authority said:

The project is over budget and will not deliver either cost savings or more importantly improved service to local residents and the emergency services. It’s time the Government pulled the plug on the scheme.

Responding to the announcement the Fire Brigades Union said the project was

“like Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch with everyone knowing it was dead apart from government which insists it is still alive”.

This project is a total waste of tax payers money, at a time when fire authorities are facing severe financial constraints and cutbacks in public spending it’s absolutely immoral the government is throwing huge amounts of tax payers money that’ s going nowhere.

The money would be better used on frontline services throughout the south west.

Regionally the union said the additional 10-month delay will cost a further £1,548,930.

Read the rest of this entry.

Councillor Gerry Curran (Lib Dem, Twerton) who is the Lib Dem lead on planning, has said that the situation following last week’s second Bath Transport Package planning committee is one of chaos and confusion and is trying to persuade the Council Leadership to agree to bring an alternative scheme to the next planning committee. Councillor Curran said:

As things stand, the Conservative Leadership of B&NES Council is failing to take action, leaving a chaotic and confused situation. The planning application for the Newbridge Park & Ride and the bus rapid transit route has been deferred for the second time; it will come back a third time in August or September, but I can’t really see the point if the proposals are going to be the same.

Cllr Curren has requested an urgent meeting with the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council to try and come up with a workable and acceptable solution. We certainly don’t want to lose the Package as a whole, but he believes it is time for the Council Leadership to shift their position.

At the last planning committee meeting Councillors from all political Groups on the committee asked for the two elements of the planning application to be separated. Our proposal is that we should drop the BRT segregated route in favour of a bus lane from the Golden Fleece on the Lower Bristol Road to Windsor Bridge combined with extensive works to the two junctions at either end of the bridge.

Some of the money which would have been spent on the BRT should be put into the Western Riverside transport corridor, which might help kick start that whole project, while also bringing forward part of the transport package. We think this is a good argument to make to the government in the current economic climate.

Finally, we should look again at the proposal for a park and ride on the other side of the river at Newbridge – it may now provide a better alternative.
Read the rest of this entry.

Bath MP Don Foster has today written to Multi, the company behind the Southgate development, encouraging them to push the idea of a post office within the new centre.

Although Post Office Ltd themselves are unlikely to purchase a unit, other stores are able to host a post office counter. Following the closure of the old Southgate post office, the main branch in town is now very busy, especially at peak times. With just under 60 new retail units and almost 100 flats, demand for postal services in the centre of town is set to increase come the opening of the centre. Don said,

When the Southgate post office was closed, I argued that we would need to have it replaced when the Southgate development was completed. At that time I received assurances from Multi and Post Office Ltd that this would be looked in to.

With so many new shops and apartments, it is clear that there will be a need for a post office at this end of town, even if it is just a couple of counters.

As the development nears completion, and more shops agree to move in, it is important that we raise the issue with them of hosting a post office counter within their store. I have written to Multi today to ask them for their help in getting a post office for Southgate.

Responding to the decision of the Council’s Development Control Committee to defer the decision on the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route, and Newbridge park & ride extension, once again, Bath MP Don Foster has said that the scheme must surely now be dead. Don said,

If only the Conservative Council had listened to what I said at a Council meeting in September, and what Liberal Democrat Councillors have been saying for months: more work was needed into alternative routes, and residents needed to be involved in the process.

The Council did not heed this advice, and with the proposed-BRT route twice having failed to pass through planning it is time for the Council to go right back to the beginning.

The Conservatives have mismanaged this process, and could well be putting the government money at risk. Had they taken onboard my comments last autumn, then this would not be the case.

Now is our moment! The government is thinking of changing the rules on HMOs (houses in multiple occupation, or shared houses) - and they are asking us what we think! Now we have a chance to tip the balance in favour of residents.

Oldfield Park’s problem is HMOs. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with sharing a house, as such. But there’s something seriously wrong with a neighbourhood where most of the houses are HMOs.

This is now the case in the neighbourhoods in and around Oldfield Park. Few live in HMOs for very long, so what this means is a constantly changing population. Constant change breaks the links on which communities depend. As HMOs increase, community spirit decreases. There are now many streets in Oldfield Park where temporary tenants outnumber longer term residents. The results are all too obvious in the changes that have overtaken these neighbourhoods in the last decade or two.

But it’s not only our area which is affected. Most university towns now have concentrations of HMOs. And not only these - there are huge problems in seaside towns where guest-houses have been turned into HMOs, and in many market towns gangmasters have bought up HMOs for seasonal workers.

As a result, residents groups from all over the country have joined the National HMO Lobby, a network of community associations pioneered by the Leeds HMO Lobby. Locally the Bath Federation of Residents Assoications are members. In addition, there is a parallel national group of local councillors, of which Cllr Shaun McGall is a member. Don Foster, our MP here in Bath, is a member of the parliamentary Group working on these issues.

Together we all have campaigned for ten years to get government nationally to bring in legislation which will enable government locally to resist concentrations of HMOs. We helped to bring in licensing of HMOs with the Housing Act 2004, and the highly successful voluntary local accreditation scheme for HMOs

But licences and accreditation schemes don’t resist HMOs - for this, new planning legislation is needed.

At the moment no permission is needed to convert a family house to a HMO - so anyone can do so, landlords, buy-to-let investors, student parents … There’s nothing the Council can do without new powers. So we has been campaigning for a change to the Use Classes Order, the relevant regulation. Colleagues in Loughborough, Nottingham and Southampton have shown ministers what the problems are in their areas. So last year, we got the government to commission a report on HMOs - and this recommended consultation on new legislation. This year, in May, the government published a consultation paper: click here. click here.

The consultation paper agrees that concentrations of HMOs cause problems. It suggests three courses of action, and is seeking the views of the public on these.

Option 1 is to rely on existing ‘good practice’, like the things we’ve done in Bath to try to tackle the problem - but we know it doesn’t work!

Option 2 is to change the Use Classes Order, so that HMOs need planning permission - this is obviously what is needed, and what we’ve campaigned for so long. On its own it won’t solve the problem, but it is essential to prevent it getting any worse, here and elsewhere.

Option 3is a complicated proposal to allow HMOs anywhere at all - except where the government agrees to give special powers to councils in limited areas (Article 4 Directions). This is basically unworkable.

We have until 7 August to persuade the government to act on Option 2.

What can you do to help?

Cllr Shaun McGall and Cllr Will Sandry will be writing to the government of course. So will other local Lib Dem councillors in Bath. So will Don Foster, our MP here in Bath. So too can you, the more voices the better!

• First of all, below there should be a model letter to send to the government. All you need do is add your address, give an idea of some of the problems you have had - and sign and send it!
• If you would like to write your own letter or email, please do. Contact Cllr Shaun McGall for background info.
• Also, encourage you neighbours to write. And lobby the Council to write in. Contact Cllr Shaun McGall if you need details.

The email address for replies is:

UCOHMOConsultation@communities.gsi.gov.uk (subject: HMO Consultation);

The postal address is:

Susan Turner,
Planning System Improvement Division,
Department for Communities and Local Government,
Zone 1/J10,
Eland House,
Bressenden Place,
London
SW1E 5DU.

The deadline is 7 August 2009.

Model Responseto the government consultation on HMOs 

The following is an outline of a possible letter in response to the government’s consultation on HMOs.  Local residents could complete and send this letter as it stands, or use it as the basis for a fuller response. 

To:  Susan Turner,                                                                               From: ……………………………………..Planning System Improvement Division,Department for Communities and Local Government,                       ………………………………………..Zone 1/J10,Eland House,                                                                                      ………………………………………..

,

The Consultation Paper asks sixteen questions, but it is not necessary to answer them all.

We would recommend the following responses to five key questions. The Questions are in bold, and suggestions for responses in italics. See also the longer Model Response below.

First of all, the Consultation asks you to say who you are. If you are writing as an individual, mention how long you have lived in your neighbourhood. If you are writing on behalf of an organisation, outline your role in it, its area of interest and its membership.

1. Do you experience problems/effects which you attribute to high concentrations of HMOs? [Consultation Question 1]
a) Outline the scale of the local HMO problem: size of the area? for how long? proportion of HMOs?
b) Summarise the effects of the HMOs: noise? antisocial behaviour? crime? rubbish? houses & gardens? streets? local shops? local amenities? traffic? parking? etc?
c) Outline the effects on the local community: population balance? population turnover? local schools? neighbourliness? control over the community’s future? community spirit?
d) Give evidence of the problems.

2. Option One proposes no change to legislation, instead relying on measures that have been tried in university towns (like university community strategies, student liaison officers, landlord accreditation, extra council resources in student areas, and when students come and go). Could promotion of such measures sufficiently deal with the problems associated with HMOs? [Consultation Question 3]
a) These measures will not tackle all the problems in 1b above. They are not effective anyway.
b) Such measures will do nothing at all for the problems described in 1c.
c) And they depend on voluntary action by councils and universities.

3. Option Two proposes changing the ‘Use Classes Order’, so that planning permission is needed to convert a home to a HMO. Should planning legislation be amended along the lines of option 2? [Consultation Q4]
a) Councils need the power to be able to control HMOs, if this is necessary locally.
b) Should planning legislation introduce a definition along the lines of the Housing Act 2004? [Consultation Question 5] The main problem is that there is no definition of ‘HMO’ in the present legislation.

4. Option Three proposes changing the ‘General Permitted Development Order’, so that HMOs are allowed everywhere; councils can then apply to the government for an ‘Article 4 Direction’, permitting them to refuse HMOs in particular areas. Should planning legislation be amended along the lines of option 3? [Consultation Q4]
a) This will remove all control over HMOs from councils everywhere.
b) This will oblige councils to apply for a Direction. And it leaves the decision to the government.
c) Landlords can claim compensation if they are refused: this will prevent councils from applying.

5. Would the benefits of greater control over HMOs outweigh the costs of processing more planning applications? [Consultation Question 16]
a) The Consultation itself says, “local planning authorities are assumed to have no additional costs given that the fees cover the administrative costs,” p28.
b) The costs of HMOs to councils and Council Tax-payers of the problems outlined in 1 above are enormous.

If individuals or organisations want to make a fuller response, contact Cllr Shaun McGall for guidance or you the longers version of the suggested response below.

The deadline for responses is 7 August 2009.

Send responses by email to:

UCOHMOConsultation@communities.gsi.gov.uk (subject: HMO Consultation)

Or by post to:

Susan Turner, Planning System Improvement Division, Department for Communities and Local Government, Zone 1/J10, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU.

Cllr Shaun McGall would appreciate a copy of any response sent to the government.

Masthead

Model Response
to the CLG Consultation on
Houses in Multiple Occupation and possible planning responses

Give a brief introduction to Oldfield Park and the issues in the area you face.

Consultation Questions

Q1. Do you experience problems/effects which you attribute to high concentrations of HMOs?

# Outline the scale of the concentration of HMOs in your neighbourhood: area, how long, proportion?

# Outline the effects of HMO-concentrations: noise? antisocial behaviour? crime? rubbish? houses & gardens? streets? local shops? local amenities? traffic? parking? etc?

# Outline the causes of these effects, that is, a destabilised community: for instance, population balance? population turnover? local schools? neighbourliness? control over the community’s future? community spirit?

Give evidence of these problems, either statistical or residents’ experiences.

[For a summary, see ‘Symptoms of Studentification’ in the Lobby’s Balanced Communities & Studentification, 2008]

Q2. Do you consider the current planning framework to be a barrier to effective management of HMOs by local planning authorities?

# Manifestly, the local planning authority (LPA) has been unable to manage HMOs in the area. Planning Inspectors have interpreted the idea of ‘single household’ in functional terms: the occupants simply share facilities; but on this basis, any form of sharing could be conceived of as a single household. On the contrary, common usage and housing legislation interpret the idea of ‘single household’ in structural terms, that is, on the basis of the relationships within the household. On this basis, there is a clear distinction between a shared house and a single household (typically a family). It is the lack of a clear distinction between ‘single’ and ‘multiple’ household which makes the UCO ineffective as a tool for the management of HMOs. [Give a local example, if you have one.]

# The current UCO is intended to require planning permission for a HMO: “as a general rule planning permission will be needed before a dwelling house could undergo a material change of use to an HMO” (para25). What is clear is that this is not in fact ‘a general rule’. And the reason is the conflicting definitions of ‘single household’.

Q3. Could promotion of best practice measures as opposed to changes in the planning framework sufficiently deal with the problems associated with HMOs, in particular those problems often associated with high concentrations of HMOs with student occupants?

# Outline any best practice in your locality, by the university or the council. Has it worked?

# Are there measures they could have taken, but haven’t? Do you have any confidence that they are at all likely to adopt any of these measures, if the government settles for Option 1?

# Do any of these measures actually tackle the root causes of the problems - concentrations of HMOs, and therefore demographic imbalance

Q4. If planning legislation is seen as a barrier to the effective management of HMOs in an area how should planning legislation be amended – along the lines of option 2 (introduce a definition along the lines of the Housing Act 2004) or option 3?

# Concentrations of HMOs have caused problems, precisely because of the inadequacy of current planning legislation, the UCO. Option 2 addresses this deficiency directly (in its second variant). First of all, this Option removes the ambiguity over the meaning of ‘single household’. It replaces the functional usage of Planning Inspectors (which allows any shared house to be a ‘single household’). It substitutes the structural definition of the Housing Act 2004, which prioritises the relationships within the household (and therefore excludes shared houses).

# Secondly, Option 2 explicitly removes all houses in ‘multiple occupation’ from Class C3. Either as a new development or as a change of use, they thereby become subject to planning control. The combination of these two steps provides LPAs with powers to manage the provision of HMOs, to be used positively, negatively, or not at all, as they choose. It also provides residents with a process which can alert them to proposals for HMOs locally.

# Option 3 however takes an opposite approach. Though it proposes redefinition of HMO as in Option 2, instead it goes on to remove HMOs from the UCO altogether by identifying them as permitted development, through the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO). LPAs thereby lose any planning control at all - unless they apply successfully for an Article 4 Direction, suspending the permitted development of HMOs in a designated area.

# But such an application is fraught with difficulties. The application process itself is laborious and resource-intensive, and may well involve a Public Inquiry. The decision is out of the hands of the LPA, and subject to central government judgement. And the local authority becomes liable to compensation claims, where HMOs are refused. [Give a local example, if your council has applied, eg for additional HMO licensing, or controls on letting boards.]

Q5. Do practitioners have a preference for one approach listed as part of option 2 over the other?

# The key problem with the current UCO is not to do with numbers of occupants, but with their relationships. If Planning Inspectors have no difficulty in accepting eight unrelated occupants as a ‘single household’, then it seems unlikely that smaller numbers would pose any problems. Lowering the threshold to three persons, as proposed in para37, therefore makes no contribution to improving the effectiveness of the UCO.

# On the other hand, the second variant of Option 2, in para38, addresses the key problem directly. Currently, the idea of ‘single household’ is undefined. Planning Inspectors have resorted to a functional interpretation (‘do the occupants share facilities?’). Any shared house is thereby regarded as a single household. However, in normal usage, the term ‘shared house’ indicates that sharing takes place precisely because the occupants are not a single household (typically, they are a family). The definition in the Housing Act 2004 adopts this structural definition, which thereby captures HMOs unambiguously.

# The second variant goes on to remove newly-defined HMOs from any of the present Use Classes - thereby subjecting them to a need for planning permission, and placing them within the planning control of the LPA.

Q6. What effect would a change to the Use Classes Order as described in option 2 have on those local planning authorities that do not encounter problems with high concentrations of HMOs?

# If a LPA had no problems with HMOs, then Option 2 would make little difference. HMO applications could simply be processed as normal. If a LPA wished to encourage HMOs, it could simply adopt a local planning policy to that effect - as indeed the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames has done (UDP, Policy HSG 15, “The Council will consider favourably applications for new non self-contained accommodation.”)

Q7. Would a change to the Use Class Order as described in option 2 or 3 have an impact on the homeless and other vulnerable groups?

# Insofar as the changes to the UCO proposed in Options 2 and 3 increase LPAs’ capacity to manage the provision of HMOs, then these changes should be advantageous to the homeless and others. In the present market free-for-all, many HMO landlords target wealthier markets, like young professionals and students - at the expense of the homeless. Improved controls would allow LPAs to make better provision for vulnerable groups like the homeless.

# Furthermore, many HMOs are in fact effectively used as second homes, when they are occupied by students on a seasonal basis, as temporary term-time accommodation. This demand places additional pressure on the housing stock generally. [Give examples of housing shortage in your area.]

Q8. Would a change to the Use Classes Order as described in option 2 or 3 have any unintended consequences, for example an impact on small scale care homes or children’s homes, which are currently classed a C3 dwelling houses?

# Para38 of the Consultation Paper proposes am amendment to the UCO which would take care of the impact of Option 2or 3 on smaller scale care homes or children’s homes. There may be other unintended consequences - if so, they must be set against the consequences (surely unintended) of current legislation.

Q9. Would a change to the Use Classes Order as described in option 2 or 3 impact unfairly – directly or indirectly – on any equality strands?

# “The planning system is about land use impacts and does not differentiate between different types of occupant” (paraA71). It should not therefore imply any inequalities. In fact, the current planning framework does give rise to inequality. Concentrations of HMOs represent an extreme of social polarisation, which excludes single households, owner-occupation and social renting, and children and the elderly. Change to the UCO would enable LPAs to promote housing mix -which is after all, national policy (PPS3).

Q10. Would a change to the Use Classes order reduce the supply of HMO accommodation in your area?

# The need for planning permission might discourage some HMO developers - but if they are so easily discouraged, this may be just as well. In fact, change to the UCO need have no impact on supply. On the contrary, it would enable LPAs better to manage the supply and distribution of HMOs.

Q11. If amendments are made to the Use Classes Order, should a property that has obtained planning permission for use as an HMO require planning permission to revert back to a C3 dwelling house?

# The consultation on HMOs is prompted by the need to address the acknowledged problem of concentrations of HMOs. Reversion from HMOs to Class C3 should therefore be encouraged - and planning permission should not be required. The GPDO could be amended so that such change is ‘permitted development’.

Q12. Would a change to the Use Classes Order as described in option 3 place a new burden on local planning authorities?

# Option 3 would place heavy burdens on LPAs who wished to manage HMOs. First, they would have to engage in the costly process of seeking an Article 4 Direction. Secondly, they would lose the fees which currently cover the costs of planning applications.

Q13. Under option 3, would the removal of the current requirement for HMOs to seek planning permission pose a problem for practitioners in managing land use impacts in their area?

# Option 3 would remove from all LPAs the ability to tackle inappropriate one-off HMO developments. Those who wished to encourage HMOs would lose any leverage. Those who wished to discourage concentrations would be dependent on successfully applying for an Article 4 Direction.

Q14. Should the compensation provisions included in Section 189 of the Planning Act 2008 be applied to change of use between C3 dwelling house and an HMO if option 3 were to be implemented?

# Since potential compensation claims would be a major disincentive to LPAs to apply for an Article 4 Direction, then any means to minimise these should be adopted - including Section 189 of the Planning Act 2008.

Q15. How important would the risk of compensation be in the decision to use Article 4 directions under option 3?

# The answers to Q4 and Q14 have already indicated that the potential compensation costs to LPAs of Option 3 would be prohibitive, and a decisive deterrent to using Article 4 Directions.

Q16. Would the extra certainty of greater control bring benefits that outweigh the burdens placed by the need to process more planning applications?

# The burdens placed by the need to process more planning applications under Option 2 are negligible. The Consultation Paper itself makes clear that “local planning authorities are assumed to have no additional costs given that the fees cover the administrative costs” (paraA36).

# However, the benefits brought by the extra certainly of greater control under Option 2 are enormous. These benefits arise from the savings made by avoiding the costs of concentrations of HMOs. These costs are wide-ranging, and include -
• Staffing of noise nuisance services;
• Extra waste disposal and street cleansing, as well as clearing ill-managed waste;
• Tackling rodent infestation;
• Removing fly-posting and graffiti;
• Additional policing, especially at the beginning of the academic year, and coping with burglary throughout;
• Casualisation of the local economy, and loss of income during vacations;
• Management of traffic and parking problems;
• Intensive demand on public services, not only policing and environmental health, but also housing, planning, etc;
• Loss of social capital, which keeps neighbourhoods clean, quiet and safe;
• Extra investment of time by local authority and university officers in liaison, consultation, planning, implementation, etc;
• Development of dedicated policies on housing, planning, licensing, environment, etc;
• Extra policing, by police and by council officers during freshers week and changeover, at the beginning and end of the academic year.
• Restoring HMOs as family homes.
[Add or delete as appropriate to your area; give local references.]

Impact Assessment (optional)

Do you think that the impact assessment broadly captures the types and levels of costs associated with the policy options? If not why?

Do you think that the impact assessment broadly captures the types and levels of benefits associated with the policy options? If not why?

Do you agree that the impact assessment reflects the main impacts that particular sectors and groups are likely to experience as a result of the policy options? If not why not?

There are currently 68.4m analogue radios, in use in the UK, including 22.5m in cars, the Liberal Democrats have revealed. These radios will lose all national stations once the digital switchover is complete in 2015.

If all these radios were to be replaced with digital ones, it would cost around £3bn.

Commenting, Lib Dem Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Don Foster said:

This figure shows the sheer scale of the radio switchover project. Even if people go for the cheapest digital radios, replacing this many analogue radios will cost people nearly £3bn. Financial help with TV switchover is being provided for the least well off. We need a similar scheme for switchover to digital radio. For those who will not qualify for such help, the real benefits of going digital must be explained clearly. We also need to plan what happens to the 70m unusable radios.

Bath Lib Dem MP Don Foster has today written to the Chief Executive of Bath Tourism Plus, Robin Bischert, questioning the tendering process that led to the catering contract for the Bath Christmas Market being awarded to an Oxfordshire company.

Don has asked for a list of the criteria that were used to make the decision, as well as how much weighting was given to each issue.

In the letter, Don says,

[I am] extremely concerned about both the procedures adopted and the outcome.

…what does seem very clear is that the key determinant in the decision was a financial one rather than - as I would have hoped - a range of issues including how the various proposals would best help the local economy.

The group of Bath businesses who missed out on the contract have called into question the fairness of the tendering process. Don has addressed this issue in his letter, saying,

It has been suggested, for example, that while the local bid team were expected to provide full details of the menus to be available at each of the 6 chalets, Supreme Sausages bid did not include such detailed information.

Bath MP Don has called for the Christmas Market to benefit local businesses, suppliers and people as, “After all, the purpose of the Christmas Market was to act as a driver for the local economy. If we merely get a lot of businesses in to the centre of Bath yet allow the jobs and supplies to come from outside Bath and the profits to flow out of the city, the benefit is minimal.”

The Lib Dem MP has also written to Supreme Sausages Managing Director Paul Garrish to ask for reassurances that local suppliers will be used as widely as possible, and that local people will be given the chance to staff the catering chalets.

Combe Down Councillor, Roger Symonds has been appointed as the first Cycling Champion for the Council it was announced this week (appropriately enough during bike week). Champions act as advocates for their area of interest but are not part of the Council ruling body.

Roger has said that one of his first actions will be to examine the Council’s Cycling Strategy to discover what progress has been made towards achieving the targets set when the strategy was put together in the 1990s. He also intends to develop a plan of action and would welcome ideas from the public. Roger said: “Some of my initial thoughts for the “Plan of Action” include:

• I would like to see many more children riding to school in safety - in the past the message going out to cyclists has been “it is too dangerous to cycle on the roads”. I want to play a part in changing the message to one of encouragement“. Our roads should be made safer to encourage more cyclists, especially the young.

• I will call for better road surfaces for cyclists; some of them are potential death traps with the number and severity of potholes and repairs. The condition of some of our main roads is not good enough. I will ask the Council’s highways team to ‘think bike’ whenever there are road improvements or changes.

• I will be looking for places, where it is safe to do so, to ask the Council to establish more ‘shared paths’ like the one between Saltford and Keynsham.

• I would like to see action taken to encourage First Group and First Great Western to show more consideration to cyclists on their buses and trains. With the loss of the ramp at Bath Spa station I will be trying to find out what steps Network Rail are taking to avoid the jam of people, bikes and luggage trying to get through narrow turnstiles.

• We should aspire to the cycling culture of our twin city of Alkmaar, in the Netherlands - we should look at some of the ways that they promote cycling. I believe we can make great improvements with a great deal of commitment and a little funding.”

Five senior, cross-party Councillors in Bath and North East Somerset have accused Council leaders of coercion and “thinly veiled threats”, with regard to a crucial planning vote on the controversial Bath Package of £54m of government funding for transport projects in Bath.

Councillors from the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Groups have called on GOSW and the Local Government Minister to reject the decisions taken by the Bath and North East Somerset planning committee of 20th May; saying that:

Voting was not free for all Councillors on the planning committee – members were “pressurised, encouraged or coerced” into voting in favour of the applications;
• One committee member was substituted at the last minute (despite being present in the room) by a Councillor who had not previously seen the applications or visited the sites;
• Proper democratic processes were not followed with regard to consultations;
• Key documents were suppressed or not released and inaccurate or misleading information was given to the public and members.

Councillor Gerry Curran (Lib Dem, Twerton, Lib Dem spokesman on planning) commented: The way the committee was conducted did nothing for the reputation of the Council. In my opinion, it brought that reputation into disrepute in the eyes of the public. People did not see the committee process as having been fair, open and honest and many are of the opinion that some members were predetermined in their view on the applications.

Council needs to be seen to be fair, open and honest. It has failed on this occasion.

“I have been working to persuade the Council to separate the BRT and the Newbridge park and ride elements of the final planning application in the hope that by doing so it will go some way towards restoring the Council’s damaged reputation.”
Read the rest of this entry.

Bath MP Don Foster has today written to the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham MP, to re-affirm his view that the Bus Rapid Transit planning application should be called in.

Don wrote to Mr Denham’s predecessor at the department, Hazel Blears, in the lead up to the local planning meeting on June 20th. Ms Blear agreed to a ‘Section 14 Direction’, meaning she would take a closer look at the plans. This direction is still in force.

Don said:

I felt it was important for the new Secretary of State to receive my views on this issue first hand, which is why I have written to him drawing attention to my correspondence with his predecessor. I do not believe that consultation with local residents has been adequate, and research into alternative routes has not been considered. These are both issues I raised at an Overview and Scrutiny panel meeting last autumn.

We are encouraging former regulars of the Englishcombe Inn and local residents in the area to comment on Cedar Care’s revised planning application for conversion of the Inn into a 40 bed care home.

The previous planning application was not refused due to the change of use of the site from a public house to a care home, but on a range of other planning grounds.

Councillor Will Sandry chaired a public meeting on the 28th May 2009 to bring together the concerned former regulars and local residents with the developers and their architects. The revised plans were displayed and many residents took the opportunity to quiz the developer, Mr Ash Desai, on the revisions to the plans.

Many local residents took the opportunity to ask important and searching questions of the developer and architects on their revised plans. Residents particularly wanted to know whether concerns they had previously expressed were being addressed in the new proposals.

Former regulars of the Englishcombe Inn also voiced their opposition to the plans and to the loss of a public house which was a community asset in the area.

At the meeting Councillor Shaun McGall explained the way the planning process works and urged residents to get involved with the process by submitting official comments on the new planning application.

It’s vital that former regulars and local residents take the opportunity to make their voices heard on this application, whether for or against.

We encouraged residents to send a copy of their comments to their local Councillors. If there is a lot of opposition to the application then we will request that the planning application should be decided in public by the planning committee rather than by planning officers.

Partners and Communities Together (PACT) gives you a chance to meet the team and influence priorities in your neighbourhood.

Current public priorities were established on 8th October 2008:

1. Misuse of the memorial gardens, including vandalism and drinking.

2. Builders’ lorries causing obstructions early in the mornings, irresponsible parking outside Grahams and Oldfield Road, parking on the Green Hill Side.

3. Litter.

Outcomes

Misuse of the memorial gardens, including vandalism and drinking

Increased visibility and patrols in the area. Local traders and representatives of the communities and councillors informed. Action plan is being implemented.

Builders’ lorries causing obstructions early in the mornings, irresponsible parking outside Grahams and Oldfield Road, parking on the Green Hill Side

Continuous monitoring by police of vehicles causing obstructions.

Litter

B&NES do a once a month scheduled litter pick / mechanical sweep in the Oldfield area. They also monitor the area on a regular basis and have found the area to be no worse for litter than anywhere else.

Next public meeting is on 17th June 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Moorlands Infant School, Moorland Road, Bath.

Please come along on the 17th June and raise the issues that you think the Police, Somer Housing and the Council should be tackling in Oldfield. We have been working hard with local partners to get action on the issues raised at the last meeting

If you’re unable to attend the meeting itself, please email me (shaun_mcgall@bathnes.gov.uk) with any issues which are important to you and a list of your Top Three local priorities for the partners to tackle. We will make sure your views are heard and counted at the meeting.

Police in Oldfield Park have begun to crack down on street drinkers in the area. Local traders have joined us in praising the police team in the area for their efforts in tackling the problem.

Unfortunately, drinkers had been congregating in the Memorial Garden in Third Avenue, but the problem had escalated in the past few months since police decided to take a zero tolerance approach to street drinking in the city centre. Many residents in Oldfield Park said the ban had just driven drunks out of the city centre and on to our doorsteps.

In the past few weeks police had been working hard to resolve the problem. We have been working with the Police and the Moorland Road Association to tackle the issue.

Our local Police team including Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Paul Spreadbury and PCSO Katrina Moore, have increased their patrols in the area and we are encouraging local residents to call the Police if they have any problems.

Anyone who wishes to contact the police should do so on 0845 456 7000.

Meanwhile the Oldfield Park Partners and Communities Together (PACT) meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 17 at Moorlands Infant School from 6.30pm. PACT meetings allow people the chance to have their say on issues affecting their neighbourhood and their quality of life – from litter and noise to street lighting and anti-social behaviour.

Frustration and anger at last Monday’s Meeting of The Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel

The Panel undertook a cross-party review of “Home to School Transport” and presented its reccomendations to the Cabinet member responsible earlier this year. At Monday’s Meeting of the Panel the Cabinet member’s response to the recommendations were received and discussed.

See this Link for full table of reccommendations and Cabinet member response: http://tiny.cc/RESPONSE733

Overall, the Cabinet’s response to the review is disappointing, and gave no real timescales as to when anything would or could be implemented. For instance the Cabinet member Cllr Chris Watts failed to accept the idea of a pilot “Green Bus” scheme, stating that ”a public transport provider cannot be favoured by the Council”.

The idea of a £10 per week bus ticket was accepted as a good idea, but the Panel was told by Cllr Watts the Schools Forum would have to discuss this first, and as with other reccomendations, no timescales for action/implementation were forthcoming. After a proposal from the Labour Member on the Panel it was decided that Cllr Watt would come back to the Panel in July, when the Panel, if still dissatisfied with the responses, could opt to refer it to the Full Council September meeting for an open debate.

It is surely not a good day for participatory local government to hear on the one hand that substantial numbers of residents like the parents who campaigned so committedly on this issue over many months, feel disillusioned and largely unheard. And on the other, the work and reccomendations of the Cross-Party Scrutiny Panel has not been valued and taken on board to any significant extent by this Conservative Administration.

For further views see the story on the Bath Chronicle website: http://tinyurl.com/qvho6w

B&NES planning committee decided last night to defer the planning application for the Newbridge Park and Ride and Bath Bus Rapid Transit Route (BRT) in order to request more information.

On the whole this is a good result. The committee’s decision is a vindication of the campaign that Councillors and residents have been running for months now.

The news this morning that the Council will be looking more thoroughly at the design of the scheme is welcome; however the Council must finally look properly at the alternatives, as we have been asking all along.

Bath MP Don Foster commented:

When I attended a Council Overview & Scrutiny panel meeting in September last year, I argued that consultation with residents had been poor and that there hadn’t been satisfactory work conducted into alternative routes. To date I am still not convinced that this work has been done.

I hope that this deferment will allow the Conservative Council to go away and conduct real research into all the options. We want to see a proper case put forward.

Had this research been conducted correctly in the first place we wouldn’t be in this position. Let us hope that the Tory failure to follow correct processes does not end up costing Bath £50million of government money.

The B&NES planning committee will meet this afternoon to decide on the Council’s planning applications for the Bath Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route.

Local residents campaigning against the plans have been supported by Bath opposition Councillors representing the wards through which the BRT would run. The committee will meet at the Guildhall at 2 p.m. and dozens of residents are registered to speak.

It is clear that this is the wrong route for the rapid transit bus route, which will divide a community in two, by what has been described by residents as a “Berlin Wall”.

With the loss of the green space on which the BRT will be built, children will have no choice but to negotiate an extremely dangerous road to access the nearest park to play.

All this is being planned while there are perfectly acceptable alternative routes which the Council has still not considered properly. Nor has sufficient research been carried out into tackling the real causes of congestion such as the school run.

As a result local children will be deprived of valuable open space; local people will be subjected to the constant noise and inconvenience of an extra road with intrusive CCTV cameras and increased security concerns. The proposed BRT route must not go ahead.

The committee only have to review the number and wide range of the objections to accept that the BRT scheme as presented is ill thought out and is not weighed against researched alternatives.

There is no evidence to support the claim that this scheme will reduce congestion and pollution. In fact residents along the BRT route will be subjected to increased levels of vehicle noise and pollution and busses will still arrive at the bottle neck at Windsor Bridge and will not realise any ‘journey time saving’.

Residents east of Station Road will either be subject to compulsory purchase or as the report says ‘an unacceptable loss of privacy’.

The Planning Committee should be aware that the BRT is just another road and has no restrictions to access set out within the conditions. It will be a green light to joy-riders.

On Thursday we had a meeting of the Full Council (ie, all 65 councillors). These are now quite rare under the Conservatives so there is generally an exciting (and long) agenda. This was also our AGM so we elected a new council chair and made changes to our panels and committees.

Cllr McGall has moved from the Corporate Audit Committee and will now sit of the quasi-judicial panel: Regulatory (Access) Committee. Cllr Sandry is staying on the Healthier Communities and Older People Overview & Scrutiny Panel. Clrr McGall also sits on Avon Fire Authority.

On Thursday night, council had two named votes. Ordinarily, votes are taken by show of hands with only the numbers recorded. However, councillors can request a named vote be taken for the public record.

The first vote was after a debate about licensing a casino in Bath; a similar proposal was passed in principal last year. Now with applicants in mind, the cabinet brought the controversial plans back to council. A free vote was held in whcih both Cllr McGall and Cllr Sandry voted infavour. We believe that responsible adults should be free to spend their money as they see fit, and that politicians ought not interfere. This was an unusually and genuinely interesting debate with a close result. The casino licence was granted.

The second named vote was altogether more odd. Bristol Airport wants to expand and is preparing a planning application to its local authority, North Somerset. The Liberal Democrats of Bristol City council recently passed a motion questioning the justificaion for expansion on both economic and environmental grounds. BathNES council has a similar motion on record from a few years ago, but the Lib Dems wanted to strengthen it. With the airport causing as much global warming as all the traffic in Bristol, the environmental cost of short haul air travel is obvious. However, less clear is the economic cost. Recent surveys by the South West regional assembly reveals that most business does not want or use a regional airport like Bristol. The airport is used mainly for tourists - leaving the UK. With convenience and cheap fares, British people spending weekends away are taking their money out of the UK, hurting tourism jobs. It should be fairly obvious that there are more Bristolians who holiday in rural Spain and Portugal, than Iberian farmers who take their holidays in Bristol. However, this section of the Liberal Democrat motion was deleted and exchanged by one praising the job creation potential of the airport expansion. The Conservative who proposed this not only sits on the Bristol airport consultation panel, but his ward is the most blighted by airport traffic and noise! With the motion thus wrecked, we were forced to vote against.

You can find out now when your new waste collection day will be from the 8th June 2009. The Council has put information on its website about the new collection days through its new ‘My House’ information facility.

By typing in your postcode, residents can find out what new day of the week all their waste collections will be and register for regular alerts detailing other local information, like street works, planning applications, community facilities, and changes to Council services. Residents can log-on to www.bathnes.gov.uk/myhouse to find out more.

Further information about the changes is available now through various leaflets. This includes guidance on how people should put out their waste so it’s clear for the collection crews and other frequently asked questions. However, households will also be issued with a letter in the week commencing 25th May 2009 confirming which their new day will be from 8th June. Residents can also call Council Connect on 01225 394041 to find out their new day.

From the 8th June 2009, households across the district will put out their refuse, the green recycling box, and cardboard and garden waste on the same day – although the cardboard and garden waste will be collected every fortnight.

The Council is asking residents to put out their waste by 7am on the right day every week and to check which week their cardboard and garden waste will be collected as this may have changed from current arrangements. Collection times on each street will be different to what people are used to at the moment so its important waste is put out early so as not to miss the collection.

The Council is undertaking the change in direct response to residents who want a more convenient waste collection service and the need to meet the Council’s key priority of addressing the causes and effects of climate change.

Liberal Democrat Councillors were tonight forced to vote against their own motion when a wrecking amendment was tabled by the ruling Conservative Group. The amendment was also supported by Labour and independent Councillors.

The Lib Dem motion was to have clearly shown the Council’s opposition to expansion on environmental, economic and congestion grounds.

This disgraceful Conservative amendment reversed our motion to such an extent that we were forced to vote against it. Our position was clearly stated in the original motion. We believe unfettered airport expansion to be incompatible with efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, we are concerned about increases in traffic – especially in rural areas, noise and that the economic and jobs benefits have been overstated.

We can only conclude that the Conservatives decided to table this wrecking amendment because they are in favour of airport expansion with the resulting increase in air pollution, noise pollution and congestion on our roads.

It seems that it is only the Lib Dems who are concerned about climate change. The Tories and Labour in B&NES have endorsed unlimited airport expansion.

Between 8 and 9.20pm on Wednesday May the 13th unknown person(s) have forced entry to a residence. The offender(s) came through the rear garden and have removed the lower UPVC panel from the rear door. The house alarm was activated and they have then fled the scene.

If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact the Police on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively you could contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

At its meeting last Wednesday the Council’s Conservative cabinet outlined a package of measures to help small businesses during the recession. This included six of Bath MP Don Foster’s eight suggestions. These are:
• Increasing the take up of small business rate relief
• Introducing a park & ride service at appropriate hours on Sundays
• Ensuring the Council pays its suppliers promptly
• Conduct rent reviews that reflect the current economic situation
• Consult properly with local small businesses on all changes
• Effectively promote the ‘Buy with Confidence’ scheme

This extra help cannot come soon enough for hard pressed local businesses. In particular in the face of some horrendous rent increases and large hikes in business rates.

Any small business wishing to take advantage of Business Rate relief in the Combe Down area should contact us. In other areas local councillors or Don’s staff will be happy to help, or ring the Council’s call centre on 01225 394041

People giving a makeover to a Bath railway station are looking for help with plants. Residents in Oldfield Park have worked tirelessly to improve the look of their station, which had become neglected and overgrown.

The On Board Project aims to encourage residents to take a pride and interest in their community.

Last week the Mayor of Bath, Tim Ball, visited the station to donate some plants to the scheme.

According to the Bath Chronicle, June Player, co-founder of the project, said: “These and any other plants are much appreciated as the station is a very large area, not only to plant out, but also to maintain. Although quite a lot of people now know about this project and donate us plants we would be more than happy to receive more. In fact, help with anything at all would be great.

She went on to say “You don’t have to be a gardener and know lots about plants to be an On-Boarder. This is meant to be an enjoyable, community and healthy interest. The amount of time put into it is entirely up to the individual.”

Information about the legend of Bladud’s pigs is now also on noticeboards on the platform, which have been funded by the Severnside Community Rail Partnership.

For more information or to get involved, email Protect.Bath@hotmail.co.uk.

Make sure you are registered to vote in the European Parliament elections on June 4. To be able to vote in the European elections residents must be registered to vote by Tuesday 19 May.

We want to make sure that no-one misses out on their right to take part in this election just because they aren’t registered to vote. Some residents think they might be automatically registered once they pay council tax, but this isn’t the case.

If you’re not sure whether you are on the electoral register or would like to be sent a registration form, contact the Council on 01225 477333 or visit www.bathnes.gov.uk and search for ‘Elections’ in the A-Z index.

If you are going to be away on 4 June, you can apply for a postal vote or a proxy vote (where someone you trust votes on your behalf on polling day). It’s easy to arrange; just call the Council’s Electoral Services team on 01225 477333 to request a form. Applications for a postal vote will need to reach the Electoral Registration Officer by 5pm on Tuesday 19 May. The deadline for ordinary proxy applications is 5pm on Wednesday 27 May.

The historic victory of the Lib Dem motion in the House of Commons was a victory for justice.

This is an historic victory for the Gurkhas who have served our country so bravely. This Government has now lost its moral authority. From the first moment Nick Clegg challenged Gordon Brown on this over a year ago, he didn’t understand that there was a simple moral principle at stake. People who are willing to die for our country, should be allowed to live in our country.

The Government must listen to Parliament and scrap these shameful rules immediately and grant justice without conditions to all retired Gurkhas.

There is a great analysis of the vote on the BBC website.

Many people were angry about the way in which Gordon Brown and his Immigration Minister Phil Woolas had failed to listen to public demands for fair treatment for the Gurkhas.

Bath MP Don Foster has vowed to continue lobbying the government over controlling urban gulls, following the disappointing response in his adjournment debate on Thursday.

Don said, “While clearly the main focus of the government should be dealing with the financial crisis, it does not mean that they should be ignoring other issues.

The government claims that adequate research already exists, but the problem is getting worse, so that quite simply cannot be true. Attempting to control gulls is costing councils thousands of pounds, and currently this is money down the drain.

“I will collate further evidence that proves research is necessary, and write to the Minister. Urban gulls are a major issue in towns and cities up and down the country, and it is time the government took this issue seriously.”

Here in Bath & North East Somerset we are left to our own devices to deal with urban gulls, there is no government advice on what works. We are pleased that Don raised this issue in parliament and that he will continue to tackle this issue.

We face a major problem if the Herring Gull becomes protected, as it is nigh-on impossible to differentiate them from black-backed gulls. We might have to stop almost all the work we are doing.

This week the Labour government have admitted that “Twenty is Plenty” and will be encouraging Councils across the country to reduce the speed limit on residential roads to 20mph.

Liberal Democrats in Bath have been campaigning across the city for 18 months, calling for this change, and hundreds of residents have signed a petition calling for 20mph limits. The British Medical Association have also backed 20mph limits, because 20mph is a much safer speed than 30, and its introduction will lead to safer communities, especially for children.

Bath MP Don Foster said,

It is clear that speeds in residential streets are just too high, and I am delighted to see that the government has now realised that ‘Twenty is Plenty’.

The response to this campaign has been positive, and we have had some success in Bath in gaining a lower limit for individual streets, but what we need is a shift across the city to lower speeds.

These comments from the government are a good start, now we need action to make it easier for councils to reduce speed limits.

The speed of traffic on residential roads is an issue that comes up at almost every door we knock on, people have been very happy to support our campaign for 20mph limits.

These days it is not often that the Labour government is ahead on an issue, but our Conservative Council has stalled on the grid when it comes to reducing speed limits. It is time they took notice of this Lib Dem campaign, because ‘Twenty is Plenty’.

Bath MP Don Foster tonight called on the government to fund research into controlling urban gulls. Don lead an Adjournment Debate on this issue in the House of Commons this evening.

Don said,

Urban gulls have been a menace in Bath for some time, attacking rubbish bags, defecating across the city and damaging cars and buildings. Many other towns and cities across the country have to deal with the issue of urban gulls.

However, while councils across the country are trying to deal with this problem, the fact is that no-one really knows what to do, because there has been no research into the issue.

The urban seagull problems have to be resolved. We need research to help us identify effective control measures, we need greater clarity about the rules allowing such measures to be undertaken and we certainly don’t need any moves which will make tackling the problem more difficult.

Too many people have lived for too long with the menace of the urban seagull. I hope we can hear tonight what help the government has to offer.

Today the Labour Party confirmed that they have run out of ideas and have condemned us to years of unemployment and a decade of debt. Their pick-and-mix budget of recycled announcements will do nothing to get us out of this recession and nothing that will help the poorest who are being hit hardest by it.

A Liberal Democrat budget would deliver practical help.

It would take 4 million people out of paying tax all together and would cut the majority of people’s income tax by £700. Paid for by cutting loophole and exemptions that benefit the richest individuals and big business. We would cancel the pointless VAT cut and invest in important green projects that create jobs right now.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives are planning swingeing cuts at the very time that the country is expected to be gradually starting to recover.

We would take big choices about what government should and shouldn’t do. With a shocking deficit this year of £175bn we need a national debate about what the state can and cannot afford in the future.

That is the responsible way - the honest way - to reduce spending in the years ahead and avoid painful higher taxes.

The country deserves something better – a Liberal Democrat government, Vince Cable as Chancellor and a tax system that has everybody paying their fair share.

Bath MP Don Foster has joined Liberal Democrats at Downing Street to campaign against the rise in beer duty that is due to be announced in tomorrow’s budget.

Don said,

Rises in beer duty are only hitting the responsible drinker and the local pub, and destroying communities across the country. Pubs are closing daily across throughout Britain, including some calling ‘time’ for the final occasion here in Bath.

A number of Bath landlords and many residents have written to Don Foster opposing this measure, which shows just how important the local pub is to the community.

It is time the Chancellor realised that this rise in duty will do more harm than good.

Thousands of people in Bath will be taken out of income tax altogether by new tax proposals launched by the Liberal Democrats. And thousands more will see their income tax bill slashed by £700 a year.

The plans were launched by Party Leader Nick Clegg on 20th April who said that they would boost family budgets battered by rising food, power and transport prices. The plans call for the personal tax allowance to be raised to £10,000

Bath MP Don Foster said,

Thousands of families on low income in Bath will benefit from this tax cut. They will be lifted out of income tax altogether. People earning over £10,000 will pay £700 less income tax a year, paid for by ending the loopholes and tax avoidance schemes used by the wealthy and big corporations.

Ordinary people are struggling because of the recession. Now is the time to make a far reaching and permanent change to the tax system that benefits those on low and middle incomes. Liberal Democrats want to see more money left in the pockets of ordinary people rather than taken away by the Government.

Here in Bath, Liberal Democrats will be going into the general election committed to a lasting income tax cut.

A letter from Nick Clegg MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats:

Vince Cable and I have this morning briefed the press about what we want to see in Wednesday’s Budget. I thought you would like to know what we have been saying.

It is clear that this recession demands a radical overhaul of the British tax system. It remains scandalous that the richest in our country pay a lower share of their wealth in tax than the poorest. We are demanding that both sides of this distorted equation be changed.

We are renewing our call to close the loopholes exploit by big business and the powerful and wealthy. And today, after working with our colleagues in Parliament and across the Party, we are announcing that the Liberal Democrats will fight the next general election with a pledge to cut income tax bills by £700 for people on low and middle incomes.

We will promise to raise the income tax personal allowance to £10,000 by closing tax loopholes exploited by big businesses and the wealthy. This will mean 4 million of the lowest paid people not paying tax at all, including many earning just the minimum wage.

It is a radical and progressive package that will form a key part of the pre-manifesto document that will come to our party conference in Autumn. This policy marks us out as the only party in British politics dedicated to changing our tax system to make it fairer.

Best Wishes,

Nick Clegg MP
Leader of the Liberal Democrats

In Moorfields Road, three persons have forced entry to a residence, possibly by breaking a rear kitchen window, and removed property. This offence occurred between 2.40 and 3.40pm on Thursday April the 19th.

If you have any information regarding any of these incidents, please contact the Police on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively you could contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Visit the Force website where you can also sign up to receive local news and alerts, Crimestoppers appeals and job details, direct to your inbox.

If you have information about any crime, phone the police on 0845 456 7000 or you can call anonymously to the independent charity CRIMESTOPPERS 0800 555 111. For general information about Neighbourhood Watch nationally vist their website.

Following their visit to ‘The Common Room’ on Thursday, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP has backed Bath MP Don Foster’s call for the Council to be a responsible landlord to small businesses.

Don said,

It is quite clear that a rent rise of over 60% is just not acceptable at this time. While businesses must pay a fair rent, many will have to close if they are hit with such a substantial rise.

Small businesses are an important part of the fabric of Bath, and the Council must realise that it cannot simply impose massive rent hikes on businesses that are struggling at the current time. The Council is at serious risk of driving people out of business.

Vince Cable said,

The owners of this bar have told me that they run another premises owned by a private landlord, where the rent has been reduced this year. It is clear that private landlords are realising the value of keeping hold of their customers and I would expect councils to be thinking the same way.

The Government has named 11 potential sites in England and Wales for a new generation of nuclear power plants.

The sites have been nominated by energy companies who are interested in building the plants, and by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which owns some existing sites. A month-long public consultation has now begun.

Simon Hughes, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said

A new generation of nuclear power stat¬ions will be a colossal mistake, regardless of where they are built. They are hugely expensive, dangerous and will take too long to build. There is a real danger that the government is becoming too close to the big energy companies. The best answer to Britain’s needs is a massive expansion of renewable energy. If billions of pounds are wasted on new nuclear sites, the money simply won’t be available to do this.

You can read the full story in the Guardian: http://tr.im/iYr0

At some point on Wednesday April the 15th, unknown persons have caused damage to a motor vehicle parked on the road in The Oval by smashing the passenger side window.

If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact the Police on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively you could contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Visit the Force website where you can also sign up to receive local news and alerts, Crimestoppers appeals and job details, direct to your inbox.

If you have information about any crime, phone the police on 0845 456 7000 or you can call anonymously to the independent charity CRIMESTOPPERS 0800 555 111. For general information about Neighbourhood Watch nationally vist there website.

The pioneer of genetic fingerprinting, Professor Sir Alec Jeffries has spoken out against the Government’s storing of innocent people’s DNA records.

Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, said, “It demonstrates how out of touch the Government is with public opinion when the inventor of genetic fingerprinting has to tell them how unfair the DNA database is.”

Read more at Home Office Watch: http://tinyurl.com/c3s4eg

The planning application by Cedar Care Homes for the Englaishcombe Inn site has been turned down by the Council on the 7th April 2009.

Mr Mark Reynolds, the Planning Case Officer, refused the applciation to convert and extend the Englsihcombe Inn public house to provide a 40 bedroom care / nursing home with ancillary staff accommodation.

We would like to thanks those local residents who took an interest in this planning application and took the time to either contact us as your local councillors or to formally write to the Council’s Planning Department.

More details about the planning application can be found here.

There have been two incidents of dwelling burglary in the area in recent days, as detailed below.

• Crandale Road
  Between 3.30pm on Monday March 30th and 6.15pm on Thursday April 2nd, unknown person/s have forced entry to a rear ground floor bathroom window by smashing the window. Once inside, property has been removed.
• Third Avenue
  Between 7 and 9pm on Tuesday March 31st, unknown person/s have gained entry to a multi-occupancy dwelling via an insecure ground floor rear door. Once inside, the offender/s have forced locked internal door to gain access to rooms and have removed property from within.

If you have any information regarding these incidents, please contact the Police on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively you could contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

On Friday of last week, the Council released its ‘decision paper’ outlining the future of the 20A/20C service.

As Don Foster announced a couple of weeks ago, Wessex Connect made an offer to take on this route and that has been accepted by the B&NES.

However, there will be no services after 7.30pm and fares are set to rise by 10% on this service. The Conservative Council will be reviewing the money they are spending on this service in September – which means that the service is not guaranteed past the autumn.

One issue that remains unresolved is that of ‘multi-operator’ tickets, and the refunding of travelcards. B&NES say they are working towards resolving these issues, and I hope they are making it a priority so that come 11th May bus users do not lose out financially.

This is especially important in light of the school run. We need to make sure that parents can afford to send their children to school on the bus, and if they have to buy two different tickets then that will certainly not be the case. A cursory glance at the lack of traffic on the roads this morning shows what a difference the school run makes to congestion in the city!

Remember, the on-line petition is still running. Why not forward this e-mail to your family and friends and suggest they click on http://ourcampaign.org.uk/onthebuses

We have recently recieved an email from Chief Superintendent Gary Davies with an update from the Constabulary. Below are extracts from his letter:

“Shortly after I arrived in B&NES I ran a series of leadership days with my staff. It was an opportunity to set out my visions and expectations for the future. I gave a clear lead in three areas, in that we, as a police district, should have the highest detection rate in the Force, the highest level of overall customer satisfaction and be either first or second in everything else that matters.”

The crime year has recently ended and whilst official figures will be published, I can tell you that at the year end Bath & North East Somerset Police District did have the highest detection rate in the Force at 31.6%, likewise the highest customer satisfaction rate at 84.2% and we were also highest or second highest in the detection of Dwelling Burglary, Harassment, Criminal Damage, Common Assault, GBH, GBH with Intent, Rape, Robbery and Serious Violence.

He went on to state, “Clearly there is still much to do and we are not complacent about the challenges ahead, but I do believe we have a platform on which to build further success.”

Finally he spoke about the local Crime and Disorder Partnership, which he Chairs, and the developing plan to tackle a range of issues. He stated that the “seven aspects which we are intending to deliver on over the next twelve months are:-

1. Enhance the quality of life to our communities and increase public confidence by reducing anti-social behaviour.

2. Create a safe, strong and vibrant City economy (violent crime and night time economy).

3. Minimise the harm substance use causes to society, communities, families and individuals.

4. Increase protection of the most vulnerable victims of crime.

5. Reduce crimes of local concern through citizen focused approach.

6. Respond to community priorities through the P.A.C.T. process.

7. Safeguard young people and prevent them becoming victims or perpetrators of crime.”

The Council is tackling the challenge of re-organising the way in which waste is collected across the district. 77,000 collections…fives days during the week…up to four types of waste per household to be collected on the same day - those are the numbers facing the team developing the five new collection day zones that will operate from June 8th 2009.

In the run-up to when residents learn about when their new waste collection day will be, the Council is carrying out a complex analysis of local road and waste infrastructure. This will generate five different collection zones across the district which will eventually result in one new waste collection day for residents. The Council is using state-of-the-art software to develop the most efficient routes and zones possible by:

Identifying busy roads and adding extra time for collections, roads with height and weight restrictions;
Identifying streets with restricted access;
Taking into account the location of waste depots;
Taking into account properties surrounding schools to ensure collections are scheduled to avoid the start and finish of the school day;
Using information on the weights of waste for each different type, and mileages covered and fuel consumed by vehicles.

The Council is trying to get the waste day change right for local residents. This work is underway. All sorts of different issues must be taken into account when developing the new zones so that each day of collection is correctly resourced, and waste is collected on the day the Council says it will be. The scale of this task should not be underestimated. As a result of this process, a notice will be sent to every household to let residents know their new day two weeks before the start date.

Residents can find out more about the waste day change by going to www.bathnes.gov.uk/wastedaychange

The next stage of the project includes:

Preparation of routes for all material streams including a full review with frontline staff;
Route editing and review with an office based ‘drive through’ of routes with individual drivers and collection crews;
Production of the final route maps and lists.

The Council recently announced that the waste collection day of households will be changing, and that the four streams of waste currently collected will be changing the waste collection day for households throughout the district from 8th June 2009. Households will put out refuse, the green recycling box, cardboard and garden waste on the same day – although the cardboard and garden waste will remain fortnightly.

The pub is a vital hub for many local communities, places where people come together to socialise, raise money for charity or run sports clubs. Yet six are closing every day and a record 2,000 pubs have closed in the last year, resulting in 20,000 job lost.

The campaign has already gained considerable public support and is growing in momentum. More than 40,000 members of the public have signed up as supporters to the campaign and about 200 MPs have lent their support, including 59 Liberal Democrats.

The ‘Axe the Beer Tax – Save the Pub’ campaign was launched by the British Beer & Pub Association and CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) and has five key demands of Government:

1. Axe plans to increase beer tax by a third
2. Enforce existing laws, not create new ones, to deal firmly with irresponsible drinkers and premises
3. End the irresponsible promotion of alcohol in supermarkets, pubs and elsewhere
4. Trust responsible adults to make informed choices about what they drink, not to punish them for the actions of an irresponsible minority
5. Support the British pub as a vital part of social life in local communities

The immediate focus of the campaign is to persuade the chancellor to scrap plans to impose a 2% above inflation increase in beer tax – even though already tax amounts to 33% of the price of a pint.

You can help to make the Government think again by:

1. Signing up in support at www.axethebeertax.com/support-us.aspx and urging your colleagues and constituents to sign up too;
2. Link your blog or website to the Axe the Beer Tax website and embed the beer taxometer;
4. Use the materials on the Axe the Beer Tax website to highlight the campaign including using their logos, posters and beer mats etc;
5. Contacting your local pubs to help produce a petition to Save the British Pub.

If you need any further information, please do get in touch with the campaign by emailing info@axethebeertax.com.

Keen cyclists Councillor Roger Symonds and Councillor Paul Crossley have been trying for the last 2 years to persuade B&NES Council to sign up to ‘Cycle To Work’ – the Government initiative which offers employees VAT-free bikes, repaid by loans that are exempt from income tax and national insurance, through a salary sacrifice system. The Council does not pay towards the bike and acts only to enable the facility to process through its payroll. It is successfully operated by many local companies and many Councils across the country.

The proposal has also been backed by Bath MP Don Foster. Finally the Council leaders are said to be ‘considering’ the proposal through a feasibility study.

All employers should be encouraging staff to cycle to work. The more people that cycle, the safer and less congested our roads will be. Cycling is also great for keeping fit!

The Cabinet has made a big issue of congestion problems in Bath over the last six months, launching a website and advocating infrastructure schemes; however they are ignoring an opportunity to put in place a small-scale, cheap and popular idea which could make a real difference. The Government ‘Cycle To Work’ scheme is a great initiative and the Council is failing in its leadership role by not participating.

The Conservative administration has been dragging its feet on this issue and putting up all sorts of problems that simply show they do not understand.

Several employees and Councillors would like to take advantage of the Government initiative. We should be signing up now. At last it looks as though the Council will follow more enlightened employers such as the University of Bath and Bristol City Council where Cyclescheme has been running for years.

There was a local dwelling burglary in the area in the last week.

The incident occurred on Beckhampton Road between 8pm and midnight on Saturday March 28th. Unknown offender/s entered the dwelling, again via an unlocked rear door, and then subjected all rooms in this multi-occupancy dwelling to a search.

If you have any information regarding these incidents, please contact the Police on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively you could contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Surveillance powers designed to prevent crime and terrorism and have been used by councils more than 10,000 times since 2004, research by the Liberals Democrats has found.

A survey of more than 180 councils discovered that:

• Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) powers have been used 10,288 times in the last five years
• 1,615 council staff have the power to authorise the use of the RIPA
• 21% (340) of these staff are below senior management grade
• Just 9% of these authorisations have led to a successful prosecution, caution or fixed-penalty notice

This Government sees civil liberties as little more than a temporary inconvenience. Slowly but surely freedoms have been eroded. We’re now in a situation where dog fouling is considered enough to warrant surveillance by council officials. When RIPA was passed, only nine organisations, including the police and security services, were allowed to use it. Now a total of 795 bodies, including all 475 local authorities, can use powers that were originally designed to prevent terrorism.

Unless RIPA is reformed it risks becoming a snoopers’ charter. Surveillance powers should only be used to investigate serious crimes and must require a magistrate’s warrant.

The inflation figures released this week paint a very contradictory picture.

There is a real danger of entering a world of falling prices, wages and production. But at the same time, food, public transport and council tax costs are still going up and living standards are being squeezed for many people on low incomes.

The Government must use next month’s Budget to cut taxes for low earners. These cuts must be fully funded by closing the tax loopholes which only benefit the wealthy.

The Governments plan to monitor social networking sites such as Facebook is yet more evidence of this Government’s obsession with hoarding vast amounts of people’s personal data.

We need complete clarity from the Government over what data they will retain and how it will be kept secure. Will membership of Facebook groups or people listing ‘suspicious’ interests be caught in their dragnet?

We also need guarantees that the Home Secretary’s ‘Dustbin Stasi’ won’t use terrorism legislation to access retained Facebook data for frivolous purposes, such as identifying people who let their dogs foul the pavement.

MPs from the Labour and Conservative parties failed to turn up last Friday, as the Fuel Poverty Bill was talked out of the House by the Government.

Bath MP Don Foster was one of 89 MPs that backed the Bill, but the required number of parliamentarians did not take part in the vote. The government were set on blocking the bill despite calls to progress the Bill from members of different political parties. Don said,:

With increasing numbers of people in fuel poverty, this Bill would have seen real action taken to reduce heating costs for many people – here in Bath we have learnt that up to 16% of residents are in fuel poverty.

This Bill could have offered so much to so many people across the country. By regenerating the building trade we could have kick starting the economy. By relieving hardship, we could have saved thousands of lives every year. By cutting our energy use, we could have begun to seriously tackle climate change.

Bath MP Don Foster has today met with Wessex Connect, part of Flights Hallmark Ltd, a company with a good track record working in a number of cities in the UK, including Birmingham and Bristol. Wessex Connect are hopeful of operating the 20A/C route from 11th May.

If First do not reverse their decision on this route, Don is optimistic that the service will continue anyway thanks to Wessex Connect.  We beleive that they are hoping to significantly improve the reliability of this service by making minor alterations to route, which are being made with the views of local residents in mind.

We are also pleased to learn that Wessex Connect are planning to use larger buses on this route, especially at peak times. Buses are often overcrowded early in the morning with Ralph Allen and University of Bath students using the service.

Don is also optimistic that Wessex Connect will offer a service on the 18 route. Currently, students living in Oldfield Park have to pay extra to get home from the University, as the standard fare is only valid as far as Sainsbury’s. Wessex Connect are planning to allow students to travel to Oldfield Park as part of the standard single fare.

Over 100 people have signed Don’s on-line petition to save the service at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/onthebuses.

We have found out that today Peterborough City Council has been successful in its application to make a designation for an additional HMO licensing scheme. We understand that they are the first council in the country to be granted this permission.

The designation has now been made and is with Department for Communities and Local Government for formal approval and it is anticipated that the scheme will take effect in the designated area on about 1st July 2009.

The scheme will allow for licensing all HMOs of two or more storeys, containing three or more persons in two or more households where at least one basic amenity is shared.

Cllr McGall will be following up this sucess with Peterborough City Council to see what lessions our Council could learn from their application.

We shall continue to campaign for Bath and North East Somerset Council to apply to central government for the powers to additionally license all two storey HMOs.

Unfortuntately, the current Tory-controlled Council does not believe there are sufficient problems with HMOs to justify an application!  Many hundreds of residents across the city and partiularly in Oldfield Park know otherwise.

Ahead of Friday’s debate in Parliament on the Fuel Poverty bill, our MP Don Foster has praised the work of the ‘Warm Front Scheme’ in tacking fuel poverty in Bath. To date the scheme has helped 1134 homes in Bath by implementing measures that can cut energy bills by up to £600 a year.

Bath MP Don Foster said,

The Warm Front scheme helps those most in need in society to save money on their energy bills whilst improving energy efficiency and helping to combat climate change. While organisations such as this are doing good work, the government is still letting too many people fall into fuel poverty. That is why I am supporting the Fuel Poverty Bill in Parliament this Friday.

We know that up to 16% of Bath residents could be suffering from fuel poverty. That figure is not acceptable. Energy bills are soaring, yet the government is not doing enough to help the most vulnerable in society. Many have to make a choice between heating or eating.

The Fuel Poverty Bill will bring in two measures:

• A major energy efficiency programme to bring existing homes up to the current energy efficiency levels enjoyed by modern homes
• Social tariffs to limit vulnerable households’ exposure to high energy bills

Households signing up to the Warm Front Scheme can benefit from grants towards energy efficiency measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation, new heating systems and draught proofing.

The scheme has invested over £1.125million in projects in Bath since it began. To sign up residents must own their own home or live in privately rented property and be in receipt of a qualifying benefit.

Don has urged all households who qualify to contact Warm Front on 0800 316 6014.

We have joined with local traders to welcome the move by a local newsagents chain, Martin MCColl , to change the branding on its stores. Last year McColl’s came under fire last year for putting up Booze Buster signs on its newsagents in Bath included its branch on Moorland Road.

We criticised the branding and said it was an irresponsible way to market the sale of alcohol which could encourage under-age drinking. Thanks to pressure from local trader and residents as well as us, the company has scrapped the ‘Booze Buster’ branding in favour of ‘Off Licence’.

Cllr Will Sandry said:

This is fantastic and it is a great improvement. It is more appropriate advertising, especially in these tough economic times. It is now more appropriate for Moorland Road. Both residents and traders were quite opposed to it and felt it inappropriate for the street.

Chairman of the Moorland Road Association, David Pye, was quoted in the Bath Chronicle saying:

I found the name a bit vulgar. In this day and age, when there are so many problems with alcohol, I didn’t think it was right that they should then put up signs saying Booze Busters. It is not in keeping with the street that is trying to come up in its standards. I’m pleased McColls has looked into this and has seen sense.

Martin McColl did not wish to make a comment on the issue.

We have organised a ‘Pizza and Cola’ Night for students of the Univesity of Bath, Monday 23rd March from 5.15 p.m. in 6East2.1.

This event will enable local students to talk informally to the newly appointed student Community Reps, together with  members of the local Police team and local Councillors about any issues they have.

Any issue can be discussed such as problems with landlords, transport, recycling facilities, crime, parking, leisure facilities, etc.

The student Community Reps will then take these issues to appropriate local PACT (Partners and Communities Together) meetings to raise them formally with the Police and the local Councillors, together with other local residents.

The Student Community Partnership, which replaced the Student Liaison Committee which Cllr McGall set up many years ago, recently appointed 2 student Community Reps to work with the Police and the local Councillors to raise students’ issues at local PACT meetings.

If you are a student from the University of Bath and have any issue you want raised but are unable to attend the meeting, please let Cllr McGall know your views and he will report them to the meeting on the night.

Early morning services and the city’s circular route are to be cut from the bus timetable at the beginning of May as First Bus reduces the service they are providing.

Early services from Combe Down, Foxhill and Larkhall are being lost. The biggest impact will, however, come from the complete removal of the 20A/C service, which stops at Ralph Allen School, the University of Bath and the RUH.

Bath MP Don Foster said that the cuts are unacceptable and will be meeting with First Bus Managing Director Justin Davies to discuss the plans.

Don said, “Many people rely on early morning buses to get to work, what option will be available to them now? Local buses need to be able to serve the needs of residents, not force them into their car.

“The loss of the 20A/C route will be a massive blow. Many students use it to get to the university and it provides a direct link for residents across the city to our local hospital. The Council must look at finding another operator for this route.”

Please sign our petition, at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/onthebuses , calling for these services to be re-instated.

You can follow more about the story on the Bath Chronicle website

Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

Bath has lost a total of 9 pubs since 2005 (and this does not include the potential loss of our Englishcoombe Inn), and nationally a record 2,000 pubs have called time on their business since the 2008 budget announcement that beer duty would rise once more.

Bath MP Don Foster, also the Lib Dem spokesperson for Culture, Media & Sport, says that current government policy is seriously damaging the future for the local pub.

He said, “Understandably the government wants to take action to tackle binge drinking, but by raising beer duty they are hurting the local pub and the social drinker.

“The local pub is an important part of a local community and we are at risk of losing many more if the government continues in this manner. We are punishing responsible social drinkers, when we should be hitting those who binge drink.

Cheap supermarket deals are seeing many getting ‘tanked up’ before going out into town, but rises on beer duty do nothing to tackle this. Supermarkets continue to sell alcohol as a loss-leader, but it is the local pub suffering as a result as government action is hurting them.

I have just received the following forwarded email from the National HMO Lobby, from the Government Department for Communities and Local Government. If you follow the link, you will find it says -

“27 Feb 2009: Multiple Occupation

Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to consult on amendments to use classes orders in relation to houses in multiple occupation.

Mr. Iain Wright: We are committed to consulting on possible changes to the use class order in relation to houses in multiple occupation. We are considering the most appropriate mechanism for this consultation, and plan to consult in the spring.”

Bath businesses are able to claim assistance in getting through the current economic downturn.

Businesses interested in registering for loans under the Working Capital Scheme should call the helpline on 0845 459 9780.

All businesses are entitled to a free review of their business with an advisor using the help of Business Link on 0845 600 9006 or via this website.

Bath MP Don Foster said,

I encourage all businesses in Bath to get in touch with Business Link and receive free advice on how to get through this difficult period. It is important we do what we can to assist local businesses survive the recession.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Shaun McGall (Oldfield) has revealed that the Government has no timetable for the Housing Reform Green paper. In a response to his letter to new Housing Minister, Margaret Beckett MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Iain Wright MP replied, saying, “We have not yet made any decisions on the timing or the content of the Housing Reform Green Paper.”

Previous Minister Caroline Flint MP had won the support of local Councillors and MPs when she announced action on “Studentification” and initial plans to give local Councils more control of Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) in their area.

It is of great concern to me that this process seems to have taken a backward step in the short time Margaret Beckett has been Housing Minister. Residents, Councillors and local MPs will now surely be worried that they will have to go back to the beginning and start campaigning all over again.

Caroline Flint seemed to understand that this was an important issue, but the reply I have now received suggests that this work is now not a priority.

Local authorities need to been given the proper controls to deal with HMOs in the way that best suits their area. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for the entire country. I hope that the new Minister will realise this and continue the good work of her predecessor.

Shaun has lobbied both Bath MP Don Foster and Liberal Democrat Housing spokesperson Sarah Teather MP on the issue and is delighted that they are supporting the plans for local authorities to have a greater say over HMOs.

The Cabinet member for Adult Social Services and Housing for on the Council has announced that he will not alter his original decision to implement new charges for home care services despite the call-in of the decision having been upheld.

It is extremely disappointing that the Cabinet member has decided to ignore the recommendations of the call-in panel to phase in care cost increases and allow people who use this service the time to adapt. The Lib Dems have expressed our opposition to these steep increases time and time again at O&S, Cabinet and Council and the Cabinet member has taken no notice.

The Cabinet member will no doubt face criticism for his unwillingness to listen to the call-in panel and indeed for his announcement to the press before the call-in even took place that he did not plan to change his decision no matter what might be said. We are disgusted by his dismissive attitude to the democratically-expressed concerns raised by not only the Liberal Democrat and Labour Groups but also service users and Action for Pensioners. These charges are fundamentally unfair and will hit vulnerable people hard.

Will Sandry said

I have grave concerns about the consultation process that took place before the original decision was made. At the call-in I was unable to find any evidence that the consultation had influenced the proposals on which the decision was made. I am angry that Cllr Pritchard has implemented these huge increases in home care charges, which I think are cruel.

Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

The Council met on the 27th March to discuss issues relating to the forthcoming review of secondary school provision. The Cabinet will have to make a decision on schools in May, and last night’s meeting was a chance for issues to be aired and discussed in public by parents, school governors and Councillors. However, as was made clear at the start of the meeting, no decision was taken at this Council meeting.

The motion which was voted upon was not the one published in the Council papers on 17 March, and the unanimous adoption of the motion did not represent a specific endorsement of any particular strategy or plan for secondary school provision in Bath and North East Somerset. The vote served to officially thank the O&S panel for the preparatory work which had already been done and to formally request that Cabinet take account of the points of view raised at Council when making its decision.

Speaking after the Council meeting, Councillor Paul Crossley said:

“I was very pleased that the Cabinet member for children gave a commitment to go over the recording of the meeting and ensure that all the points which had been raised will be dealt with. We will be looking closely at the forthcoming consultation and decision process to ensure this is the case”.

Read the rest of this entry.

Lib Dem Councillors have expressed their disappointment that the scrutiny call-in, which had been organised to look into the increases in parking costs in Bath, has been dismissed.

The panel voted, by four votes to three, to dismiss the call-in, with Conservative Councillors from outside of Bath backing the original decision taken by their Conservative Cabinet colleague. The Cabinet member will now be free to go ahead and implement the decision to apply increases of up to 60% to residents’ permit costs across the city, as well as a number of other changes to parking costs and arrangements.

The call-in panel raised a number of issues around poor consultation and excessive increases to permit costs. Although all Councillors agreed that consultation on this decision had been inadequate, Conservative Councillors appeared more concerned with the state of the Council’s finances than the issue of engaging with those who will be affected.

Councillor Ian Gilchrist (Widcombe), who led the call-in signatories commented:

“I am disappointed that the Conservative and Independent members of the panel did not recognise the merits of the case made to uphold the call-in.

“I thought that the arguments outlining the damaging effects of extending charged times in the city centre to 8pm were pretty compelling, and if they don’t listen to Nod Knowles (Director of Bath Festivals) who will they listen to?

“I am slightly mollified by the apparent concession that Cllr Gerrish has made in the direction of Sunday evening parking, but this still has to be confirmed. If we have achieved even this small bit of good then that is a good thing. Residents will not be pleased at a 60% increase in their annual charges, but I do draw comfort from the thought that we at least did our best to oppose this.”

Cllr Steve Hedges (Odd Down), who sat on the panel, said:

“This really is a kick in the teeth for the democratic process; this decision has been made with complete disregard for best practice in decision-making such as engaging with hard-to-reach groups and the elderly who are often on fixed incomes. The Cabinet member also refused to address the issues raised in the call-in notice, including my concerns around costs of permits for traders, most of whom are small independent businesses who can not afford such huge increases.”

Concerns raised by Nod Knowles as to the impact on the night time economy, were supported by Cllr Roger Symonds (Combe Down), who said:

“Extending car park charging from 6pm to 8pm will have a knock-on effect for all evening and night time businesses in the city centre. How long before this money grabbing administration extends charging until 8pm for kerbside parking as well? It is significant that none of the four councillors who voted to dismiss the call-in live in Bath.”

Following the recent Councillors Campaign for Balanced Communities Annual Conference in Nottingham, we heard from Roberta Blackman-Woods MP (Durham) who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Balanced Communities.

Roberta explained how valuable it was that the previous Minister for Local Government, Phil Woolas, was supportive of new legislation on HMOs, and what a loss it was that he moved elsewhere with the government re-shuffle last year. She identified institutional resistance to new legislation within the Department for Communities & Local Government. She sees the current review of the Private Rented Sector therefore as especially significant in changing attitudes - and lobbying of this Review as especially valuable.

So we are asking all local residents who want to voice there opinions about the situation in Oldfield Park to lobby the PRS Review.

Write to Dr Julie Rugg (Centre for Housing Policy, University of York), who is one of the academics carrying out the Review (see http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/chp/Projects/PRSreview.htm)

I think there are three important points to be made:-

1) HMOs are the problem, not particularly students - it’s the transience of HMO occupants which causes problems, whether these are students in university cities like Bath, or benefit claimants in seaside towns, or migrant workers in market towns, etc;

2) One side of these problems is the disruption HMOs cause to community cohesion - communities become unsustainable when a significant proportion of the population is perpetually changing.

3) Another side, equally important, is the fact that HMOs take away family homes at a time of acute housing shortage - to be used instead as seasonal second homes by students (or as temporary accommodation by others).

Write to Dr Julie Rugg at:

Dr Julie Rugg,

The Centre for Housing Policy,

The University of York,

Heslington,

York.

YO10 5DD

Or email her at jr10@york.ac.uk

We would appreciate you copying in Cllr McGall on: shaun_mcgall@bathnes.gov.uk

Following the recent Councillors Campaign for Balanced Communities Annual Conference in Nottingham, we heard from Roberta Blackman-Woods MP (Durham) who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Balanced Communities.

Roberta explained how valuable it was that the previous Minister for Local Government, Phil Woolas, was supportive of new legislation on HMOs, and what a loss it was that he moved elsewhere with the government re-shuffle last year. She identified institutional resistance to new legislation within the Department for Communities & Local Government. She sees the current review of the Private Rented Sector therefore as especially significant in changing attitudes - and lobbying of this Review as especially valuable.

So we are asking all local residents who want to voice there opinions about the situation in Oldfield Park to lobby the PRS Review.

Write to Dr Julie Rugg (Centre for Housing Policy, University of York), who is one of the academics carrying out the Review (see http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/chp/Projects/PRSreview.htm)

I think there are three important points to be made:-

1) HMOs are the problem, not particularly students - it’s the transience of HMO occupants which causes problems, whether these are students in university cities like Bath, or benefit claimants in seaside towns, or migrant workers in market towns, etc;

2) One side of these problems is the disruption HMOs cause to community cohesion - communities become unsustainable when a significant proportion of the population is perpetually changing.

3) Another side, equally important, is the fact that HMOs take away family homes at a time of acute housing shortage - to be used instead as seasonal second homes by students (or as temporary accommodation by others).

Write to Dr Julie Rugg at:

Dr Julie Rugg,

The Centre for Housing Policy,

The University of York,

Heslington,

York.

YO10 5DD

Or email her at jr10@york.ac.uk

We would appreciate you copying in Cllr McGall on: shaun_mcgall@bathnes.gov.uk

Lib Dem Leader, Nick Clegg today received medals handed to him from Gurkhas who served in the British Army before 1997 and are being denied a full pension and the right to British Citizenship. Speaking at a protest outside Parliament, Nick Clegg said: “When I told people what you get from the Government in return for the years of brave, loyal, uncomplaining success people simply don’t believe it.

It is quite simply a national disgrace. I am simply saying you should be treated with the respect and honour you deserve as brave soldiers.  I will do everything I can to end this unacceptable and immoral discrimination.

Nick Clegg later tackled Gordon Brown over the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions. He said:”Two hours ago a retired Gurkha soldier handed over this medal to me in protest at the Government’s refusal to grant him British citizenship.

“Do you know what it means for a loyal British soldier to give up a medal that he won for his long years of service to this country?  And can you explain to the Gurkhas why on earth you believe that Gurkhas who served in the Army after 1997 are worthy of British citizenship but those who served before that date should be deported?”

Fellow members of the Lib Dem Group on the Council have submitted a call-in on the decision to raise and extend parking charges, including the cost of residents’ permits. The call-in has been verified and the hearing will be held early in April.

Among the changes to be introduced is an increase in the cost of residents’ permit charges in Zones 1-12 of Bath (all except the city centre) from £55 to £88 for a first permit, and from £82 to £130 for a second permit.

Councillors in affected wards have been inundated with objections from residents. Apart from the inflation-busting increase of approximately 65%, residents complain that they have seen no justification for this increase and that they have not been consulted about it.

Lib Dem Councillor for Widcombe, Ian Gilchrist, said:

“I have received a huge number of emails complaining about this increase. I am very pleased to be supporting the call-in to try to get the decision reversed. There are parts in these recommendations which are extremely unpopular, but a common complaint is that residents don’t feel anyone has asked them about this. I notice that the council claims it has consulted through the Federation of Bath Residents Associations (FedBRA), but that even Alan Morgan, the chair of FedBRA, thinks the decision needs to be rethought. What does consultation mean if you don’t listen to what you are told?!”

Read the rest of this entry.

Lib Dem Leader, Nick Clegg today received medals handed to him from Gurkhas who served in the British Army before 1997 and are being denied a full pension and the right to British Citizenship.

Speaking at a protest outside Parliament, Nick Clegg said:

When I told people what you get from the Government in return for the years of brave, loyal, uncomplaining success people simply don’t believe it.

It is quite simply a national disgrace. I am simply saying you should be treated with the respect and honour you deserve as brave soldiers.

I will do everything I can to end this unacceptable and immoral discrimination.

Nick Clegg later tackled Gordon Brown over the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions. He said:

Two hours ago a retired Gurkha soldier handed over this medal to me in protest at the Government’s refusal to grant him British citizenship.

Do you know what it means for a loyal British soldier to give up a medal that he won for his long years of service to this country?

And can you explain to the Gurkhas why on earth you believe that Gurkhas who served in the Army after 1997 are worthy of British citizenship but those who served before that date should be deported?

On 15 January, Iain Wright MP, Minister for Planning, gave a written answer in the House of Commons:

“We propose to consult on possible amendments to the Use Classes Order in relation to HMOs later in the year.”

Preliminaries to this consultation are now under way. CLG says, “Communities and Local Government have commissioned a short evidence-gathering exercise, being carried out by ECOTEC consultants, which will identify good practice and determine what levers, in addition to planning policy, might be suitable in tackling [HMO] problems.”

Read the rest of this entry.

As I said in the previous posting, last week I attended the Councillors Campaign for Balanced Communities annual meeting in Nottingham.

85 delegates registered, including councillors, MPs, Council officers and local resident groups and activists from University town and cities from across the country. I was the only person from Bath!

Local residents groups and community activists came from Leeds, Nottingham, Leicester, Canterbury, Southampton, Manchester, Loughborough, Swansea. Locally another Lib Dem Councillor attended from Bristol. Cllr Mark Wright represents Clifton - another area with many HMOs and students.

The morning was was entitled “Perspectives on Balanced Communities”. Maya Fletcher (Chair, Nottingham Action Group, aka NAG) spoke about ‘getting upstream of the problem’ - ie tackling the original causes, rather than mopping up after the event. This is the approach I wish our Council would take.

My efforts with the Student Liaison Committee tried to do this, but our strategic issues and plans were continually blocked by councillors from our parties on the Council.

Cllr Alan Clark (Nottingham City Council) spoke about his Council’s efforts. Mr Richard Tyler, Chair of the National HMO Lobby, used the opportunity to launch the National HMO Lobby’s publication Balanced Communities & Studentification.

Derek Goss (Kent Uni, Canterbury) spoke about addressing effects, but in many ways missed the point about loss of balance.

Finally, Roberta Blackman-Woods MP (Durham) spoke about the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Balanced Communities (which she chairs,) and the need for legislation to address concentrations of HMOs (not only student houses). Don Foster MP is a member of this welcomed additional lobbying group in Parliament.

Between the presentations, there was opportunity for questions and discussion - taken up avidly by community reps and councillors.

After lunch, us councillors met separately, and heard presentations on studentification, accreditation, and managing noise & rubbish.

Meanwhile, the residents HMO Lobby held its own meeting, and had their own presentations on noise and waste (Officers from Nottingham City Council). Andrew Crates (Community Planner, Leeds City Council) spoke about the planning framework within which local authorities can adopt policies on HMOs and other relevant issues.

Then, Dr Darren Smith (Brighton Uni, who invented the term ’studentification’) spoke on the politics of studentification, arguing for a much more radical approach to the issues [some of which have been taken up by the Lobby]. Again, there was opportunity for discussion.

Richard Tacagni (LACORS) spoke about the benefits of the Housing Act 2004 (which introduced HMO licensing).

The annual meeting then closed with a few words from Cllr Dave Trimble (Nottingham CC) and from Maya (NAG).

At one level, the conference was invaluable for meeting fellow councillors and colleagues and reinforcing the solidarity of the Councillors Lobby - it gives you strength to persevere knowing you are not alone! Also, it was invaluable for exchanging info on what can be done, and what current developments there are - even though some of these are frustrating.

Finally, I think three valuable lobbying opportunities emerged:

#1 Roberta Blackman-Woods MP took up the HMO Lobbies proposals for tripartite delegations to the Ministers for Planning, and for Universities (comprising APPG, CCBC and Lobby) to lobby for action.

#2 Roberta is convinced that the governments current Private Rented Sector Review is crucial, and that further lobbying here is needed. I’ll write separately about this.

#3 The launch of Balanced Communities & Studentification gives local residents not only a position statement from the community’s point of view, but also a publication which visually demonstrates that the HMO Lobby (and its members which include Downstream South and the Bath Federation of Residents Associations) is a serious organisation.

What do you think? Please let me know.

We hope that you saw the front page headline article in the Western Daily Press on Monday of this week. If you didn’t, then see it here. Our MP, Don Foster has called on the Post Office to remove Lower Weston Post Office from the consultation. Up to 4,000 new residents will have Lower Weston as their nearest office; it simply does not make sense to take it away.

Don and the local Lib Dem councillors, Dixon and Darracott went out to collect signatures on our petition to Save Claremont Post Office last Friday, and the local community there is stunned. The nearest office may only be half a mile away, but there is a very steep hill in between. It will be elderly and disabled people who lose out.

You may have seen that today there is a debate on Post Offices in the House of Commons, called for by the Conservatives. The Conservatives’ policy consists of a list of potential additional services that can be offered by or through the Post Office. They have no proposals on the future structure of Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd or where investment funds are going to come from. The Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to this motion outlining our plans for future investment. Don Foster has agreed to give us an update on the debate after the Easter weekend.

Locally we must continue to campaign hard and show the government and the Post Office Ltd how much our Post Offices mean to the local community.

Remember to get your friends to sign the on-line petition at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/savebathspostoffices

I attended the Councillors Campaign for Balanced Communities Conference in Nottingham on 13 March 2008.

At this conference, the National HMO Lobby launched its new publication, “Balanced Communities & Studentification”. This booklet follows publications by universities and by students on students and communities - but this time, it puts the community’s point of view. It does three things in particular:-

• explains what a balanced community is (and why it matters);
• explains what studentification is - and why it is such a problem for communities; and
• suggests a Ten Point Plan, which should be adopted by local councils and other stakeholders, to tackle the root problem of studentification.

The booklet is available on the Lobby’s website at http://hmolobby.org.uk/39articles.pdf

Please take a look and let me know your views on this important topic for the future of Oldfield Park and the wider city of Bath.

Local Liberal Democrats are welcoming a change of heart by the Conservative-run Cabinet on the Council regarding the proposal to build an incinerator for non-recyclable waste in the West.

Liberal Democrats from across the former Avon area have been campaigning against the incinerator plans, being considered by the West of England Waste Partnership following a public consultation which has been described as ‘flawed’.

Liberal Democrats called on the Cabinet member responsible for waste to oppose the incinerator, in line with the Council’s policy on zero waste, but the Cabinet member refused to make his position known. In a statement today the Cabinet member confirmed that the Council opposes mass-burn incineration and that the other members of the Waste Partnership had been informed that this Council could not participate in such a scheme.

This statement from the Cabinet member signals a victory for the Liberal Democrat and Friends of the Earth campaign against the proposal for mass burn incineration. We very much welcome this u-turn by the Tories and we are pleased that Cllr Charles Gerrish has acknowledged our part in the effective campaign against this expensive, unsustainable proposal. Mass burn incineration is now ‘dead in the water’.

The recent Zero Waste Week showed what achievements are possible for waste reduction. We must now start working with the commercial sector to ensure that these waste streams are minimised as well. It would be fantastic if all our pubs, restaurants and shops could sign up to Zero Waste. The less total waste heading for landfill from all sources the less chance we have of anyone considering incineration in the West.

Sign up to support our campaign against any further Post Office closures in Bath which could affect our Post Office here on Moorland Road. The government consultation for our area begins in February 2008, and our Post Office could be under threat.

The state of the post office network

The Post Office network is crumbling. Over the last two decades, post offices have been closing at a rate of over 300 a year. Under the last Conservative Government, 3,500 local post offices closed, and under Labour another 4,000 have closed, hitting communities across the country. And, with the news of another 2,500 closures, things are set to get even worse.
The Government’s policy to avoid “unnecessary” rural Post Office branch closures came to an end in March 2006. This policy has previously slowed down the rate of closure in rural areas.

And the Government has announced that it will not extend its contract beyond 2010 for pension and benefit payments using the Post Office Card Account, worth £1 billion of income for post offices between 2003 and 2010. A replacement will be put in place but the competitive tender process means that the Post Office could lose this work altogether. The likelihood is that, while the Government ducks the long term decisions necessary to secure the future of Post Offices, 12,000 post office branches (urban and rural) will close.

Why this matters

Post offices are the lifeblood of communities in both rural and urban areas, particularly when they are combined with other services, such as the local shop. When the local post office closes other services often follow suit, which can be devastating for the community. It is vital that the true social value of this network is included as well as its economic value when looking at the long-term future of this valuable network. Post Offices in rural areas play a particularly crucial role. They have an ‘existence value’ similar to the local school or village pub. They also provide vital face-to-face access to government, postal and commercial services for communities which may not have, for example, a local bank branch.

Research for Postwatch in 2004 showed that:

75% of those surveyed felt their local post office was ‘extremely important’
59% thought it was ‘essential to their way of life’
91% agreed it played an ‘important role in their local community’
86% felt that losing a Post Office means ‘a lot of people lose their independence’
27% found it difficult to get to another post office when their local one closed

These figures increased among the elderly or those with disabilities affecting their mobility.
Action is needed by the Government now to prevent the mass closure of post offices occurring.
Only the Liberal Democrats have a plan which can save the post office network.

The Liberal Democrat plan

Following the passing of the new policy at Harrogate Conference in March 2006, we are the only party to have a costed and credible set of proposals to keep post offices open and, where necessary, to open others. Our opponents have no such policy.

Our plan keeps the Post Office Ltd in the public sector and enables Royal Mail employees to get a share in their company through a radical employee share ownership Trust, similar to the John Lewis Partnership. Royal Mail will take a new ownership model, with the sale of some of its shares providing the investment needed by our post offices.

The Liberal Democrat plan would enable us to –

Open new post office branches where they are needed
Keep the Post Office in the public sector
Make the Royal Mail into a successful company, with new investment freedoms
Give Royal Mail staff a guaranteed stake in their company through employee share holding and participation
Protect and improve the service to customers that provides a daily delivery at a uniform price across the country

The Government has given the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear power stations, which is a flawed decision based on a sham consultation - we all know that ministers made up their minds long ago.

The Government has effectively locked us into nuclear power for the best part of a century. By the time they are up and running in the 2020s nuclear power plants may be obsolete given the breathtaking progress in renewable technologies.

The Labour Government Minister, John Hutton MP, was not able to give a cast iron guarantee that taxpayers will not have to subsidise the costs of nuclear in the future. The Government had nothing to say about today’s pressing issue - spiralling fuel prices. The new Energy Bill must include measures to protect the millions of households who are struggling to meet their winter fuel bills.

The UK has an energy crisis now - nuclear power cannot fill the energy gap. Energy conservation and investment in renewables should be our top priorities.

Of course, the year has been dominated by the HMO Consultation. A report on the Consultation should have been published within three months of its ending in August, but it has still not appeared.

Apparently, the response was three times greater than expected - some 900 responses! Hopefully, the majority of these were from local residents, cllrs and MPs - but landlords and students were also campaigning against potential changes in the law. The volume of responses has caused the delay (the government has only one part-time officer dealing with them - Cllr McGall has spoken to her and she hopes to publish by the end of the year).

Meanwhile, we also have a new Minister for Housing & Planning, John Healey MP, who claims he is not well enough briefed as yet to make any decisions. Below is his reply to a question in the Commons, on 8 December 2009: -

Greg Mulholland (Leeds, North-West) (Lib Dem): Landlord licensing is one solution, but the use classes order is far more significant in many areas with concentrations of HMOs. Will the Minister give me an update on the progress of the Government’s examination of that? Does he agree that restrictions on the number of HMOs in such areas will increase the balance of the community and be in the interests of all?

John Healey: Indeed, and that is why our general policy is to promote mixed communities, as they tend to be better balanced and more stable. The hon. Gentleman asked for an update on our examination of whether changes to the use classes might help us pursue our objectives. At present, we are sifting the 900 or so responses that we have received to the consultation, and I hope to be able to update the House on this shortly.

See http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm091208/debtext/91208-0002.htm#09120872000021

Several MPs, including our Don Foster, are lobbying the Minister to take action. The danger is that an early election will sabotage all the progress we have made. If you haven’t already done so, it would be invaluable if you could lobby Don Foster MP, and ask him to put what pressure he can on the Minister to move things along.

Meanwhile, in the hope of a positive outcome in due course…