Don Foster MP tackles supermarkets over excess packaging

Bath MP Don Foster has today launched a campaign urging local supermarkets to think twice before stocking excessively packaged goods. From the packaging of perfume to pizzas, UK households send over 5 million tonnes of waste packaging to landfill each year. 

Like many others in Bath, Don is appalled by the wasteful packaging that accompanies so many everyday products.  Shockingly, one-sixth of the average household food budget – £470 – is spent on the cost of packaging. We continually ask residents to recycle more and reduce their waste, but they are justifiably frustrated that businesses don’t seem to be following suit, and excess packaging is a prime example. 

While Don commend the many supermarkets who are trying to limit the number of plastic bags they give out, there is still much to be done to end the serious damage to the environment, caused by these bags and excess packaging, being sent to landfill. That is why he is launching a campaign against excess packaging here in Bath.  He has contacted all of the city’s supermarkets to highlight this issue, and hope that we can work together to achieve an end to these wasteful ways.

Foster takes new homes battle to Parliament

Bath MP Don Foster yesterday spoke in the Westminster Hall debate on the South West Regional Spatial Strategy on the 7th October, and called for a proper test to make sure that all brownfield sites were developed before areas in the green belt. 

Speaking in the debate, Don said, “[There is an] urgent need to have a sequential test so that we stick to the rule of developing brownfield, derelict properties first, and green belt land as a very last resort, if necessary. If we do not, it will lead to problems with developers cherry-picking the best and easiest sites, which would be a planning disaster.” 

Don also called on the Minister to allow student developments to count, saying, “Will the Minister at least reconsider the ludicrous situation in the centre of Bath, where 1,772 family homes are entirely occupied by students?  Building student accommodation on our two university campuses…would release many of those properties. Surely, releasing properties for ordinary home use should count towards the target.

Two Tunnels backing from Council must be clear

Councillor Paul Crossley, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on B&NES Council, has called on the Cabinet Member for Customer Services, Councillor Charles Gerrish, to make clear that the Council will back the Two Tunnels project properly and not leave their support up in the air. The Cabinet member is free to make a decision on how the Council will help the Two Tunnels project to go ahead.  Councillor Crossley has called on him to consider the following points before making the decision: 

  • The Liberal Democrat Group fully supports the Two Tunnels cycle route project and the Council should do the same.
  • The Council is due to support the project with £100,000 a year for the next two years, but for the following two years the funding has not been confirmed – this leads to a lack of certainty for the project team and the funding should be made definite.
  • The Liberal Democrats support the proposal that the Council should act as ‘commissioner’ for the project to allow VAT to be reclaimed.
  • However the proposal that Sustrans and Two Tunnels should be responsible for “Relevant Council costs associated with the administration of its involvement with the project and documentation costs etc” should be changed.

The Two Tunnels team is a small charity with willing volunteers engaged on one of the most exciting cycle projects in the country.  It is great to have on board the UK’s number one cycle charity as well in the form of Sustrans.  However this paragraph, as written, gives no clue as to what the potential liabilities may be to the project.  The Two Tunnels team has to embark on a big fundraising scheme to raise another £400K approximately and for them to take on a commitment to reimburse the Council for open-ended costs could put the project in jeopardy. 

The Council currently has large reserves and has recently granted £200K to the Holburne.  Surely this project – which will help reduce congestion and will contribute to the Council’s own priorities – deserves equivalent support? The Two Tunnels project will bring communities closer together along a broad corridor.  Cyclists, and also walkers, will get easy access out to local beauty spots such as Midford and Wellow and conversely people from Midford, Wellow, and beyond could cycle safely into Bath to work or for pleasure.  It will encourage more people off the road.

Government “finally” takes action on studentification

Liberal Democrats in Bath are welcoming news that the Government is finally to give Councils the tools to tackle the issue of high concentrations of student houses or ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation” (HMOs) in specific areas of their authorities. We are really pleased that the Government is finally beginning to respond to the combined pressure from local residents, Councillors and MPs from across the country who have been lobbying for action to tackle ‘studentification’. 

Councils need the substantive tools to address the development and growth of large clusters of HMOs in University towns and cities – as in Oldfield Park in Bath for example – through the planning system.  The Government’s suggestion of allowing local Councils to use planning restraint policies and ‘Use Class Orders’ to control concentrations of HMOs and to help create more balanced, sustainable communities is therefore to be welcomed The Government is also looking at a range of parallel strategies for Councils to address community issues such as parking and waste. Some of these are already in place in Bath – such as the landlord accreditation scheme – and some have been tried in the past. B&NES was ahead of its time in setting up the Student Liaison Committee in 2003 to work with the Universities and the student’s union to improve town and gown relations, although its public engagement meetings and budget were cut by the new administration. 

Bath MP Don Foster has thanked those local residents and residents’ associations from Bath who have worked with us and have responded to the Government’s review on privately rented housing. Without their persistence over the years we wouldn’t have got this far. As this report is only a first step on a road which could lead to legislative changes work needs to continue to persuade the Government to give Councils the real powers they need to address ‘studentification’.  We look forward to seeing a Green Paper in due course.” 

The press release from the Department of Communities and Local Government can be found here.And the report on possible planning responses can be found here.

We need real action on keeping HGVs out of city

Bath MP Don Foster is calling for real action in keeping HGVs and through traffic out of Bath, by researching a scheme that sees alternative recommended routes sent to Sat Nav mapping companies. Earlier this month Lib Dem research revealed that Bath and North East Somerset Council officers had not been attending meetings of the South West Regional Freight Forum, where the scheme has been discussed and actively piloted by Somerset County Council. 

Don has now written to the Chief Executive of Somerset County Council to find out more. Don said, “This is a sensible, practical way of reducing the number of HGVs getting stuck on inappropriate routes in our city, and can also help to reduce through traffic.  It is pleasing that these companies are willing to work with local communities to improve the service they provide.” 

We need to find out more about this scheme and start playing catch up so that we can work with Somerset County Council in producing effective alternative routes.  It is time that there was real action on this issue. One of our Lib Dem Councillor colleagues, Ian Gilchrist, asked a question on the issue at a recent Full Council meeting.  He said, “The Tories have talked and talked and talked.  They keep claiming that they are working to stop HGVs using Bath as a through route, but the reality is that they are doing very little.” 

If this was really a priority, as they claim it is, then they would have made sure officers were attending these meetings and that our Council was pioneering this scheme.  Instead we are sadly lagging behind.

So important that student housing should count

In the lead up to the Lib Dem organised public meeting on the Regional Spatial Strategy, Bath MP Don Foster has stressed how important it is that purpose built student housing should count towards the Government imposed target.

Don said, “I have been informed that there are at least 1500 properties within the Bath constituency that are exempt from Council Tax because they are lived in by students.  This is the same number as the Bath urban expansion that was agreed by the Council, although the Government has since put this up to 2000.  If we could free up these properties by moving students into purpose built blocks, then we could almost negate the need to build an urban extension to Bath.  Of course, it isn’t that simple, but these figures clearly illustrate the point that Liberal Democrats in Bath have been making.

Commenting, Don said, “Residents need a chance to have their say on all aspects of the RSS – from where they feel houses should or shouldn’t be built, to what added infrastructure they think will be needed, to what they believe a realistic target actually is.  After all, we do need new affordable homes in Bath. Don will be taking the views of all residents forward to his meeting with Regional Minister Ben Bradshaw MP at the beginning of October.

Lib Dems welcome Council response to government housing targets

Liberal Democrats have given their support to a strongly worded response to the government on the hotly debated issue of the housing requirements within the regional spatial strategy. A government which doesn’t listen to people will eventually get told where to go, and sooner rather than later.  We will be submitting our own response to the government to raise issues, such as the need for student housing to be taken into account in the housing numbers, and we will be calling on residents to do the same. 

We need to get more people on board to influence the government – members of the Council need to go out there and tell their residents what is happening. 

It must be common sense that purpose-built student accommodation blocks should count towards RSS housing targets and could therefore help protect against building on green field sites and our green belt.  It is crazy that new halls of residence for students do not count in the RSS figures. 

The government cannot be trusted in relation to the regional spatial strategy.  The government cannot be trusted in relation to the green belt. These housing requirement figures are not based on evidence.  The response before us tonight was formed by the enterprise and economic development overview and scrutiny panel and is not the product of one political party.  The response reflects the concerns on the changed economic climate, along with the basis upon which these figures have been calculated.

Backing the British Legion

Bath and North East Somerset Council on the 11st September 2008 adopted a Liberal Democrat-led motion calling for the Council to support The Royal British Legion’s “Honour the Covenant” campaign.

We were delighted to see this motion carried unanimously and that it received such overwhelming support from all sides.

We were particularly glad that the Labour Group was able to support the motion and we hope the message will get through to Government.  The fact that The Royal British Legion has had to mount this campaign is an indictment of the Government which has clearly fallen down in its duty of care; both for the serving personnel in the forces – in the cutbacks in recent years of battalions and the supporting arms for troops on tours at a crucial time of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan – but most importantly in its treatment of wounded ex-service personnel and bereaved families.

Conservatives refuse Bath Package debate

At a meeting of B&NES Council on the 11th September 2008 Liberal Democrats called for an ad hoc debate on the Cabinet’s treatment of residents during last week’s Cabinet meeting, using the 10-minute debate rule in the Council’s constitution.

The Conservative Group however refused to allow the debate to take place.

Dozens of residents made a particular effort to attend last week’s Cabinet meeting to protest against the Cabinet’s adoption of compulsory purchase powers for the Bus Rapid Transit route; however the Leader of Council refused to allow a proper debate and prevented ward councillors and residents from speaking.

Once again the Conservatives have shown they are frightened of debate – what have they got to hide?

This Cabinet meeting was another bad day for democracy locally. In our view it put this Council and therefore all of us as members in a bad light.  The Cabinet should make a public apology to residents, and should convene a Cabinet debate to allow open debate, rather than hiding behind the O&S process.

With the reduced numbers of meetings there are now fewer opportunities for us to represent our residents.  The Leader of Council seems to change the rules on who may and may not speak at Cabinet according to her whim.

The Cabinet meeting at which Cllr Caroline Roberts (Lib Dem, Newbridge) was prevented from speaking and at which no debate took place, was completed in just over one hour.  When this issue is debated at overview and scrutiny on September 25th residents and councillors will give this subject the debate and time it deserves even though, as the decision makers, this should be the duty of the Cabinet.

One might wonder whether Councillors and residents should waste their time attending Cabinet meetings in the future if it is only to watch the Cabinet rubber stamp decisions.

Lib Dems say “No Way to 21k”

Liberal Democrat Councillors in Bath are opposing the Government’s proposed requirement that over 21,000 homes should be built in the district by 2026. The Council needs to make a very robust response to the Government, explicitly calling for the original numbers to be reinstated.

Liberal Democrats are saying “No Way” to the new target of over 21,000; these requirements are based on hopelessly exaggerated economic and jobs predictions.

We have always said that there should be no building on green belt land except as an absolute last resort when all possible brownfield sites have been developed.  The proposed rate of construction is also hopelessly optimistic – three times the current rate! We recognised that the original number of 15,500 would deliver much needed housing so that so that our children and grandchildren have a chance to live in the area and not be forced out.  But with an increase of almost 40% in the new requirement the Conservatives are allowing green belt to be built on which will see villages disappear and Keynsham to be subsumed into Bristol.

We are also backing local MP Don Foster’s campaign that student housing should count towards the housing requirement.  In Oldfield Park and across other parts of Bath a lot of potential family homes are unavailable due to multiple student lets, but purpose-built student accommodation – which would free up some of these homes – doesn’t count towards the housing numbers.

This is crazy and we will be responding to the Government consultation to point this out.