Lib Dems nationally call for more powers to control ‘Studentification’

Commenting on the recent Government report into tackling the ‘Studentification’ of citys where there are too many Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in one area often rented to groups of students, Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy said: 
“The Government has consistently failed to take changes such as an increase in the student population into account when setting local authority grants. This is not just about housing but also about vital support services, as population changes affect policing, local health services and rubbish collections. Yet again the Government has failed to put its money where its mouth is."

"Now that changes to the planning rules have been accepted for HMOs, it is time for the Government to give similar powers to the areas at risk of becoming ghost towns thanks to the growth of second homes.”

“Twenty is Plenty” Campaign Has Public Support

Hundreds of people in Bath have signed a Lib Dem petition calling for 20mph speed limits on the most residential streets in the city. 

Doctors in the British Medical Association backed the 20mph limits earlier this year and residents city-wide are worried about the speed of traffic on the most residential roads.

Bath MP Don Foster, who is backing the campaign, said,

“We have received a very encouraging response to the campaign.  We are receiving positive feedback from across the city.  People want action to deal with this problem.  This campaign is about making our local communities safer places to live.  Parents in some areas are scared to let their children out of their front door.  That isn’t how life should be.”

Our Lib Dem Group Leader, Cllr Paul Crossley, visited Portsmouth last year, where over 90% of their roads now have a 20mph limit. He was very impressed with the scheme they have rolled out in Portsmouth and noted that it was clearly now very much the norm for people there to drive at 20mph, not 30.

The scheme has been very popular with residents, and has also made cycling in the city much safer.  One way roads in Portsmouth now also have contra-flow cycling, which makes it a preferable mode of transport for shorter journeys.  Setting up speed traps to catch speeders is all well and good, but what we need is real action to change the attitude to speed on these roads.  The current Tory Council just don’t seem to understand that.

We will continue to approach more residents in the Spring.  It is clear that the people of Bath think that ‘Twenty is Plenty’.

You can sign the Liberal Democrat petition on-line at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/twentyisplenty

B&NES Tory Councillors silent on Post Office support

Bath MP Don Foster is calling for the Conservative-led Council to live up to its promise in June 2008 to investigate ways of supporting the remaining Post Office network in B&NES. 

Commenting Don said that although our campaign saved two local Post Offices in Bath, more needs to be done to support the remaining Post Offices and to campaign for a new one in the Southgate development. But despite the council’s promise to investigate local opportunities, little has been done.

Councils around the country are looking at ways of using their local Post Offices to deliver council services, advice and support. Liberal Democrats in Leeds use Post Offices to issue school uniform vouchers to parents without bank accounts.  In the Vale of White Horse payments to the Council can be made into local post offices. In Essex the council has even re-opened a Post Office to deliver council services.

Numerous other councils are developing bright ideas. But after six months we understand no independent sub-postmasters in Bath have been contacted by our Council to find out what would most help them. During the closure programme earlier this year we were all delighted to hear that the Council was going to look seriously at offering further Council services through local post offices.  Sadly, Don and we are now left thinking that this was nothing more than a cheap political statement at the time.

Post Offices were big news earlier this year during the closure programme, and everyone wanted to talk about them.  However, now they are off the ‘political radar’ it seems that the Conservatives are hoping that we have all forgotten their promises at the time.  Post Offices, such as our one on Moorland Road, are a vitally important part of the local community, and in this economic downturn independent post offices need help just as much as other small businesses.

Is it too much to ask of the Council for them to come up with at least some ideas within 6 months of what they described as an “urgent review”?  During the closure programme the Tories did little in the campaign to save local post offices in Bath.  Now they are seemingly doing even less.  Clearly the new Conservative motto ‘Doing nothing is not an option’ doesn’t apply here!

Local small businesses could save over £1million

Bath MP Don Foster has revealed that small businesses within Bath and North East Somerset are currently missing out on over £1million of small business rate relief. 

Although in Bath and North East Somerset the take-up of the relief is substantially higher than the national average, over 1000 eligible small businesses across the authority are not claiming money they are entitled to.  Any unclaimed money goes back to the Chancellor.

Don said, that he was delighted that the take up of small business rate relief is substantially higher here than the national average. He noted that the Council does a great deal to encourage businesses to claim this relief. However, in the current financial climate, Don has urged all small business to check whether or not they are missing out on this help to cut their costs.

 An independent small business with a rateable value of £5,000 or under is likely to be entitled to have 50% of their business rates refunded.  Many small businesses are able to claim back over £1000 a year. Even business with rateable values between £5,000 and £10,000 can get some help.  Small businesses, such our independent shops on Moorland Road, are an important part of any local economy, and here in Bath we are lucky to have such a high number of independent businesses, they add to the unique flavour of the city.

It is vital that we help our small businesses through the economic downturn, and we want to make sure that they are taking up all the opportunities available to them.  This is why we want to heighten the awareness of this relief and make sure the remaining 30% of eligible businesses start claiming it.

Are Tories serious about home-to-school transport?

Local Lib Dem Councillors are questioning the Conservative-led Council’s commitment to developing a sustainable home-to-school transport package which has been shelved for at least another 9 months.

 

The strategy has been developed to get more children out of private transport and on to school buses on their way to and from school.  Currently parents find it easier and more cost effective to drive their children to school, thus adding to congestion across the district, and especially in Bath.  Lib Dems in Bath see home-to-school transport as a key element of providing transport improvements in the city.

 

Leader of the Lib Dem opposition on the Council, Cllr Paul Crossley (Southdown) said that “This is deeply disappointing news, and makes me wonder whether the Conservative Council is as serious about congestion in Bath as it should be.  Everyone who travels into Bath at peak times knows how much extra traffic there is during the school term.  Getting our children out of their parent’s cars and onto buses is a massively important step in reducing congestion in the city, yet it is being delayed for another year.  It is even more concerning that the £16million Bus Rapid Transit is being forced through, whereas a project that will actually help to reduce congestion is being put on the back-burner.”

This project is of major importance in promoting sustainable transport in Bath and it is a massive blow to see it delayed for a year.  Parents across the city want to be able to send their children to school on reliable and affordable public transport.  This decision by the Conservatives is a kick-in-the-teeth to these parents, and we want to know why this scheme will now be delayed until the 2009/10 academic year.  We have real doubts as to whether the Conservative Council will ever deliver this crucial service.

Government aims to deny a voice to local people

The Labour government is planning to introduce legislation that will mean all petitions to local Councils will have to correspond to set guidelines – if they don’t then the Councils will not be able to accept them. 

The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill has 8 pages and over 3,000 words dedicated to the form petitions must now take.

Bath MP Don Foster said, “This Bill is, quite frankly, ludicrous.  It will give Councils the chance to throw out any number of petitions because they won’t meet the strict guidelines.  These rules are bureaucracy gone mad.

We need to make it easier for local people to get involved in local politics, not discourage them by making submitting petitions a bureaucratic nightmare.

“Instead of wasting councils’ time and resources, they should be freeing Councils’ hands to provide support to local people during the economic crisis.”

Bath Cllr Steve Hedges (Odd Down, Lib Dem) said, “Here in Bath we have really seen how local campaigns and local petitions can make a difference.  Take the recent saving of St Martin’s Garden Primary School – where the sheer number of people against the knocking down of the school forced Conservative Councillors to have a rethink.

“What kind of message will we be sending out to local people if we refuse to accept a petition because it doesn’t meet government guidelines?  As local Councillors, we need to encourage people to get involved in local decision making.  This Bill can only put people off.”

Don launches plan to help boost Bath economy

Following his meeting with a selection of local business owners last month, Bath MP Don Foster has launched an 8-point plan which, if implemented, would boost the local economy. 

Possible measures including running park & ride services at limited times on a Sunday; offering a free parking period once a week and conducting a full scale rent review of Council property.

Don has written to Council Chief Executive John Everitt and all four group leaders to outline has plan.

The plan in full includes:

  • 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
  • Offering a free parking period once a week
  • Giving local businesses as single point of contact at the Council
  • 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

Don Said that we have got to start talking positively about local business, it is not all doom and gloom out there.  The Council must start helping the local economy by promoting schemes that encourage people to spend.

Read the rest of this entry.

Local Council takes almost 9,000 to court over Council Tax

Liberal Democrat research has revealed that in the 2007/8 financial year Bath & North East Somerset Council took just under 9,000 of its residents to court for failing to pay Council Tax. 

The Council sent bailiffs to around 2,500 homes and filed for bankruptcy for 2 residents.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for all public bodies, including local authorities and government departments, to follow a Code of Conduct to ensure that families are not bankrupted unnecessarily during the recession.

Bath MP Don Foster said that Court appearances and bankruptcy need to be a last resort for Councils in these matters, not tactics used as a matter of course. 

This research shows the devastating effect that failing to pay Council Tax can have on families, especially those already struggling to cope with mortgage repayments and rising bills. It is high time the unfair Council Tax was scrapped and replaced with a fair tax based on the ability to pay.

New Minister has no timetable for Housing Reform

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.

Plea to New Housing Minister on ‘Studentification’

Councillor Shaun McGall has written to Margaret Beckett MP, the new Minister for Housing, calling on her to carry on the work of her predecessor to give local authorities powers to tackle ‘studentification’.

In September the Government had announced a Green Paper which was a step towards finally giving Councils the planning powers to dilute high concentrations of student houses or ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation” (HMOs) in specific areas of their authorities.

 

I’ve been campaigning on this issue for a long time.  I was delighted when I heard in September that the Government was finally beginning to make moves on the ‘studentification’ issue.  However a Government reshuffle followed and there is always the risk that the initiatives of the previous incumbent may be quietly dropped.

Councils need the substantive tools to address the development and growth of large clusters of student houses 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 student houses and to help create more balanced, sustainable communities was therefore most welcome and when implemented will help improve the availability of affordable housing.

In writing to the new Housing Minister, to call on her to carry on the work on the draft Green Paper on neighbourhood studentification, I hope to get a commitment to this initiative and to the previously proposed timetable. Local Councils have been waiting for the powers to act on ‘studentification’ for a long time.