Conservatives show lack of ambition on recycling

Waste issues were high on the agenda at the November 2008 B&NES Cabinet meeting when Liberal Democrat questions revealed that the Conservative Cabinet are once again planning to delay their promised introduction of kitchen waste collections and same day collections for refuse and recycling. 

The admission from the Cabinet member for customer services that he is considering delaying same day and kitchen waste collections till 2011 shows that this Administration is not only failing to take waste seriously, but also means that the Conservative promises to the electorate will be broken.  The authority will now be at risk of increasing land fill charges. 

Liberal Democrat plans, which were in place before the 2007 election, would have seen kitchen waste and same day collections introduced by now and our recycling rates would be heading towards 60% by the end of 2009. 

The Cabinet also approved a West of England Partnership paper on sites for waste facilities under the strategic Waste Partnership.  The proposals – all of which include a waste site to be located in Keynsham – are to be put to consultation early next year.  Councillor Paul Crossley (Lib Dem, Southdown) criticised the paper’s lack of recognition for the Council’s zero waste policy but welcomed the consultation on where facilities are to go in the authority. 

Councillor Crossley said that the failure of the WEP waste strategy is the failure to rise to the waste challenge and for our partners to take the wrong route down the incineration path.  The failure of our Council has been our lack of success in convincing our WEP partners to join us in a Zero Waste strategy.

Whistle-stop tour decided number of new homes

Bath MP Don Foster has learnt that a whistle-stop tour of the city led to the Government’s decision on the number of new homes for Bath.  A Freedom of Information request revealed that Examination in Public (EiP) Panel members drove a route around Bath that could have taken no more than 45 minutes, before coming up with their recommendations. 

Don said this is, quite frankly, crazy.  This short drive around the edge of Bath has led to the Government accepting an increase to the size of the urban extension for the city and altering the ‘area of search’ within which the Council can decide where to build the new homes. 

These decisions are massively important to the future of the area, and yet the EiP has clearly spent less time considering them than the Council would spend on a planning application for 2 or 3 homes! 

This Regional Spatial Strategy has left many people unhappy, and to discover that key decisions have been made based on a short drive around the outskirts of the city is an insult to the people of Bath.

Foster backs Local Transport Bill

Bath MP Don Foster has voted in favour of the Local Transport Bill.  The Bill, which was passed with the backing of Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs, will see more powers passed to local authorities in dealing with bus companies. Tory MPs voted against. 

Don said at this legislation will allow Councils, like B&NES, to have a great say over local transport issues, especially buses. 

The Bill, as a result of Liberal Democrat amendments, increases opportunities for B&NES to be involved in decisions about fares, frequencies, timings and routes of local buses. 

However, unfortunately Conservative MPs did not back the Bill.  We hope our Conservative-led Council will embrace the opportunities the Bill offers and not follow the line of their colleagues in Westminster.

Questions over B&NES Cabinet ‘Reshuffle’

Liberal Democrat Councillors on Bath and North East Somerset Council have welcomed news of the replacement of the Cabinet member for Development and Major Projects: Councillor David Hawkins has stood down to be replaced by Councillor Terry Gazzard from 1st November.  

However questions are being raised over the creation of a new Cabinet post specifically to preserve Councillor Hawkins’ place on the Bath Recreation Ground Trust Board. 

The Cabinet member has consistently displayed a lack of vision in his handling of the Major Projects portfolio.  From the loss of the Dyson scheme to the delayed start of the Bath Western Riverside development, there has been a leadership vacuum in the portfolio. 

The Cabinet member has repeatedly come under fire for his handling of the Southgate development in Bath.  Residents, visitors and local businesses have suffered unnecessary levels of disruption and even urgent measures, such as installing a crossing west of Bath Spa station – the lack of which adversely affected businesses on Manvers Street, were needlessly delayed. 

We are pleased that the Cabinet member has finally caved in to the repeated calls for his resignation.  It remains to be seen whether Councillor Gazzard will prove a more effective replacement. 

It already appears that there is little faith in the new Cabinet member’s abilities given that he is not being trusted with the previous Cabinet member’s position on the Rec Trustees Board.  Given that the Leader of Council has created a brand new Cabinet post to keep Councillor Hawkins on the Rec Trustees, why did she not take the opportunity to have two Bath Councillors on the Board? 

How can we be assured that the vital portfolio of Major Projects and Economic Development for Bath and North East Somerset will be safe in his hands?

200 homes lost to students in last year

Bath MP Don Foster can reveal that the latest figures show that there has been an increase of almost 200 homes in Bath and North East Somerset that are lived in by students. 

Commenting, Don said, “This time last year there were 1976 students homes in the local authority, now that has risen to 2154, an increase of almost 200.  These are homes that could be housing residents of Bath who are currently struggling to get on the property ladder.  They are homes in the most affordable areas of our city. 

Despite the fact that this is clearly an issue, the Government will not let us solve it within the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).  If purpose built student accommodation could count towards the target then we could free up these homes for local families. 

Don stated that he would continue to lobby the Government to change the rules so that purpose built student accommodation can count towards the target. 

The Government has suggested 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. 

What we need are the practical tools to be able to achieve this, and allowing purpose built student accommodation to count towards the RSS target would be a great start.

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.

New Student Action Line Number

As of Thursday 6th November, the new Student Action Line number (01225 396996) will be live.

Instead of an answer phone, callers will be connected straight to the Council Connect call centre.  This means a member of staff will be available to talk directly to residents, record their issues and report them to the relevant person to deal with at the Council as well as forwarding the details on to the University to deal with in line with their disciplinary procedures.

If the problem concerns any area within the Council’s remit, for example waste and recycling, the service area will also be notified, whether or not it is actually a student related issue. Ideally people calling in to report issues need to provide a full address or postcode that the problem relates to.

The Student Action Line was launched in 2004, when Cllr Shaun McGall persuded the Council to set up the Student Liaison Committee, to better integrate students into the communities where they rent accommodation and resolve any issues of concern. It was operated by a 24 hour answer phone, where residents would report any student related problems related to noise, poor refuse and recycling management, and general anti-social behaviour.