Hopes for school transport improvements dashed

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.

Hayesfield Sports and Performing Arts Building Project – Planning Permission granted

Planning Permission has now been granted for Hayesfield School to go ahead with their plans to re-develop the Upper School Site.

We are all very excited about this and would like to thank those local residents who supported the School in developing their plans, such that the Council have approved the scheme.

The School is now embarking on the next stage of the development and they have selected a contractor and are in the process of drawing up of the site construction programme.

The School is holding a public at 6.30 p.m. on Thursday 30th July at the School Hall  to give local residents the opportunity to meet the building contactors and discuss the construction plans, and timeframe for the new Sports Hall and Performing Arts Suite.

COMMUNITY CASHBACK – Have your say in how criminals’ cash is spent

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.

‘Growing worry’ on sunbed salons

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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.

New fire control centre delayed – again!

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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.

Police seize cannabis in Memorial Gardens, Shaftesbury Road

Police have seized £3,000 worth of cannabis from a man in Oldfield Park after calls from neighbours about anti-social behaviour.

Officers were sent to the Memorial Gardens at Shaftesbury Road on Tuesday night after people living nearby complained about nuisance youths and street drinking.

Police searched an 18-year-old and found 15g of cannabis on him, as well as self-sealing plastic bags. The teenager was arrested for intent to supply and a further search of his home found a set of weighing scales and 500g of cannabis with a street value of around £3,000.

Anti-social behviour in and around the Memorial Gardens was raised at the recent PACT meeting. Following the discussions and debates amongst local residents, increasing the patrols in the area was agreed as a PACT priority. This shows the Police’s commitment to the priorities given to them by the local community. One phone call informing us of an issue at Memorial Gardens has led the Police to a significant drugs seizure in an area we are targeted to protect.

All members of the public are encouraged to attend the forthcoming PACT meeting on 4th November 2009 at 6:30 pm at St Alphage’s Hall, Oldfield Lane and give us your views on local priorities.

Break-in on Monksdale Road

Between 11.15am and 12.15pm on Sunday July the 12th, unknown person(s) have gained entry to a residence and property removed. Entry was gained through an insecure patio door.

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.

Lib Dems seek solutions to BRT chaos

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.

Keeping up the pressure for a post office in Southgate

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.

Proposed BRT route must surely be dead – Foster

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.