SouthdownBath

Morning - tried to catch up on emails. You can only ever reduce the backlog. Its like a tryanny. The more you answer the more you get!

Currently only 350 left to answer. One week I may even time how much time I spend on emails - I should tthink its at least 10 hours a week. We are about to put out our December Focus and also a Christmas card to residents. So after bagging up, got over half the ward out to a number of leafletters. Always good to have a catchup chat with members, supporters and helpers.

Then onto Twerton Park to watch Bath City 1 v Maidenhead 0   pictures here

Whilst at the match, as usual, got buttonhold by a number of residents - thankyous for the new bins in the Hollow and Rosewarn, reports and complaints of litter and leaves,  requests for information on the supported bus consultation and several people asking about the new mobile mast with 60:40 against.

Getting back to the football - good game - right result - both goalies made a couple of good saves each. Maidenhead also hit the woodwork. But only 530 fans. Come on folks lets get more support to Twerton Park.

Dear Residents of Blagdon Park, Haycombe Drive and Rosewarn Close

On Wednesday I walked around the area with a Council Cleansing officer and a person in charge of litter bins for the Council. We have agreed that a new litter bin will be sited at the entrance to Rosewarn Close and that the decrepit one at The Hollow bus stop will be renewed.

We are also looking to take part in a trail of a new bin that is very robust and if this is agreed this will be sited at the midpoint of the footpath from The Hollow to Blagdon Park where there used to be a bin. From the walk we have also contacted Somer Housing about the amount of fly tipping in the Rosewarn/Haycombe Field and asked for this to be removed. There was a total of 6 different fly tipping sites including again the park entrance from Haycombe.

Litter is a problem that affects the whole community and if anyone has any information on who is doing the fly tipping please pass it on to me or Dine. All information will be treated confidentially.

Paul

If you have not yet commented on the planning application please get your comments in to planning soon.

You may be interested in the publicity the mobile phone operators are putting out on a range of issues. Click this LINK.

The Mobile Operators are getting their masts installed one by one all over the place. However they are not still pursuing mast sharing or addressing the health concerns that many people fear.  

Dear residents of Haycombe Drive and Rosewarn Close

this afternoon when walking around I noticed that yet again someone from outside the area has driven in and dumped a load of rubbish at the park gate entrance from Haycombe Drive. I have asked for this mess to be cleared as quickly as possible. However the ideal result would be to catch the person who is doing it. If anyone has any information on who fly-tipped the lateset pile of rubbish this morning please could they let me know. All information will be treated in confidence.

Any Comments?

Ward: Southdown App Ref: 08/04045/FUL Registered: 13th November 2008 Expiry Date: 8th January 2009

Location: 43 Oriel Grove Southdown Bath BA2 1JE

Proposal: Erection of a first floor rear extension (Resubmission)

Its been nearly two months since our last enews so apologies that this one is a little longer. In this edition:

Remembrance Day

Mobile Mast Application

SOuthsideCentre

Bus Consultation update

Trees for Kingsway

Whiteway

Southdown Road

Culverhay - Bath Spa annex parking

redit Crunch

Wedmore Park Lighting

Whiteway Road garden waste collection problems

Police Ride Along Sceme

Regional Planning Policy update.

Remembrance Day

A service will be held at Haycombe Cemetery at 10.30 am on Tuesday 11th. Everyone is welcome.

Mobile Mast Application

Vodaphone have finally registered an application to install a phone mast in the pavement at the junction of Mount Road and the Hollow.

Ward: Southdown App Ref: 08/03731/TEL

Parish: N/A

Registered: 29th October 2008 Expiry Date: 23rd December 2008

Location: Street Record The Hollow Southdown Bath

Grid Ref: (E)372212 - (N)163574 LB Grade: N/A

Proposal: Installation of a 10 metre high wireless timber telegraph pole, 1 no. tri-sector antenna (shrouded), 1 no. 3107 equipment cabinet, Lucy mains pillar and ancillary development thereto at junction of Mount Road/The Hollow

Officer: Richard Stott

The direct web link to register your opinions is http://planning.bathnes.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/applicationsearchform.aspx Type in the application reference number above.

Please note objections or supporting comments are publicly available to everyone. If you wish to register your views in a non-public way please contact either Dine or Paul. We have already requested that this application is considered in public if the planning officer recommendation is to approve it.

Southside Centre

Just to let you know that Southside Youth Centre will now be open on a Friday evening for 13-19 year olds 7-9.30pm. It is open to all young people. We hope this evening is successful. We also hope to tackle issues such as binge drinking and drug use with young people.

The boxing club on a Tuesday has been so successful it is now open on Thursday evenings as well.

Bus Consultation

Thank you to all who responded to our bus consultation on supported fairs. We will let you know when the Council makes a decision. So many general points were raised we are seeking a meeting with the local management to discuss them. Again we will report back after that meeting.

Apart from the route subsidies many of you also raised concerns about the 20a/c service. We have just had the following response from the Council:

Dear Councillors

I noted in your response on the bus service consultation that some of the responses were dissatisfied with the reliability of services on the 20A/20C route.

We are aware of these problems and this service has recently been the subject of a Punctuality Improvement Partnership between First and the Council, which involved extensive surveying and analysis to identify the factors that seem to be affecting punctuality on the service.

We have identified a number of factors that affect timetabling of the services and adapted the tender proposals to reflect this. This includes changes to the time allowed on different sections of route, some minor route changes, and a proposal to remove the call into the Sainsbury's car park that can significantly delay the service as it queues behind cars looking for parking spaces. We believe we have identified suitable and convenient alternatives for the route changes so inconvenience to passengers is minimised. Together with a wider review of handover and duty changes at the Bus Station by First, we believe that these changes will enable the service to operate more reliably in the future.

I hope this will deliver some of the improvement in performance that was noted as needed in your comments.

Trees for Kingsway - Marsden Road

The More Trees for Bath group have secured a grant to give away trees in the Kingsway Area (Marsden Road). If you would like more information please contact us.

Whiteway (Blagdon Park, Haycombe Drive and Rosewarn Close)

A major project is starting in Whiteway which will run for 18 months. Objectives include reducing burglaries, reducing fly tipping and increasing community involvement. If you live in Whiteway and would like to be included in this work please contact us.

Southdown Road

We have been working with Wessex Water and residents to reduce the amount of overflow from blocked drains.

Culverhay Annex and Parking problems

Again this year the start of the Bath Spa courses at Culverhay Annex have caused a lot of inconvenience to residents with inconsiderate parking. We are meeting with the senior management of the Bath Spa University to raise again our concerns at the way parking effects residents from this expansion.

Credit Crunch

If you are experiencing financial difficulties advice is available from CAB. There is also now another advice agency - CAP - Christians Against Poverty. This is an award winning debt counselling charity that aims to get people out of debt within a reasonable time frame

The service is free. For help phone the free phone number 0800 328 0006

Wedmore Park lighting

Our request for improved lighting in the footpath to the rear of 94-96 Wedmore Park has been put onto the list. Unfortunately the Council cannot give us an indication yet as to when this might be delivered. We are continuing to push the matter.

Garden waste and cardboard collection in Whiteway Road

We informed the waste service section of the failures to collect garden waste and cardboard from parts of Whiteway Road. The problems have been addressed and collections should now be working correctly.

Work for the police - ride-a-long-scheme

The development of a workforce that truly reflects the communities served has been high on the agenda for Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

The Ride Along Scheme (RAS) is one of a range of approaches being developed to assist an Outreach Team in their task. So if someone is interested in a career with the police the RAS provides the process by which they can observe staff working in the area they are interested in.

For Avon and Somerset Constabulary the RAS is not seen purely as a recruitment channel but a wonderful way for members of the public to get a practical insight into the nature of police work. And the opportunities can be diverse; from accompanying officers on the beat to sitting next to a Comms 999 specialist.

If you are over 18 and want to know more please contact either :- Allan Spencer - 07825 531072 or Ian Moore - 07825 531076

Government Housing and Planning Strategy (RSS)

As we have reported several times, the Council submitted a proposal to Government that over the next 20 years we should seek to build an extra 15,500 homes across the whole of Bath and NE Somerset. This in itself will be hard enough to agree. However, The Regional Assembly increased this to over 18,000 and the Government further increased this to over 21,000. We always try to keep party politics out of our e-news but feel that on this item of such importance we need to let you know what we are doing as Liberal Democrats in Bath. It is our view that these larger figures are completely unrealistic and indeed in the current financial situation even 15,500 looks unachievable. We also want a much higher percentage of homes built for affordable purchase or social rent. We feel it is unacceptable that our young families are being squeezed out by the high value of land locally. What has really angered us is that the Government Inspector, when deciding to increase our housing numbers, barely saw Bath. We attach the latest press release from Don Foster MP on this matter. If you want to keep in touch with what our MP is doing locally you can sign up for his monthly enews at subscribe@bathlibdems.org.uk

Whistle-stop tour decided number of new homes

Bath MP Don Foster has today 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.

Commenting, 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."

END

Useful Links:

Planning applications:

http://planning.bathnes.gov.uk/publicaccess/

Road Works in Southdown:

http://tinyurl.com/k7lnn

All Meetings of the Council:

http://tinyurl.com/2bev4s

The forward plan of the Conservative Cabinet of the Council:

http://ewp.bathnes.gov.uk/ewp_efp.asp

Councillor Surgery:

If you would like to speak to either Councillor Dine Romero or Paul Crossley personally, our surgeries are held on the first Saturday of the month at the Methodist Church in the Hollow, from 10 am until midday. No appointment is needed. Alternatively, you may contact us by phone or email.

This year was the 6th time we have held a Remembrance Day Ceremony at the War Memorial in Haycombe Cemetry.

On a cold, windy but sunny day we met up to remember those who fought in conflicts and those who died in the Bath Blitz at Haycombe Cemetry. Leading the Remembrance were people who had fought in WW2, Suez and Malaya.   

Update on the playarea situation

Dear Resident of Roundhill Park

following several meetings that Dine and I had with you and Somer staff at the beginning of October we are pleased with the progress that is now being made. We are supporting grant applications with Somer for new equipment and we will be working with Somer on the consultation with residents as to what the new play facility will look like. The dead Lime tree will be removed and hopefully the trunck used as part of the refurbishment. Like you we were angry with the misrepresentation of our area on the front page of the Chronicle and the way they got two different stories completely mixed up. We were pleased that that Western Daily Press got the story correct. If you have any other issues you wish to raise with usplease contact us. 

Any Comments?

Ward: Southdown App Ref: 08/04084/FUL Registered: 6th November 2008 Expiry Date: 1st January 2009

Location: 91 Sladebrook Road Southdown Bath BA2 1LP

Proposal: Erection of a single storey rear extension and a detached double garage.

We are working with the More Trees for Bath group in contacting residents in the Kingsway area (In Southdown this means Marsden Road) to explain that in December we will be offering free tress for residents to plant in their gardens.

Over the summer this group were in contact with us as Kingsway has the least tree cover in Bath and some residents were lobbying for more trees in public spaces. More Trees got a grant from O2 and so now residents will be offered suitable native trees for their gardens. We will need to pursue further trees in public space and pavements.

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The new Tesco store in Englishcombe Lane is nearly finished and the constructors have been very good and worked with neighbouring business and residents. Today was the first complaint as the road got blocked up by lots of lorries and so I called round for a chat on the problem with the site manager. It had already been swiftly sorted by the time I got there. JP Construction have been very considerate contractors and today I emailed their production manager to praise the team working on this site. The building is on schedule for handing over to TESCO next week with the opening set for November the 20th. The Kingsway has over the last 20 years lost all 5 of its shops - 3 to houses, 1 to a tatoo artist and the 5th was a garage and then derelict before being brought by Tesco for an Express store. 

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Dine and Paul met up with Somer representatives in Roundhill Park to discuss issues round the play area. Following the unfortunate incidents of a few weeks ago when a couple of children got injured Somer have moved swiftly to get rid of some of the old equipment, the bark chippings and the poor fencing. They are now consulting with residents and childrens about how the park should look after a refurbishment. We were there to discuss ideas with them and also to take the opportunity to get a dead old lime tree removed. We have agreed to support their request to the Play Fund for some money for equipment.

Following our recent subsidised bus route consultation we put in a detailed comment to the Council on the services affecting Southdown area. The consultation also raised a number of operationmal issues on several routes. The route raising most comment was the 20a/c circular route. We put these points to the public transport officer in the Council and have had this respionse back.

Dear Councillor Crossley

I noted in your response on the bus service consultation that some of the responses were disatisfied with the reliability of services on the 20A/20C route. We are aware of these problems and this service has recently been the subject of a Punctuality Improvement Partnership between First and the Council, which involved extensive surveying and analysis to identify the factors that seem to be affecting punctuality on the service. We have identified a number of factors that affect timetabling of the services and adapted the tender proposals to reflect this. This includes changes to the time allowed on different sections of route, some minor route changes, and a proposal to remove the call into the Sainsburys car park that can significantly delay the service as it queues behind cars looking for parking spaces. We believe we have identified suitable and convenient alternatives for the route changes so inconvenience to passengers is minimised. Together with a wider review of handover and duty changes at the Bus Station by First, we believe that these changes will enable the service to operate more reliably in the future. I hope this will deliver some of the improvement in performance that was noted as needed in your comments.

Yours sincerely 

The Youth Bank held their celebration meeting tonight in Peasedown St John. It was really nice to talk to the young people and see how they had used their grant money. The Youth Bank has certainly been a successful idea from the Government. The videos and presentations were excellent and the highlight for me was the Aardman style plasticine animation video.

At the event it was especially nice to talk to leaders and young people from two group from the Southdown area - the Southside Centre and Sladebrook Evangelical Church. 

The Bath Boxing Club which started up in the Southside Centre at the start of the summer is going from strength to strength. A second night has been put on and the numbers of people taking part is growing in both adult and junior sections. In fact it is proving so popular that a second night has been put on - Tuesdays and  Thursdays.

As soon as all the certification and form filling with the ABAE are completed the club can really start motoring.

More good news at the Southside as the Disability Access work starts and a grant from a donor will enable a youth cafe to start soon as well.

At the moment we are argueing with Government about the number of extra houses needed in and around Bath and NE Somerset over the next 20 years. We say about 15K, the regional assembly says about 18K and the Government about 21K. Our figures will be hard enough to achieve and in the current crises become more unrealistic by the day.

The Government figures are simply outrageous and based on estimates and forecasts that were questionable back in the summer let alone following the banking crises of the last few weeks.

Now our MP Don Foster has found that in raising the numbers the Government Inspector spent less than an hour looking at Bath. How crazy is that?

Dons PR

Whistle-stop tour decided number of new homes

Bath MP Don Foster has today 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.

Commenting, 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."

ENDS

Yet another mobile mast application has come in for this site. We are sorry that we have to keep enlisting your help to stop these applications - and this is now the 4th look by the mobile operators at this patch of land - but the Government gave them 'utility' rights several years ago when granting the licences.

Ward: Southdown App Ref:     08/03731/TEL Registered: 29th October 2008 Expiry Date: 23rd December 2008

Location:         Street Record The Hollow Southdown Bath

Proposal:         Installation of a 10 metre high wireless timber telegraph pole, 1 no. tri-sector antenna (shrouded), 1 no. 3107 equipment cabinet, Lucy mains pillar and ancillary development thereto at junction of Mount Road/The Hollow

You can register your views at the Council planning site or let us know and we will collate them into our submission. We have already requested that this application is heard in public unless of course it is withdrawn or refused.