Sharon Ball

Bath & North East Somerset Liberal Democrats are asking why the decision on pricing for car parks in Bath has not yet been taken. The decision has been pending for a month.

A draft of the decision to revise the parking charges in Bath (introducing a £1 flat fee after 6 p.m. in Avon and Charlotte Street car parks) was published on 20^th June 2008. Liberal Democrats have been calling for the £1 scheme to be extended to apply to all Bath car parks, believing this would benefit the city’s evening economy.

 We understand that the Conservative Cabinet member is awaiting ‘the end of the consultation being conducted over this issue’ before making his decision but surely enough time has elapsed by now. On the other hand, hopefully this means he is seriously considering the Liberal Democrat call for the flat fee to be applied to all Bath car parks.

 One might wonder whether the Cabinet member has had second thoughts about the proposal and is simply waiting so the proposal can be quietly dropped in the summer when it will be noticed by fewer residents!

 After a high profile campaign against the changes to parking policy earlier in the year, we were all pleased to hear that the Cabinet member was re-considering his decision (and by his own admission had been for some weeks).  If the Cabinet Member is simply trying to let this issue fade away then he can rest assured that we are still watching with interest.

Our Local MP Don Foster has made detailed comments on the Governments failure to tackle the Chronic Alcohol Problem that is escalating out of Control.

I have been in the centre of Bath late at night and can say that the Alcohol problem is not at all good many young people are already boozed up on cheap alcohol that they have bought from shops before they come into town for a night out.

Commenting on the publication of the Government's alcohol consultation and three independent reviews which showed that drinking related health problems now cost the NHS £2.7bn a year, Bath MP and Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Don Foster said, "Today's reports completely blow apart ministers' claims that they are making progress in tackling alcohol misuse successfully.

"People in towns and cities across the country know just how serious this issue is, and will not forgive the Government for its gross complacency and incompetence in dealing with it.

"If we are to have any chance of getting a grip on binge drinking then we need urgent action to reduce the availability of incredibly cheap alcohol and to ensure that the law is actually being enforced.

"The alcohol industry clearly hasn't been paying the blindest bit of notice to the Governments current approach.
 
"The time has now come to send a clear message - if you don't start selling alcohol responsibly, then you will lose the right to sell it at all."

Also today Don has outlined Liberal Democrat plans to take a zero tolerance approach to pubs and clubs selling alcohol to the underage.

In comments made to The Publican newspaper Don said, "We're only going to get to grips with this issue with a zero tolerance approach to anyone found selling alcohol to children and a set minimum price to put an end to irresponsible drinks promotions.

"This Government has completely run out of ideas about how to tackle this issue. Ministers must spell out to retailers that selling alcohol irresponsibly will not be tolerated."

I am delighted that a local School in my ward of Westmoreland has won this award and I am delighted that the hard work of the Head and the Governors of this School has been recognised.

The article in today’s Guardian newspaper is very worrying and as a mobile phone user carrying out council business in the city worries me and I agree with our local Bath MP Don Foster who has made the following statement today.

Commenting on today’s revelation in The Guardian newspaper that for the last three years tens of thousands of people travelling through Bath have been tracked by Bluetooth, city MP Don Foster said that he was “extremely worried” by the news.

 Don said, “To learn that for the last three years researchers from the University of Bath have been monitoring people moving around the city without their consent is of great concern.

 “While the researchers claim not to have studied individuals directly, the fact is that it is very possible to do so, and over the last three years the behaviour of any number of individuals could have been tracked without them knowing, and for no good reason.

 “You only need to be carrying a piece of everyday technology, such as a mobile, and you could have been monitored in the city centre.  This is yet another infringement of our civil liberties and another step closer to the “big brother” state. 

 “Perhaps this system can be used effectively and anonymously, but we need to have a guarantee that all data is made anonymous before it is analysed.  At the moment we do not have that guarantee, and we don’t know what data has been collected over the last three years.

 “This news, coupled with all the recent Government data losses and the costly and unnecessary ID Card scheme, is yet another example of the erosion of civil liberties within Britain.”

The building of New Student accommodation has started on the Lower Bristol Road alongside the existing 315 bed student block at Waterside Court.

The new accommodation will accommodate over 300 more students in a new purpose built building.

As local councillors with have managed to ensure that the building is more sympathetic to the natural environment and will blend in with Charlton Buildings that is adjacent.

A section 106 agreement has been drawn up between the developer and the council that includes a new bus Lay By outside the student block itself.

From 28-31 August, Bath co-hosts the UK School Games – an important event run in the style of the Olympics and Paralympics. The organisers, West of England Sport Trust (WESPORT), are looking for volunteers, of all ages, to help during the games.

For more information: Whether you are interested yourself, or work with children and would like to publicise this opportunity to them, you can find out more at www.ukschoolgames.com or by contacting Lisa Perryman at WESPORT at lisa.perryman@uwe.ac.uk

Four months after the Conservative Leader of B&NES Council promised an ‘urgent feasibility report' on support for Post Offices a decision paper has been published proposing that "a feasibility study" should be carried out.

My colleague Liberal Democrat Councillor Caroline Roberts  is criticising the Leader and Cabinet for failing to give the issue the prominence it deserves:

Caroline said:

"We all know that when it comes to protecting Post Offices, it's a case of ‘use it or lose it'. The Government has already said that the current round of closures will not be the last and less economically viable branches will be at the top of closure lists.

 "This proposal has come out a week after the Cabinet meeting at which I questioned the Leader about progress on this issue; one might wonder whether this report would have come out at all had I not reminded the Leader of her pledge, especially given that the report has not previously appeared in the Executive forward plan for decision making.

"It has taken B&NES' Conservative Cabinet four months to get to pretty much where we started: asking for a feasibility study. I would like to know whether the Leader of the Council considers a four month delay to be an ‘urgent' response and why this report has not been prioritised."

 Link to the decision report, which was published on Friday 4^th July (LINK).

Don Foster MP for Bath sends out a monthly e-news letter to see the July one follow this Link.

Don Foster e-news 

I have just come out of a meting with Bath Self Help Housing association and have some good news to give for my residents of Dartmouth Avenue.

Bath Self Help Housing association have agreed to renumber their properties in what used to be time Pines to using letters instead of numbers on their flats, this should stop confusion with the houses on Dartmouth Ave.

The next community meeting for Dartmouth Ave has been agreed for 24^th July 2008 at the community room in Dartmouth Ave.

And finally at this meeting we heard that Bath Self Housing association are changing their name to Shape Housing association and this will be affective from 23^rd July.  

It seems that our beleaguered Half Penny Bridge may be a little nearer to completion although nearly 3 months late already it has seen an improvement over the last week or so.

The river footpath is now open for much of the day which is a bonus for the many pedestrians and cyclists that use this route daily.

The Bridge is not expected to be open until late August which will be nearly five months late for a project that we were told would last no longer than 13 weeks.

We have not go the full costs as yet but are pushing to know what the final bill will be as we have always maintained that it would have been more cost affective to put a new Bridge in at this location that to try to repair an old one that was to be quit frank past its sell by date.

Planning consent has been granted for a new student block next to the current waterside court building that has occupied for students 4 years ago.

We have been successful in getting a new bus pull in outside of the proposed new building and have also asked for the consideration of a bus shelter at this location.

The new student block will house over 300 students and we have asked that the same conditions over car ownership and use is applied to this new block as is applied at Waterside Court.