Tim Ball

There is only one planning application in Twerton ward this month and that is for the erection of a new front porch at 12 The Hollow.

The application was first registered on 23^rd June 2008 and has an expiry date of 18^th August 2008. The application number is 08/02267/FUL and you can view the application by following the link on the application number.

Any representations on this application should be made in writing to Development Control, Trimbridge House, Trim Street, Bath BA1 2DP.  Alternatively representations can be made using the Planning Service pages of the Council's website http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/.  All representations must arrive no later than the 26th July 2008.

Below is a press statement from my Liberal Democrat colleague Councillor Caroline Roberts which leads me to ask the Question do the Conservatives care.

Bath and North East Somerset's Conservative-run Cabinet has made little progress on its pledge to support the area's remaining Post Offices according to the response to a question tabled by a Liberal Democrat Councillor.

Councillor Caroline Roberts (Liberal Democrat, Newbridge) tabled the question to follow up on suggestions in the press that the Council was looking into installing Council pay/information points in Post Offices. Councillor Roberts said:

"The Government has said that the current round of Post Office closures will not be the last, so it is essential that we find ways to help make the remaining Post Offices viable.

  "The Cabinet said that there would be an ‘urgent feasibility report' on putting Council payment and information devices into Post Offices - they announced this to the press at the beginning of March, but we have heard nothing in the meantime and now we hear there is only a ‘draft report'. Four months to get to a draft report stage does not seem ‘urgent' to me and this report is not even listed in the executive forward plan.

"In Bath, we have been lucky enough to save the Lower Weston Post Office and the Bear Flat Post Office, but now the Southgate branch is under threat and we know there could be more closures in the future. It's inexplicable for the Council to be dragging their feet on this issue."

Text of the question: "What progress has been made in the Council's investigations into ways it can improve the viability of the district's remaining Post Offices by making Council services accessible through Post Offices?"

Answer: "A report has already been prepared and is just about to go forward for Cabinet consideration as a single Member decision for the Leader, Francine Haeberling, and the portfolio holder for resources, Malcolm Hanney.

"The report will consider actions already taken, work that can be done at a community level to support Post Offices and the opportunities to make any links with Council Connect."

In a supplementary question, Councillor Roberts asked whether the Leader of Council considered a four month delay to constitute ‘urgent' action and asked why this report was not in the forward plan. The only response was that the report was draft and would be put on the forward plan later this week - reports which have not been drafted are usually included in the forward plan several months in advance.

It has been revealed that one third of GP surgeries are failing to offer appointments to patients within the government's 48-hour target by figures released by the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg unveiled the figure in a reecent speech in which he attacked Labour for imposing too many central targets on the NHS.

A Lib Dem survey covering more than 200 GP surgeries found that more than three in 10 were failing to meet the government's target of offering appointments within 48 hours and more than 1 in 20 could only guarantee an appointment after a week.

The Lib Dems are putting forward alternatives that would replace the government's "myriad of targets" with maximum waiting times for treatments.

A health provider that failed to provide treatment within the time limit would have to pay for the patient to be treated somewhere else, either privately or on the NHS.

The Third meeting of the Better Bath Forum has now taken place and they have posted the conclusions of the discussion on  Sustaining Bath's economy - what changes do we need on their web site.

To see the conclusions and what comes next visit The Better Bath Forum web site at http://www.betterbath.org.uk/past-meetings-minutes.php?id=6

The Government's ‘one size fits all' approach to schools will today be accused of failing thousands of pupils by not providing a personalised education by Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg.

In a recent speech , Nick Clegg  set out plans to give schools greater freedoms, allowing them to tailor education to the needs of their pupils. He proposed.

• Scrapping mandatory national tests for seven and 14 year olds, with the money saved put into early assessment at age five and a huge expansion of one-to-one reading and numeracy tuition.
  Abolishing the overly prescriptive national curriculum and replacing it with a shorter document, and allowing all schools the curriculum freedoms currently enjoyed by Academies.
  Taking the politics out of the day-to-day management of schools by establishing an independent Education Standards Authority and slashing the size of the central government department by half.
  Changing targets so that schools are incentivised to address the needs of all pupils, not just those ‘borderline' pupils.

In his speech sponsored by CentreForum and hosted by Microsoft in central London, Nick Clegg said:

"We need to take the politics out of the day-to-day, and term-to-term management of schools.

"We need to strip Ministers of their power to meddle and micro-manage, and give them a new strategic role. And we need government to stop being so afraid of diversity.

"There is nothing wrong with different schools being different from one another. In fact, when the system encompasses difference, schools can learn from others' success, and improve together, in a way that is impossible when uniformity is imposed from above."

Setting out plans to take powers away from the central Government department, he said:

"The DCSF would be halved in size. It would focus only on setting the broad strategic goals of the education system, and the legal frameworks.

"And ministers would have to stop sending their regular diet of directives and diktats to schools. In fact I'd ban them from doing it - with an Education Freedom Act.

"An Educational Standards Authority would be a powerful body: with independent oversight of exam standards; with responsibility for schools inspection, incorporating the existing OFSTED; and with responsibility for commissioning research on good educational practices and disseminating advice on best practice to schools.

Proposing to abolish mandatory national testing at seven and 14, Nick Clegg said:

"By scaling back some of the excessive national testing - at Key Stages 1 and 3 in particular - we will save millions of pounds.

"And the money can be put directly into improving basic skills for those who presently fall behind from day one, and never catch up.

"My intention is to use testing to target support - not merely to target criticism. One to one tuition for 5, 6 and 7 year olds has been shown to have huge benefits."

The Whiteway Community Respect Project is organising its first Community Car Boot Sale this Sunday 22nd June at Rosewarn Playing Fields Whiteway from 10.30am to 2.30pm.

Why not go along and support your local community association if you want to sell and want to know how to get a pitch then Phone Julia on 07792 239502.

We have only one planning application registered for the Twerton area this week and that is for Replacement of internal fire escape stairs with external fire escape stairs at Land between 1 And River Avon Weirside Court Lower Bristol Road close to Somer Headquarters.

The application was first registered on 11th June 2008 and has a decision date of 6th August 2008 the application number is 08/01767/FUL and if you want to view the application then click on the link on the application number.

Any representations on this application should be made in writing to Development Control, Trimbridge House, Trim Street, Bath BA1 2DP.  Alternatively representations can be made using the Planning Service pages of the Council's website http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/.  All representations must arrive no later than the 10th July 2008.

I am sorry but to see George Bush swaggering on British Soil has made my blood boil what a nerve of this man trying to advise the British Government as he is flying in.

The Best thing that Gordon Brown could do is to show him the door and the sooner the Better.

The George Bush record on international and domestic affairs is appalling and the less that the British Government has to do with him the better.  

Go on Gordon correct some of your mistakes and show him the door there again I suppose that you do not have the bottle.

I understand how David Davis must feel but I am not sure if he really thought through what he was doing when he resigned for Parliament.

I am sure that you could say that this was a matter of conscience over Labours 42 day detention rule, but I feel that he had a rush of blood to the head and did not think through what he was doing.

What has he achieved by resigning well nothing actually apart from damaging his own Party as no one intends to stand against him from the Major political Parties so no point will be proved.

I am sure that David Cameron really wanted to expose his party to the sort of debate that will now take place if the Sun newspaper puts up a candidate against him.

So on balance man of principle or fool?

Media coverage is speculating that the Tories confidence in calling the Henley bye election may be unfounded.

It seems that local peoples support in Henley was more so a personal one for Boris and not for the Conservative Party.

The Liberal Democrats are running a strong campaign in Henley and may well pull of the Shock win that will dent the Tories hopes of ever forming a government again.

Wansdyke Tories are in full retreat on their parking charges in the city of Bath.

A call in of the increased charges organised by opposition Liberal Democrat councillors triggered a massive public outcry about the fleecing of Bath residents.

The Conservative cabinet has now announced its intention reduce the charge for parking in Avon Street and Charlotte Street car parks will and this will cost £1 from 6pm until midnight.

The Tories claim that they have listened to the public and business leaders but to be honest they have only acted in blind panic.

I would hope that in future the Wansdyke Tories that run Bath will listen to opposition Liberal Democrat Councillors and not attempt to fleece Bath residents as they have found out on this occasion Bath residents will not tolerate their arrogance.

The proposed decision to amend the charges will be published on the Council's Weekly Decision List on Friday 13^th June and will be available to view on http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/

I would encourage as many residents Twerton to attend this meeting to ensure that our voices are heard. Again our thanks go out to Henry Brown who has put in a great deal of effort to ensure that we have this Public discussion Forum.

The Better Bath Forum are holding their third meeting on 18^th June at St Michael's Church, Broad Street, Bath, BA1 5LJ at 18.30 and will discuss Sustaining Bath's Economy - what needs to change?

Below is the Agenda for the meeting.

 This is your opportunity to discuss:

§      Where is Bath heading if we do nothing?

§      What kind of new jobs do we want?

§      How can the universities help?

§      What are the risks associated with economic development and how can we avoid them?

The opening speakers will be Colin Skellett, Chairman of Wessex Water and of the B&NES Initiative and Simon Bond, Director of the University of Bath Innovation Centre. Their role is to set the context for the discussion, not to respond to the issues raised on the night. The meeting will be chaired by Sam Holliday, Editor of the Bath Chronicle. At the end of the meeting Sam will draw conclusions, which they will post on the forum website (http://www.betterbath.org.uk/).   The Better Bath Forum will ask the appropriate bodies to respond to these conclusions within one month. The responses will be published on the Better Bath Forum website and you will be able to comment on them.

The Better Bath Forum would be grateful if you would let them know, preferably via the facility on the website, http://www.betterbath.org.uk/, if you wish to speak or see a particular issue discussed at this meeting.  They will use your responses to draw up a broad agenda for the debate. They recognise that the large number of pre-arranged speakers at the April meeting resulted in a loss of spontaneity on the night, so they are not guaranteeing that everyone who notifies them will be called on to speak.  But your notification should ensure that the issue you are concerned about is covered in the discussion, and they will identify one or two people per issue to lead off the discussion from the floor.

 The evening's raffle and refreshments will be in aid of the Genesis Trust, the local charity which supports needy and vulnerable people in our community.  The April meeting raised £245 for Bath Community Transport, which was matched by a generous donation from a supporter of the Forum who wishes to remain anonymous.  The same supporter has kindly offered to match the proceeds raised at the June meeting.

City MP Don Foster is pleased to announce the arrival of his new and very much improved website at http://www.donfoster.co.uk/

The website has information from Bath and Westminster, and is a lot clearer than the previous version.  It also includes a section on local campaigns, so that residents can keep right up-to-date with what Don is doing in Bath.

Commenting, Don said, "This new website is a very exciting opportunity.  It will allow more people to communicate with me, and make it much easier for people to see what work I am doing as their MP.

"You will be able to download material from the website, including campaign posters and relevant policy information.  The website will also carry my e-newsletter, which more and more people are now subscribing to.  This allows me to provide a summary of latest news straight to your inbox each month.

"We also run a monthly e-poll through the e-newsletter, and this will be extended to the website as well.  I hope that more and more people will take part."

Using the website, Don will also supply a detailed quarterly breakdown of his expenses.  He said, "There has been a lot said in recent months about the amount of expenses claimed by MPs and what they are spent on. That's why I've decided that from this financial year I will make a commitment to publish my expenses every quarter on my website and in my e-news letter. My annual ‘Report Back' leaflet, which is sent to every household in Bath, will also provide details of the full year expenses.

"Parliament is currently debating the level of detail that it will publish of MPs' expenses, however I am committed to going beyond what we are merely required to publish and I will ensure that I provide as much detail as I am able.

"I will also ensure that contentious items such as the Additional Cost Allowance are listed in the greatest detail.

"As public servants, Members of Parliament have a duty to be honest and transparent and I hope that my actions will enable the people of Bath to put their faith in me as their representative in Parliament."

Using the web is an effective and efficient way to gain the views of constituents at a time of their choosing.  To this end, Don's most recent residents' survey is now on-line, and you can access it at http://www.libertyresearch.org.uk/take/393

Those without the internet need not worry, though.  Don said, "I realise that a substantial amount of people still don't have regular internet access.  I will continue to inform people of my work in traditional methods and by meeting as many residents as possible."

There is only one new planning application this week and a refusal notice for an MOT testing station that went to appeal.

The Planning application is for the Provision of a hard standing in rear to provide off-street parking a 26 Shaws Way Twerton (this is a resubmission of a previous application) the application was first registered on 2nd June 2008 and has a decision date of 28th July 2008.

The application number for this application is 08/01993/FUL  and you can view the application by following the link on the application number.

Any representations on this application should be made in writing to Development Control, Trimbridge House, Trim Street, Bath BA1 2DP.  Alternatively representations can be made using the Planning Service pages of the Council's website http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/.  All representations must arrive no later than the 10th July 2008.

The Notice of refusal was for an MOT testing station that was refused by the Council and the applicant went to appeal to the Secretary of State and the appeal was dismissed by a planning inspector.

A copy of the inspector's decision is attached as a PDF document. Decision-1.pdf

Well I supose it had to happen another Tory has been forced to resign over expenses claims. This time it is the European Union, and with Boris resigning his Henley seat, it is time to see how much the great British Public trust the Conservative Party.

It seems that the Conservatives have not changed they are still the Party of greed and self interest.

The Second meeting of the Twerton PACT went off quite well last night with about 30 people in attendance; this was down from the first meeting due to a failure to get the printed advertising material ready in time.

The community heard back from Somer Housing concerning the number one priority of our first meeting and that was the security of the Flats in Twerton. Somer announced that they had introduced a programme to put new electronic door locks on all the external doors in the Twerton area and that this programme should be complete by Jan 2009.

The Police report indicated that the crack down on burglaries in the area was working and the crime stats that they produced showed a falling crime rate one of which we will hope to see continue.

I gave a report on developments in youth provision in the area at Southside youth Centre and how we had attracted private sponsors in to provide some improvements to the building. So far a new landscaped area has been provided, new basket ball equipment has been installed along with a new concrete Table tennis table and new bike racks will be arriving soon.

A new boxing Club started last night and the organisers were overwhelmed with the response from the young people in the community.

A new Youth night will start on a Friday as soon as a new member of staff can be recruited.

So all in all we seem to have had a good Start in dealing with all 3 of residents top concerns lets hope that we can keep it up.

The next 3 Priorities have now been set

And these are

• 1) More Police Patrols at Night on foot.
• 2) Community Cleaning programme
• 3) Community relations awareness.

Progress on all these items will be reported to the next PACT meeting on September 11^th 6pm St Michaels Junior School.

Many locals will have seen the chaos and traffic hold ups that are being caused by the clear up works that are taking place along the A4 between Bath & Bristol.

It is clear by the length of the grass and the amount of rubbish that is in the verges that this has not been cleared for some time now.

The record needs setting straight the Conservative administration have failed to clear this road up properly in the time that the A4 was handed back to the council from the Highways agency well over a year ago.

I personally made several complaints last year about the state of this road and until recently have seen little improvement.

The sheer hypocrisy of our minority Conservative administration to claim success for a job that they have failed to do properly for the past year is beyond a joke.

If job needs doing then it needs doing properly and it is no good covering your tracks by claiming success for clearing up a road that should have been done as a matter of course.

Due to unforeseen circumstances we have had to cancel the Twerton Ward Surgery that was due to be held this Saturday.

A new date for a surgery of 21^st June 10am The Hut Hinton Close and no appointment is required.

If you need to contact me on any matter that cant wait until 21^st June then please use to contact details in the about me section of this blog.

The follow up meeting of the first Twerton PACT is due to be held tonight at St Michaels Junior School Newton Road Twerton tonight 3^rd June at 6pm.

Action has been taken on all of the items raised at the first meeting so please come along if you are able.

A UK-wide campaign to encourage people to recycle more of their household waste has been backed by Liberal Democrats in Bath and North East Somerset.

The fifth annual National Recycling Week is being held on 2^nd – 8^th June this year. It is run by the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a national organisation set up to help people produce less waste and advise on how best to deal with rubbish in an environmentally friendly way.

“Liberal Democrats in B&NES are delighted to be able to back National Recycling Week. B&NES Council has long been a leader in promoting reduction and recycling of waste – for example we were the first Council in the country to adopt the Liberal Democrat-led zero waste policy.

One of the biggest issues is wasted food. According to WRAP figures, on average we throw away 112kg of food each every year, most of which is still usable. People can avoid this waste by doing simple things such as meal planning and shopping with a list.

There are ways of recycling other items which are not collected by the Council. Liberal Democrats have been saving plastic mail wrappers to be sent off for recycling by a specialist company. Other items such as CDs can also be sent off for recycling.

This week we are encouraging as many residents as possible to make small changes in their lifestyles which will make large strides to ensuring we do not wreck our environment.

There is a limit to how much rubbish we can throw into holes in the ground. There comes a point when we have to say that we cannot go on getting rid of waste in this way.