New Waste Collection System Coming In!

WASTE DAY CHANGE: Find out your new day online

Find out your day by clicking on this LINK and entering your post code or street address for your collection day. In addition to your new waste collection service you can also get a lot of other information including planning applications.

Most of Walcot will have it's collecion day changed to Thursday, with Friday for the Bathwick Estate.

Further information about the changes is available now through various leaflets and households will also be issued with a letter in the week commencing 25th May 2009 confirming which their new day will be from 8th June. Residents can also call Council Connect on 01225 394041 to find out their new day.

From the 8th June 2009, households across the district will put out their refuse, the green recycling box, and cardboard and garden waste on the same day - although the cardboard and garden waste will be collected every fortnight. The Council is asking residents to put out their waste by 7am on the right day every week and to check which week their cardboard and garden waste will be collected as this may have changed from current arrangements. Collection times on each street will be different to what people are used to at the moment so its important waste is put out early so as not to miss the collection.

This change was planned for two years ago but the new Conservative administration delayed implementation. We are delighted that it is arriving at last - better late than never. Same day collection improves re-cycling rates by as much as 6% and also allows greater flexibility and opportunity to collect more materials as recyclable. Most importantly though is that it makes it easier for residents who now will only have to remember one day for all their waste materials.

The Middle Bristol Road

You've probably all heard about the £12m Bath Rapid Transit Route and know that many people do not think it is needed. Well this afternoon Cllr Caroline Roberts and I went for a drive and filmed it....



Do you think it's really needed? We don't!

Bath Fringe - Kensington Meadows

Bath Fringe 2009 on Kensington Meadows

This year the Bath Fringe are planning a 3 day event over the weekend of 5th – 7th June.
Friday Evening Cabaret Bar till 10.30/event finish 11pm;
Saturday Daytime Boom Stage 12 – 7pm Sat eve Comedy show 8 - 10.30/event finish 11pm;
Sunday Walcot Community event 12noon – 7pm.

These events are subject to the following Licence Application being granted: -

They have made an application for a ‘premises licence’ for Kensington Meadows (this is similar to an old-style ‘Entertainment Licence’, for anyone unfamiliar with the changes to the licensing system).
This has been done in order to put the events we’re planning more under the jurisdiction of the licensing system than with the ‘Temporary Event Notice’ we used last year. A full licence also gives us many more responsibilities, which we hope reflects our commitment to be a good neighbour on the meadows.

This licence, if passed, would give licensing permission to run an event for a 4-day long weekend once a year. This is still subject to an annual agreement with the B&NES Parks Department for the use of the land, so there is no sense a carte blanche to do what they like on the site. There is also the requirement to consult with the council’s Events Safety people, the Police and the Fire Service every year. All of this means that performing will be overseen by the Council and there will be a continued line of communication for local residents via the council.

It is intended to run the Boom Stage youth music afternoon on Saturday 6 June, and an afternoon performance picnic on the Sunday. They will not be running music events later in the evenings, but circus/cabaret events which should be very much quieter – we are aware that this was an issue for some people in 2008.

The Fringe are committed to advertising that there is NO car parking available in or around the Meadows – the main afternoon events are orientated towards local people who wouldn’t need to drive to the site anyway – though we will be providing secure cycle parking. They will have to erect a tall fence to define the area under our jurisdiction and to ensure that the various rights of way on the Meadows are not obstructed, and while this is not the most beautiful thing in the world it does have its advantages too. Inside will be the expected tents, performance areas, food concession, bar, portable toilets etc. – it is a condition of the licence that the public is not allowed to bring alcohol or glass onto the site. The event area will be about 20% smaller than that for the 2006 Walcot Independence event and will stop well short of the gate from Ringswell Gardens, which will remain shut and used for Emergency Vehicle access. Events will be confined to the southern end of the Meadows, leaving lots of space for dog walking and games, and won’t be intruding on the lower levels by the river at all.

There will be holding an Meeting to discuss this event and the licence application at Riverside Youth Centre on Friday May 1st at 5.30 pm and would like to invite local residents and others with an interest in the event to come along.

You can contact Wendy Matthews; Steve Henwood & Bath Fringe Committee at:

103, Walcot Street
Bath Fringe BA1 5BW
Tel 01225 480079
admin@bathfringe.co.uk

Bus services saved by Don Foster MP

We are pleased that action taken by Don Foster MP has helped to save the The Number 20A/C bus service that is used by by local people in going about their daily lives and to be able to carry out their shopping. The Service is also part of an important link for some of our schools and the University of Bath.

Many of our more elderly residents and those with health problems use the service to get to the RUH.

A New service that covers the same route as the one that has been run by first bus and will have the same numbering Wessex Connect from 11th May 2009.

Bath & North East Somerset council will be supporting the new service have managed to secure bigger, low-floor buses that will increase trip capacity in the morning and afternoon peak times.

Although we welcome the new buses we do have a few concerns about how they will manage the narrow streets that the smaller buses have been able to get through with some ease and we hope that journey time will not be increased.

On a down side the last three journeys on the number 20A/C services will no longer operate and single fares will increase by 10%

In your area... Bathwick Estate

Your local Liberal Democrat Team and Don Foster MP, are in the Bathwick Estate knocking doors and seeing if there is anything we can help with on Monday 6th April from 6pm.

If there is anything we can help you with please be sure to look out for us, we hope to knock on every door, but if you have something to raise and would like us to pay you a visit email: ddixon.bathnes@blueyonder.co.uk

Alternatively if you are willing be be active and want ot join in on the door knocking we will meet at The Castle Pub (now closed thanks to some very poor decision making).

We will pick one of the still open local pub for a drink after door knocking.

Conservatives Close The Castle Pub

On Wednesday this week the Council's planning committee voted to close The Castle Pub in the Bathwick Estate by voting through a planning application for two houses to be built on the plot.

What is most hypocritical is that the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Fabian Ritcher is picture in his latest propaganda outside of it as part of a story to save local pubs, meanwhile the Conservatives on the Council once again voted in block to close it.

Cllr David Dixon said, "This is just another example of this Ritcher bloke jumping on the bandwagon on an important local issue in Bath while his party does something completely different. May be if his views are so different to that of his party he should actually consider hopping off to where ever he has appeared from, I am sure that he will find himself another little hobby."

Cllr Dixon will continue to work with local residents to see if there is any way that The Castle could stil be saved after this devastating blow.

All linked up...

As some are probably aware, us councillors try anything to communicate with our residents.

Many would be familiar with the Liberal Democrat's "Focus" newsletter, which is great and every now and then to spend some time delivering pieces of paper door to door is very worthwhile.

However over recent years and with the increasing use of the internet and the advent of Web 2.0 and the use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter many Councillors have turned to the web for help.

The only problem has been that as councillors we start something and very quickly move onto something else. So that's why I have decided to set up RSS feeds which update my Twitter and Facebook updates from the information that I put on this blog.

There has also been a need to start linking up information from a wide range of Blogs and Websites from other Councillors across Bath and North East Somerset, so for now I have taken feeds from all these and put on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bathnesld !

So start following and happy reading!

Cllr David Dixon

Castle pub Forester Avenue

Castle pub Forester Avenue

The fate of a Bathwick pub which its owners want to develop for hosuing will be decided on Wednesday.
Residents have opposed an application to convert the Castle pub in Forester Avenue into two four-bedroom homes.
The scheme will be put before Bath and North East Somerset Council's development control committee on Wednesday with 49 objections received against the application.

The pub closed last year but an online petition has been launched by regulars to save the venue, which is owned by Amek Investment.
Cllr David Dixon (Lib Dem, Walcot) hopes the objections will be enough to save the pub.

He said: “A number of residents want to keep it as a pub and feel very strongly about it. There are pubs closing all the time at the moment and it is important to support our local pubs.”

Many objections stated the importance of the pub in the area and said it was a community orientated venue.

Others said that more houses were not needed in the area and that the permanent loss of the pub would be a further ‘erosion’ of the community.
Planning officials are, however, recommending the conversion can be approved.

Cuts to bus services are unacceptable

Early morning services and the city’s circular route are to be cut from the bus timetable at the beginning of May as First Bus reduces the service they are providing.

Early services from Combe Down, Foxhill and Larkhall are being lost. The biggest impact will, however, come from the complete removal of the 20A/C service, which stops at Ralph Allen School, the University of Bath and the RUH.

Bath MP Don Foster said that the cuts are unacceptable and will be meeting with First Bus Managing Director Justin Davies to discuss the plans.

Don said, “Many people rely on early morning buses to get to work, what option will be available to them now? Local buses need to be able to serve the needs of residents, not force them into their car.

“The loss of the 20A/C route will be a massive blow. Many students use it to get to the university and it provides a direct link for residents across the city to our local hospital. The Council must look at finding another operator for this route.”

Please sign our petition, at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/onthebuses , calling for these services to be re-instated.

The 20A/C service takes a lot of pupils to Ralph Allen School in the morning. We already know how bad the morning rush hour is in term time, and this cut will only make things worse. Had the Conservative Council agreed to Lib Dem plans to get more children on a bus to school then perhaps the effect on the morning rush hour would not be so bad, as it is this decision will inevitably lead to further gridlock.

The Council is happy to waste millions of pounds on a new road to provide a bus for those who don’t live here to get into the city, but local people are having their services cut and many cannot afford to use the bus. The Council would be better off spending money on providing buses for local people, which would be common sense action to reduce congestion.”

The Local Transport Bill was recently voted through in Parliament, which offers local Councils greater power over bus services, including the possibility of setting maximum fares and having minimum timetable requirements.

Bath MP Don Foster voted for the legislation and says, “As we see services cut this shows that the powers granted by the Local Transport Bill are now more important than ever. I hope our Conservative Council will look into using this new legislation, despite the fact that Tory MPs voted against these important measures.”

Waste Day Change June 09 - Bath & North East Somerset Council

Waste Day Change June 09 - Bath & North East Somerset Council

Bath & North East Somerset Council will be introducing same day collections for the majority of properties in Bath and North East Somerset from the week beginning 8th June 2009. The change is in response to customer requests to help make our services easier to use and to help increase local recycling rates.
At present, people may have their rubbish, recycling, cardboard and garden waste collected on up to three separate days and the Council is aware that this can be difficult for people. As a result, plans are underway to simplify the system so that most people will be able to put everything out for collection on the same day.
This means that for most people, your collection days will be changing from the week beginning 8th June. We will send a notice to every household 2 weeks before the start date to let you know your new day so you should receive this information by the beginning of June. This information will also be published on the website during May.

The only exception to this may be small areas where it is not possible for us to make these changes for logistical reasons, but the vast majority of areas will be covered by these changes.

If you wish to find out your current collection day for rubbish, recycling, cardboard and garden waste, please note that you can now do this online. Recycling and refuse can be found by going to the 'My Area' section of our main page and Cardboard and Garden Waste can be found by going to Cardboard and Garden Waste Collection Days.

Consultation launched on £2.5m facelift for play parks

Consultation launched on £2.5m facelift for play parks

Communities are being consulted about plans to revamp 16 play parks across the Bath area.
The Play Pathfinder sites are among 28 which will be worked on by Bath and North East Somerset Council using a Government cash injection of £2.5 million.

The council says the sites have been selected after applications from parish councils and local community groups.

A spokesman said: "The views of the local communities, including children and young people, will be gathered in the coming months and will be used to help inform how each play facility is improved."

The authority has been criticised for not consulting enough over the first 12 sites, where work will be complete next month.

Among the sites that will benefit from investment will be Kensington Meadows off London Road, which will have £40,000 spent on it.

Local councillor David Dixon (Lib Dem, Walcot) said he wanted local residents to let him know their views.

He said: "The funding is aimed at eight to 13-year-olds, and we want to involve as many young people as possible in developing ideas."

If budgets were a lager...

If the Conservative budget were a lager, it certainly wouldn’t be Carlsberg. This is far from the best budget in the world. In fact it’s far from the best budget that our residents deserve.

While the Conservative budget deals with internal processes, spending £1m of tax payer’s money on new offices – before a single brick is laid, and two items which they have stolen from the Labour group as their own.

Our Liberal Democrat budget takes the opportunity to benefit from the last two years of knowing what our government settlement is and from the healthiest financial situation the Council has been in for quite sometime, not through the work of the administration may I add but through the work and commitment of the best financial officers that local government can afford.

We had presented our budget to Cabinet to give an opportunity to do consider it, but not only did they fail to take up the offer of considering our budget, but found it almost impossible to grasp the ideas of such a forward thinking budge.

Ours is a budget which addresses the demands of the people of Bath and North East Somerset.

The Liberal Democrat proposals which would look to tackle the causes of anti social behaviour by creating a £200k pot of money for voluntary and community groups to apply for.

A Liberal Democrat run Council would look to increase the budget for home to school transport by £3.5m over the next 5 years to ensure that every child who lives over 1 mile from the school they have been allocated can get to school for free.

Our long term vision is that every child under the age of 18 can travel free across Bath and North East Somerset. After all they are the full paying bus passengers of the future. The Conservatives once again demonstrate that they have not a clue about how to create modal shift and reduce reliance on the private motor vehicle.

Bath and North East Somerset Council used to be a for-runner for recycling initiatives led by a Liberal Democrat Zero Waste Policy.

With waste now under Conservative control, our waste diverted from landfill performance has flat lined and our innovation in waste has been surpassed by many Councils up and down the country.

To this extent the Liberal Democrat budget would invest to bring same day collection and food waste collection in at the same time and a year sooner than the Conservative’s proposals to ensure that unlike the Tories, Bath and North East Somerset is back on top of environmental issues.

While our Council officers in street cleansing do a fantastic job with the resources that they have it is quite clear that they are doing this with half the budget per head than out Audit Commission family of Councils.

This under funding and overstretching of resources has to stop, to bring Bath and North East Somerset Council in line with similar authorities, this Liberal Democrat budget proposes to double over the next 3 year the amount we spend on street cleansing, further more we would be prioritising our funding to clean up the streets where people live, you know what this Council calls the side roads, the residential areas and open public spaces.

The Youth Service, clearly a mistake has happened and this service has been trimmed back far too much, a Liberal Democrat budget would reinstate £500k back into the youth service budget to be spent on frontline youth workers, to increase the numbers of youth people who can benefit from our youth service.

We have also identified £500k to help tackle fuel poverty in our area, financial assistance insulating or making their home more energy efficient and while the Conservatives are quite happy fobbing off this responsibility to government, but at the end of the day we also have to be realistic and where it is not happening sometimes we have to be supportive of our the most vulnerable in our communities.

The Liberal Democrat budget looks to fund this by savings proposals which stretch over the next 3 years, proposals which would see significant shifts of resources between council services, we understand the risks of non delivery of our saving targets, particularly in year one where we are looking at tempering the growth in some services, and halving the Conservative propaganda department, which we would reshape into a meaningful, community engagement department this alone would save £250k.

We oppose the building up a pension pot of £3m, we feel that services should budget to meet the pension pressure from creating efficiencies from within and that we should not be asking the hard up Council tax payer to cough up.

We oppose spending £1m of tax payers money on looking at new office accommodation for this Council - £1m spent before a single brick is laid.

We oppose the Conservative’s budget which does nothing for our residents.

We have proposed to temper increases of 4 budget lines and the halving of one, we have proposed significant increases to 6 budget lines and one completely new one for the home energy fund of £500k available until it’s been spent by our residents.

These proposals look to invest £5.5m into:
• street cleaning
• waste
• young people
• combating anti social behaviour
• and home to school transport

£5.5m into 5 keys areas for our residents.

Our proposals will reduce the level of Council Tax increase over the next 3 years, 3.25% in year one, 3% in year two and 2.75% in the final year, while striving to deliver significantly improved services which matter the most to our residents.

Somer Scrap Plans for Longacre

Controversial plans for a scheme to house homeless people in Snow Hill have been scrapped.

Community leaders and local Councillors David Dixon and Colin Darracott today welcomed the abandonment of the project in London Road, which they had described as a "Victorian workhouse without work."

Housing association Somer had been working with owners Bath and North East Somerset Council for three years on the scheme at 3 and 4 Longacre.

But local residents said the location was wrong, and that criminals could prey on the vulnerable families who would be accommodated there.

Somer - whose Somer Community Housing Trust and Shape Housing Association arms were involved in the scheme - has reviewed the business case for the project over the last six months.

In a statement, it said: "Both Somer Community Housing Trust and Shape are committed to developing housing to the highest standards and will continue to work closely with the council and others on this project.

"Whilst there is an urgent need for housing and support for homeless people in Bath, we must ensure that the scheme we develop is of the highest quality and serves the district well for years to come."

The scheme would have been next to Somer's Caroline House accommodation and would have seen the derelict buildings extended backwards to create new facilities.
Sixteen units would have been created in the conversion, to add to the 17 already at Caroline House.

Somer had called the scheme "sheltered accommodation for homeless households" - but London Road and Snow Hill Partnership chairman Alex Schlesinger said the plans resembled a "Victorian workhouse without the work".

Today he welcomed the decision.

"We want to stress that this wasn't nimbyism - we have got other hostels along here, some of which work very well.

"This wasn't about protecting the community from the residents; this was about protecting the residents from elements of the community.

"This was going to be a magnet for predators."
He said the partnership would now be pressing for the building to be used for community use as a training centre to encourage people to acquire new skills and to encourage fledgling businesses.

Local people have complained to B&NES about the state of the buildings, with claims that chunks have been falling off in recent weeks.

Cllr David Dixon said, "This is great news for the community, Somer Housing have finally seen the light and have understood the impact that this development would have had on the London Road and Snow Hill Area.

"I hope now that the Council will start to work with the community to get these buildings into positive use for the London Road. We have an active skills and enterprise initiative who are keen to bring these buildings into use.

"It is a shame that it took both Somer Housing and the Council 3 years to realise that this sort of development would be irresponsible and I think the London Road and Snow Hill Partnership and other active residents for their help in keeping this issue in the public realm."

Play Pathfinder Money for Kensington Meadows

Kensington Meadows has been awarded £40k through the Government's Play Pathfinder money for improvements. Please tell us what you think about Kensington Meadows, what you like and what you would like to see done to improve it.

The funding is aimed at 8 to 13 year olds, and we want to involve as many young people as possible developing ideas.

Email david_dixon@bathnes.gov.uk with your comments:

Tell us what you currently like about the Meadows, how often you used them, and what you think could be improved.

Questions over 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 as of 1 November.

Cllr Furse campaigned for the new crossing, which the Council Cabinet needlessly delayed

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.

Councillor Andrew Furse (Liberal Democrat, Kingsmead) commented, "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.

"I am 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."

Councillor David Dixon (Liberal Democrat, Walcot) added, "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?"