Best wishes for 2009.
For this, the second year of the website, I shall try to include more city-wide and national news. Here’s Nick Clegg’s new year message – it’s very watchable and only 3 minutes of your time!
Festive notes
As the year ends, I thought I had best mention a few recent highlights. I started this website almost one year ago with a review of 2007. While I do not intend to run through all of 2008 (yet) there are a few bits I forgot to mention during the Christmas rush.
Firstly, thanks to Rev Prothero for inviting me to give a reading at the Bathwick St Mary’s lessons and carols service. The lessons were read by a wide variety of local speakers, including myself. Rather flatteringly, I was noted as a ‘representative of the local community’ in the service programme. If you are a local community member not at the service, I represented you with the second lesson, Genesis 22:15-18.
Secondly, a resident of Clan House has kindly written to thank me for having the road surface fixed for them. This was a rather good early Christmas present as councillors don’t tend to get so many thank you notes. “Bathwick ward is exceptionally well served by you and your fellow councillor Armand.” – we do our best.
Councillors’ surgery
Cllrs Armand Edwards and Nicholas Coombes will be hosting their next public surgery at 11am on Saturady 6th December at Bathwick St Mary’s Church Hall. Residents are welcome to pop in without an appointment between 11 and noon.
Tories reject rapid transit review
BathNES Conservatives refused calls for an independent review of the Transport Package which controversially includes the Newbridge bus road and Bathampton meadows Park & Ride.
The Liberal Democrats had called for a review, following the radical changes to the package and protests from residents across the city.
Increasing evidence suggests that alternatives to the Newbridge BRT have not been properly assessed. Where the package has been changed, placing a Park & Ride car park on Bathampton Meadows, residents and the parish council have been poorly consulted. Despite your Lib Dem councillors best efforts, the Tories are determined to ram the package through.
Thanks for waiting
Sadly, my computer died a few weeks ago, after a long and difficult service of architecture coursework and Focus design.
As this website is updated solely from my desk, you will have noticed the interruption in service. However, a replacement computer is on the way, so I can resue updating the website, plus put together the latest edition of Focus soon.
Thank you for your patience.
Erratum
This month’s Focus included the word ‘licence’ following the US convention of ‘license’. I have now re-set my spell checker to use British English, rather than US English. In previous issues, I have failed to update our surgery date, substituted ‘off’ for ‘on’ and misattributed the A4.
You may not know that Armand Edwards and I write all of our Foci, then I design the pages on my home computer. We print these at our own expense, one for each home in Bathwick. We, and a brilliant team of volunteers, then deliver these updates by hand once every two months. I hope that you find them useful, which is why we continue to publish.
Thank you to the individual who took the trouble to email with a correction yesterday. However, I trust that not every elector will decide how to vote on the basis of a spelling mistake.
Nick Clegg conference speech
Nick Clegg really is a very good public speaker.
I’m sorry that I couldn’t be at conference this year, but I was able to watch his closing speech on TV (possibly the first time I have found a use for BBC parliament). It’s now at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk_politics/2008/party_conferences_2008/default.stm
I strongly recommend watching it if you are interested in values and society. You should be able to recognise our own Don Foster in the audience and possibly my colleague Cllr Roger Symmonds who also has a moment of fame.
Summer updates
It’s been a while since my last post; I’ve been on holiday. However, not very much has happened anyway!
The Tesco loading bay is still inexplicably held up in the system and I’ve issued another request for information.
The Quarry Road footbridge at the University is on target, due to be delivered through the city early on Monday morning, 1st September. The bridge is prefabricated entire and will be under police escort.
Meanwhile, this being August, there have been no council meetings; my most recent was a wonderfully intricate scrutiny panel with representatives from four councils reviewing the West of England partnership, focusing on residual waste. The agenda was several hundred pages long and the meeting itself lasted the whole morning.
If you’re on holiday, do enjoy it.
Uni footbridge update
Bath University estates department have recvised their bridge replacement timetable, taking into account the Youth Games on campus this month.
The bridge has now been built by the contactors and is being painted this week. In a few weeks it will be driven down from Huddersfield with a police escort to Quarry Road. Quarry Road will be partially for fully closed from midnight 31st August until 6:30am on 4th September; although the contractors may be able to complete faster.
Zebra crosses
Ziggy the Zebra joined fifty protesters for a zebra crossing on Bathwick Hill. The stunt was organised by Cllr Nicholas Coombes to raise the priority of the scheme within the council.
Tesco have paid for come improvements to the crossing, now complete. If their loading bay gets approval, which is expected next week, then they will be able to open their store when the bay is marked on. It is now down to BathNES council to fund extra work needed for the zebra crossing requested by local residents.
Your Bathwick councillors insisted that the changes to the crossing (paid for by Tesco) should be a first step towards a zebra crossing. However, Cllr Coombes has now discovered that the Conservative Cabinet have not allocated any funds to do this work in the next financial year. The Cabinet member in charge (Cllr Charles Gerrish, Con, Keynsham North) will not make any commitment and his department appear to be backtracking.
Today’s demonstration, attended by fifty local people, three dogs and a zebra, has shown the strength of feeling in the area and the huge local demand for a zebra crossing on Bathwick Hill. This will make a diference to the priority of the scheme and will provide Cllrs Coombes and Edwards vital support in their campaign with the traffic department.
If you weren’t able to sign the petition on the day, please add your name to www.ourcampaign.org.uk/bathwickcrossing. Thanks.