Ashley Ward News July 2011
bristol |
community |
news report
Friday August 05, 2011 09:32
by fw
Highways and parking issues:
(1) The controversial Hurlingham Road closure TRO has been signed. The
main objections received related to likely impact of such a closure on
congestion on surrounding streets, particularly the exit from
Chesterfield Road onto Ashley Hill. Officers are converting the "T
junction" between Ashley Hill and Chesterfield Road to a mini-roundabout
layout. This should mitigate the worst effects, but your councillors
will be monitoring the situation. Please let Jon know if you would like
a copy of his letter to interested residents on this issue.
(2) Ashley Down Road proposed upgrade of the existing Pelican crossing
by Kathdene Gardens (outside Sefton Park School) to a new Puffin-style
crossing. Consultation response by 15th August. Let Jon know if you
would like copies of TRO information.
(3) Ashley Down Road carriageway resurfacing plans are now under way.
(4) Cheltenham Lane (behind Colston Girls School) parking restrictions
are proposed along the length of Cheltenham Lane to improve access for
local residents, businesses and Colston’s Girls School. Email Jon for
a copy flyer 1Mb Closing date 5th August.
(5) Decisions on future Residents Parking scheme consultations are to
be devolved to Neighbourhood Partnerships. There would need to be
significant resident support to proceed.
(6) Caravans and vans in St Werburghs and Montpelier - police have said
they are taking action. More info on St Werburghs web site
http://bit.ly/olZs1d
Parks and activities:
(7) Two local parks have been awarded Green Flag status, St Andrews
Park for the first time and St Pauls Park for, I think, a second year!
Congratulations to all involved - residents, friends and council
officers. More info at http://bit.ly/pYQ3J3
(8) New scout hut plans at Sefton Park - Bishopston Councillors Bev
Knott, David Willingham and I have been supporting the plans and
exploring possible sources of funding. More details at
http://www.hut6388.org
(9) Albany Green - we are still awaiting (and chasing) council officer
report - the next stage is apparently "neighbour engagement". We will
let you know when we hear more.
(10) St Pauls Carnival was one of the busiest and most colourful ever,
but there have been a number of complaints about litter, anti-social
behaviour and excessive noise. If you have any comments then please let
Waliur and I have them and we will see that they are raised with the
Carnival team, the Council and the Police. They will help inform any
plans for next year.
(11) Street play. Cabinet members
have been working with Alice Ferguson (Playing out), Chris Gittens
(Streets Alive) and various council officers to support increased
opportunity for street play. More details next week.
http://bit.ly/qNZ1wG - also look at SUSTRANS "Free Range kids"
http://bit.ly/nR4jVC
Other news in brief:
(12) Westmoreland House - I understand that the team have appointed a
facilitator team to manage the public consultation. More details after I
meet officers on Tuesday 2nd August.
(13) Planning applications for "Banners on lamp posts" have been
withdrawn, I understand.
(14) Boston Tea Party - another new business opening on Cheltenham Road
this week. More details at http://bit.ly/qDzfF2
(15) Nat West Bank are advertising £6,000 for community bids in Bristol
- could be welcome by some - If you know a local charity, organisation
or group which you think would benefit, please ask them to register at:
http://communityforce.natwest.com/ by 4th September.
(16) Recent Casework - stopped pennant stone pavement being removed in
St Andrews Road, raised issues of secure bike parking and pigeons in
Armidale Place, working with Ashley Stores on Ashley Hill to help with
parking for passing trade and deliveries. Do drop in and sign their
petition.
(17) We are awaiting further news on a number of other issues, and will
forward when available. These include Brooks Laundry site plans, work
due to start on Islamic Community Centre on Sevier Street and further
highways issues in St Werburghs, St Pauls, and Cobourg Road/Ashley Hill
junction.
(18) Next Ashley Neighbourhood Forum meeting on Monday 5th September
6.30pm Unitarian Hall, Brunswick Square, St Pauls.
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Comments (16 of 16)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16I am flattered that someone chooses to post the email that Waliur Rahman and I send to local residents onto the Bristol Indymedia website, but it might be courteous to acknowledge the authors.
The links and contact details have been removed, so if any resident would like to be sent the eFocus in future, please drop me a line with your name, address and email address.
Just to comfirm we are pushing ahead with the cuts in services for the elderley and disabled as planned. Hopefully the private sector will benefit from the sell off.
"..cuts in services for the elderley (sic) and disabled"
Luckily not. We are looking to improve the ways we meet the needs of people with MORE services not less.
We are looking to fund services that meet need and are delivered by well run, flexible and responsive organisations.
We are withdrawing funding from organisations that don't meet needs or fail on cost effective grounds.
"..the private sector will benefit from the sell off."
It is my intention that the main beneficiaries of these changes will be the people with needs. Well run voluntary sector organisations are well placed to expand their services to meet those needs.
A well run Voluntary Sector Organisation with matched funding, good links with partners, and motivated staff and volunteers can deliver £2, £3 or even £4 of services for every £1 council tax invested.
A poorly run organisation, weither VCS or independent, will only deliver 30p, 40p or 50p of service for every £1 council tax invested.
Which would you use?
BRISTOL & DISTRICT ANTI-CUTS ALLIANCE
BULLETIN - 5th August 2011
Defend Social Care In Bristol
Bristol City Council are being remarkably coy about which grants to voluntary organistations have been cut from November 1st following their review process which was completed last week. The full list of threatened organisations is on the BADACA website here. These organisations received a letter from the council earlier this week detailing cuts, but the council seems unwilling to publish a list of the grant cuts. If you know of any organisations effected by this final decision please email admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk as soon as possible.
The next few weeks are crucial to the campaign to defend social care services in Bristol. On Tuesday September 6th there is a full meeting of Bristol City Council. BADACA, along with Unite, Unison, GMB and other trades unions is organising a mass lobby of the meeting. Our aim is to make sure the council understands the strength of feeling in the city against its plans to cut and privatise essential care services in the city. Services for the elderly and vulnerable in their homes are being privatised; grants to voluntary organisations providing services like lunch clubs and support for carers will be cut from November 1st; and in September the council will present plans to close and privatise care homes and day centres. At the same time the council is moving ahead with plans to privatise the entire youth service in the city. The lobby will bring together workers in the council's services, voluntary sector groups, users of the services and other community groups. Please try to join us and pass on information about it to anyone you know who may be interested.
On Thursday September 8th there is a council by-election in Southmead ward. A LibDem councillor is standing down. This is an opportunity to put the case against the council's cuts and raise the profile of the campaign to defend social care. Several of the facilities under threat are in or near the ward. BADACA will not be endorsing any candidate in the by-election but will work with others to ensure that voters in the ward understand the impact of the council's plans.
Iin the run-up to these events, BADACA will be working with others to ensure the widest possbile publicity. We will be running stalls in various parts of the city on Saturdays over this period, particularly on 3rd September, when we hope to have stalls across the city. If you are able to help on any Saturdays in the coming five weeks please email admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk as soon as possible.
Remember these are all cuts to services this year. In a few months the LibDems running Bristol City Council will start making propsals for even more cuts to take effect from April 2012. These will have even more impact on jobs and services as they wil be made on top of an already reduced budget.
UNITE have published three leaflets which can be viewed and downloaded at the BADACA website Growing The Economy, Fair Wages & Tax Justice For All, Trade Union & Employment Rights. Also a statement 'Cuts Are Not the Answer' from their National Executive.
Publicity about the lobby and the by-election, from BADACA and others will be available next week. There will be printed copies and and downloads. Look out for it and distribute as widely as possible.
There is an e-petition against the privatisation of the council's Home Care here . Please sign and forward the link to others to sign.
The threats to voluntary sector funding aren't limited to Bristol. The 'False Economy' website has published material about the national impact here. The Evening Post has related this to events in Bristol with this article.
We would like to hear from users of the threatened services and their families so we can involve them in our campaign. If anyone has contact with any of them please get in touch at admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk
If you want more information about anything below email admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk
More information on BADACA and events can be found at our website www.bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk and via the link to Facebook from there
If you have events you would like included in a future bulletin please email details to admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk . Our aim is to send out a bulletin every Friday. The deadline for inclusion of events is 5pm on Thursday.
BADACA Open Meeting - Monday 5th September
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Friends Meeting House, Champion Square (River Street), Bristol BS2 9DB. A map can be found here.
This will be an important meeting to make final preparations for the lobby on 6th September. More details later in the month
For further information email admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk
Lobby Of Bristol City Council - Tuesday September 6th
Meet at the Council House from 5pm. There will be plenty more publicity for this important event out soon but put this date in your diary now.
For further information email admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk
All the Voluntary Sector organisations and services funded through the £4.1m budget have been funded until 1st November 2011. Most have now been assured funding for the rest of this financial year.
All organisations and councillors (of all parties) were informed of an initial assessment in June 2011, with the opportunity to correct any misunderstandings or errors that suggested a service not meeting needs and/or value for money criteria.
Officers have been working hard with those organisations, seeking additional information if needed.
Last week all the information was checked again, and I went through details of every threatened service, including careful consideration of equalities issues.
I personally wrote to all councillors who had a threatened service within their ward to see if they had additional comments.
Finally we wrote to those organisations delivering services that did not meet the criteria, giving 3 months notice that the affected FACS eligible service users would be assessed for their care needs and helped with a Self Directed Support plan.
People using affected service will either be able to have their own personal budget, or the council will manage the budget. More information on this Self Directed Support process may be found at:
http://bit.ly/pMCPal
It has cross party support, starting under Labour and reiterated by the Conservative/Lib Dem Coalition Government.
Lovely lad, good strong morals. Shame he's ended up with the Lib Dems. He always seemed really intelligent.
The one thing I have learnt in my long history as an active member of the liberal democrats is that we are all liars and we are only interested in political power to implement free market policies. We don’t care how this impacts on local communities.
"the main beneficiaries of these changes will be the people with needs."
To requote Christopher Hitchens, “Nobody is more needy than those who have far too much.”
No doubt the "needy" higher layers of executives at BCC will continue working hard to ensure that their needs are met and that they remain beneficiaries of the system.
After all, they must have much bigger mortgages and outgoings to support than the rest of us poor things.
IMO Whitefield mob, Many Lib Dems have "good strong morals" as do many in other parties.
Too many of these so-called "strong morals" are part of the problem Jon. How many people reckon that their particular brand of strong morals are the ones that need enforcing on everybody else.
Playing with our lives for their ego-trips.
So you think you've found the solution,
But it's just another illusion!
Now they sitting on a time bomb;
What goes on up is coming on down,
Goes around and comes around.
"BADACA will not be endorsing any candidate in the by-election but will work with others to ensure that voters in the ward understand the impact of the council's plans."
That means you're supporting Labour then?
Perhaps it's time you stopped embarrassing yourself on here? We've all seen you post your propaganda at length. Your arrogance is astounding, that you think we swallow your torylite tripe. You and your 'liberal' chums are traitors to the millions and millions who for some reason put their faith in you to resist this outright class war at source. As your actions continue to devastate communities, it is not only the vulnerable who will feel the bite. You and your cronies will feel the bite one way or the other.
It seems petrol bombs and the like are the only way to get politicians to sit up and take notice these days.
"MOST have now been assured funding for the rest of this financial year." - cuts.
"a service not meeting needs and/or value for money criteria." - cuts.
"threatened service" - cuts
" including careful consideration of equalities issues." - avoiding a legal challenge to the cuts.
"threatened service within their ward" - cuts.
" delivering services that did not meet the criteria" - cuts.
"People using affected service will either be able to have their own personal budget, or the council will manage the budget" - graded cut in the personal budget.
"It has cross party support, starting under Labour and reiterated by the Conservative/Lib Dem Coalition Government." - a bunch of cuts.
I don't post articles on Indymedia, but I do sometimes choose to respond with comments.
My views are no more and no less valid than anyone else on here.
I am not happy with having to respond to huge cuts in public service funding, however, I am also not prepared to simply pass the problem on to our children.
The council budget has been reduced by £70m over 3 years. We are saving £28m this financial year and whoever runs the council next year and the year after will need to find the other £42m in savings.
Our Lib Dem administration will be making budget proposals in the Autumn. I am sure that Labour, Green Party and the Conservatives will also be making their suggestions.
The Lib Dems run the city, but we no longer have a majority on the council, so if our opponents want to replace us, they can do so at any time.
You're just as entitled to put a view forward Jon, but putting a view doesn't automatically make that view valid, for you or anyone else, does it?
You do also seem to have a habit of missing the point.
@ Bristol Blogger
So, anti-cuts groups end up as a Labour front group what a surprise.
Why would anyone on a low income want to spend their time to further pad the backsides of the nice middle class people who have the best and most cushy jobs in the public sector and are the ones who cream most of this money from the state. Teachers, social workers, administrators, it's them that benefits more than anyone.
Them and their sell-out union boss mates