Eco-Bristol?

Bristol will continue with its 'green' plans even though it suffered a Green Capital loss (see story here). One commenter on the story (YourLakeshore)  said "...it is great news that Bristol came 2nd in the whole of Europe - particularly as it had tough competition and Bristol has made it to the final twice. It also presents Bristol as being the green city of the UK..."

If Bristol is the green city of the UK why then is its ecological footprint only 17th best out of 60 in the country (see ranking and figures here)? Why is Bristol's ecological footprint set to rise with new road building, loss of green spaces, increase in population...? Doesn't there need to be a committment to cut this footprint significantly if Bristol is to be credible in its green claims? It is after all 2.9 times bigger than a sustainable level!

Also, its not really about being in competition with every other city in the 'whole of Europe' but only about competing against those who entered - and on criteria still a very long way from genuinely sustainable cities.

Festival flim-flam

"It demonstrates that Bristol has credibility in green issues....What the festival does is make it real for people." says Big Green Week organiser Darren Hall (here)
*
Bristol will have credibility on green issues (in fact all issues are green issues) when it can demonstrate significant progress on tackling the key issues: horrendous traffic congestion; ongoing air pollution problems; carbon footprint many times higher than is sustainable; ecological footprint that will grow with loss of green spaces and green belt, new road building, rising population...; poor public transport services; low level of economic self-reliance, especially food and energy security; high levels of inequality; poor levels of participation in key matters such as voting in local elections....

That it is thought that a festival is what will make Bristol's green credibility real speaks volumes. A festival on its own is mere flim-flam, nonsense and humbug. When are genuinely and significantly green outcomes going to happen in place of the tinkering and public relations ?? After all people have been burbling their greenwash for decades now.

Leadership lark

Head of Big Green Week,Paul Rainger  has been quoted as saying, "Bristol is an incredible place. Whether it's grassroots environmentalism, or robust political leadership, Bristol's brand of sustainability is unlike any other."  (see the story 'Bristol's best place for green electricity, says power firm' here). However, Bristol's people dont generally think we have robust political leadership and the head of Big Green Week is therefore out of touch. Many have been critical of the council for years, the turnout in local elections is low - and we have just rejected the current council leadership in favour of an Elected Mayor, albeit on a low turnout.

Also,  its not going to be hard to be the 'greenest city in the country when it comes to environmentally-friendly electricity' because the general standard at the moment is very poor. Many cities simply dont have much green electricity generation at all.

By the way its not clear to me that a fair comparison has been made by Good Energy given the figures quoted in the story. They just give a raw figure for the postcode area not green electricity per head of population or similar.

Eco-city??

The Post reports that Bristol has been shortlisted to become a flagship European city which could trigger a financial bonanza worth millions of pounds.

We are one of just three cities – together with Copenhagen and Frankfurt – which have reached the final stage in the selection process to become European Green Capital in 2014...(more)

In terms of outcomes Bristol is in no sense green. Its ecological footprint is several times the land area it occupies, which means the city is parasitic and has impacts far and wide. In terms of carbon emissions, on average the annual total carbon emissions equivalent (direct + indirect) per person is around 12 tonnes - a sustainable level is thought to be 2 tonnes. This puts the nature of this competition in some perspective.

None of the cities in the competition is sustainable, though some are less unsustainable than others. Its always been about the least un-green rather than being genuinely green cities.

If Bristol wins and additional investment is attracted and this is well directed into strengthening the local economy, empowering local communities, adding to energy and food security, establishing a decent integrated transport system, protecting what's best about the city, such as its green spaces...then that will certainly be welcome. Lots of ifs here though!

See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/index_en.htm

Efficiency drive

This sort of energy efficiency and renewable energy scheme (here) is long overdue but whilst the headline is current and active saying 'Ten-year energy efficiency drive will create jobs' the first sentence of the story immediately damps that down, referring to 'council plans to develop' the scheme.

Its good to see this project but £2.5 million over ten years, less than a quarter of a million per year, does not amount to a 'multi-million pound' scheme in my book - unless the council is going to get much more money from a range of other sources (are they?).

Work on 6000 homes and buildings is a decent start but Bristol has hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings, which gives some perspective to this. The 1500 jobs figure sounds more like hope than realism given the amount of money per year mentioned here.

Though the council setting up its own energy company to operate at arms length is a good move I'd ideally like to see many community based energy companies in the city - and I just hope the council is more dynamic than it has proved to be and gets on with it! Having said that they have been and are not helped by central govt policy, so lets see that change for the better.

These developments should be driven by our need for energy security, community resilience and what best science says about the rate at which we need to be cutting fossil fuel use and carbon emissions - if you work back from what they say to the consequent energy efficiency and renewable energy plans you get investment figures that are much higher and orders of magnitude more installations.

Lib Dem 'green' claims

Wailur Rahman and Zahir Malik claim that the Lib Dems have been ‘campaigning on the environment long before the Green Party was created’ and have a ‘strong track record of delivering on the green agenda in Bristol’ (‘Credibility challenged’ letter, Post 19 April). If this is the case and it’s been effective then Bristol would be greener and more sustainable but total carbon emissions per person has risen to 12 tonnes compared to a sustainable level of 1 or 2 tonnes and this is in part caused by the atrocious traffic levels, poor public transport and huge waste of energy from Bristol’s homes and other buildings. Our carbon footprint would be made worse by Lib Dem plans to flog acres of Bristol’s green spaces against the wishes of local people!

They say the ‘idea of a transport hub at Temple Meads is not a new idea; it was even looked at when Avon County Council was in existence’. If the idea has indeed long been around and has been actively and effectively worked on we’d have a transport hub at Temple Meads – but we haven’t. If, as the Lib Dems claim, their commitment to tackling climate change is strong why haven’t they used the power and influence the have had over the years to bring about this and other changes?

The only logical conclusion is either that the Lib Dems have not been committed, not been campaigning, not been delivering or that the work they do is seriously ineffective – or both! The same applies to Labour and Tory claims. Thus, the Greens are challenging them and Lib Dem local election candidates in particular find their position is seriously under threat.

A SOLAR and pedal-powered party takes place at Bristol's Create Centre on Saturday.

A SOLAR and pedal-powered party takes place at Bristol's Create Centre on Saturday.

The theme of the 'Saturday Sun-day' party is low-carbon living, and there will be a whole host of free hands-on activities, workshops and demos to get people thinking about greener living and help them to 'reduce the use'.

Bristol City Council leader, Councillor Barbara Janke, said: "To make sure we meet our ambitions to be the UK's Green Capital, we need to inspire Bristol people in their communities to make changes to the way they live their lives.

"I hope the event will help people to understand more and find creative ways of signing up to a greener lifestyle."

Children can crawl inside an enormous inflatable 'Explorer Dome' to find out all about earth. They'll also have the chance to make a solar-powered boat, create a recycled mural, and decorate their bikes with the help of local artists, ready for September's Bristol Cycle Carnival.

Story sessions and craft activities will be run throughout the day in Create's brand new library space.
Bristol City Football Club will be supporting the event and sending along a player to sign autographs and take part in some footie fun in the afternoon.

Bite-sized eco-home workshops will offer practical advice on insulating your home, choosing renewable energy and monitoring energy use.

There will also be live music and food and drink.

The Saturday Sun-day is from 10am to 5pm at Create, Smeaton Road, Spike Island, Bristol. Entry is free. To find out more, visit www.createbristol.org.

Bristol City Council parks and green spaces sell-off

Its International Year of Biodiversity this year and what does our so-called green city want to do? Flog off some of our parks and green spaces! Given the very strong reaction from the public to this council plan from all over the city it would be undemocratic to continue with it – in fact they should be planning to increase green spaces wherever it is possible to do so as there is a value to them well beyond cash.

There are leisure, tourism, recreational, entertainment, sporting and health benefits in open, green spaces. Green spaces also help attract and keep businesses and help them to attract and retain the staff they need. There are key ecological and environmental function benefits eg storm water drainage and thus flood protection, as the land soaks up, temporarily stores and then gradually releases rain; taking carbon dioxide from the air, helping to fight climate change; provision of wildlife habitat and food supply, which aids biodiversity.

In an urban area open, green spaces are vital to the quality of our lives, offering relief from the all too common congestion and other negative effects of development. They are a way of connecting with and appreciating the natural world – vital to wellbeing and to encouraging respect for nature. We sorely need this respect in order to build the green attitudes needed to fight extremely serious environmental (and thus security) threats. We would do well to remember that even the scrubbiest, scruffiest bit of land (called poor quality, low productivity, marginal or ‘surplus’ by Bristol City Council) will absorb, store and gradually release rain, absorb carbon and other pollutants, grow wildflowers, provide a perch and perhaps some food for birds, and provide people with a feeling of space.

The Bristol Evening Post is absolutely right to speak out against these plans (‘Council must see bigger picture’, Post June 29) stating that green spaces are ‘not simply there for this generation’ and that we are merely ‘custodians of these open spaces’. I am working with the newly elected Green Councillor for Southville Tess Green following through on the 338 signature e-petition I submitted to the council when the Parks and Green Spaces policy was much discussed back in 2008. They failed to listen then but I hope they will now change their minds in response both to very strong public feeling and to the very clear multiple environmental, economic and social benefits.

Making Bristol an even better place: pass on the video

If you could change Bristol what would you change? See the Bristol Greens video on making Bristol an even better place below - and pass on details to your friends and family http://tinyurl.com/betterbristol .

Loss of quality of life in Redcatch Rd/Axbridge Rd/Friendship Rd neighbourhood

Its already been reported that Tesco's application to build a car park over part of the Friendship Inn garden was finally given planning permission by Bristol City Council. The pub will now rapidly be converted to a Tesco Express. Based on the rough notes I made this is what I said in person to the planning committee in addition to my written statement:

Here we are again. A whole range of people in very large numbers have expressed concern and opposition. Council strategies state the aim of improving neighbourhood quality of life and building a greener city but this plan, which would worsen both, could be given permission! You can ensure this does not happen by refusing permission.

Here we go again in a period when people want real and proper democracy (government by the people for the people) after expenses scandals that have brought politics in general to an even lower ebb than usual. Really listen to the people and you do your bit to boost politics. Really listen to the people and you'd reject this plan.

I note that members of the public dont get equal time and facilities when responding to planning applications compared to councillors and officers. I note that very often developers get lots of time and access to officers and councillors about their plans (including in this case, where inferior plans went back and forth between the council and Tesco) - this should give this committee all the more reason to give real weight to the number and range of people opposed to this plan from the public.

The councillors on the committee did not listen to the people - those from Labour (Sean Beynon and Colin Smith) gave particular support to Tesco's plans . Planning rules are truly out of date and badly out of tune with council policies, especially on quality of life and sustainability. The committee made their decision on a very narrow basis indeed, paying little or no heed to the context of the application and implications of giving permission. Another neighbourhood will lose quality of life and green character as a result and Knowle's local shopping will be disrpted by a giant supermarket chain with an anti-competitive attitude. It may not end here because several local people are wondering what plans Tesco might have for that part of the pub garden that wont be covered by the car park (room for expansion? room for a petrol station? room for...?).

Planning committee meets tomorrow to consider Tesco/Friendship plans after site visit

Statement on planning application 08/04903/F – Tesco/The Friendship Inn - for 1 April Development Control (South and East) Committee, which I hope to present in person:

Having visited the Friendship Inn site...I hope you will agree with me that the proposed car park does not provide safe and convenient access. I hope you will agree with me that giving planning permission for additional car parking in this area is entirely inappropriate on sustainability and quality of life grounds.

I remind you of the weight of local opinion, given that nearly 1500 people signed the paper petition, nearly 100 signed the e-petition and over 100 people packed out a public meeting called to discuss the matter.

I ask you to remember who is making this application, why they have made this application and how they have made this application. Its not really about a car park for a pub is it!! The approach they have taken has been remote and unapproachable, not locally involved and neighbourly.

The guidance sheet on having your say on planning applications states that the ‘…City Council has to take into account national and local policies…’. In a previous statement to you I raised the new Climate Change Act as an example of a relevant national policy that should be at the front of your considerations. I also raised the wide range of local policies aimed at making Bristol a green city and green capital.

The effect of building a new car park over a pub garden following a planning application from a major supermarket chain with plans to set up a new store in the pub, at great cost to local small businesses, will raise not lower carbon emissions and dent the strength of local community and quality of life. It will move the city away from not towards its green city and green capital aspirations. Therefore there are clear policy grounds for refusing planning permission.

Cast your vote on this planning application to favour: road safety; local democracy; a participatory approach to development; strong local communities; small local businesses; improving environmental quality; improving quality of life.

Labour's recycling record in Bristol

Councillor Judith Price raises the issue of Labour's recycling record in her letter 'Clarification about recycling in Bristol' (Open Lines, Post, March 17). Sadly she seems far more interested in having a go at political opponents like Councillor Hopkins through insult and mockery than in the actual facts of Labours record on recycling. She did not mention for instance that in Labour's last period running the city there was no improvement in the overall recycling rate at all!! She did not mention that Labour planned to mass incinerate waste, something that would inhibit recycling and encourage high waste production as well as giving out huge amounts of climate changing carbon emissions. She did not mention that Labour did this whilst seeking to bask in the green glow of Bristol as a potential 'green capital' of Europe. Its little wonder with such people and parties on the council that genuine green progress in the city is largely superficial.

Earth Hour 2009

Received a request to pass on the message below about Earth Hour 2009 - I hope many people will support this event!

Big changes start with small gestures; turn off to show you care about climate change

On 8.30 pm on 28 March an extraordinary global event called Earth Hour will take place and we would like to enlist your help to ensure that Bristol is a part of it.

Up to a billion people around the globe will switch off their lights for one hour to send a powerful message to our politicians and decision makers. Earth Hour 2009 is really set to ‘switch off the globe’. Already 377 cities and 74 countries are committed, including Bristol. Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change. This is especially important now because 2009 is a critical year for action on climate change, with the world’s leaders due to meet at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December to sign a new deal to supersede the Kyoto Protocol.

The initiative, which began in Sydney in 2007 as a one-city environmental campaign, has evolved into a grassroots action that has really captured the attention worldwide. In 2008, 371 cities across 35 countries turned their lights out in a united call for action on climate change.

The list of cities confirming their participation includes 37 national capitals and many of the great cities of the world, including London, Beijing, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels, Cape Town and Helsinki. We want to add Bristol to this list!

Along with the great metropolises of the world, Earth Hour 2009 will also see the lights go out on some of the most recognised landmarks on the planet, including Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Merlion in Singapore, Sydney Opera House, CN Tower in Toronto, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the world’s tallest constructed building, Taipei 101. We hope that the Clifton Suspension Bridge will be in this list of iconic structures.Earth Hour by its very nature is the essence of grassroots action. This is the opportunity for individuals from all corners of the globe to unite in a single voice and demand action on climate change. Bristol needs to play its part in this global clamour for change; please help us to make a difference.

You can help by letting all of your members and contacts know that this is happening and encouraging them to participate, by turning off any lighting not required for safety reasons on the 28th at 8:30pm. We would be very grateful if you could feedback to us the response you receive and the likely numbers who have agreed to participate.

More information is available at http://www.earthhour.org/

Many thanks

Alistair Sawday, Chair, The Bristol Green Capital Momentum Group
green.capital@bristol.gov.uk

Tesco/The Friendship

Statement about the Tesco application 08/04903/F to build a car park on The Friendship pub garden which I have submitted and plan to read out at the meeting of the relevant planning committee (Development Control South and East) this Weds 18 Feb:

The applicant here is Tesco and that sets the context which determines the meaning of the application. The paper petition and my e-petition, http://epetitions.bristol.gov.uk/petition.php?id=231
outline exactly why very, very large numbers of local people feel very strongly and say no to this planning application. They see the big picture and ask that the committee does this too. They know the area best and fully appreciate the detrimental effects.

With just text and a scale drawings to go by it must be very difficult for the committee to fully appreciate what the area in and around The Friendship is like now and what it would be like if Tesco’s plans come to fruition. I recommend that you visit the area before making a decision on this application.

I believe that if you visited the area you would agree with me, a current Knowle resident who lived for several years directly opposite the pub garden, that these words in the Design and Access Statement ‘…the proposal is successful in providing safe and convenient access….’ is in fact false. Cars turning into and out from the car park have no proper view if turning right due to the high wall and a highly restricted view if turning left. Additionally the car park design does not facilitate good flow in and out. Cars will be parked near the car park as well as exiting driveways. The close proximity of the proposed car park exit and entrance to the brow of Redcatch Hill and the Redcatch Rd and Friendship Rd turnings presents a significant additional hazard over the present situation.

Applicants Tesco seek to ‘…maximise the accessibility of the site through providing increased car parking…’ (Design and Access Statement). Increased parking capacity for cars means increased traffic flow on roads that are already increasingly busy. This means an increase in all that comes with more traffic, including additional: accident risk; noise; air pollution; climate change; light pollution (car lights and car park lighting); congestion, delay and stress.

Several mature trees with good biodiversity value will be removed if plans proceed and replacement trees take many years to establish. The green area will be lowered. The wildlife value of the area will decrease and can’t recover to its current level therefore. This is in opposition to the new local biodiversity policy.

Local quality of life and sustainability will decrease if this car park is built. This is in opposition to local policies aimed at creating a green city. It is in opposition to the new Climate Change Act with its tough carbon emissions target.
___________________________________________________________________

Update (25 Feb) - had official confirmation in writing that we have successfully persuaded the committee members defer the decision and to visit the site before deciding (visit will take place on the morning of 1 April and the planning application will be decided on that afternoon at the council house). This is good news as far as it goes. We have further work to do illustrating to the councillors on the committee just why this planning application should be refused. Tesco also have time to rethink and replan, as appropriate, between now and 1 April. You have to smile at the date this is all happening on!!

Bristol City Council's recycling record

I'm afraid Steven Moore, Service Director for Environment and Leisure at Bristol City Council, misses the point in his letter ('We're pround of recycling achievements', Open Lines, Jan 31). Is he proud of the fact that over 7000 tonnes of recycling was shipped to Belgium for processing, reducing some of the environmental advantage gained? Is this the best green practice we can expect from an aspiring 'green capital'? Surely we need to move on from the undoubted step in the right direction made in recent years, to make further recycling improvements - a green city is still a very long way off - and abandon waste incineration plans which make recycling improvements harder?

He talked proudly of the council's collection of food waste for composting. Is he proud of the fact that we've spent years sending the material all the way to Dorset in lorries because we didn't plan ahead and establish a local composting facility to coincide with the introduction of the brown bin scheme?? His own figures show that waste for composting travels 233,000 lorry miles every year, reducing some of the environmental gains made.

New Bristol City Stadium - green design?

I’ve previously reported my interest in Bristol City FCs consultation on its new stadium design. I sent off a completed consultation form a while back, including suggesting: abiding by the concept of compensation for loss of green space; a thorough ecological assessment of the whole area, at various times of the year; walking, cycling and light rail transport links; an unobtrusive external colour; use of ecological footprinting to measure impacts; permanently protected nature reserves around the stadium designed to maximise biodiversity; aiming to be a carbon neutral stadium; avoiding any 'sprawl' in design; being an example of sustainable design - promoting sustainable economic activity, the latest energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable transport technologies.

My follow up to this has been looking for examples of football clubs who have used or attempted to use green principles, designs and technologies.

Some interesting findings (below). Bristol City have the option of following good, green practice – will they take it? It would fit well with Bristol's green capital ambitions and compensate to a degree for the loss of green space.

Dartford FC – living grass roof, solar electricity and heating, rainwater collection and low noise and light pollution design.

Ipswich Town – carbon neutral scheme.

Renewables in football clubs information.

Middlesborough – solar roof and wind turbines project.

Man City – community involvement, transport and waste initiatives (wind turbines were planned but sadly now abandoned).

20 mph for Bristol: go for it!!

Bristol gets 20mph speed limits on roads.

Reduction in accident frequency and severity*, lower air pollution**, quieter and safer places... 20mph is a great idea! But lets have all residential areas covered, especially around schools, lets also lower speeds on other roads - and lets make sure that 20mph is enforced properly! I hope Bristol City Council goes well beyond tinkering with this green idea.

*At 20mph a pedestrian you knock over stands a 90% chance of surviving. At 40mph they stand a 90% chance of dying. http://www.greenflag.com/help/saferdriving_speed.html

**Most energy is used in accelerating and braking, which happens more frequently in cities . Driving in any particular gear consumes more energy per mile the faster you travel. Driving steadily at 20 mph is more efficient and thus cheaper and cleaner. http://drivingefficiency.org/driving_gently.pdf

Gordon Brown's plans: definitely more brown than green!

Saw my MP Kerry McCarthy put this question to Gordon Brown at Prime Minister's Question Time today and its been reported on the local newspaper's website,

"Does he agree with me and the people of Bristol that green jobs and sustainable development are the way out of this economic downturn?"

The Prime Minister replied: "I look forward to visiting Bristol very soon. On the environment, she is absolutely right. I believe, coming out of this downturn, some of the triggers for further growth can be investment in the environment. We are going to invest in green jobs and environmental technologies."

I'd very much welcome a comprehensive and coherent plan to create a green economy. Growing numbers of economists eg the authors of the Green New Deal, and at the UN, are saying that investing heavily in efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport, reduction, reuse and recycling of waste, building stronger local economies and communities with local production for local needs, is by far the best way to direct our efforts. After all we currently have intimately entangled, mutually reinforcing economic and environmental crises.

However, there is no such plan available from Gordon Brown's Labour Govt.. Where is what should be top priority, a plan to insulate all homes free of charge for instance (its something that self-evidently pays for itself in saved energy and thus lowered bills)!?!?

The lack of a real green plan is surely no surprise to anyone given that Mr Brown spent over a decade as Chancellor before his period as PM and we're certainly no greener now than when he came to power!! By the Government's own figures carbon dioxide emissions are higher now than ten yrs ago for instance. Current Brown plans in favour of building more coal fired power stations, the expansion of airports, the building of hundreds of miles of new roads, more nuclear power stations cannot considered green (more here).

Looks like PM Gordon Brown's plans are pefectly consistent with his past actions as Chancellor doesn't it - definitely more Brown than green!

Bristol green spaces flogging delay

The Bristol Evening Post website today reports that,

'Plans to sell off 90 acres of parkland in Bristol will be delayed because the recession has seen land values plummet.

Bristol City Council could hold off for several years until land values rise again before pushing through its plan to sell parcels of green space.

A report to the council's Quality of Life Scrutiny Committee meeting on Monday says the recession would have an impact on the 'rate of progress' of the plan.'

Any delay should be used to reassess the policy of selling off green land. Its not right to have a kind of 'land sale target'. Other ways of funding improvements to parks must be more fully investigated.

Green spaces are one of the most popular and desirable features of the city - and we certainly need them if we are going to build sustainability and enhance the quality of our lives. This city is supposed to have green capital ambitions after all!

Worryingly there is growing evidence that Bristol City Council is not fairly and uniformly applying its green spaces policy process of establishing Area Green Space Plans through consultation in the same way across all wards in Bristol.

The meetings that were called to deal with the Neighbourhood Partnership area involving Knowle, Filwood and Windmill Hill excluded discussing Filwood. This means that Filwood will be handled separately and with very considerable pressure on it for housing development - I'm told that consultants not present at the other meetings will be present at meetings about Filwood for instance.

On the Bristol to Bath Railway Path the council have a sham consultation on a land sale loaded with leading questions instead of bringing forward the Area Green Space Plan process for the location.

Filwood Park was sold off within hours of the adoption of the new policy on green spaces, The Parks and Green Spaces Strategy - outside the spirit of the policy entirely.

Happy coincidences!!

What !? Yet another award for Bristol? Come on!!!

The local paper says,

'Bristol has been crowned "European city of the year" after scooping an urban environment award.

The city beat off competition from fellow finalists Manchester and Newcastle [/Gateshead] at the awards held in St George's Hall in Liverpool.

The occasion was the annual awards ceremony held by the Academy of Urbanism, whose 100 members include industry-leading architects, planners, engineers, developers and designers.... (http://www.academyofurbanism.org.uk/)

Can this recent glut of awards or consideration for awards for Bristol - European Green Capital shortlisting, top of Sustainable Cities Index, Cabot Circus shopping centre of the year, and now European City of the Year - possibly be considered well thought out, fair and objective assessments? No they can't, both for the reasons I've previously covered and because the same people and/or sort of people who have an interest and involvement in that being judged also have an interest or involvement in the organisation doing the judging !!

Now, to my knowledge there is no indication of anything underhand happening (lets call it 'happy coincidence') but some rather circular and self-congratulatory processes have occurred. Assessment cannot therefore be considered objective, unbiased and dispassionate. What the awards offer us then is just the subjective assessment of one narrow group of people.