MPs and jokes

MP Kerry McCarthy has a quiz on her blog that I've been looking at. All questions are about identifying main party frontbench MPs - Q14 "As sharp as a blade and currently underrated" is one I've puzzled over (after having a good laugh at the Bristol Bloggers joke answer of Dan Norris!). There aren't many I regard as sharp!

Is Dan Norris MP as sharp and underrated as Roger Bailey of BBC comedy My Family fame? Well there are certain similarities.

Treasure nature, then vote to build on it - Labour Councillor Colin Smith

I was saddened and angered at the report that local conservationists failed to save a nature site in Bedminster. The local paper reports that the site is '...in a conservation area and a Site of Nature Conservation Interest' (see what these land designations are supposed to mean here and here). Such sites enhance the quality and wellbeing of our lives.

Malago Valley Conservation Group spoke of badger disturbance, bird-nesting habitat loss... Badgers are a species protected by law, including their own Act of Parliament.

These two comments in the local paper from Bedminster Labour Councillor Colin Smith got to me most of all. After visiting the site he said,

'It is a green lung for South Bristol to be treasured and it is almost secret.'

Despite, apparently, treasuring the nature site ie valuing as precious, Cllr Smith said,

'I'm going to have to support the employment issue' to attempt to justify the fact that he had just voted in favour of building over the green space as someone who sits on the relevant planning committee. Sheer hypocrisy!!

And what is the evidence that allowing the nature site to be cleared, hard-surfaced, fenced and lit will produce more jobs? All we have is the word of James Hennessy speaking on behalf of demolition group Wring, who indicated: that the company had employed many people locally over a long time [including a significant period co-existing with the wildlife!]; current jobs would be secured and the prospect of new jobs would be created. Not exactly detailed hard and fast evidence is it and no indication of the scale/size of any job creation.

How far and for how long can we and should we go down this 'treasuring of nature but then building over it' road? What are the limits? What do the terms conservation area, site of nature conservation interest and protected species actually mean in practice?

Conditions attached to the planning permission are better than nothing but far from solving any fundamental problems they may well mean people continue to permit developments that they should not. In this case conditions include ecological management and wildlife protection measures and landscaping. However, the area occupied by nature will be vastly cut and so there will be a very high net loss of habitat and food supply, resulting in loss of wildlife.

The local paper reports that 'If any badger setts are found on the site [they did not look beforehand then!] Wring will have to make arrangements for the animals to be accomodated nearby' . Moving badgers would no doubt distress them and no doubt they will be both stressed and have their survival threatened once 'accomodated nearby'. It may well be that the area of habitat and the food supply will be smaller.

Planning Bill: ungreen; undemocratic

Very happy to support Friends of the Earth's campaign on the new Planning Bill. That the Bill currently makes no mention of climate change and would thus allow major road, airport or power station developments to proceed without considering this major environmental impact speaks volumes about the Govt approach to tackling - or rather not tackling - this issue. Their thinking is just not joined up. I've just sent the message below, produced by Friends of the Earth, to my MP Kerry McCarthy, who I've been very critical of in several debates on her blog eg here. I will blog about any reply I receive.

I believe it is vital for our Government to protect the right to be involved in decisions that affect our community, and ensure we consider climate change when deciding major infrastructure projects such as roads, airports and power stations.

In a recent opinion poll, 95% of people surveyed believed that climate change should be considered in decisions on major projects.

The Planning Bill creates a new Infrastructure Planning Commission that is undemocratic and unaccountable. It also creates a system of national policy statements which outline separate rather than integrated policy on major infrastructure.

I believe that the elected Government should take the big decisions on major infrastructure and should consider climate change.

Please speak in support of an amendment to the Planning Bill which states the need to consider climate change on the face of the Bill.

BBC report on previous opposition to the Planning Bill here.

Make the right energy choices!

Green energy policy is first about efficiency and conservation, including funding free insulation for all homes (details here) which has the major advantages of avoiding means testing and maximising energy (and money) saving. The health, security, comfort and quality of our lives would all be much better for it - and the energy security of our country! We of course favour renewable energy sources like wind, solar and tidal power in general terms too. Getting a proper overall energy strategy is vital if we are to have the right emphasis on the right kinds of technologies in the right places eg Greens reject a Barrage across the Severn in favour of other tidal energy technologies like tidal lagoons and tidal stream turbines. Greens in the South West and in Wales are supporting the Stop the Barrage Now campaign, which has launched recently, and I'm very happy to be doing the liaison with this campaign for the party.

Scrutinising plans and proposing changes...local democracy, not a problem!!

Councillor Abdul Malik does not seem to want much public debate about selling, then building on publicly owned green space, rich in wildlife, on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path ('Call for unity over factory development', Bristol Evening Post, Sept 20). He does not want light shone on the issue I guess (?). Very unquestioning as far as the development is concerned. He contradicted himself by saying he did not want ‘arguments to threaten the future of the site’ (employing a fear tactic..) but later said that he had ‘concerns about over-development’! Scrutiny of plans and seeking after any necessary changes is an essential part of the local democratic process! Does he just want people to accept proposals?



Over 200 local people have signed a petition on this issue and so concern is certainly significant (and growing as people find out the facts). Also, given that the Bristol to Bath Railway Path is used by large numbers of people from all across Bristol and from outside it, there are a wide range of stakeholders interested in the green nature of the path and its protection. There is a much bigger issue here of the procedures that should be used to decide on land selling and change of use, given that the council has plans to flog off more of Bristol's green spaces year on year!

Public investigation and debate, which Councillor Abdul Malik seems surprisingly reluctant to have, and which has been lead by bloggers (see here too), has shed a lot of light on this issue which we would not otherwise have had. Its been vital in revealing how intensive the development is and how the process has lacked openness. The plans need to be scaled back and changed to avoid the worst impacts, which have been a big concern to the council's own Nature Conservation Officer. I’ve written direct to the George Ferguson, Chairman of the architects involved about this and copied the message to the council and developers but so far have no reply nor even an acknowledgement.

Change these plans to stop harm to wildlife

I understand why George Ferguson wants to emphasise what he sees as the upside of the 'cycle houses' development planned on/near the Bristol to Bath Railway Path (see report on plans in today's local paper). He is of course not an independent, dispassionate voice in relation to it though as he is Chairman of the architects of the plans (Acanthus Ferguson Mann)! He has apparently been intimately involved in discussions with the council about land purchase according to local blogs and has talked up how innovative the ideas behind the plans are! He would emphasise the positive wouldn't he.

A balanced, dispassionate, analytical approach would also consider the downside of the plans, in particular the impacts on wildlife, including protected species such as badgers and slow worms due to the loss of 150 metres of mature hedgerow on part of the site under current designs. Attempting to compensate for habitat loss, as is proposed, is highly problematic and inadequate. Will the council, developers and architects respond to significant public concerns and react to ensure that the plans are modified so that hedgerow and wildlife impacts are removed? This would also contribute significantly to retaining some of the user amenity value of the site due to its current green and pleasant character. I thought Bristol City Council had a Parks and Green Spaces Strategy to safeguard high quality greenery though its obviously not being applied to this area!!

I'll try to contact George direct about this and copy in someone at the council and at the developers. I will be objecting to the current plans on the basis outlined here and will also complain to the council that they have not carried out an environmental impact assessment and not followed the procedure on green spaces in their own strategy.

What place for legitimate nature conservation, environmental and amenity concerns in the face of high development pressures?

My MP, Bristol East's Kerry McCarthy, has been cajoled by myself and other local bloggers (here), into debating the sell-off of biodiverse green space on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path and the pros and cons of the proposed development on/near this land (see planning application details and form to submit comments, objections etc here). I was distinctly unimpressed with her initial unwillingness to engage in discussing the issue (she tried using her blog rules to try to avoid discussion at first but then engaged after further pressure from both the Bristol Blogger and Green Bristol Blog author Chris Hutt).

At least we have discussion somewhere now, thanks to bloggers and concerned locals. Bristol City Council has not consulted on the land sale, though the planning process now has to be gone through. I've not had a reply from Cllr Rosalie Walker (see here) on why this land is, apparently, not covered by the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy and have written to Kerry expressing concern about procedures and asking her to look into it.

I strongly disagree with the views my MP was pressed into giving on her blog, which appear to favour development on this high value green space which is home to such protected wildlife as badgers and sloworms (see Kerry's comments in italics below). What priority is Kerry giving to legitimate nature conservation, environmental and amenity value issues? Wouldn't we just build, on a small scale if its just a matter of scale*, anywhere eg Bristol's Downs, Leigh Woods, Ashton Court... if we shared Kerry's apparent attitude? The plans could and should in my view be scaled back and/or modified in the eastern portion at least, as the Railway Path is one of Bristol East's few good quality green spaces. This would address some of these issues whilst not impacting the development as a whole that much. Is this too much to ask??

MP Kerry McCarthy's view '...I've seen the Bloggers site, the Green Bristol site and others. I've looked at Square Peg's plans for the 'cycle houses' and am now following it up with various people (although I think I'm right in saying that no constituent has contacted me directly). I just haven't chosen to blog about it, and I'm not going to let other people dictate to me what I do and don't blog about. My initial view is that it doesn't look as if very much land is involved*, but I want to see for myself how the land is currently being used and whether the development would have a detrimental effect on the enjoyment/ use of the cycle path, or mean a significant loss of green space*. From the plans, it doesn't look as if that would be the case, but I take on board people's comments that the plans may be misleading.As for Kevin - several campaign leaflets have gone out to everyone in SGW and he's replying to everyone who has written back. If anyone raises this issue - and it hasn't come up on the doorsteps so far, not that I know - I'm sure he'll respond to them with his views.'
_____________________________________________________________

And more of her views '....And as for the railway path, as I've said it's a very small section* (100 metres acc to Chris) and I'm not opposed either to building upwards (I think it's overstating it a bit to call it a tower block) - how else would you suggest we find space for homes for the 19,000 people on the council waiting list? Obviously brownfield sites must be the priority, but it's not the entire solution. I'm also concerned about the number of houses being turned into flats, with associated problems re parking, and often anti-social behaviour from the people who rent them. We need family homes - but they've got to be built somewhere. Where do you suggest?'



Well, her own party's policy in Bristol says not on high quality green spaces !!

By George he's not got it!

Plenty of evidence around at present that architect George Ferguson (PPRIBA, BA, BArch, RWA according to here) doesn't get what is truly meant by sustainability. His column in todays Bristol Evening Post provides a good example to illustrate what I mean. He says this near the start,

'I am writing this from the sweltering heat of the Venice Architecture Biennale exhibition - I call it work. This city is wonderfully sustainable and dominated by pedestrians and water traffic.'

Later in the piece he contradicts this by referring to the 'massive annual maintenance bill, not to mention the mega-million flood defences.' of Venice. Far from being 'wonderfully sustainable' I'd say Venice has some serious sustainability problems to deal with, not least sinking/subsiding/flooding and the massive economic consequences George himself points out (see viability section on diagram).

So I'm left puzzled as to what overall sustainability scale gives Venice a 'wonderful' score (even though the dominance of pedestrian and water transport is an obvious and significant upside).

Add to this the example of the proposed 'cycle houses' development on/near the Bristol to Bath Railway Path. It's much favoured by George (his architects Acanthus Ferguson Mann have been retained by the developer Squarepeg) but consistent with sustainability thinking its not. One part of current plans would cause significant damage to a biodiverse green space, a negative change in its 'rural' character and a loss of visual amenity. See previous posts here, here and here, plus the Green Bristol Blog, Bristol Blogger and Keep the Bank Green .

Of course it might be that George does get sustainability but puts other factors ahead of it??

Sarah Palin: enemy of reason??

Republican US Presidential Candidate John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin, who has described herself as a pitbull wearing lipstick, is certainly a social conservative! She is a million miles away from progressive and green politics - and even worse has views consistent with being an enemy of reason!

She is on record as: very strongly opposing abortion; against "explicit sex-ed programs" in schools, backing abstinence-only education; opposing same-sex marriage; supporting capital punishment; supporting teaching creationism in public schools; supporting the right to bear arms, including handguns; promoting oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR); opposing federal listing of the polar bear as an endangered species; opposing the designation of the Cook Inlet beluga whale as an endangered species; supporting 'predator control' initiatives such as the aerial hunting of wolves; and unlike John McCain, she apparently does not believe that climate change is largely human-caused, though as a believer in creationism she is hardly keen on rational, scientific concepts like evidence and investigative testing and questioning!!

Flogging of Bristol green space: why no consultation?

Letter to the appropriate Executive Member of Bristol City Council's Cabinet seeking views and clarifications about the Bristol to Bath Railway Path land sell-off.

Dear Cllr Rosalie Walker

Please see the letter below I've just sent to the Bristol Evening Post [an adaptation of this blog post]. As the Executive Member for Culture and Healthy Communities I'd appreciate a response from you on the issues raised.

I'd be particularly grateful if you could clarify the status and designation of the land due to be sold on the Bristol to Path Railway Path. What are the council's 'stringent procedures' (according to the council's Pete Webb) on land selling that mean public consultation beforehand is not a requirement?

Does the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy not apply to this land? If not then could you please explain why? The strategy certainly mentions the Bristol to Path Railway Path as an example of an important green corridor so the lack of consultation before selling is most puzzling.

In your letter to me (dated 30 July), responding to my e-petition on the flogging of green spaces, you were at pains to empasise public consultation via the production of Area Green Space Plans. You also indicated that land outside the marginal, low value and surplus category would not be sold and yet land on the Railway Path is to be sold.

I look forward to your response.

___________________________________________________________________

Interesting link between this local issue and what new Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MEP has posted on her blog today (extract below):

Participation, co-operation and community ownership are the solutions to creating sustainable urban environments, Green Party leader and MEP for the South East will say at a panel debate in London today (11 September).

In a session entitled ‘Rethinking sustainability’ at the Stephen Lawrence 8th Annual Memorial Lecture, Dr Lucas will attack the ‘bricks and mortar’ approach of mainstream models of regeneration which prioritise quick profits over the need to empower community residents.

At the event hosted by the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, Dr Lucas will say:
“Plentiful green space, access to good public services and improved safety all lie at the heart of successful and sustainable communities. But in order to create neighbourhoods that really ‘work’ – economically, socially, culturally and environmentally – we also need to give people a stake in their communities.

“Reducing crime, improving prosperity, and ensuring access to services like a GP, good schools or just somewhere to kick a ball around are hugely important. Most of all though, a sense of community is crucial. Residents must be given genuine opportunities to participate in decision-making regarding their homes and areas.

Bristol to Bath Railway Path land sell-off: council response to my objection letter

I've today received a reply from Bristol City Council (below) to my letter objecting to the sell-off of Brstol to Bath Railway Path land owned by the public. My response, point by point, is in italics.




Dear Mr Vowles,

Further to your e-mail dated the 4th September, I respond to your concerns with regard to the potential sale of the land as follows:

The potential loss of the green corridor along side the Railway Path was raised as a concern by Bristol City Council's Nature Conservation officer. As such, if this sale proceeds it will be on the condition that Squarepeg engage in dialogue with this officer to ensure that proposals provide the necessary compensatory measures for any loss of habitat and vegetation.

*Attempting to compensate for loss of habitat and vegetation is highly problematic and sometimes controversial. ‘Nature knows best’ is a great guideline for conservation. The council’s Nature Conservation Officer will know that a potentially big compromise has been made. We may be getting better at compensation but measuring the full value of the land before development is in itself an issue. Then you cant simply and easily ‘put back’ mature, fully functioning ecosystems and so there is likely to be a loss of quality for some time and quality may never return to its best. When land is back to an ‘equivalent value’, if at all, is often very hard to say.

Some say that habitat compensation is based on an economists view of nature not an ecologists. It thus serves to accommodate development interests not those of sustainability, attempting to legitimize damaging economic growth.

With regard to the lack of consultation over the potential sale of the land adjacent to the railway path. Bristol City Council has stringent procedures which it must follow when disposing of land, these procedures do not require the council to carry out public consultation prior to disposing of this land.

*I had the opportunity to object to the land sale only because of what I read online in various blogs (here and here). This means that very many members of the public locally, who own the land via the council, have not had the same chance. This is unjust and undemocratic. Please could you reply outlining the ‘stringent procedures’ you refer to as I’d like to see exactly why they mean public consultation is not required. Even if technically not required under current procedures I am dismayed that the council does not take the view that consultation is desirable on grounds that openness and public participation is to be valued (I note that developers Squarepeg are keen to stress that they value an open approach in the report on this issue in the Bristol Evening Post).

I can confirm this sale is not a 'done deal' and that whilst discussions have taken place with Squarepeg over the potential sale. No terms have been agreed, when seeking authority to proceed with this sale your objection will be presented along with the proposed terms.

*Not a ‘done deal’??? But today’s Bristol Evening Post story refers to a spokesman for the council saying: "The developer of the chocolate factory is negotiating with the council, which is finalising an in-principle agreement to sell a small strip of land…’ Sounds to me like a deal is virtually done - what else does 'finalising an in-principle agreement' mean!?!?

If you wish to discuss this matter any further please do not hesitate to contact me on 0117 9224028.

*Please pass on my further objections along with my first letter. I'd appreciate a response to my points about the highly problematic nature of habitat compensation, what council 'stringent procedures' are, the lack of opting in to full and open participation of the public on the land sale and when exactly a deal is or is not done.

Yours sincerely


Peter Webb



Peter Webb
Portfolio Management Officer
Valuation Practice
Floor 6, B Bond
Smeaton Road
Bristol
BS1 6EE
Tel: 0117 922 4028
Fax: 0117 922 4676

Photo of land near the area concerned, by Martyn Whitelock. Lots of great photos of the path on his site http://railwaypath.blogspot.com/ well illustrating its green quality.

Tory/Labour pact running Bristol backs mass incineration option

The local Tory website includes a story entitled 'Tories boot big burner into touch' but then what did the Bristol Tories do in yesterday's debate on mass incineration for Bristol? They backed their Labour friends running the council and voted with them to allow the retention of the mass incineration option. Neither party has any green credibility at all.

But Mr Eddy and his party did not vote to throw out the policy, which includes an application to the Government next month for up to £80 million of public funding for the West's long-term waste treatment needs.
Instead, with Labour backing, they pushed through an amendment calling for "rigorous financial assessment" before any technology option was selected.
A small, all-party working group will be set up to look at ways to achieve greater cuts in the amount of waste households throw out.
A full outline business case will be referred to one of the council's scrutiny commissions on October 23, before a meeting of the ruling Labour cabinet on October 30. (full details here).

Vote for Knowle West !!

Please consider voting for the Knowle West Media Centre in the Royal Institute of British Architects (South West) Community Building Awards. Its very green and a massive amount of valuable work for the neighbourhood, community and city is centred there. '...the region's community buildings often play an unsung, understated yet undoubtably vital role in West Country life. Now, the Western Daily Press has joined forces with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) South West to today launch a brand new award recognising the value of these buildings and the unstinting effort put in by those supporting them.' (full story here).

You need to click on this link: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/wdp/business/riba, then scroll down the bottom of the page to find the vote button. Deadline for voting is Thurs 11 Sept, 12 noon. You can also vote by txt message! To vote by text send message with the words: Wdp riba b for Knowle West Media Centre to the special text number 65100.

Party Conference: selection of policy motions passed

A selection of the motions passed at the recent Green Party Conference (below) shows the broad position and appeal of the party (full details of all party policies here). I'm particularly pleased to see the policies on: higher minimum wage; the right to rent if unable to pay your mortgage; zero carbon new houses by 2012; decent treatment for service personnel; a fair deal for Gurkhas; support for the Green New Deal; marine reserves.

* Support for the right of trade unions to establishworkplace
environmental representatives (a cause being supported by the TUC and many
unions).

* A call for an immediate end to the British opt-out of the European
Working Time Directive, and for the national minimum wage to be increased
to be in line with the Council of Europe Decency Threshold (60% of net
national earnings). This would currently mean a minimum of £8.17 per hour.

* A "right to rent" policy so that homeowners unable to meet mortgage
payments and under threat of repossession could transfer ownership of the
home, at less than market value, to the council, and then remain in the
home as council tenants.

* Policy was clarified to make it clear that the party is in favour of the
universal provision of a free lunch in all state schools in England and
Wales on every school day.

* A call for a plan to licence and purchase the Afghan opium crop, to be
processed into morphine and heroin for free or low-cost distribution in
developing countries for the use of pain relief in palliative care and for
other medically approved purposes.

* A call for building regulations to be tightened, and additional training
of architects and builders arranged, so that new buildings, extensions or
conversions meet tougher standards than those now applicable, and so that
all new dwellings are zero-carbon by 2012. (As a result of the workshop on
this motion a new housing email list is to be formed – contact internal
communications if you would like to join it.)

* A motion was passed stating that "Members should at all times, including
when proposing and implementing policy, be sensitive to the fact that the
Green Party does not and will not endorse or tolerate antisemitism, or
discrimination of any form."

* A call for a new contract between service personnel and the state
promising decent living standards to those injured, and to the dependants
of those killed, while asking them to sign a pledge to follow international
law, and to disobey any order requiring them to fire on unarmed civilians.

* Policy committee was asked to develop a new crime policy, and to
establish a crime and policing policy working group...

EMERGENCY MOTIONS

a. A call for Gurkhas and their families to be given fast track eligibility
for either the right to remain or citizenship in the UK, given their
exceptional service..

b. A call for Westminster MPs, who have control over the issue, to grant
the same access to abortion in Northern Ireland (where it is now almost
totally banned) as is available to women in England, Scotland and Wales.

c. A call for a full enquiry into the problems with policing the Climate
Camp at Kingsnorth.

d. A call for extensive highly protected marine reserves around the coast
of Britain to cover 30% of UK waters to 200 nautical miles by 2015.

e. Offering support for the Green New Deal (which was outline in a panel
session chaired by Caroline Lucas at which Tony Juniper, Jeremy Leggett,
Colin Hines and Ann Pettifor spoke).

f. Condemning plans by the Home Office to launch a central database of all
so-called "communications data" as a violation of civil liberties.

Pete Postlethwaite in 'The Age of Stupid'

According to Green Home (the very recently developed '...hub for Green Party bloggers, promoting the idea of a green blogosphere or community...') the film 'The Age of Stupid' was shown at the Green Party conference (on Saturday I think). It sounds great and I do like the work of Pete Postlethwaite who stars in it. I look forward to seeing it shown in Bristol (it will be released here early next year I'm told).



More news/bckground on this here.

New Green Leader, "Energy companies robbing poor to give to the rich"

Great Peter Sissons BBC News interview with the new (and first ever) leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas MEP here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7602163.stm

The BBC reports that,

In her speech to the London conference she called for a windfall tax on energy companies and a "Green new deal" of investment in energy efficiency.
Ms Lucas branded bosses of energy companies energy "robber barons".
She told the conference: "Just three companies - BP, Centrica and Shell - together made £1,000 profit every second over the first six months of this year.
"These corporations are robbing from the poor to give to the rich and they know it. And it's about time they learned that, in a progressive democracy, there is no place for robber barons."




For more information about Caroline Lucas and the Green Party leadership move:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7602202.stm
http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Lucas
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/carolinelucas
http://www.carolinelucas.org.uk/

Bristol to Bath Railway Path land sell-off

Letter objecting to sell-off of land near/on Bristol to Bath Railway Path sent this morning to Bristol City Council Pete.Webb@bristol.gov.uk and Chanelle.Brodie@bristol.gov.uk . I urge others to object in writing too. Acanthus Ferguson Mann (see image) are the architects retained by developer Squarepeg. See the Green Bristol Blog and Bristol Blogger sites for more infromation on the issue, especially the lack of openness and public participation.


Dear Sir/Madam,

Railway Path land sell-off, Greenbank

I'm very concerned about the proposed Railway Path land sell-off at Greenbank, Bristol, linked with the planned development of the former chocolate factory. I'd like to register an objection to the sale of this land.

I dont want any of the green corridor of the Railway Path lost. The mature vegetation supports a wide range of biodiversity which would be adversely affected by the plans. In addition the greenery absorbs carbon from the air and the area would be less effective at doing so if developed. Users of the path are likely to experience a loss of visual amenity and the feel of the place will change negatively if developed as suggested.

I'm dismayed and unhappy that consultation on the land sell-off is completely lacking. The City Council are breaking at least the spirit of their stated openness and participation policies. One cant help but feel that behind the scenes its all a 'done deal' before it eventually reaches the public domain via planning processes.

I'd appreciate a response telling me exactly what the current situation is and how the council and developers respond to accusations of cutting biodiversity, reducing the carbon sink effect and reducing visual amenity with their plans.

Yours sincerely

Glenn Vowles
http://vowlesthegreen.blogspot.com/

Rosy outlook for Bristol green spaces??

Bristol City Council Cabinet letter of response to my green spaces petition is below. I should first point out a number of things in response to the letter (bit of a rant coming I'm afraid as I found the letter patronising and infuriating, as scrolling down and scanning through it will quickly demonstrate to you!!).

I've made no statements at all that indicate that I recognise the importance of the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy, except in the negative sense that it legitimises flogging land, though you could be forgiven for thinking I had looking at the letter's beginning. I have read all the relevant documents and understand them at least as well as, if not better than, Cllr Rosalie Walker. Its always a useful argument tactic to just tell your opponent they simply dont understand or are not aware (too stupid, too lazy...not labels that stick well to an academic egghead like me), though its not aimed at genuine debate (which would have involved Rosalie in the very hard task of explaining for instance how flogging off land to be covered in concrete helps rainwater management...).

I'm much more interested in what the council actually has done and is doing than what some documents say (though she fails to comment on the councils past record). I'm at a loss to see how flogging land can be consistent with council policies on health and wellbeing, climate change, rainwater management, biodiversity...none of which are likely to be improved due to green land becoming tarmac/concrete...

I simply dont believe that no-one at the council has looked at where land might be sold off - how did they come up with figures like 90 acres or the previous 200 acres if they have not looked and estimated? How genuine is the Area Green Space Plans process if the council already has a very good idea what it wants to flog and where?

As for being committed to not selling higher value land, what about planning to flog off strips of green space near/on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path for housing development, using technicalities as an excuse?

As for the Parks and Green Spaces strategy being popular, well I seriously doubt that the council has measured this fairly via its 'consultation' processes - I'm sure that investment in parks is something people want but I'm also confident that people dont want land flogged off to a sales target!

____________________________________________________________________

Dear Mr Vowles

E-petition – Protect and enhance green spaces instead of flogging 90 acres to developers

Thank you for using the council’s e-petition processes to contribute to the debate about the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy. I am pleased that you and fellow petitioners recognise the vital importance of this new policy framework for the city’s green spaces, which was adopted by the Cabinet in February this year. It would appear however that you have not read the strategy, or indeed if you have, not understood how the council intends to approach the admittedly complex issues over land disposal. Indeed you do not appear to have read nor understood the wider green space policy imperatives around health, climate change, biodiversity etc which underpin the proposed 20 year investment programme – and where the council, yourself and most of the petitioners are fully in agreement. I am of course assuming you are aware that the approved strategy and numerous background documents are available at http://www.bristol.gov.uk.parkstrategy/.

Regarding your concern over the lack of evidence to justify land disposals in the form of maps, lists and debate, I refer you to page 36 of the adopted strategy which explains how the council is interpreting value and states that this will drive any future decision on the potential disposal of ‘low value green space’. This page includes the following…….

“…value will, therefore, be assessed at the stage when Area Green Space Plans are being drawn up and sites are being identified as possible candidates for change of use/type or disposal.”

Page 44 further explains the process of producing Area Green Space Plans and includes the following….

“…This strategy document is not the end of the decision making process or to community involvement in what happens at the local level. We will develop “Area Green Space Plans” in consultation with local people and ward councillors, making specific proposals to improve quality and facilities and provide the parks people need in their local area……..Part of the analysis for producing Area Green Space Plans will be an assessment of value of those spaces identified as candidates for change of use or disposal.”

Further information on value assessment can also be found in appendix 5 of the strategy. If you would like to know more about the programme to produce Area Green Space Plans please email richard.fletcher@bristol.gov.uk who would be pleased to send you more information.

With regard to your concerns that the council will keep selling higher value green space to raise funding, the strategy also covers this in some detail. On page 42 concerning ‘resources’, this section summarises the ambitious investment plans for the city’s parks and green spaces which by the way attracted overwhelming support during last summer’s comprehensive public consultation.With an estimated £87m needing to be raised over the next 20 years to bring the green spaces up to a ‘good’ standard, an estimated £41m of this would be raised from property disposals, with 70% of the capital receipts reinvested in the strategy. This section goes on to state…..

“…The achievement of the strategy will be geared to the pace at which capital can be generated; this is why disposal of some land is essential if its ambitious quality improvements are to be realised. It is important to emphasise that it is not the intention of the council to keep selling land until the funding requirements of the strategy are achieved, irrespective of the importance and ‘value’ of the space to the community. On the contrary, should there be insufficient ‘low value’, marginal land available once the area planning process has been concluded, the council will review the ambitions of the strategy and consider alternative funding sources.”

This means that if the Area Green Space Plans do not identify 90 acres of ‘low value’ space that higher value land will not be sold to achieve any area or funding targets.

I hope that this to some extent eases your concerns over the way the strategy is going to be delivered. We appreciate that some residents feel that every square metre of green space needs to be protected at all costs – however our research and consultation has demonstrated that a large majority are more concerned to see the quality of our parks and green spaces improved and that a small loss of quantity to help raise funding for this purpose, and to release land for essential needs such as affordable housing, is a compromise worth making and in the wider public interest.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Rosalie Walker

Executive Member for Culture and Healthy Communities

Darling, you need to do much more

Chancellor Alistair Darling's moves to help the economy eg homes under £175,000 exempt from 1% tax (for a year) are very unlikely help much, both in terms of numbers of people and the extent of help. The scale of his action is basically much too small and narrow. One article in The Guardian says,

'But if Gordon Brown and his beleaguered chancellor were hoping their £600m initiative would reinvigorate the moribund housing market - and kickstart Labour's much-trailed autumn economic "relaunch" - observers yesterday gave a muted response to the measure they predicted would have only a minimal impact on the housing crisis.'

I think he should look at all the proposals in the 'Green New Deal' and take on a much bolder and bigger approach, addressing the whole range of very pressing economic issues. This would eg include 'Reining in reckless aspects of the finance sector - but making low-cost capital available to fund the UK's green economic shift'.

No to merging Ilminster and Connaught Schools; reject the approach of the Primary School Review

Two very clear and strong reasons why I am vigorously opposed to the merger of Ilminster School, where I went, and Connaught School, where my mum went, in Knowle/Knowle West and have from the beginning been opposed to the whole approach, creating fewer and bigger schools outlined in the current Primary School review being done by Bristol City Council. First, the letter above from today's Bristol Evening Post ' Why smaller schools are better', written by Gil Osman, which outlines why, educationally and socially, smaller schools are better.

Second, this story from the same paper on the same day 'Failing Bristol schools should be closed' which begins, 'A Government official has recommended Bristol City Council closes all its poor-performing primary schools.' This is an apalling and outrageous statement from a remote and anonymous official - what does this person really know about the needs and wishes of the local children, their families and communities and of the schools and their employees?? How is this approach supposed to motivate and support those teaching and those taught? The story goes on to illustrate well just how tightly central govt controls and directs what councils can do by attaching strict criteria to be met when applying for govt money. We need to stand up for local democracy and local communities and oppose diktats.

Green space flog off: so it goes...

Great post over on the Green Bristol Blog about the flogging off of strips green land next to/on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path. Further commented upon on the Bristol Blogger site. I dont trust the city council one bit with the future of city green spaces.

Gordon Brown: talk to the nation on climate change...

Just signed the petition organised by the Let's Talk Gordon 'the campaign for the Prime Minister to make a televised address to the nation on climate change'. I hope you will sign up too. Its a big concern that Government have just not prioritised climate change and lead the way in engaging councils, businesses, and individual people about urgent, coordinated, coherent, large scale action.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/letstalk/

We dont have much time to get real and proper conversation going about what Government at all levels, businesses and individuals need to be (urgently) doing and on what scale:

http://www.onehundredmonths.org/

It would be great if you could complete this online energy survey too. You'd be supplying just the kind of information currently needed. 'Digital Environment Home Energy Management System... DEHEMs is looking to improve domestic energy efficiency and reduce household emissions by developing and testing an energy monitoring and display system for homes. The project partnership includes a mix of European Local Authorities, businesses and Universities. As part of the development process we would like to gain an understanding of what people are currently thinking and doing with regard to energy use.'

http://survey.dehems.org/index.php?sid=95613&lang=en

Bristol City Council Leadership Crisis

'Bristol City Council could be left leaderless because of in-fighting between the three main parties...' reports the Bristol Evening Post. It seems to me that there are some pretty big personality clashes to add to the party political differences. These have developed and deepened over some considerable time as the petty and unethical squabbling has gone on. People involved dont seem to be big enough rise above these. The 'advice' given by national party figures/structures may also worsen chances of cooperation as the big parties focus on winning certain parliamentary seats, local wards and also getting MEPs elected. The problem to be solved according to Lab, Lib and Tory parties is how to get elected and stay in office and not transport, education, the local economy and environment....

In my view it would help a great deal if we elected the whole council all in one go. Stalemate seems to me to be more likely if we go on electing just a third of the council at any one time.

'On yer bike' - Ok say growing numbers

Very interesting report in todays local paper revealing an important and encouraging trend. Investing in stronger local communities, generating local jobs, would make a significant contribution to solving transport, pollution, climate change, health and other problems given the proportion of people that seem to be prepared to change to cycling.

Bristol bus fare hike

Great, just when we need extra incentives to use the buses they bring in yet another price hike! An extra 6% on average, starting this Sunday according to the local press. Add to this the fact that they have also reduced services eg the number 89 in Leinster Ave, Knowle and you see the sorry state of Bristol public transport.

Buses can and should be a key aspect of a sustainable, greener transport system but we need lower prices and more and better quality services. Community ownership and control of local transport is needed. Govt and council should invest, invest, invest here.

Bus campaigning news: http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/public_transport/buses/blog

Environment Agency boss bashes barrage

Powerful opposition to a huge, fixed Severn Barrage from the new man in charge on the Environment Agency (reported here). Lord Smith (Labour's Chris Smith, formerly in the Blair Cabinet as Culture, Media and Sport Secretary) talked of the barrage: destroying fish stocks; wrecking bird habitats; threatening beautiful coastlines; causing many people to be evacuated; having major environmental downsides. Well said Chris! Former Environment Agency boss Baroness Young feels that a barrage across the irreplaceable estuary habitat could set a precedent, leading to similarly protected sites across Europe being at risk. Well said again! What worries me is that none of this is really news - these things were being said twenty or more yrs ago but it has not stopped people in Govt and others of various political persuasions from favouring a barrage!! This is only the environmental aspect; there is a huge and powerful energy strategy, technological and economic case against too.

Mongolian Greens Leader and many others arrested

According to blog reports, on August 5th, Ms. Saruul Agvaandorj, leader of the Mongolian Green Movement, and Mr. Arslan Gombosuren, leader of the Just Society Front, were arrested while participating in a peaceful protest.

They were protesting the detention of hundreds of people who contested the June 29th Mongolian elections. See here for further details.

Please sign the petition asking the Mongolian authorities to release Saruul, Arslan and all other held unjustly:

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1488/t/689/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=437

Full text of letter to the Mongolian Ambassador from the Greens Caroline Lucas calling for people to be freed:

Mr Dalrai Davaasambuu
Ambassador
Embassy of Mongolia
7 Kensington Court
London W8 5DL

18 August 2008

Dear Mr Davaasambuu,

I am writing to you from the Green Party of England and Wales to request the immediate release from detention of our colleagues, Ms Saruul Agvaandorj, leader of the Mongolian Green Movement, and Mr Arslan Gombosuren, leader of the Just Society Front, who were arrested in Mongolia on 5th August while participating in a peaceful protest.

Ms Agvaandorj and Mr Gobosuren were demonstrating peacefully and silently, alongside families of detainees, for the release of the hundreds of other protesters who have been held since June, after protesting about the conduct of national elections. We join our colleagues in also urging you to press for the immediate release of these prisoners.

The right to peaceful protest is a legal cornerstone of any democracy. In contrast, the detention of peaceful protestors is an unacceptable abuse of power, wherever it occurs.

The arrest and detention of peaceful protestors is something every country that claims to uphold human rights should reject. The government of Mongolia should ensure protest and free speech are welcomed not restricted on the streets of your country.

I urge you to act quickly to release all the detainees.

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Lucas MEP
Principal Speaker, Green Party of England and Wales

Blog Action Day 2008, Oct 15, on poverty

Just visited the Blog Action Day 2008 site to register this blog as a participant. This year the action day is all about poverty. I'm happy to promote the event and hope many other bloggers will join in, as they did for last year's day on the environment.

Imposed mass housebuilding makes no sense

Very striking front page image and story in todays Bristol Evening Post. This centrally imposed mass house building move (36,500 inside Bristol's boundary and tens of thousands more around the city) makes no sense at all from a sustainability point of view. Even if the houses themselves were all zero carbon, the land take, resources used in construction, and all the consequent impacts of population increase (forecast to be 30% higher by 2030 in and around Bristol) will significantly raise the local footprint.

Best science and economics tells us we need to be significantly lowering our social and environmental impacts but massive population increase, massive land take for housing and infrastructure and all the pressures on transport, job availability and so on, make this even more difficult than it already was.

Green Party Leader and Deputy Leader Election

I've long argued that the Greens have needed a leader. Its a very strong signal that the Green Party intends to be much more focussed on, organised for and oriented towards its primary goals, that it will elect its very first Leader and Deputy Leader this Sept. Winning elections at all levels will be much more likely and will take the Green cause forward more than anything.



I cast my vote for Caroline Lucas MEP for Leader and Councillor Adrian Ramsay for Deputy Leader the other day and hope, as I think is very likely, that other Greens will do likewise. Caroline and Adrian have the skills, experience and broad appeal needed to take the Greens further and faster. Both are in a very strong position to become MPs at the next election, in Brighton and Norwich respectively (http://www.greensforparliament.org.uk/Home.html), another excellent reason to vote for them as Leader and Deputy.

Find out more about Caroline Lucas here and Adrian Ramsay here.

An introduction to green Bristol

Copy of article just drafted for Suit Yourself magazine, comments welcomed:

Bristol has 450 parks and green spaces totalling over 1300 hectares. Millions visit these each year. Loads of events take place in them. Green spaces are one of the city’s most valued features; one of the most obvious ways you can argue it is, in a relative sense, green. No other city in England has as much green space.

There’s plenty of green space just outside the city boundaries, within easy reach, eg Ashton Court. As in many parts of the country green spaces are threatened by development. Bristol City Council has agreed a strategy to sell off of 2.4% of city green space. The future of green space is a key ongoing issue when there are plans to build many thousands of houses both within and around the city as well as a ring road around South Bristol. Bristol is a very popular place to live. Its population is currently forecast to rise by over 30% by 2031, exerting very significant additional social and environmental pressure at a time we need to cut it.

Bristol is also relatively green as a city as it gained its first Green Councillor, Charlie Bolton, in Southville, a few years ago. About time many would say, given the large number of organisations promoting respect and care for the environment that have for years been Bristol-based (CREATE Centre; City Farms; Transition Bristol; Farmers Market; Slow Food Market; local food advocates like the Better Food Company; Community Recycling Network; City Car Club…). What better example than the BBC Natural History Unit in Clifton, one key organisation behind June’s Festival of Nature and October’s Wildscreen the world's largest and most prestigious international wildlife and environmental film festival. The unit is responsible for world class television like Blue Planet and Planet Earth…playing a huge part in raising green awareness (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/).

Leading sustainable transport charity Sustrans, has, from its central Bristol HQ, been closely involved in some of the most discussed and controversial local issues this year. Bristol City Council had planned to build a bus rapid transit route over the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, the UK’s most popular cycle path, also used by a large variety of local walkers, until a 10,000 signature petition and a motion to the council from Green Councillor Charlie Bolton helped to cause a rethink. Going ahead with the plan might well have messed up the council’s bid to become the UK’s first ‘Cycling City’, which was ultimately successful. The council will have tens of millions to spend, wisely one hopes, on cycling.

Sustrans and other local greens, such as those at the Bristol Cycling Campaign or Bristol Friends of the Earth will continue activity on cycling but also on Bristol’s many transport problems. One of the major ways in which Bristol is very far from being green is the poor quality public transport (bus and train firm Firstbus are hardly fondly regarded locally!). Partly as a result Bristol’s air quality and noise levels can be poor at times and the city contribution to climate change needs to be cut by a factor of ten over the coming decades to approach sustainable levels! One small success of late is the rail service improvement on the ‘Severn Beach’ line – it’s a quick, efficient way to get around certain parts of the city, such as from Montpelier or Stapleton Road to Clifton.

There is ongoing scrutiny of how green Bristol actually is in a relative and absolute sense, eg whether or not it decides to mass incinerate much of its waste . The Bristol Partnership, the council working together with businesses, voluntary and community groups, has ambitions for the city to become a green capital ‘a low carbon city with balanced and sustainable communities enjoying a high quality of life’.

The eleven green objectives are commendable; leading Bristol-based organic food charity the Soil Association a leading light behind the September’s Organic Food Festival, is no doubt pleased to see the objective seven ‘healthier, locally produced food’ but the tension between green objectives and the Bristol Partnership’s other ambitions are great, in particular its economic thinking, which is still based on economic growth and a consumer society when environmental resources are finite. Bristol’s major current development is the huge new shopping area Cabot Circus. Green economics guru EF Schumacher, whose work is celebrated here every October at the Schumacher Lectures is probably turning in his grave.

Olympic-size pool yes - but keep local pools like Jubilee in Knowle too

Copy of my letter, published in the Bristol Evening Post on Friday 8 Aug:

A new olympic-sized pool at Hengrove Park, would be great, but we should also be retaining local facilities such as Jubilee Pool in Knowle and others. Whilst campaigning as the Green candidate for Knowle in the last local elections I received a letter from local Labour campaigners stating that Jubilee Pool should stay open but now the Labour Cabinet running Bristol are set to close it once Hengrove Park is developed ('Bristol swimming pools axed for new leisure centre', Post, 5 Aug)!!

We need more sources of healthy exercise not less. Local facilities are an important community feature, especially for those who find it most difficult to travel, such as the elderly and families with young children. Its also more polluting if people have to travel further to a more remote pool as its beyond walking distance for many and they will tend to go by car.

I'd also like to see renewable energy systems used in the new leisure centre, especially to heat the water in the new pool (which would otherwise consume a massive amount of polluting and non-renewable fuel). I've written to the council making enquiries about this twice but have not even received an acknowledgement from them.

Oath of allegiance to the Queen: MPs and others should have the option of swearing allegiance to their constituents instead!!

According to today's Mail Online:

' A group of MPs are campaigning to scrap their traditional oath of allegiance to the Queen, the Mail can reveal. The declaration has been sworn by those joining or returning to Parliament for more than 500 years. But 22 MPs from all three main parties say their 'principal duty' should be to represent the people who voted for them - not the monarch. They want the Commons and the Lords to be allowed to swear allegiance to their 'constituents and the nation' instead...'

Good luck to them! MP's, Lords and anyone else who currently is required to swear this: 'I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.' (unless they are atheists in which case they leave out the God stuff and substitute 'solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm') should be given the option of an oath that does not involve monarchy and does involve the people they represent. We are supposed to be a democracy after all, including those who are republicans.

Charles Darwin: Genius

Professor Yaffle from Bagpuss he may resemble (according to the Guardian tv guide this week), but Professor Richard Dawkins new tv series 'The Genius of Charles Darwin' is well worth watching. Genius is very apt indeed as the theory of evolution by natural selection continues to explain a very large mountain of facts, including masses of genetics that Darwin would have loved to ponder but of course new nothing about! The clip below features Dawkins attempting to open the minds of some young people to basing their views on the best available evidence.