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CONGRATULATIONS to Catherine Bearder, who takes the place of Emma Nicholson as one of the South-East's two Lib Dem members in the European Parliament, alongside Sharon Bowles. Overall, Lib Dem representation at Brussels increased by one seat in the June 4 elections. This was a terrific achievement, given the anti-Europe mood whipped up by sections of the press, which enabled minor parties to gain seats without having to explain how they believe Britain would survive in the face of global challenges without strong partnerships. Our Lib Dem Euro-MPs did us proud by sticking to their beliefs and arguing the case for European co-operation, which has brought enormous benefits in fighting international crime, keeping our economy stable in tumultous markets, and co-ordinating responses to climate change. Shamefully, the Conservatives have tried to cash in on the mood of xenophobia, proposing to withdraw from the main centre-right group which includes governing parties in major nations like France and Germany, and align thmselves with firnge parties who espouse bizarre and dangerous beliefs. CONGRATULATIONS also to Roger Price, who comfortably retained his Portchester seat on Hampshire County Council. Roger, too, has demonstrated the value of consistent argument and hard work on behalf of constituents.  The South-East's Lib Dem Euro-MPs:
Catherine Bearder, left, and Sharon Bowles |
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HIGH-SPEED BUSES GET THE GO-AHEAD |
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LIB DEMS welcome the Government's decision to give £20m to set up the first phase of a Bus Rapid Transit scheme in the Porftsmouth Harbour area. We believe it has the potential to cut congestion on our crowded roads, and thence pollution, and is exactly the sort of investment in sustainable development we need to help pull Britain out of recession. We are aware of the worries of some residents near the route of the proposed link, but Transport for South Hampshire have worked hard on addressing their concerns. (It shouldn't be forgotten that the route was formerly a railway line - in the steam age, whicnh had its own noise and pollution issues!) We welcome the decision to incorporate provision for cyclists - thought it would be worth considering the option of adapting buses to carry cycles. The scheme was set up following the Government's refusal of funding for a Light Rail system round Portsmouth Harbour, and could be seen as an improvement on that idea - buses have the merit that they can feed out to other areas from the proposed dedicated route.
Transport for South Hampshire say: The scheme is planned to connect key towns and destinations, including Gosport, Fareham, Portsmouth, the Queen Alexandra Hospital and Port Solent and ultimately Havant, Segensworth and Whiteley, with proposed new development sites at North Fareham and Tipner. It will also connect with the existing A3 Zip priority bus corridor from Waterlooville. The scheme aims to provide a high specification, innovative, frequent, reliable, rapid bus service as an alternative form of transport to the private car in South East Hampshire. |
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Lib Dem-led Gosport Council's bold plan to save medical services - see Sites We Like in Links. |
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Fareham Liberal Democrats have responded to proposed changes to the South East Plan, to defend the interests of our town and its surrounding countryside if the government insists on pushing through the specia l development area north of Fareham. It draws on the same principles as the Green Road to Regeneration set out by Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg (see news feed link at right). The main points put by Fareham planning specialists Councillors Peter Davies and Katrina Trott are: - A zero-carbon homes policy should be adopted; buildings in the proposed Special Development Area north of Fareham should be of a sustainable design to avoid damage to the environment.
- New schools should be provided within walking distance of homes in the SDA. We oppose the use of Henry Cort School to serve the new homes as this would increase congestion.
- The SDA should be given a rail link, with a station on the site of either the former Funtley or Knowle Hospital halts. We urge commitment to the proposed Bus Rapid Transit link using the line of the former Fareham – Gosport railway. Overall, we would like to see south Hampshire become a model for how people can live in worthwhile communities without over-dependence on private cars.
- Green space provision in the SDA should include provision of wildlife corridors to give animals and birds continued access to the countryside beyond.
- We oppose proposals to do away with a strategic gap policy. In particular, we believe it is vital to retain the Meon Valley gap, with its special landscape character.
- We argue that new housing should be more evenly shared to spread prosperity to poorer areas of the UK, rather than ‘over-heating’ the South-East.
- We are concerned about the figure of 30% warehousing for economic development in the south-east. Unless this is carefully controlled, it could result in substantial loss of land for comparatively little gain in employment opportunities, particularly in skilled work.
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Fight the u-turn on garden waste |
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Fareham council is introducing charges for the garden waste collection service it brought in as a sweetener when collections of household waste were reduced from weekly to fortnightly. Each household will be entitled to have just one polypropylene bag collected each fortnight. Those who want to put out more garden waste for collection will have to buy supplies of plastic sacks, at £20 for 25 bags. Liberal Democrat members on the Streetscene review panel voted against the proposal. We believe it is a step backward to replace the sturdy re-usable bag with one-shot plastic bags which will have to be incinerated. The council says charging is necessary because compliance with health and safety rules has pushed up the cost of the service. Yet they will have no control over the number of plastic bags people put out at any one time. And the bags will be harder to handle than the existing ones, so the burden on collection staff could actually increase. At a time when the country is facing a steep rise in unemployment, we believe councils should demand more cash from central government to enable us to emply more people in services which help the environment. |
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Portchester needs its community centre |
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We'd hoped that Portchester Community Centre would continue to be open for business as usual, but recent developments cast some doubt on this. Fareham Borough Council had, due to the condition of the Centre and new Fire Regulations regarding evacuation of the building, agreed that the first floor of the building will be closed for public access. The Council also agreed that they will work with the Community Centre Management to maximise the use of the ground floor of the building, but the provision of temporary building to provide space for the existing users may now be curtailed on cost grounds. When the lease expires on March 2, 2011, the council will not renew the lease and the building will be closed pending demolition. The Portchester Liberal Democratic councillors believe that the Community Centre needs to be demolished and to be rebuilt to meet modern day standards.
We also believe that a youth wing should be included within the new Community Centre as well as the children’s centre. A new Centre is desperately needed in Portchester to provide facilities for the many Clubs and Groups that use it, at the end of last year the footfall in one week was 3,500. We will work tirelessly to make sure we obtain a new Community Centre for Portchester. The Council has also set up an Advisory Group which includes the five Portchester Ward Councillors, representation from Portchester Community Association and other interested parties as appropriate, to advise on all aspects associated with the feasibility of obtaining funding for and providing replacement community facilities for the Portchester area. |
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