Selected For Southampton Test!

Yesterday afternoon I was selected to be the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Southampton Test at the next General Election.

I am honoured by the faith that local party members have put in me by selecting me. I am also thrilled to be selected to represent my home seat.

I grew up in Southampton and went to school, college and university here. My family have lived in the city since 1948. So I really care about the area and I will always campaign positively to make it a better place.

I am looking forward to getting stuck into campaigning and to meeting as many people as I can.

I do believe that the wheels are really starting to come off Gordon Brown’s government and locally our MP seems to be more interested in representing the Government, rather than fighting for the interests of Southampton in Parliament.

I am determined to be a strong, local voice fighting for the interests of the city and I will work hard to represent everyone in Southampton.

Residents' Parking Schemes

Formal public consultation for the proposed Silverdale Road and Cawte Road Residents' Parking Schemes begun last week.

A traffic regulation order was published on 28th November. Notices will go up on lamp posts and an advert in the Echo to advise of the formal consultation period. This ends on 7th January. It’s been slightly extended to take account of the Christmas holiday period.

Assuming all goes well the scheme is set to be implemented by the end of March.

Copies of the plans can we obtained from the Highways and Parking Services Department on 8083 2337.

Cash Boost For Freemantle

Freemantle Community Centre is set to win £50,000 from the Learning and Skills Council later this month.

The money has been awarded following a successful bid to deliver community learning for adults and families in the area.

After consulting with the community it has been suggested that the money be spent on delivering IT training and drama and performance.

The community centre is set to be redeveloped and will close in March for six months while the works are done. Most of the extra money will be spent during this period.

The community centre caters for a range of groups, including Southampton Day Services, youth and church groups, amateur dramatics, yoga and martial arts.

John Denham on Labour Donor Scandal

Gordon Brown's Government going from disaster to disaster.

I listened to John Denham MP's comments on the unfolding Labour funding debacle, on The Politics Show today.

He was peddling the same line as other Labour figures on this matter; that the rules need to be reconsidered and we need a wider debate on party funding.

The problem is not the rules, its that Labour flagrantly broke them!

It doesn't matter what new rules are brought in if Labour are going to ignore them. I certainly don't think we should be forced to pay more tax to fund political parties because Labour can't be trusted to be honest.

Planning and Rights Of Way

Click HERE for a link to Tuesday's (4th December) Planning and Rights of Way agenda.

There is only one Freemantle application being considered. This is 117 - 119 Millbrook Road East.

Click HERE for a link to the Council's planning website.

Twenty Is Plenty!

The new Conservative Council Administration has announced plans to slow down traffic outside of Southampton's schools.

Signs encouraging drivers to slow down to 20mph will be installed around all the city's schools by the end of March next year.

This should have happened along time ago and I am really pleased this important issue is now being tackled.

Click HERE to read the Daily Echo report and HERE for Southampton City Council's press release.

IKEA Coming to Southampton

After a marathon planning meeting last night, city councillors finally gave approval for Swedish furniture giant, IKEA to build a superstore in Southampton.

The store will be built on the former Pirelli site in West Quay Road and will be a huge boost to the city economy creating 500 jobs.

This is fantastic news for Southampton and is one of a number of major city developments which will boost the city. Cruise giant Carnival are also to have their head office located in the area, on the West Quay Phase 3 site and this secures a further 900 jobs in Southampton. Plans to redevelop Northern Above Bar are also making progress.

The only hurdle in the way for IKEA remains the threat of the government over ruling Southampton's decision. This happened before and the secretary of state blocked a previous move from IKEA to come to the city. I am hopeful that this won't happen again.

Read more about the plans HERE.

New College Application Passed

Linden Homes' scheme for 200 flats and some offices on the New College site off the Avenue was given approval this evening. The Planning Panel was split 4-2 on the decision, which was taken at half past six, three and a half hours after the item was due to be considered on the planning agenda.

I along with a number of concerned residents spoke at the meeting. Concerns about parking, over development and design of the buildings (which resemble Lego bricks) were knocked back by councillors in the teeth of local opposition.

The development goes against the recently adopted council policy of providing more family housing. Despite councillors of all parties voting in September to ensure that at least 30% of new developments are family houses, Lib Dem and Labour councillors voted to approve the Linden scheme which includes 91% flats.

On the positive side Linden Homes agreed to put the new development on Combined Heat and Power.

Raymond Road

For a number of years the Council has been looking at some changes to the Raymond Road / Hill Lane junction.

There have been a few accidents over the years. Turning right from Raymond Road into Hill Lane has always been difficult because visibility on the corner is quite bad.

I have also relieved a number of letters asking if the Council could do something to help cyclists and pedestrians cross the road to access the Common entrance.

The Council's initial plans were to put in yet another set of traffic lights at the junction. I have been opposing this as it will mean more congestion and more cars using roads like Thornbury Avenue and Greville Road as rat runs to get into town.

Council officers are now working on an alternative proposal.

This is likely to include a Toucan crossing for pedestrians and cycles to be located just to the north of Raymond Road. The footways could be widened on either side of the crossing to allow for shared use by pedestrians and bicycles.

Also being investigated is the possibility of providing pedestrian islands in Raymond Road near to Hill Lane.

Planning Meeting - 6th November

Next Tuesday's planning panel meeting has some very important and controversial applications on the agenda, including the New College Linden Homes development and also IKEA. Click HERE for a full list of applications.

New College

This is a proposal for 200+ flats and commercial units on the old La Santa Union Site.

I have commented on this application previously and objected on a number of grounds.

I am very concerned about this proposed development which once again is flats, flats, flats and very little family housing. This is despite full council recently agreeing to new strict family housing planning policies.

Also I am concerned that only minimal efforts have been made to make the proposed development environmentally sound and sustainable. I would very much like to see any development on the site link into the city's combined heat and power (CHP) station or provide on site CHP and am very disappointed that Linden rejected this idea. Again this is despite the clear direction of the council to expand CHP across the city.

The New College Application will be heard on Tuesday at 3pm at the Civic Centre. Anyone can go along to the meeting.

Freight Plan Back on Track

Its been years in the waiting but finally its been announced that Southampton will get the long awaiting funding from Government to upgrade rail links with the West Midlands.

Years of lobbying by the city council and Associated British Ports has finally borne fruit and the £43m investment will be used to enlarge the tunnel which runs under the city centre allowing larger containers to be taken of the roads and put on the trains.

Not only will this provide economic benefits for the area it will also ease conditions on the city's roads and help the local environment.

Work will start in 2008 and is due to be complete in 2011.

Southampton's Recycling Highest Ever

The most up to date figures show a huge leap in city recycling over recent months.

In August residents recycled 31% of household waste, the most ever in Southampton and up from 26% in August last year.

This is fantastic news. A lot of hard work has been done by the city council recently and a range of further initiatives are planned by the new Conservative administration which will boost recycling even further.

For more details click HERE.

This news come after Southampton's new Conservative council was endorsed by Greenpeace for its energy efficiency vision for the city.

Further green initiatives being pursued by the council include improving recycling in city council building and action to improve water efficiency in civic buildings.

Brown Plans Raid On School Coffers

Brown is keen to get his hands on schools' money

Gordon Brown is planning to confiscate money from schools which have budgeted sensibly by taking 5% of any school surpluses. Click HERE to read more.

This is quite unfair and smacks of more top down control from Labour. The money belongs to the schools and the head teachers should decide how it is spent.

This news comes after recent warnings that the Government might be backing away from its plans to rebuild or rennovate schools across the country. Southampton has been promised funds under the Building Schools for the Future fund and there is deep concern that the city will be denied vital funds for improving local education. Click HERE to read more.

UPDATE 01/11/07 - Good news. The Government has backed down over its plans to raid the funds of prudent schools.

A Vision For Southampton

Southampton's new Conservative Administration has unveiled its political vision for Southampton. The vision sets out the key strategies and policies of the Conservative Council. It has been launched in conjunction with draft budget proposals for the city council.

Whilst Gordon Brown dithers and drifts, seeking to find a direction for his new Government, in Southampton, Conservatives are showing leadership and policy direction.

Click HERE to read the Vision in full.

Delivering On Our Promises

Southampton Conservatives today released their draft budget for the City Council.

Conservatives have broken with council tradition which is to keep budget plans under wraps until February and have launched their proposals early in order to consult with residents.

Southampton has suffered enormously over the last ten years as the Government has transferred vast resources from the city to fund its northern heartlands. This year Labour are set to cost local people millions of pounds of funding for public services.

Despite the background of chronic Government underfunding, Southampton's new Conservative Council Administration has made excellent progress.

Key highlights include:

1. Reaffirming commitment to keep Council Tax within inflation,
2. A 10% discount in Council Tax for pensioner households (where all occupants are over 65),
3. Scrapping Council Tax for local people who become Special Police Constables in Southampton,
4. An extra £1.7m a year into social services for vulnerable adults and children,
5. Another £3/4m a year into road repairs (part of a three year increase of £2.3m,
6. Over £5m of efficiency savings identified (£1m identified for each month the Conservatives have been in office),
7. An overall increase in money for Southampton schools. Earlier this year an extra £5m was given to secondary schools for improvements,
8. Bringing in free nationwide bus travel for seniors in April,
9. £300,000 extra for parks in the suburbs,
10. Investment into the city's heritage - money to refurbish Tudor House and to build a heritage centre at the civic centre.

Southampton Uni Conservatives Go from Strength to Strength

Last night I went back to my old university for the Southampton University Conservative Society's first social of the academic year.

The society at Southampton has always been really strong and the Conservatives have long been the biggest party on campus.

I was really amazed at just how many people came along.

I think now is a really good time to get involved in politics. The last couple of weeks have been really exciting. Conference season this year was really good, then there was the issue about whether or not Brown would call an election, then Cameron's come back speech and finally the knifing of Ming.

Southampton is also a great place to get stuck in politically. The Conservatives have just taken control of the city council for the first time in 23 years and one of the local Labour MPs has just become a government minister. Locally there is plenty of clear blue water between the parties, as Southampton's Labour party are the Labour party of old, the dinosaur left.

I am sure the university will get some great speakers down this year and will have some good socials. I hope that all those getting involved will have a fun time both in Southampton politics and also at the university.

Conservative Council wins praise from Government

What do the Government think of Southampton's Conservative Council.....? Well quite a lot actually.

Southampton has been praised for consistently performing well above what is expected. The council has also been praised for its ambition and its work on environmental and social matters.

Click HERE to read more.

Click HERE for the Audit Commission's review of the city council.

Did Ming fall on his sword or was he knifed?

With the Lib Dems reeling from their dreadful local election results in May and trailing in the polls on 11% it was inevitable that Sir Ming Campbell would go. I am suprised at just how quickly it has happened.

There were signs of obvious Lib Dem discontent, with Simon Hughes showing typical veiled disloyalty over the weekend, suggesting that Ming could "do better", and Vince Cable saying his position was "under discussion".

The two questions now being asked are 1) who wielded the knife and 2) who will be the new leader - the two front runners must be Nick Clegg or Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne.

Planning Meeting 9th October

Click HERE to see the list of planning applications being considered by the City Council's Planning and Rights of Way panel on next Tuesday.

Applications in Freemantle Ward being considered are:

117-123 Paynes Road - 41 flats

118 Waterloo Road - 12 flats

Update 09/10/07 - The Waterloo Road application was rejected by the panel. The Paynes Road application was approved. I am very please the Waterloo Road one was turned down as the design was awful.

A Waste of Public Money

I have just read the front page of Today's Daily Echo. I have to say I am quite annoyed.

The Southampton Partnership is planning to £120k of tax payers' money on a replica foam model of Southampton which it would like stored underneath the stairs in the civic centre art gallery. They also plan to spend £25,000 on 13 roads signs around the city.

The first I heard about this plan was just now when I read it in the paper. From the sounds of it the city council wasn't consulted either. Given that the Southampton Partnership is supposed to be a "partnership" I am surprised by that.

Reading the comments on Echo's website the majority of people are scathing in their criticism and quite understandably think that the decision is the council's. It isn't. The Southampton Partnership is body which is unelected and unaccountable to the public.

I blame the Government largely. When they talk about improving local democracy and local decision making, its precisely this sort of thing that they have in mind - bodies which bypass locally elected representatives, making public expenditure decisions.

The money itself to pay for this comes from SEEDA, another unelected body.

The only hand the Council has had in this sorry saga has been to propose its own idea. The new Conservative Council argued that the money should be spent on a bronze replica of a spitfire plane on the roundabout by the DeVere. This suggestion as rejected by the Southampton Partnership as not being sufficiently exciting. Well, it received almost overwhelming public support and in my view would have become a symbol of the city.

When the spitfire proposal was rejected, I didn't really expect any alternatives to be proposed instead. The SEEDA money I expected would be lost, as it needs to spent next year. No, in a last minute, desperate attempt, a new proposal has come forward. In my view its an abuse of public money!

£26m Boost for Council Services

On Monday over 550 Southampton City Council staff will take up employment with Capita to help transform the level of service that the Council offers its customers.

A ten year contract was signed a few weeks ago with Capita to deliver a range of services including, customer services, HR, IT and property services, over the next ten years.

The new Conservative Council has set a joint goal with Capita to make a saving of at least £48m; £26 million of which is being invested in the services. £33m of this total has been guaranteed by Capita.

Lottery Grant for Tudor House

Southampton has been awarded over £334,000 for Tudor House. The award comes after the decision by the new Conservative Council to allocate £540,000 to support a project to reopen the building as a museum and herritage attraction. There is also a chance for Southampton City Council to be awarded with £3.5million.

Work is estimated to take two years to complete, opening its doors to the public in April 2011. It is aimed that Tudor House becomes an accessible and enjoyable experience for local people and visitors to the city. Lifts will be installed, along with a new café and displays will tell the fascinating stories of the building those who lived and worked there.

Alongside Tudor House, plans will be developed for King John’s Palace and the Tudor Merchants’ Hall to bring the full heritage of the old town back to life.

Click HERE for more news on Tudor House.

Greenpeace Welcomes the Conservative Energy Vision for Southampton

A week after Southampton's new Conservative Council Administration launched its green energy for the city, Greenpeace is teaming up with the City Council and energy company Utilicom to promote sustainable power and energy.

Tomorrow night the DeVere Grand Harbour will play host to over a hundred councillors, MPs and environmental experts who will be meeting to discuss how combined heat and power (CHP)schemes such as one in Southampton can be used to cut carbon emissions.

Councillor Gavin Dick (pictured above), Conservative Environment Cabinet Member said Councillor will be speaking at the event, promoting the work of Southampton City Council and encouraging others to back Southampton's green energy vision. He said: "Southampton is leading the way on sustainable energy thanks to the city`s CHP network, and we are delighted to be able to promote this success in the hope that other local authorities and businesses will learn from our own experiences."

Click HERE for Southampton City Council's press release on the subject.

Click HERE for coverage on environmental website Tenbees.

Celebrating Southampton's Heritage

RMS Titanic

Later this month Southampton's new Conservative led Council will push ahead with plans for a heritage centre in the West Wing of the Civic Centre, to celebrate and displaythe city's colourful history.


Southampton has a heritage offer of international standing. The Titanic, the Spitfire, Jane Austen, King Canute, Henry V and the departure to the battle of Agincourt, D-Day, and cruise liners such as the Queen Mary II are of worldwide interest. Of more local interest the Roman, Anglo-Saxon andmedieval history shapes the city of Southampton today.


On 17th September the council will agree to apply for lottery funding to renovate the Civic Centre's Wing Wing, a grade 2 listed building, which includes the old magistrates courts and the police headquarters. The police are due to vacant the building 2010.

The new heritage centre will be open by 2012, the 100th anniversary of the fateful sailing of RMS Titanic from Southampton.

Full details of the council report being considered on 17th September can be found by clicking HERE.

Plans Unveiled To Make Southampton Britain's Greenest City

At Springhill School, the new Conservative Council Administration today launched its integrated energy vision for Southampton.

The vision will see the expansion of energy efficient combined heat and power (CHP) technology throughout the city and better use of renewable energy such as biomass.

The biggest change will be to require as part of the planning process, large-scale developments in the city (such as new schools and colleges and large scale residential developments) to incorporate district energy such as CHP . These large developments will then act as hubs to link in smaller developments and existing dwellings.

At the moment, the city's CHP network already supplies around 40 businesses including the West Quay shopping centre, The Quays Swimming Complex and Southampton Solent University, while similar small-scale CHP plants are in use at Southampton General Hospital and Southampton University.

Planning development costs for households wanting to put up solar panels or install small-scale wind turbine generators will also be abolished.

Action Taken to Protect Family Housing

On Monday the new Conservative Cabinet approved an initial draft for new planning rules for the city.

Included are the following measures to protect and promote family housing in the city:

• Developments should seek to complement the character of the local area.
• There should be no net loss of family housing resulting from redeveloping a site. This is aimed a preventing a family house being replaced by tiny one bed room flats. If a family home is removed it needs to be replaced as part as part of the redevelopment.
• New developments should include at least 30% family housing.

These principles will also be enshrined in local supplementary planning guidance.

The document called the Core Strategy can be found on the city council website by clicking HERE.

Sign the Petition for a Refurendum on the EU Constitution

The government promised us before the last election that we would be given a vote on the EU Constitution. Gordon Brown now looks set to go back on his promise.

Click HERE to sign the Telegraph's online petition calling for the Prime Minister to keep to his word. I have just signed up and its on 76,586 signatures so far.

The First 100 Days of Conservative Administration

Today is day 100 for the new Conservative administration on Southampton City Council. The Conservatives took minority control of the council following the May local elections which saw the Conservatives top the poll across the city and form Southampton's first Conservative Council in 23 years.

Since May the new administration has been working tirelessly to improve the city and modernise the city council.

An enormous amount of hard work has been done in the past 100 days and the new administration has not shied away from taking bold decisions.

We have brought the secondary education review to a successful close. £5m has been awarded to secondary schools across the city and an education charity, Oasis, has been appointed to run two new city academies, a move which will attract £50m of investment.

Four years of discussion over the future of council support services such as IT, property and customer services has been ended and the Council has signed a £290m agreement with Capita to deliver these services over the next ten years. The partnership will transform and modernise these services, attracting over £25m of private investment, saving the tax payer millions of pounds, whilst securing jobs and creating the prospect of new employment in the city.

The uncertainly over the future of Eastpoint has been brought to an end and a decision taken to help facilitate Itchen College's move to the site.

We have got to grips with the appalling state of the roads. The Lib / Lab legacy is a backlog of more than £500m in roads and pavements repairs! It is not going to be possible to find the money for this overnight but a strategy is being put in place to bring much greater investment into the roads.

The new administration is sticking to its election commitments. A pensioner council tax discount will be introduced next year. Tackling crime and disorder is a top priority for the administration and Council tax will be scrapped for Southampton people who sign up to become special constables in the city, to help make our streets safer. Free bus nation wide bus travel for seniors will be rolled out in April.

A citywide energy strategy is being put in place to make Southampton a greener city and to tackle carbon emissions over the next 20 years.

Policies are being finalised to protect family housing in the city.

Daft policies such as the laser lights have been scrapped and we put forward our own suggestion for a wow factor in the form of a bronze spitfire on the roundabout by the DeVere; a proposal which attracted overwhelming public support. We are also progressing our plans to build a city heritage centre in the west wing of the civic centre, to celebrate the titanic and the city's trams. We will insure the city's £150m art collection which was scandalously put at risk by previous administrations. We will also ensure that this wonderful treasure is not left gathering dust in the civic centre basement. We are committed to delivering an ice rink as soon as we can strike the right deal with a provider and agree the site.

Major city developments are being pushed ahead. Carnival is on site and a planning application will soon go in for the redevelopment of Northern Above Bar.

We will be bring forward our draft budget proposals in October this year so that there can be a full public discussion before the city sets its final budget in February. We know that unpopular decisions may have to be made but by bringing up issues early we will enable true consultation and then hopefully make the best decisions for the city.

All this is being achieved against a backdrop of chronic under funding of Southampton by the Government. We are lobbying hard for Southampton to receive its fair share but of late much of the money has been given to local authorities in the north of England.

Only 100 days have so far passed but decisions are being taken, and the ground work is being laid for a bright future for Southampton.

No To New College Development Plans

I have written and formally objected to Linden Homes' plans to develop the former New College / La Sante Union site.

Linden have submitted 7 planning applications which include proposals for 200+ flats.

I wrote objecting to Linden's plans when they first came to light at their presentation to residents back in February. Click HERE for details of my letter to Linden and HERE for their reply.

I have objected on a number of grounds:

1. Firstly the design is totally out of keeping with the character of the local area, which is designated a conservation area.

2. Secondly I am concerned that only minimal efforts have been made to make the proposed development environmentally sound and sustainable. I would very much like to see any development on the site link into the city's combined heat and power station and was disappointed that Linden rejected this idea.

3. Thirdly I am concerned that there are too many flats and not enough family housing.

4. Finally inadequte parking will lead to increased parking pressure on the surrounding area.

Click HERE for the recent Daily Echo story on this.

Forthcoming Road Works

Below is a list of forthcoming road works in Freemantle Ward:

Hill Lane - Junction with Darwin Road
Nature of work: Gas main & water main works
Traffic Control: Temporary traffic signals
Start Date: 10th September
Duration: 4 days
Organisation: Southern Gas / Southern Water


Howard Road - Shirley Road to Stafford Road
Nature of work: Kerb & footway works
Traffic Control: Partial closure & temporary traffic signals
Start Date: 24th September
Duration: Four weeks
Organisation: Southampton City Council


Shirley Road - At Howard Rd Junction
Nature of Work: Gas Main Works
Traffic Control: Temporary signals Tied in with above
Start Date: 24th September
Duration: One week
Organisation: Southern Gas


Archers Road - Between Carlton Rd and The Avenue
Nature of Work: Highway alterations
Traffic Control: Partial Road Closure
Start Date: 8th October
Duration: Six weeks
Organisation: John Reilly Civil Eng


Howard Road - Shirley Road to Stafford Road
Nature of Work: Carriageway resurfacing
Traffic Control: Road closure
Start Date: 22nd October
Duration: One week
Organistion: Southampton City Council


Shirley Road - Junction Landguard Rd
Nature of Work: Gas main works
Traffic Control: Temporary traffic signals
Start Date: 29th October
Duration: Two weeks
Organisation: Southern Gas


The Avenue - Northbound from Northlands Road
Nature of Work: Carriageway resurfacing
Start Date: Feb/March 2008
Duration: 3 to 4 weeks
Organisation: Southampton City Council

Forthcoming Social Events

Below is a list of forthcoming social events for 2007.

Click HERE for full details.

Southampton Social Events

Monday 27th August

Freemantle Cream Tea, Elizabeth House Hotel,

3pm

£5 p.p

Thursday 20th September

Supper Club, Bowlers, Golf Course Road,

7.30pm

£15 p.p

Sunday 14th October

Clay Pigeon Shoot

details from Linda Norris 8076 8885

£30 p.p

Friday 23rd November

Supper Club, Bowlers, Golf Course Road,

7.30pm

£15 p.p

The Case for a Referendum

SUMMER CREAM TEA
ON MONDAY 27 AUGUST 2007 at 3pm
at Elizabeth House Hotel, The Avenue, Southampton

The guest speaker at this year's Freemantle Conservative Ward Summer Cream Tea is South East Euro MP, Dan Hannan.

A Daily Telegraph columnist (Click HERE to visit his blog) and Conservative MEP for South East England, will talk about the revived Euro-constitution and Labour’s attempt to renege on its promise of a national referendum.

Daniel was the first person in Britain to call for a referendum on the EU Constitution, back in 2001, and is President of the Referendum Group, a pan-European alliance campaigning against closer integration.

He is a co-author, together with a number of Conservative MPs from the 2005 intake, of Direct Democracy: An Agenda for a New Model Party, which was serialised in the Daily Telegraph.

Government Must give Southampton its Fair Share

Below is the text from a letter sent last month to the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alastair Darling MP asking that Southampton receives its fair share of government funding.

In the 2007-08 budget round, the government gave Southampton City Council £90.1m in grants - just 54.7 percent of the money it needs to serve the people of Southampton - equal to £403.20 per head. The rest has had to be made up from council tax.

Every year Southampton faces a severe financial squeeze as the government puts more obligations on us than it pays for in its grants. This means our council tax is pushed up and we are forced to identify millions of pounds in savings in every budget. In comparison, northern authorities receive considerably higher settlements than southern authorities such as Southampton.

This year we are planning for a zero percent increase in government grant. We may in fact get less. If inflation goes up again inline with the current trends our wage bill could increase by £2m. The grants will not. As Chancellor you cannot continue to put this pressure on local authorities, while expecting us to deliver safer communities, better transport networks and higher standards of education.

In essence it is a stealth tax. Increased public spending driven by the government is being engineered through council tax increases. As well as highlighting the unfair pressure upon the tax payer I call for you to look again at how local government grants are calculated.

As well as cutting our funding year on year, the government is also not taking into consideration our rapidly increasing population. Between 2003/04 and 2007/08 we estimate between 10,000 and 12,000 migrant workers have moved to the city. However, Southampton’s official population, which the government uses to calculate our grants, has only increased by 6,000 residents in the same period. That is up to 6,000 people who we are providing services for without adequate funding.

I estimate that just these two issues - inflation and inaccurate population calculations - are costing the city council, and ultimately the tax payer around £5m a year. This would be equivalent to a seven percent increase in the council tax bill. With this sobering fact in mind, I urge you to give Southampton its fair share.

Cllr Jeremy Moulton

Parking Restrictions in Darwin Road

The Council has drawn up plans for a Traffic Regulation Order for Darwin Road. This proposes yellow lines around the junctions of Darwin Road and Greville Road and Darwin Road and Thornbury Avenue.

This is to stop cars parking on the corners of the road and blocking visability. There was an accident at the junction with Thornbury Avenue recently and these plans are response to the concerns raised by residents.

Unless there are strong objections to the proposals this will be implemented in the near future.

Residents Parking

The results of the recent residents parking surveys in Silverdale and Cawte Road were as follows:

Silverdale

74.4% of residents favoured a residents parking scheme for the whole road, operating 8am - 6pm, Monday to Saturday, with 2 permits available.

Cawte

79.2% of residents favoured a residents parking scheme operating 8am - 6pm, Monday to Saturday. 2/3rds of residents also favoured additional restrictions in the evenings.

Freemantle's councillors will therefore be pushing the council to implement these schemes as soon as possible. There will be a further chance for residents to object once the plans are formally drawn up and put out for consultation.

Well Done Banister Infant School!

Congratulations to Banister Infant School on the results of the recent Ofsted report.

The Inspector has rated the school as "good" and remarked “I think your school is good. All your staff, but especially your headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors work well to make things as good as they are.”

Congratulations again.

Residents Parking

Surveys of residents' views on parking schemes in Silverdale Road and Cawte Road were carried out a couple of months ago.

I am told by council officers that the reults have been analysed and that there is overwhelming support for introducing schemes in these two roads.

I will post an update on this when I have all the facts and figures and after I have been briefed on the matter.

We Must Have A Refurendum on New EU Treaty

I was delighted that David Cameron made it clear that the Conservatives unequivocally support a refurendum on any new proposed treaty on the EU.

Gordon Brown looks like he is going back on an earlier government committment on EU constitution and appears to be arguing that new repackaged constitution won't warrant a public vote.

Not only should the government stick to its committment to giving the people their say they should make it clear there is no way Britain will even comtemplate giving further powers to Brussels. Until the EU can sign off its annual accounts and demonstrate where our money is going I can't see how the subject can even be on the agenda! Any commercial business that consistently failed to sign off its accounts would be shut down. Why should Brussels be any different?

Planning Meeting 19th June

As well as deciding the new name for the road in Banister Park, the Planning Panel will consider a number of planning applications when it meets on 19th June. Click HERE for the report.

There is one Freemantle application. This is 14-20 Shirley Road (REF 07/00458/FUL). I posted on this particular site back in January. The application is for 12 one bedroom flats and 1 two bedroom flat. No parking is to be provided.

It was at this meeting that the application for the Gypsy Transit site at Monks Brook was to be heard. The Monks Brook application will now be heard on 20th June at 6:30pm at a special meeting in the Council Chamber. This is so that as many people as possible can attend and speak at the meeting.

Lindhoe Gardens

Banister Park is set to get a new road.

Next Tuesday the council will agree the name for a new close off Archers Road.

Approval was recently given for a development of 79 flats by Crest Nicholson at 1A Archers Road, a former nurses home at the junction with the Avenue.

The close is to take its name from Robert Lindhoe, the man who founded the Southampton Branch of the anti slavery society and is to mark the 200th anniversary of abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

Click HERE for a write up on the city council's website on Southampton's involvement in the abolition of the slave trade.

How The Government Costs Business Money

The Facilities department at my work sent round an email today about the smoking ban. We have a smoking shed at work which is unsuprisingly used by smokers. Non smokers like me don't go in there as we don't smoke! However it counts as an enclosed space and under legislation people won't be allowed to smoke in it as of 1st July. Because of this my company is building a new smoking shed with a different design for people to smoke in. This will no doubt cost a reasonable sum of money. What a complete nonsense! Who exactly is supposed to gain from this?

New Look Blog

I have finally given in and moved onto the new version of Blogger. I was slightly concerned that I might lose much of the site in the process. Luckily most of it came over (most importantly all the posts). I lost all the links but I have put these back on now. I can't seem to get the picture in the title section to stretch across the whole page.

New Cabinet Appointed

Newly elected Council Leader, Alec Samuels has announced his Cabinet. The cabinet will be made up of members of the conservative party.

Leader: Cllr Alec Samuels
Economic Development and Regeneration: Cllr Royston Smith
Resources: Cllr Jeremy Moulton
Workforce planning: Cllr Terry Matthews
Children’s Services and learning: Cllr Peter Baillie
Adult Care and health: Cllr Ivan White
Environment & Transport: Cllr Gavin Dick
Housing & Neighbourhoods: Cllr Phil Williams
Leisure and Culture: Cllr John Hannides

Southampton Goes Blue!

Southampton Conservative Councillors have formed their administration since 1984

Southampton Councillors met formally for the first time yesterday after the local council elections on 3rd May.

At the meeting of Full Council, the Conservatives took political control of Southampton City Council, forming their first administration in 23 years.

Southampton has been in a state of political "no over all control" since 1999 and since then Labour and then the Lib Dems have run minority administrations. Yesterday Conservatives formed a minority administration with 18 councillors. This means that whilst the Conservatives will have more influence than at any point since 1984 and will control all the Executive functions of the Council, the other political parties will be able to gang up and defeat the Conservatives over major policy issues.

Click HERE for the Daily Echo report.

Goodbye Tony, Hello Gordon

"We're dooomed!"

I had mixed feelings when Tony Blair announced that he would be leaving number 10 Downing Street. Whilst I am delighted that Blair is finally going I feel that his replacement will be far worse.

Gordon Brown has set up a new website where you can learn all about him. There is a great deal of debate online about how Brown will change things and what new policies or policy reversals he will announce of the next 7 weeks.

Here is what Brown says on his new website:

The Britain I believe in is a Britain of fairness and opportunity for all. Every British citizen with every chance to make the most of themselves; every community fair to every citizen - if you work hard, youre better off. If you save, youre rewarded. If you play by the rules, we will stand by you.

All that sounds great and it is certainly the exact opposite of what we have experienced over the past 10 years! Somehow I am very sceptical.

Southampton Schools: More Of The Same Or Something Better?

Millbrook School and Oaklands School



Woolston School and Grove Park School

On Thursday night I went along to one of the presentation meetings for the bidders for the two new schools due to open in the city following last year's secondary school review.

It was decided last year that 4 schools would close (Oaklands, Millbrook, Grove Park and Woolston).

It was also decided that 2 new schools would open - one on the east of the city on the Grove Park site and one on the west (either on the Oaklands site or a new site called 5 acre field).

All these decisions were taken by the Lib Dems last year when they were running the council. I had some serious reservations about the decisions but we are now where we are.

By law the council has to invite independent organisations to bid for the running of the schools. This includes faith groups, charitable and not for profit groups, private companies etc. The council could have put in its own bid however if it did the decision about who would run the schools would be made independently of the council. By not submitting the bid the council now makes the decision. Personally if it were my choice I would have done exactly the same as I want to see as much choice as possible and want to see some real change in our local schools. I suspect the motivations of the Lib Dems were not quite the same. I would imagine they would have been concerned that if they submitted a council bid that lost this would have serious implications for the remaining Southampton schools as they would conclude that they also would be better off being run independently of the council. Click HERE to to read more about the process.

We heard presentations by the bidders. Here is some information about them and my thoughts.
Click on the titles to read more information about each on the council's website.

United Learning Trust

This group is bidding for an Academy on both the east and the west of the city. It runs 9 other academies in the country and 10 independent schools.

Their unique selling point they say is their track record and their experience of delivering education.

Oasis Community Learning

Oasis is a voluntary sector organisation set up to deliver the government's academies programme. They have 5 academies in the pipeline. Oasis are bidding to run an academy on the east and the west of the city.

Their unique selling point was their passion and having listened to the presentation by Steve Chalke of Oasis I have no doubt that they are full of energy and ideas.

Southampton Education Trust

This is a group of public sector organisations, local businesses (including VT) and voluntary groups headed up by Southampton Solent University. This would would be a trust and it would pick the governors of the new school(s). The school in the west would specialise in arts and science (with a focus on health).

Their unique selling point was that they are local.

How they came across

The two academies produced by far the most dynamic and interesting presentations. ULT seem to have huge experience and they run two well known local independent schools (Embley Park and The Atherley). Oasis had boundless energy and enthusiasm. Southampton Education Trust came across a bit woolly and their presentation was quite tedious. They really struck me as offering more of the same whereas the two academies had something new and exciting. I feel that if we are going to radically improve exam results in Southampton (which are well below Hampshire and the national level) we need new ideas.


Trusts vs Academies

There is one very important difference between the two and it's a difference which should have a huge bearing on the person who makes the eventual decision as to which bidder to select.

An academy brings with it the immediate guarantee of government funding for the building of a new school (£20m-£30m). A trust doesn't. A trust can bid for government money from its Building Schools for the Future (BSF) pot which is available in 2010. However there is no guarantee that a bid will be successful. Government is keen on academies and that's where it is putting the money. So if the council opts for 2 academies it gets £40m - £60m for education in the city. That's pretty much a no brainer for me. Also I would like Regents Park Community College and St Marks Junior schools to be bidding for BSF money for new schools on the St Marks site. The more schools bidding in Southampton the less likely they are to all be successful.


Who makes the decision?

The decision will be taken on 2nd July and the decision maker will be the political party that takes control of the council on Wednesday. So there is a lot at stake on Wednesday!