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?