Vote NO to AV on 5th May

Good Luck Freemantle Academy

On Friday, Freemantle School officially became an Academy. This is fantastic news for the school and I have every confidence that with its new status and freedoms Freemantle will go from strength to strength.

It was great to join governors and teachers on Friday evening to celebrate the school's success and toast its bright future.

HELP STOP THE POWER STATION!

Following the public meeting at Holy Trinity Church on Wednesday evening, we thought it would be helpful, as your local Councillors, to write and set out how we understand the decision on the Helius power station will be taken, and most importantly WHAT WE ALL CAN DO TO STOP IT. Since the meeting we have spoken with the Infrastructure Planning Commission, the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the City Council to confirm some of these key facts.

Who makes the decision and how does the process work?

The current situation is that the decision is taken by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), a body set up by the last government to make big decisions of the this nature.

The City Council is not the decision maker but will submit its comments to the IPC along with local residents and councillors. It is likely that if Helius do decide to push ahead with their scheme that the final decision will not be made for another year or more.

There are a number of different stages and points where people can object to the application:

• Pre Application Stage – this is the stage we are in now and anyone can comment to Helius on their proposals. It also makes sense to send your comments to Southampton City Council and IPC.

• Application Stage – Helius makes a formal application to the IPC.

• Acceptance Stage – The IPC has 28 days to decide to accept the application or not. One factor that may mean that the application is not accepted is if the public consultation has been inadequate.

• Pre Examination Stage – we can all comment on the scheme. First you must register by filling in a form. This then allows you to make a comment. This stage normally takes 3 months. Anyone who registers will be invited to a preliminary IPC meeting.

• Examination Stage – anyone who registered in the Pre Examination Stage is invited to submit their detailed comments in writing and they may also get the chance to speak at IPC meetings in Southampton. This stage can take up to 6 months.

• Decision Stage – a decision is made and reasons given – this could take up to 3 months

• Post Decision Stage – there are 6 weeks to appeal. Appeals take the form of a Judicial Review.

The Localism Bill

Many people are rightly upset that the last government placed the decision with an unelected, unaccountable body, taking it out of the democratic process.

The new Coalition government is changing the process and is in the process of passing a new law called the Localism Bill. If this law is enacted before the decision on the Helius scheme, then the decision will be referred to Chris Huhne, the Secretary of State, for his decision.

When can we object?

There are 2 immediate deadlines when people must get their comments in by.

1. The closing date for objection to Helius at the current Pre Application Stage is 21st April. Please make sure that you get your comments to Helius by then and we also suggest that you copy your correspondence to the City Council and the IPC for good measure.

2. The closing date for comments to the City council so that they can be taken into account by the council’s planning panel is 28th April. If you get your comments in by then they will be put before the panel on their meeting on 24th May and this will help the panel with its response to Helius, at this first Pre Application Stage.

What are the contact details we need?

IPC Contact Details

Tel: 0303 4445000

Email: Portofsouthampton@infrastructure.gsi.gov.uk

Post: IPC, Temple Quay House, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN

Web: www.independent.gov.uk/infrastructure

Helius Contact Details

Post: Helius Energy plc, 242 Marylebone Road, London NW1 6JL

Web: www.southamptonbiomasspower.com

City Council Contact Details

Steve Harrison, Planning Officer Team Leader

Tel: 023 8091 7568.

Email: stephen.harrison@southampton.gov.uk

Post: Southampton City Council Civic Centre Southampton SO14 7LS

As your local Councillors we are doing everything we can to fight this monstrous scheme. Please contact us if you need our help or have any questions for us. We will support the community every step of the way.

BY WORKING TOGETHER WE CAN STOP THIS!

A Budget To Fuel Growth

Yesterday the Chancellor, George Osborne, set out his 2nd budget with plans to reform the economy, to create jobs and support families.

This Budget will put fuel back in the tank of Britain's economy.


Help for families:

- An immediate cut in fuel duty by 1 pence per litre and a delay of April's inflation rise in duty to next January. This means fuel duty is 6 pence lower than it would be under Labour. We are paying for this by putting up taxes on the oil companies while the oil price is high to create a Fair Fuel Stabiliser.
- An increase in the personal allowance from £6,500 to £8,100 over the next two years. This will mean £326 extra for working people and it will lift over a million low paid people out of tax altogether.
- £250 million to help 10,000 first time buyers get on the housing ladder.
- A freeze in Air Passenger Duty this year.
- Money for councils so virtually every council in England will freeze council tax next month.
- A new scheme to allow Gift Aid to be claimed on the contents of charities' collecting tins and street buckets, and support for largest donations with radical reforms to Inheritance Tax - if you leave 10 per cent or more of your estate to charity, then the Government will take 10 per cent off your inheritance tax bill.
- As well as helping in the short term we need to reform our economy to create growth and jobs in the future. The hard truth is that Britain has lost ground in the world economy.

Under Labour manufacturing halved, and growth depended on unsustainable public spending, debt and financial services. We need a new model of growth based on investment, manufacturing and exports - a Britain that makes things again. This Budget started that process, with measures that include:

- An additional 1p cut in corporation tax. In April this year corporation tax will fall from 28% to 26%. It will continue to fall by 1% in each of the following three years reaching 23%. Britain will be competitive again.
- Doubling Entrepreneurs Relief to £10m and sweeping changes to the generosity, simplicity and reach of the Enterprise Investment Scheme, with an increase in the income tax relief available from 20% to 30%.
- An extension of the small business rate relief holiday for another year.
- An additional £100m for new science facilities and more generous tax credits for small business research and development.
- 21 new Enterprise Zones with business rate cuts and new broadband to promote growth across the country.
- A review of the revenue raised by the temporary 50p rate of income tax
- 50,000 additional apprenticeships and 100,000 work placements for young people.
- £3bn for a Green Investment Bank, which will generate an additional £15 billion in private sector investment in green projects and low carbon energy.

Fluoride Decision Must Be A Local One

I am appalled at the arrogance of bureaucrats at the Strategic Health Authority. This unelected Quango is set to be abolished in April 2012, yet it still intends to push through its plans to add fluoride to our local water supply.

These sorts of controversial decisions should be taken locally and not by unaccountable bureaucrats. In April next year the SHA is being scrapped and decisions like fluoride will pass to local authorities. This makes their decision to push ahead even more perverse.

I am objecting to this in the strongest possible terms. They should put the decision on hold and then local people can decide the issue in due course.

Union Militants Will Damage Southampton

The union bosses say that they will mount a legal challenge against Southampton City Council over terms and condition changes and that they will hold crippling strikes. What is it really they are hoping to achieve?

By making these changes the council is ensuring that front line services are protected as best they can be. That’s why in Southampton all our leisure centres, our libraries and sure start centres will stay open, and why we will keep important services like weekly bin collections and can invest more in safeguarding vulnerable children. Compulsory job losses are being kept to the absolute minimum.

There simply isn’t the money there to fund the pay rises that the union bosses are demanding and at the same time properly protect our front line services.

So if the unions succeed, what are the consequences? Southampton will go the way of Labour Manchester, with cuts to services and the closure of libraries and sure start centres and the like. Cuts to services will also mean the loss of hundreds of council jobs. Council tax will go through the roof.

Throughout the process the union bosses made it crystal clear that they weren’t interested in reaching an agreement. They offered no solutions and even went as far as stopping the Labour Party producing an alternative set of budget proposals for the city.

They want a fight pure and simple. They know if they win the cuts they will cause to front line services and the job losses that will mean. They don’t care because for the union militants this is purely about partisan politics.

Shame on them! And shame on our Labour councillors and Labour MPs for backing them!

Council Leader Says 'No Thanks!'

The Daily Echo front page today carries the story that Conservative Council Leader, Royston Smith has vowed to oppose the proposed Power Station in the Western Docks. This is a tremendous boost for the campaign to stop the Helius application.

No to Power Station!

As your local ward councillors, Brian Parnell, Michael Ball, and I will do all we can to fight the proposed Helius power station in the Western Docks.

The Conservatives on the city council will be objecting to Helius, the city council’s planning department and the Infrastructure Planning Commission (the decision makers).

We will be raising residents’ concerns of about:

- The size and mass of the proposed building and its impact on the community
- Noise levels
- Air quality
- Pollution
- The fuel source
- Traffic consequences during both construction and operation

We will also do everything we can to raise awareness in the local community.

If would like to speak with us about this issue or any other matter please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Backing the Have a Heart Campaign

This afternoon I am visiting Southampton General Hospital to see the work being done at the specialist children's heart centre.

Despite being rated as the 2nd highest performing of 11 centres in England, it is under threat from closure, with the number of such centres around the country being reduced.

A consultation is now taking place and I have written to the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley urging him put pressure on the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts to keep this excellent facility.

UPDATE 14/03/11 - Visit to the unit was extremely productive. We managed to have some very detailed dicussions with some of the surgeons and staff. We also saw the excellent work being done to support families by the charity Wessex Heartbeat.

Cllr Leader Royston Smith and I have pledged to lobby the Prime Minister to support the unit and the great work being done there.

Funding Boost for Local Children

The Coalition government is keeping its promise to spend more on schools and to target extra funding towards the most deprived parts of the country.

The details of the funding settlement for Southampton schools has now been announced. On average Southampton schools will receive an extra 3.4% in funding in this coming year and this includes more than £2.7m extra in the form of the new Pupil Premium.

The Pupil Premium means that extra funding is targeted to support children who receive Free School Meals and to children whose parents serve in the Armed Forces.

This is fantastic news for Freemantle Ward with many local schools set to benefit from the Pupil Premium:

Banister Infant School + £13,760
Foundry Lane Primary School + £32,650
Freemantle C Of E Infant School + £10,750
St Mark'S C Of E Junior School + £37,840
Regents Park Community College + £80,380

Locally Conservative Councillors are protecting funding for the city’s Sure Start Centres so that, despite the tough financial times we ensure that all these valuable facilities remain assessable for local families.

Meetings Regarding Proposed Power Station

The Infrastructure Planning Commission is holding two further consultation meeting regarding the application by Helius for a bio mass power station in the Western Docks.

Please get in touch if you want to raise anything with Brian, Michael or me on this matter.

Labour Are To Blame For Britain's Debts

Labour are very keen to blame the banks for the country’s financial problems.

Whilst the banks have a great deal to answer, for we shouldn’t forget that Gordon Brown’s reckless spending and borrowing from 2001 onwards is for the most part the reason for the Britain’s huge debts and budget deficit.

Despite this apalling legacy Labour still refuse to apologise.

There is no apology for the longest recession amongst the world’s biggest economies.

There is no apology for the deepest economic contraction in Britain’s history.

And there is no apology for the biggest deficit in the developed world.

Local Advice Surgery

As your local Councillors we hold regular advice surgeries at the Freemantle Community Centre in Randolph Street. If you would like help with anything please come along or get in touch with us.

The next surgery date is:

Saturday 9th April from 10am – 12pm.

Local Crime Data Online

A new police website (www.police.uk) is now up and running, giving details of local crime information. From April it will be possible to receive text updates for your area and to use the website to pass on information to the police.

Your Views on Power Station

Energy firm Helius is now consulting on its proposals for a wood chip powered biomass power station in the Western Docks, ahead of submitting a formal planning application.

The deadline for responses has been extended to 21st April and details can be found at www.southamptonbiomasspower.com

There is another chance to view the plans on 21st and 22nd March between 2pm and 7.30pm at Thompson Memorial Hall, Millbrook Baptist Church, Testwood Road.

Labour Plans Huge Council Tax Rise for Southampton

Labour run Manchester council are slashing front line services and closing community facilities like libraries and swimming pools. They are taking advantage of the financial crisis to make unpopular decisions and then blame the coalition government to score political points.

In Southampton the Labour Party refused to say what their plans would be if they ran the city. But we can be sure that they too would pursue the same cynical tactics; closing facilities and making the cuts as painful as possible.

In the last year that Labour ran Southampton City Council they hiked up council tax by a massive 18.5% and they have made it clear, that if they win the council elections in May, they will hike up council tax again; meaning rises of £300 or more a year.

By contrast, despite facing the toughest set of finances ever, Conservative run Southampton City Council is doing its utmost to protect front lines services and keep costs down for local residents.

In Southampton council tax will be frozen for the first time ever and care charges and parking charges won’t go up at all.All our swimming pools, leisure centres, Sure Start centres and libraries will stay open. In fact we will even be opening a new Library in the middle of the Millbrook estate.

More money will be spent repairing roads and pavements and looking after vulnerable children. This is all possible because we are tackling bureaucracy, stripping out layers of top management and getting better deals from suppliers.

We are also asking higher paid council staff to take a small pay cut whilst ensuring a pay rise for the lower paid. Those earning the most will have to take the biggest reduction. Labour instead want pay rises for those earning £70,000, £80,000 and even £100,000 a year and want big council tax rises, in particular on pensioner households, to pay for it. Some households could face over £400 more in council tax next year under Labour.

There is a clear choice at the local elections the May; a Conservative Party determined to protect services, keep council tax down and get the city through these tough times and a cynical Labour party dominated by the union bosses and hell bent on service cuts and crippling council tax rises to make their political points.

Managing Houses of Multiple Occupation

Southampton’s Conservative Council has taken the lead in embracing new planning powers (called an Article 4 Direction) which allow the council to manage Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) more effectively. In future, planning permission will be required for new HMOs. A formal decision will be taken by the council at its Cabinet on 14th March.

Conservatives Freeze Council Tax

Today Conservative Councillors took the decision to freeze council tax in Southampton, for the coming year, ensuring that for the first time ever, residents will face no increase in council tax.

Civil Service Ground Progress

Yesterday the Council’s planning panel unanimously approved official open space status for the Civil Service Ground. This is a key step towards the council acquiring the site for school and public use, later this year. Your Freemantle councillors all wrote in support of the application.

Freemantle Ward Surgery

Your councillors are holding an advice surgery for local people at the Freemantle Community Centre on February 5th between 10am – 12pm.

Please come along if you need our help. There is no need to make an appointment. If you can’t make it please get in touch and we can arrange a home visit.

Cllr Jeremy Moulton
07940 766286 (mobile)
023 8083 3237 (office)
Email councillor.j.moulton@southampton.gov.uk

Cllr Michael Ball
023 8083 1788
Email councillor.m.ball@southampton.gov.uk

Cllr Brian Parnell
023 8079 0094
Email councillor.b.parnell@southampton.gov.uk