Stop Liverpool using taxpayers' money to grow its cruise business

I am urging people to sign the petition organised by local suppliers to Southampton's cruise industry to stop Liverpool using taxpayers' money to grow its cruise business. Click HERE for the petition.

On 15th September the Shipping Minister decides whether or not cruise ships will be allowed to start and end their cruises from Liverpool Cruise Terminal, taking advantage of a £20m taxpayer subsidy and allowing them to compete unfairly with Southampton.

If Liverpool is to compete with Southampton it should be on a level playing field and the subsidy should be repaid.

This decision is vitally important as thousands of local jobs depend on our local cruise industry. Sign today! Click HERE for more information.

Well Done Southampton Schools

Southampton schools are continuing to make fantastic progress! GCSE results this month show a 4.5% increase in pupils getting 5 A-C GCSEs including English and Maths. The figures mean that the city has met its target for 2011, with 52% of pupils hitting this standard.

There has been a step change in educational attainment in the city in recent years, with Southampton persistently out stripping the national average improvement in performance. Since 2007, on average, schools have improved by 13%; the most improved school being Upper Shirley High, which has improved by 26% over that period.

Standards need to keep going up. The government is quite rightly raising the bar for minimum standards in schools and with the improvements in performance we are seeing in our local schools I am very confident we will continue to push up results.

Click HERE for further details.

Update on Helius Consultation

Last month I wrote to Helius Energy seeking more information on their planned consultation in the Autumn. Whilst I wasn't able to get much more detail, their reply did provide some new information.

The consultation will last a minimum of 10 weeks. Helius plan to give at least 4 weeks notice of exhibition venues, dates and timings. It is planned that these exhibitions will be staggered over a 4 week period to maximum the opportunities for people to attend. I will post an update if further information comes to light.

Social Worker Strike Is A Step To Far

Today's announcement by union leaders that children and adult social workers in Southampton will strike next week is totally unacceptable. It is not right to put vulnerable people at risk.

Vulnerable children and adults must be kept safe and looked after. I will be asking the trade unions to ensure that key services are exempted from the strike action.

I hope that the trade union leaders do the right thing and allow those who work in key safeguarding roles to come into work so that our vulnerable residents are kept safe.

If the trade unions refuse these exemptions I will do everything I can to ensure that emergency measures are put in place to ensure that the welfare of vulnerable people is not jeopardised by the actions of the unions.

Opening of Townhill Park Community Centre

On Saturday I was delighted to attend the official opening of the new £1m Townhill Park Community Centre by the Mayor of Southampton. It's a fantastic new facility and I know it will be well used by local people. This is good news for the area and part of the council's wider commitment to regenerating Townhill Park.

Helius Energy Delay Consultation to 'Autumn'

Helius have delayed their new consultation on their plans for a biomass power station until the 'Autumn'. The consultation was due to start in July. Further information can be found HERE.

Can We Help? Advice Surgery

Your councillors are holding an advice surgery for local people at the Freemantle Community Centre, in Randoplh Street, on -

SATURDAY 16th JULY between 10am – 12pm.

Please come along if you need our help or want to discuss anything. 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

Audio Interview on Southampton Strikes

Interview with Portswood.info on industrial action (recorded Saturday 2nd July). Click HERE to see the full article on Portswood.info.




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School Strikes on 30th June

Details of which Southampton schools will be open on Thursday and which will be closed as result of the national schools strike can be found HERE.

Well done to all those schools that are able to stay open. I know many schools are thinking creatively about how best to manage the school day and how to make curriculum changes to deal with some staff striking.

It is important that the impact on children and their families is minimised by the action.

Striking Staff Offered A Payrise

In a bid to end industrial action in Southampton the City Council last week offered to exempt all staff earning £22,000 or less from pay cuts and ensure a £250 payrise for those earning £21,000 or less.

The offer forms part of a 10 point plan put to the unions. Sadly the unions bosses have refused to put the proposals to their members, despite claiming that 7 out of the 10 proposals were their ideas!

Union bosses seem more interested in striking for political reasons rather than seeking the best deal for staff and their members in difficult financial times.

Questions & Answers On Southampton's Bin Strikes

A useful website with Questions and Answers for residents on the current strikes in Southampton.

Local Residents Should Not Be Put In The Front Line Of A National Trade Union Campaign

As Southampton enters a fourth week of union strike action, every effort must be made to resolve the dispute and get services back to normal.

This coming Thursday will see a fifth negotiation meeting between the City Council and trade unions. Compromise is needed from both sides and the focus has to be on protecting front line services to residents and protecting jobs.

With the unions set to hold a major rally in city tomorrow it is important not to let national disagreements cloud the debate. We have to sort out our problems here in Southampton and putting local residents in the front line of a national dispute between trade unions and the government is not fair.

Debating with the trade unions on the Politics Show

We Need Local Police Stations in Southampton

Hampshire Constabulary are looking to close Portswood and Shirley police stations within the next 2 years. The closures are part of a wider programme to reduce the number of police buildings across the county, which might also see the police offices in Hulse Road close. The changes also reflect the fact that Southampton’s new city centre police HQ has recently opened.

I am campaigning to keep local police stations in our districts. It’s vitally important that local beat police are based in the area and that people can report crimes locally.

I was pleased to be able to secure a commitment from the Chief Constable that alternative local police stations would be put in place before any closures and that local beat police and PCSOs would be based there. These police stations need front desks too and I am fighting for a cast iron commitment from the police on this issue.

Impact of Industrial Action on Southampton

Save our Heart Unit

Like the majority of residents from Southampton I was extremely concerned to learn that the children’s heart surgery unit at Southampton General Hospital could close.

Losing the Ocean Ward would be a terrible loss to Southampton. It would mean that patients from Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands would have to travel to either London or Bristol for treatment; creating extra financial pressure on families, at a time that is already extremely emotional and stressful.

In a recent independent report by Sir Ian Kennedy, Southampton’s Heart ward was ranked second best in the country. It performs first class life saving procedures for hundreds of young children and babies in the South of England every year. Losing this ward could have huge consequences for those parents and children who depend on the dedication and expertise the Ocean Ward provides to their family.

Four options have been proposed by the NHS, three of which put Southampton’s Heart Unit in danger of being closed.

The Safe and Sustainable review itself says that option which includes Southampton (Option B):

- is the best option for retaining centres ranked highest for quality;
- includes the centres that are best for research and innovation;
- Would also protect vital intensive care services.

It’s quite simple; I, like you believe that patients deserve nothing less then very best in care. The ward is a leading centre for specialised treatment and is rated 2nd best in the country in its field. It makes absolutely no sense to close this much needed service. I would urge everyone to support the campaign to help keep the Ocean Ward open.

This campaign certainly has Southampton City Council’s support.

Register your view

The consultation survey is the only official way for the public to have their say and save our heart unit.

The survey can be completed online or you can request a paper copy by calling 020 7025 7520 or emailing nhsspecialisedservices@grayling.com

For help filling in the survey, see these guidance notes.

On Twitter

Last week I set up a twitter account @Cllr_JMoulton where I will post updates from my experiences of Southampton politics and my work on the city council.

Helius To Extend Consultation on Power Station

Helius Energy have announced that they intend to amend their Biomass scheme. They are now intending undertake further public consultation in the Summer.

I reported to residents in a recent newsletter that the city Council's Planning Panel would be meeting to discuss their scheme on Tuesday 24th May.

In light of Helius's statement the council has decided to defer the item from the Council’s Planning Panel. When a new date is determined I will update residents. It is my intention when the matter does finally come before the panel, for comment, to speak against the scheme.

Freemantle Councillors Formally Object to Biomass Plant

Below is the Freemantle Councillors' submission to Helius as a formal response to their consultation on their planned biomass plant in the Western Docks.

Dear Sir

We are writing as local councillors for the Freemantle Ward to put on record our formal objection to your plans for a Power Station proposed for the Western Docks.

Over recent weeks we have been inundated with correspondence from constituents objecting to the scheme and we have attended a number of packed local public meetings where residents were unanimously against the plans.

Location

The proposed site is directly opposite a residential area. Roads like Lakelands Drive and Foundry Lane are just 125m from the site. Due to the site’s close proximity to housing the proposed power plant will undoubtedly have a serious detrimental impact on the lives of local residents. Anecdotally we have been advised that your plans are already beginning to blight the area with residents struggling to sell their properties or finding that their properties are being significantly devalued.

Cllr Moulton is a governor of the local school, Freemantle Academy. Hence we know first hand from many parents in the area how they are worried about the impact of the power station on their community. The worry is that families will not want to bring up children in an area over shadowed by an enormous power station and will start to move away or not move into the area. This will have a profound knock on effect on the school.

A number of residents have asked whether other sites in the Docks have been examined; bearing in mind that the docks are an expansive area with the majority of the area sited much further away from housing. We are not aware that any alternative sites have been considered.

Size

The proposed scale of the plant is far too large and out of context with its surrounding structures. Indeed it will be the biggest building on the city skyline, dwarfing the terraced housing opposite. The chimney at 100m tall is three times the height of cranes in the docks. Its sheer size and mass is out of character with the area. It will dominate the view of those coming into the city by road or rail from the west, the residential areas across Southampton water bordering the New Forest and the 1.4m cruise ship passengers travelling up and down Southampton water. The new police building in Southern Road, that opened this year, was meant to be a landmark gateway building. However all people will see when approaching from the west will be the power station.

Some residents have suggested to us that if the power station was of a much smaller, perhaps more on the scale of the District Energy Scheme in the city centre then proposals for the site would be more acceptable. However, other concerns would need to be addressed. Observations have been made that perhaps the only reason you opted for such a large scale site of 100MW capacity was not because they planned to operate at this capacity, but felt that a more favourable result would entail if they bypassed the local planning process in order to submit to the IPC. Hence it is important that local views are not disenfranchised to effect an unfair advantage to the applicant.

Economic Impact

Neighbouring the development is the premier shopping development of West Quay with the new £150m luxury shopping development of Watermark Westquay due to open in 2013. On the waterfront is the proposed £450m development of Royal Pier by Morgan Sindell. The economic revival of Southampton will be placed in jeopardy, as developers will struggle to find tenants to occupy these premier sites with a huge eyesore dominating the surrounding skyline. Southampton is one of the most deprived urban areas in the South East and is fundamental that inward investment is secured to enable job creation in the area. There are thousands of new jobs now in jeopardy.

Design

The proposed design of the scheme is dreadful. It is functional and lacks any architectural merit. It is completely out of keeping with the Victorian terraced houses and docker cottages bordering the site or the nearby attractive 1934 Solent flour mill that greets workers and visitors entering Dock Gate 10 to the port along West Bay Road. It has been suggested that this might not be the final design. However, what guarantees are there that you will present a more appealing design and proceed to build this and not revert to the cheaper functional form already presented. Indeed can the design be changed if you get IPC approval with your current submission? What guarantees are there that you would not sell your planning approval to another company that might then proceed to develop something very different in appearance?

Pollution

A major concern of residents is the adverse impact on air quality. The area already has very low air quality with all the nearby industry and traffic. The power station will further reduce the air quality. The aim should be to improve air quality. The suggestion that it might be within particular standards, if true, does not change the fact that the air quality will be worse and this will have a heath impact on local residents. One only has to walk around the area to see the build up of soot on cars and window ledges. The city centre location is densely packed being home to thousands of people and with the local Freemantle primary school being close by. One can imagine people with asthma and other health problems will be adversely affected. To the North East of the area are the central parks of Southampton Common, a site of Special Scientific Interest with a fragile habitat with the largest population of the internationally rare great crested newt.

Noise

The power station will operate 24 hours a day and local residents will be subject to continuous noise pollution. It is not necessarily the operating noise of the facility itself but the conveyors carrying the fuel source onto the site and loading into the burners. To site it further away from houses would help alleviate its impact. This is then an argument for looking for an alternative site and/or downscaling the power station so that it doesn’t impact on the community. There is already considerable noise pollution and over many years we have had complaints from neighbours who are affected by it.

Traffic

If a power station is to be built in the docks, then all the materials should be shipped through the docks and not brought by road. When one considers that a single lorry movement equates to 30 tonnes of load then when the proposal is for 800,000 tonne capacity, then the road impact could be enormous if limits were not put in place. There are no such guarantees in the current submissions we have seen. The Millbrook roundabout and Millbrook Road West are already very congested. The link road into the city is recognised as one of the key roads in the country yet it remains the responsibility of the Council to maintain something that it can ill-afford. The new City Depot being built off Dock Gate 4 will add further traffic pressure to the area. This route is the main entry point into the city for tens of thousands of daily shoppers to West Quay and IKEA, commuters and visiting football fans. Your plans include no measures to mitigate the impact of traffic on the community. There are no suggestions to have a separate docks road off the M271. Measures like this would help should you bring materials by lorry.

Consultation

The feeling in the community is that your consultation has been flawed. Your staff have been unable to provide good quality answers to residents’ questions at drop in sessions. Very people recall receiving leaflets from you and the design of the leaflets did not attract the eye. Indeed we understand that many fliers were distributed via the free weekly Southampton Advertiser and hence any literature will have been mistaken for the usual marketing leaflets and binned. It was only when pictures of the proposed design came to light in the online consultation document that residents began to become aware of the proposal and appreciate the enormous impact it would have on the community. Letters from you have been restricted to residents associations, councillors, MPs and the like and limited effort has been made to directly engage the residents who live near by.

You have suggested in a recent press release that following the public response to your scheme that you would look again at the size of the scheme. However no detail has been forthcoming. If you intend to make material changes then you should restart the consultation. If the changes are not material then clearly they won’t address the concerns that residents have. From discussions with Southampton City Council planners they have grave concerns about the lack of detail in your submission. Despite numerous requests for more detailed specifications to expand on "not significant" they have yet to receive adequate responses. This lack of open and honest engagement is deeply concerning.

Fuel Source

We have considerable doubts that wood bio mass on this scale is sustainable. The amount of fuel proposed is enormous in comparison to the UK output of wood. Indeed from research we understand that there is no spare capacity to meet the plant’s proposed requirements. Inevitably the vast quantity of wood will be sourced from abroad. Hence the so called green credentials of this technology are dubious to say the least. The impact on carbon emissions of transporting it from around the world will be considerable. A more locally sustainable, smaller, power station using waste wood and local coppicing would surely be more environmentally friendly. What guarantees can you provide that all your wood will come from an accredited source, indefinitely? What steps have you taken to secure viable quantities of fuel?

Will food be the only fuel source or might other material be burned? What guarantees can you make in this regard? What will be the impact of burning non-virgin wood which has been treated with chemicals (paint and varnish)? Has an assessment been made of burning these complex chemical compounds?

Heat and CO2

No provision has been made to recycle the heat produced from the burning of the fuel. Nor has thought been given to the release of the CO2. Hence these by-products of the combustion are being wasted. Combined heat and power plants are now common place in large glass house nurseries around the UK such as Thanet in Kent and Isle of Wight, where the green credentials of burning fuel are well known and documented with heat used to warm the glasshouses and CO2 provided to the plants.

Whilst this is by no means an exhaustive list of arguments to oppose this application, we do consider that the concerns we have raised are real and warrant that this application be rejected. The first area that must be considered is the adequacy of consultation. We consider that this first stage has not been satisfied and you should be required to return the drawing board.

Community Benefit

Once the construction phase has ceased, which no doubt be undertaken by specialist workers from outside the city there will only be 40 jobs created by operating the plant. Hence there will be limited economic benefit to the city outside of the income earned by ABP for leasing the site and cheap power source provided. For such a major multi-million pound development, you have not offered any planning monies to benefit the local community, facilities or infrastructure improvements to the key arterial M271/Millbrook Road route into the city. This is incredibly surprising and demonstrates a complete disregard for your corporate social responsibility.

Yours faithfully

Jeremy Moulton
Brian Parnell
Michael Ball
Councillors for Freemantle Ward

Congratulations Brian!

Local councillor Brian Parnell was re-elected last night.

It was a close fought campaign in Freemantle with a higher turn out than ususal with the Alternative Vote refurendum on the same day.

Brian's re-election will mean that this new municipal year will be Brian's 25th year on Southampton City Council and his 21st for Freemantle Ward.

Well done Brian!

Vote NO to AV on 5th May