Labour's Late Night Levy Will Hit Local Pubs In Freemantle

On Wednesday at Full Council, Labour will look to push through a new tax on pubs in the city. This 'Late Night Levy' was initially billed as a measure to ensure that pubs and clubs in the city centre, pay more towards the 'costs' of the city centre night time economy. It is claimed that the funds raised will be spent on policing and street cleaning, but the worry is that the money will simply backfill other budget cuts.

It has since become clear that this new Labour tax will hit all establishments in the city with a late licence, including local pubs and social clubs outside of the city centre. In fact a third of the affected 271 businesses are outside of the city centre. 11 of these premises are in Freemantle Ward, and include:

- the Freemantle
- the Freemantle Arms
- the Freemantle Social Club
- the Osborne
- the Pig and Whistle
- the Rover
- the Blue Keys Hotel
- the Waterloo Arms
- the Wellington Arms

Businesses will be forced to pay up to £4,400 a year, over and above their business rates and all their other costs; yet local pubs in Freemantle and their cusomers will gain nothing from the money that they are forced to hand over. There will be no extra policing in Freemantle, with most officers deployed in the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights and Labour council cuts mean the streets are hardly ever cleaned.

The irony is that Labour have been campaigning to save local pubs. This new Levy will achieve the exact opposite result.

Action Needed to Tackle Street Drinking in Shirley Road

In Howard Road with a huge pile of beer cans - one example of evidence of street drinking 

I am calling for tough new licencing rules to be brought in to restrict further off licences and shops selling alcohol on Shirley Road and Shirley High St and the roads nearby. 

I recently told the Southern Daily Echo: "The pubs are well managed in the area but there are so many off licences there and we don’t need any more. It’s intimidating when you walk down the road and see people drinking beer in the streets from early in the morning until late at night and urinating in the alleyways and it brings the area down."

I am asking that the Police and the City Council's licencing team look at the introduction of a new 'Cumulative Impact Licencing Policy' which will make it much harder for new off licences to be approved and for existing ones to extend their operating hours. 

I will put the request to a meeting of the city's Safe City Partnership later this month. I am also calling on the police to use their powers to confiscate alcohol from those seen drinking in the street.  

Update 21/04/13: I am attending the Safer City Partnership on 25th April to present my concerns to the Police, the City Council and other local partners.

Local Police Meeting

The next Police and Community Together (PACT) meeting for the Shirley, Freemantle and Regents Park area is on the 10th October at 18.30 at Shirley Parish Hall, Colebrook Avenue, Shirley.

I will be going along and there will be city council officer there to answer questions on parking, traffic and highways matters.

Police and Community Together Meeting (PACT)

Last night I attended the Police and Community Together Meeting (PACT) at Freemantle Community Centre. I thought it would be helpful to post my notes from the meeting for those who weren't able to make it.

Crime Rates:
Overall crime is down locally compared with this time last year.
Burglary is significantly down.
The only crime which has gone up is theft from motor vehicles.
The 3 priorities that the Safer Neighbourhood Teams have been working on since the last PACT meeting were: tackling anti social behaviour, combating street drinking and dealing with speeding traffic. There was a detailed update on each.

Anti Social Behaviour:
A report was given on how many ASBOs had been issued.
Begging along Shirley High Street and in the Precinct is an issue the police are dealing with.

Street Drinking:
Operation Marker – The police have been marking alcohol from local shops so that when they are dumped in the street they can trace it back to the shop it was sold in. They are then checking how those premises are being run, ensuring that they are not selling to minors or acting irresponsibly. They are working the council and the licensing officers.
Operation Awareness – The police have been distributing leaflets outside licenced premises explain that street drinking is not allowed in an effort to educate people.

Speeding on Local Roads:
The Police are very keen to recruit more people to take part in Community Speedwatch. They are struggling to get volunteers at the moment.

Other Police Matters:
There was a reminder to contact the Police for non emergency matters now via 101. The local police email is shirley.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

Operation Fortress – an update was given on this 2 year project to tackle serious organised crime and particularly drugs in Southampton.
Dog Fouling – The police have been working with the city council on the ‘Watch You Step’ campaign. One Fixed Penalty Notice has been issued. They have been targeting hotspots and around local schools. The council reports a 60% reduction in dog fouling.

Issued raised by residents included:
Lorries breaching the 7.5t limit on Anglesea Road.
Concern about anti social behaviour when the Hendy Ford site in Shirley Road is redeveloped.
Parking problems around St James Park.

Council Tax Should be Frozen for Southampton Residents

Southampton City Council and now Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service have said that they will be freezing their share of the Council Tax bill in 2012/13.

The Hampshire Police Authority is due to set its budget next Tuesday and I am calling for it to freeze Council Tax too.

Southampton residents should not have to pay a penny more in Council Tax in the coming year and with everyone struggling with bills and the cost of living and with the government offering an extra grant to help freeze council tax, any increase is totally unjustifiable.

I will be voting for a freeze on Tuesday and I hope I will have the support of all the other Police Authority Members.

Hypocritical Labour Shut Local Facilities But Say Don't Blame Us

The hypocrisy of Southampton's Labour Party over the closure of Portswood and Shirley police stations is absolutely incredible. It also offers a very clear picture of the approach they would take if they ever run Southampton City Council.

Southampton has two representatives on the Hampshire Police Authority; myself a Conservative and Cllr Jacqui Rayment, the Labour representative and Chairman.

At every recent Authority meeting I have spoken out against the loss of our community police stations. I spoke out against it at the public meeting at St Georges School along with 11 other Southampton Conservative Councillors. I have fought for future replacements to have front desks that are open to the public. I have suggested numerous ways to keep front desks, such as sharing facilities with Southampton City Council and the use of police volunteers. I voted AGAINST the closures.
Labour's Chairman voted FOR the closures, and has repeatedly defended the decisions in meetings, saying that our local police stations don't need to be open to the public in an age when people have the internet and telephones.

Now for Labour to say that they shouldn't close is not just hypocritical it is utterly deceitful. Their excuse? Don't blame us, blame the government. This is exactly the same excuse Labour in Manchester and Liverpool are using as they close libraries and Sure Start centres. Don't blame us they say when they close the local facilities, blame the government. Don't blame us for wrecking the country's finances, blame the banks, blame the Americans, blame anyone other than us.

They will do exactly the same in Southampton if Labour run the City Council. They will close our libraries, our Sure Start centres and leisure centres, cut the weekly bin collections and hike up council tax. And they will say don't blame us, blame the government. However it doesn't have to be like that. Southampton Conservatives will keep open ALL our libraries, Sure Start centres and leisure centres and we want community police stations that are open to the public and we will fight to keep them!

Meeting on Police Station Closures

There is a Public meeting on Police Station Closures this coming Tuesday.

Tuesday 13th September 2011

St Georges School between 19.00 - 21.00.

The Assistant Chief Constable will be present to answer questions, along with representatives from the Safer Neighbourhood Team.

Your Freemantle Councillors are very concerned about the planned closure of Shirley and Portswood Police Stations. We are fighting for alternative police buildings in the community where the beat police are based. These should be accessible to residents so people can continue to report crimes locally.

Click HERE for more information.

Police Commissioners Delay

I was disappointed to hear this week that plans to elect new police commissioners will be delay until at least November 2012. The elections had been scheduled to coincide with the local elections in May in order to cut costs and boost voter turn out. Click HERE for the story on the Echo website.

Well Done Hampshire Constabulary

Well done to Hampshire Constabulary for their involvement in dealing with the mob violence that took place in London and other cities in August.

Not only did Hampshire provide invaluable support to the Met police, they did a fantastic job in reassuring residents across the County and in Southampton and in ensuring that those minded to cause similar acts of criminality locally were swiftly dealt with.

The extra police on the streets were very noticeable and very much welcomed by the community.

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.

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.