Nicholas Coombes

I always walk (or cycle or bus) around Bathwick with a critical eye; a lot of the time I am satisfied, it is a very beautiful area. However, today I spotted a few bits to be fixed, after our surgery.

The cul-de-sac sign to Darlington Place has been knocked by an unfortunate motorist (or momentous pedestrian) so that it leaning quite jauntily. However, jaunty is never good for traffic signs, so I have reported it to be fixed.

 In Sydney Buildings many potholes have now been filled in along the length of the road. I reported these almost three months ago, so I am glad that they have finally got through the system. A few holes are still unfilled though and on first glace I couldn’t work out why. I’ve sent a reminder to the BathNES highways team to check up, it’s a shame to have persued it this far and not yet finished.

In good news, a yellow patch of road on Bathwick Hill just uphill of the canal has been laid. This was described to me as looking like a French market place; it is actually non-skid surface for drivers approaching the crossing to make that corner just a bit safer. I’ll give a full zebra update separately when I have a clearer situation to report.

City MP, Don Foster is reaching out to voters across Bath with the publication of his new website.

Don said: “The re-vamp of the site will make it much easier for residents to contact me and be updated on the work that I’m doing ” The site will contain several easy ways to keep in touch with Don and also the ability to subscribe to Don’s email newsletter.

Don added: “More and more these days, people are losing trust in elected officials and I want to make it easy for people to judge for themselves whether or not I’m doing good job for them and their families.

“There has also been a lot said in recent months about the amount of expenses claimed by MPs and what they are spent on. That’s why I’ve decided that from this financial year I will make a commitment to publish my expenses every quarter on my website and in my e-news letter. My annual ‘Report Back’ leaflet, which is sent to every household in Bath, will also provide details of the full year expenses.

“Parliament is currently debating the level of detail that it will publish of MPs expenses however I am committed to going beyond what we are merely required to publish and I will ensure that I provide as much detail as I am able.”I will also ensure that contentious items such as the Additional Cost Allowance are listed in the greatest detail.

“As public servants, Members of Parliament have a duty to be honest and transparent and I hope that my actions will enable the people of Bath to put their faith in me as their representative in Parliament.” Don Foster’s re-launched website is at www.donfoster.co.uk

Your Bathwick councillors are holding thier latest public surgery at Bathwick St Mary’s Church Hall, 10-11am on Saturday 7th June.

I am sorry for the short notice, I forgot to post about this earlier. You may have noticed though that it is at the same time on the first Saturday of every second month, so there is some sort of routine. It was also printed in Focus which went out this week, but I acknowledge the typing error advertising the date as March, not June.

Armand and I will be there in case anyone manages to turn up!

Liberal Democrats who fought Conservative parking charge increases have been backed by the Bath Chronicle
The Tories had planned to make millions from higher residents’ parking fees, extra fees for disabled badge holders and longer hours at the city centre car parks. The Bath Chronicle have joined the campaign to get this policy, car park fees until 8pm not 7pm, put back.

“The decision to extend the hours of charging was completely crazy.” says Don Foster, Bath MP “It shows how out of touch our Conservative Council leaders are. The decision has hit hundreds of people, from charity volunteers to restaurant owners. Everyone who travels into the city centre for an evening event or to enjoy the nightlife has been adversely affected. Even our Special Constables whose shift begins at 7 pm now have to pay to park their cars in the car park next to the Police Station. Even those who help keep our city safe are now out-of-pocket.

“I’ve been amazed by the lack of consultation by the Conservative-run Council. Until the protests began, the people of Bath have had no say about a decision made by Council leaders most of whom don’t live in the city.”

The Council Liberal Democrats ‘called in’ the price rises, citing insufficient consultation and a failure to consider the wider implications. The Conservative dominated panel threw out the call in, allowing the decision to stand. However, the public outcry has now prompted the Tories to review their policy, which they were so keen to defend last month. “If they’d have listened in the first place, the council needn’t have wasted so much time and energy” said Cllr Edwards.

A third generation mobile phone mast has been installed at the end of The Avenue on Claverton Down.

The mast was given planning permission two years ago, despite fourteen local objections (http://planning.bathnes.gov.uk/PublicAccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=IVHTFKCTWI000). However, in current planning law only the visible attributes of the mast can be considered; in this respect the faux-telegraph pole with rustic finish was acceptable. Nationally the Liberal Democrats seek to change planning laws so that local councils can also consider the electromagnetic radiation when determining mast applications.

Residents may take comfort from the World Health Organisation’s report finding mininal health dangers associated with phone masts (http://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/index5.html). Various anti-mast groups dispute this evidence.

While the phone mast itself is well disguised, the astute searcher will look for the junction box at its base.

Bath University have now appointed their contractor for the replacement of the footbridge over Quarry Road. The old bridge was removed a few years ago to local concern when the structure was deemed unsafe.

An application to re-route the footpath was rejected by BathNES’s footpath committee; in the last year Cllr Nicholas Coombes has had the committee chair write to the University Vice-Chancellor asking for its speedy replacement, while Cllr Coombes himself has raised the matter with the Director of Estates, Vice-Chancellor and Chancellor on many occasions.

Now that the contractor has been appointed and the bridge ordered, the works should be on time for completion by late August, to re-open the footpath in September before the Autumn term. Quarry Road is due to be closed for 20th-27th August on the current timetable.

There is only one potential problem remaining now; the recent discovery of a nearby badger set…

The historic stone found in front of Sham Castle has been resurrected this week. The marker stone was uncovered after the scrub clearance lying on its side. Nicholas Coombes put the local history societies in touch with the National Trust and BathNES archeology department to decide where the stone should go. Based on maps from the early 1800s, the marker has been returned to its original position.

It was used by the Bath Corporation in the late 1700s as a marker stone for one of the many springs in the area which watered their development in Bathwick. It is thought that there are many more on Bathampton Down; the National Trust has now drawn the attention of the Bathwick History Society to another further down North Road.

The enlarged pedestrian refuge over the canal bridge has run into some problems. The wider refuge,was designed to force drivers to slow down around it. Unfortunately they are not slowing down but driving into the kerb instead. There have now been four instances of kerb stones on the pavement and central refuge being knocked out of place.

While one accident may have been unfortunate, four is recognisably more serious. Today the BathNES traffic and safety team are inspecting the damage and will try to coem up with improvements. I shall update post this with ‘highlights’ of their report when I receive it.

—–

After the site visit, the initial proposals are thus:

•  the pedestrian refuge needs to be altered to make it smaller and stronger
• the white lines on the road should be adjusted
• visibility from uphill should be checked.

Expenses and allowances for the last financial year have been published by BathNES council (although the web page appears to be intermittent). In the interests of transparency I thought I’d put them up here too just so that you know.

From my election last May until the end of March, I have been paid £6,702.01 in allowances. This is not technically a salary, although it is nearly all taxed (thank you Gordon Brown, you doubled my tax from 10% to 20%). It compensates for the hundreds of hours I spend on council business when I could be earning money with a real job. I pay for my printing, postage and phone from this.

I do not have any ’special responsibility allowances’. The committee I sit upon is not important enough to pay any extra.

I have claimed £118.80 in travel expenses. This is for three reurn rail journeys to Coventry for a training course I was sent upon (it was very worthwhile); I booked in advance and used my own ‘young persons’ railcard’ to reduce the cost. I also claimed for a return bus and train journeys to Keynsham. I have not claimed bicycle allowance for cycling to meetings in Bath, that seems a bit greedy.

In the period assessed I attended 4 out of 4 Full Council meetings and 2 of 3 Regulatory & Access Committee meetings. I did not attend the first of these as I had a percieved conflict of interest with the main agenda item. I have also substituted once onto the Corporate Audit Committee, which was very exciting and held in a genuine church crypt. [In the last month I have attended another Full Council, a Regs & Access and a Planning Committee but these are outside of the timeframe]

I hope that satisfied your curiosity. Some councillors do even less work for their money http://www.libdemvoice.org/david-murphy-2-2705.html

Thank you Bath University Students’ Union for the invite to the Annual Reception. The councillor’s never ending round of pothole maintenance is always enlivened by a  good drinks and nibbles reception. Rest assured that I was hard at work between the sausage rolls and odd chicken bites, though.

The evening was very well attended, which started auspiciously when I got off the 18 bus and spotted my colleague, Cllr David Bellotti, in the Council Chair’s car. Apparently the slightly tatty BathNES flag which caught my attention is due to be replaced soon with the new logo. I have been to ‘Elements’ (the Union bar) countless times, but walking up with the Chair of the Council was the first time that I have been escorted by SU staff!

Deputy Mayor of Bath, Cllr Paul Crossley, was also in a attendance - he lives in Sham Castle Lane, so it wasn’t far to come. With the two Oldfield councillors there too it made a total of 5 Lib Dems to an event that the Conservatives had ignored. I am always reassured to be at an event that the Tories don’t care for.

Around the formal speeches the rest of the evenign was a flurry of networking with the Vice Chancellor and University management, Student Union sabbatical officers and staff and the local residents’ associations with plenty to discuss. I am getting better at working a reception after a year’s experince of drinks and nibbles but there is still much room for improvement. I have never bettered my first function, at the launch of the Bath Music Festival last year, when expert hosts passed me effortlessly from the Mayor to Vice Chancellor to Joanna MacGregor, pianist and Festival director.