Nicholas Coombes

This seems to be the time of year for AGMs.

Last week I was pleased to be invited to the Sydney Buildings Householders’ Association (punctuation derrived from www.sydneybuildings.org.uk) meeting at which accounts werre approved and a new committee elected. We also had quite a discussion about the proposed student accomodation and use of the tow path, both of which were very useful for me and hopefully the householders too. At one point I suggested a community clearup session along the canal; I am still working on that one but hope to be organised before it gets too cold.

The Bathwick and Widcombe Liberal Democrat Association had our AGM last week also. The local association is mainly working on social activities and fundraising right now, having recently established themselves. Our annual Summer garden party and post Christmas drinks are quickly establishing themselves a fine reputation, with other events invented regularly! Joining the Liberal Democrats is an excellent way of supporting the work that Armand and I do in Bathwick and that of Don Foster, our MP. As our many new members are finding out, it’s also a satisfying and enjoyable way to meet like-minded people; have a look at http://libdems.org.uk/get_involved.

Finally, it is the constituency party’s AGM on Friday, a slightly more formal affair of accounts and elections. Generally it attracts the more dedicated party members; plus councillors, who are expected to make the effort!

This month’s public surgery has a change of date and venue. Cllrs Coombes and Edwards shall be at King Edward’s School on Saturday 11th October at 11am.

This month’s venue is an attempt to move the location of the surgery around the ward to make them convenient to different areas. King Edward’s School have kindly provided us with space in the foyer of their theatre building; this is directly opposite the Cleveland Walk junction on North Road. The surgery will be signed from the car park. Bathwick St Mary’s Church have previously provided an excellent venue and service for nearly all of the other public surgeries and we hope to return there again. We also hope to use the Claverton Community Hall again in the future.

There is also a slight change of date for October. Generally the surgery is on the first Saturday of every second month. This month that clashed with the Rifles freedon parade through the city, for which I was already booked. We will also continue with our 11am starts to provide a slightly more civil start time for participants, including councillors!

Please do turn up between 11 and noon; there is no need to book an appointment. We shall be waiting to discuss any ideas and issues with you.

This month’s Focus included the word ‘licence’ following the US convention of ‘license’. I have now re-set my spell checker to use British English, rather than US English. In previous issues, I have failed to update our surgery date, substituted ‘off’ for ‘on’ and misattributed the A4.

You may not know that Armand Edwards and I write all of our Foci, then I design the pages on my home computer. We print these at our own expense, one for each home in Bathwick. We, and a brilliant team of volunteers, then deliver these updates by hand once every two months. I hope that you find them useful, which is why we continue to publish.

Thank you to the individual who took the trouble to email with a correction yesterday. However, I trust that not every elector will decide how to vote on the basis of a spelling mistake.

Nicholas Coombes joined local walkers and ramblers in celebrating the re-opening of Quarry Road footbridge. The bridge has been recently replaced by the university after a three year absence.

Since the original bridge was closed in 2005 the campaign for its replacement has been at times tortuous, but ultimately successful. Cllr Coombes raised the matter personally with the vice chancellor and has involved the council’s Regulatory & Access Committee. The committee chair, the chief executive of BathNES and other ward councillors had also written to Bath University demanding action. A local group, celebrating yesterday, had threatened legal action to re-open the footpath.

“I am disappointed that the University chose not to use the winner of the student design competition,” said Cllr Coombes, “but at least this bridge is now open. While working for the bridge’s replacement, I have tried to keep local residents informed about progress and also to tell the University know how this was harming their reputation. I hope that we can start to build greater understanding between the institution and its neighbours and we shall shortly be launching a Neighbours Forum to do this.”

The university Autumn term starts next week, but new students are moving into their campus halls this weekend.

20% of students are expected to arrive on Saturday with the majority, 60% on Sunday. The remainder will move into their new accomodation on Monday. Locals will know to expect heavy traffic, especially from the motorway, and queues on the university campus. It may also be a bad time to shop at Fresh or attempt a coffee at Dolce Vita (these are the campus retail outlets).

This means that Freshers’ week is about to begin, with young adults newly liberated from their families starting an independent life. The Students’ Union has promised a greater choice of alcohol free events and a reduced level of Bathwick Hill commuting from previous years. Please be understanding, but if you have reasonable concerns, call the student action line (01225 385245) or use this webform http://www.townandgown.org.uk/complaint to leave a message.

Bath University’s masterplanning exercise reaches another stage next month with the publication and consultation on the draft masterplan. A staffed exhibition will take place on campus in the University library (27th-31st October, open 24hrs, staffed 12-2pm) and in the Bath Guildhall (31st Oct and Sat 1st Nov). This will show areas of the campus thought suitable for academic facilities, residential units and areas not suitable for development. Yours comments and suggestions will be invited.

Nick Clegg really is a very good public speaker.

I’m sorry that I couldn’t be at conference this year, but I was able to watch his closing speech on TV (possibly the first time I have found a use for BBC parliament). It’s now at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk_politics/2008/party_conferences_2008/default.stm

I strongly recommend watching it if you are interested in values and society. You should be able to recognise our own Don Foster in the audience and possibly my colleague Cllr Roger Symmonds who also has a moment of fame.

Wet weather has delayed the opening of the new university footbridge over Quarry Road. The bridge is now in place, but staff estimate a further week before the approach paths are laid.

Delivery of the bridge itself was put back due to heavy rain as the police delayed the over-sized motorway convoy. Since then, the bridge has been installed but groundworks and concreting has understandably taken longer. The new bridge is higher to avoid tall vehicle strikes, but this means that the approach paths need to be re-graded. With drier weather forecast, this work is expected to be completed this week.

In a conversation with Cllr Coombes providing the revised information, the bridge project director apologised for the delay. Meanwhile the Vice-Chancellor is taking no chances and has arranged the formal opening ceremony for mid October.

Finally the graffiti on Pulteney Road railway bridge has been painted out by network rail.

I first reported this to them in February 2007, 18 months on the job has been done (admittedly in a good light you can stil make out the tag). However, the ground level graffiti tags on the brick arches have not yet been done, so I will have to start phoning again with reminders.

I spoke today with the manager of Bath Youth Hostel, on Bathwick Hill. The hostel was recently granted a 24 hour drinking and entertainment license, to the concern of their neighbours.

The license was granted by BathNES as no objections were received from local residents. However, the licensing application was poorly advertised and neighbours were not notified of the application. The council claimed that this was because of guidance preventing them from ’soliciting’ objections. Don Foster, MP for Bath and Shadow Culture Secretary, agrees that this was the case previously, but that he and others have since reversed this guidance in parliament.

BathNES should have advertised the licensing application more widely and are now aware of this following Don Foster’s intervention.

However, none of this matters to the manager of the hostel, who did not want a 24 hour license and has no intention to use it! The licenses were applied for by the Youth Hostel Association for every one of their hostels in England and Wales. The manager of Bath Youth Hostel says that their hostel, a Grade II listed building, does not attract many late night drinkers and those few are catered for in town. It makes no sense for the manager to staff a bar all night when there is no demand.

Therefore, despite gaining a 24 hour entertainment and alcohol license, the hours of operation have remained the same and the manager intends to continue closing the bar at 11pm, as she always has. The one exception may be New Year’s Eve, which is understandable.

If your experince suggests that the alcohol and entertainment license at the hostel has caused your quality of life to worsen, despite the manager’s assurances, please take notes and get in contact.