Whiteladies Picture House

From left to right: Cllr Margaret Hickman, me,
Cllr Mahmadur Khan, planning officer, another planning
officer, Cllr Alex Pearce.  Thanks to @CllrMKhan for the photo!

Earlier this week, the planning committee which I chair went on a site visit to the former Whiteladies Picture House on Whiteladies Road.  The building is listed, but has fallen into a terrible state of disrepair since the cinema closed just over a decade ago.

There is asbestos inside, and lots of other nasty things (including lots of pigeon mess), so unusually, the committee had to get dressed up in protective gear before going in for a look.

On a hot day, donning full protective overalls, hard hats and face masks was not particularly pleasant! But, it was an amusing picture, and a worthwhile visit, giving the committee a real insight into the state of the building before making a decision on the planning application related to it.

15 July - ‘All Together Bristol’

Come and celebrate Bristol: Give a positive message!

On the afternoon of 15 July from 2pm to 3pm the Bristol Multi-Faith Forum and Building the Bridge are gathering on Millennium Square in Bristol to bring together the communities of Bristol to celebrate the continuing and growing unity of all groups in Bristol. This will be a positive message to the people of Bristol that we value diversity and this in turn benefits the city. It shows the way to those who seek to divide, that coming together and sharing is the way forward. There will be a short 'peace walk', a band and some brief presentations on what it means to be a Bristolian in this wonderfully diverse city. As many community groups as possible are invited to attend and help will also be needed on the day. For more information please email info@bristolmultifaithforum.org.uk or see http://www.bristolmultifaithforum.org.uk/’

Back of Berkeley Square?

Much of my work as a councillor is dealing with issues raised with me by residents.  Most of it is fairly routine, but occasionally a resident will contact me with a more uncommon (an in this case quite interesting) query.

Between Upper Byron Place (just off the Triangle) and Berkeley Square, there is a small road - red on the map - and a nearby resident has asked what its name is.

Mark Wright and I have done a quick bit of detective work using the Council's fantastic 'Know Your Place' system for old maps (see http://maps.bristol.gov.uk/knowyourplace)

From the 1750 map, at this time the area is almost entirely fields, the only exception being what is now Triangle South, which was a lane called Washingtons Bridge.  However, by 1828 Berkeley Square has been laid out, and from the map (left) it seems like this mysterious road might have provided rear access to the new properties.

By the time the 1855 map was drawn, new houses had been built to the west of Berkeley Square, and being slightly up hill from Byron Place, the decision was made, it seems, to name these 'Upper Byron Place'.

Today, the road is an adopted highway, and is classified by the Council as a footway.  The Council has the power to name streets which don't have names, and one of the suggested names is 'Back of Berkeley Square' (taking the example of 'Back of Kingsdown Parade' - see here).  I gather that Friends of Brandon Hill are busy discussing this at the moment, but if you have any thoughts, either on this suggestion, or if you have your own suggestion for a name, I would be very interested to hear it!

A Mayor for Bristol?

On 3rd May, there will be a referendum on whether Bristol is to have an elected mayor. Below I try to give a detailed explanation of what's being proposed, and some of the arguments for/against which have been expressed.

How does the Council currently work?

Bristol residents elect 70 councillors. Those 70 councillors elect one of their number to be Leader, who then appoints other councillors to form a Cabinet. The Leader/Cabinet is responsible for all executive decision making on behalf of the Council. In practice, the Leader comes from the political party with a majority of councillors (because no other party is big enough to outvote them). Where no party has an overall majority, the result is less certain - in order to be Leader, a councillor will need the support of more than just their own party colleagues. (This has been the case in Bristol for much of the last decade).

Once the Council has elected a Leader, it then is able to scrutinise the way they are doing the job. However, it has no power to control the decisions which are made. If the Leader/Cabinet makes an unpopular decision, the only option available to the full Council to change that decision is to remove the Leader from office and elect somebody new. (There is a process called 'call in' which allows the decision to be reviewed, but a call in cannot change the decision.)

As above, the Leader/Cabinet is responsible for executive decision making. But not everything is an executive decision. Some decisions made by the Council (e.g. planning applications) are called non-executive decisions. Legally, these decisions cannot be made by the Leader/Cabinet. Instead, they are the responsibility of the full Council, though in practice such decisions are made by a committee, such as the planning committee.

Some decisions are made jointly by the Cabinet and the full Council. One example is the budget - the Leader/Cabinet is responsible for proposing a budget to full Council. However, full Council make the final decision on whether the budget is approved, amended or rejected by a simple majority vote.

The definition of executive and non-executive decisions is a matter of law. (See here!)

What is the change being proposed?

If Bristol votes 'yes' on 3rd May, the Leader will be replaced with a Mayor who is directly elected by the people of Bristol. There will still be 70 councillors, but instead of one of them being elected as Leader, executive decisions will be made instead by the Mayor. Like the leader, the Mayor will appoint a Cabinet consisting of councillors.

Like under the current system, non-executive decisions will still be made by committees on behalf of the full Council, and not by the Mayor/Cabinet.

For jointly made decisions, such as the budget, any changes to the Mayor's proposals will require the support of two thirds of the full Council (rather than just a simple majority as at present).

Will the Mayor have more power than a Leader?

At present, it seems not. The Mayor will only have the same powers that the Leader currently has. One example commonly cited in Bristol is bus services. The Leader currently has no control over First Bus or the services it operates. Neither will the Mayor. The Mayor will also have no control over non-executive matters, such as planning applications. This means that having a Mayor will not change whether the council supports (or otherwise) planning applications for major projects e.g. football stadia.

Many of those in favour of having a Mayor argue that, once Bristol votes 'yes', the Government will be willing to give the Mayor more power to tackle problems and make improvements. The Government is currently offering 'city deals' - more money and power for cities. The criteria for this are vague and ambiguous. Initially, the Government said that being offered a 'city deal' was not dependent on having an elected mayor. It is now saying that only cities with 'robust' governance arrangements (in which it includes an elected mayor) will be made an offer. To some, this seems like a bribe to Bristol to vote 'yes' in the referendum.

What geographical area will the Mayor cover?

Many of Bristol's problems arise from the fact that the City Council's administrative area doesn't include much of the 'real' city, either in terms of the full urban area, or the area which might be described as Bristol in economic terms. This means that decisions affecting the city are being made by four different local authorities - Bristol, Bath & NE Somerset, South Gloucestershire, and North Somerset.

An elected mayor for Bristol would only have authority over the Bristol City Council area. It would make no difference to the other three local authorities.

At present, the four authorities work in partnership in a number of areas (e.g. transport and planning). This is done very much on the basis of them being equal partners. Some concerns have been expressed outside of Bristol that a Mayor would upset this partnership working, by introducing personality politics and alienating the surrounding authorities.

What is the cost?

This has been the subject of quite some dispute. In some ways, the cost is irrelevant - the proportion of its budget that the Council spends on 'democracy' (e.g. elections, councillors' allowances, meetings) is probably less than 1%, and if the change to a Mayor is seen as a good thing, isn't the additional cost worth paying?

The two main additional costs of having a Mayor seem to be:

• The cost of extra elections. Electoral Services say that the cost of electing a Mayor every four years would be £350-400,000
• Salary. The Leader is currently paid £51,889. The Dept for Communities and Local Government says that a Mayor would probably be paid around £100,000.

Those in favour of an elected mayor argue that the benefits of having a mayor vastly outweigh these costs. It has also been suggested that the Mayor would abolish the post of Chief Executive (the most senior full-time paid employee who is paid approx £190,000) and personally take over day-to-day management of the Council's staff.

What are the advantages of having an elected mayor?

Some of the arguments put forward in favour of an elected mayor are:

• It would bring 'stability' to the city. At present, the Council has elections every three years out of four, meaning that the Leader could change on an almost-annual basis. A mayor elected for a four year term could think more strategically without constantly having an eye on the election which is less than twelve months away.

• The position might attract a higher calibre of candidate, perhaps somebody who isn't involved in party politics. An independent candidate, for example, would be more likely to make decisions which are good for Bristol, rather than good for a political party.

• An elected mayor would be a figurehead who could promote the city and lobby for more money and power.

• A Mayor would be directly elected by the people of Bristol, so it would be more democratic.

And what are the disadvantages?

On the other hand:

• Elections give the people of Bristol a chance to offer their verdict on what the Council is doing. The "stability" of having a mayor elected once every four years just means that the Mayor can do what they like, without Bristol residents having a chance to 'apply the brakes'.

• Would an independent candidate really win? Or would it simply be another party political election, with a career politician being elected? There are no independent councillors in Bristol - what reason is there to think that people would vote for an independent mayor?

• Bristol's 70 councillors represent the diversity of the entire city. Giving them a say over how the Council is run (by allowing them to choose and scrutinise the Leader) means that that diversity is represented. How can an elected mayor - just one person - represent everything about Bristol?

• The arguments in favour of an elected mayor focus on what is wrong with Bristol, in the belief an elected mayor could more easily 'put it right'. But they ignore what is being achieved under the current system. In recent months, Bristol has been awarded over £100m in grants by central government for major transport projects, better bus services and primary school places, and in recent weeks has been shortlisted for the prestigious accolade of being European Green Capital. This is in addition to countless other awards such as being a top European city for international investment and M Shed being shortlisted for a Museum of the Year award. The Leader is already able to lobby for Bristol - what reason is there to think that an elected mayor would do a better job?

• Whether we have a Leader or a Mayor, one of the jobs of backbench councillors is to scrutinise them and hold them to account. Is scrutiny not more effective when it is backed up with the threat of the ultimate sanction, removal from office? Once a Mayor is elected, they could wilfully ignore the scrutiny of councillors and do whatever they like for four years with utter impunity.

• The Mayor may be directly elected, but so are the councillors. How can it be argued therefore that the Mayor's mandate is greater than the councillors', or that it is more democratic? And why does it need a 2/3rds majority to change the Mayor's plans? If councillors are also democratically accountable, isn't this undermining their ability to effectively represent their constituents?

What do the political parties think?

Bristol's Conservatives have stated their support for an elected mayor, and have produced leaflets in favour of a 'yes' vote. Labour have said that their official position is one of neutrality, though a selection of senior Labour members (including councillors and MPs) have also stated publicly that they wish Bristol to have an elected mayor. The Green Party are opposed.

Like Labour, the Lib Dems have adopted a neutral position, believing that the decision should be made by the people of Bristol without influence from political parties. Lib Dem members and councillors are therefore able to campaign either for or against an elected mayor, and I know that there are fellow Lib Dems in both 'camps'.

Should Bristol change the way it elects it councillors?

This is a bit of a red herring. Some of the the discussion of an elected mayor has focussed on whether Bristol should change to having 'all up' elections every four years (i.e. every councillor elected for four years on the same day) rather than the current system where 1/3 of councillors are elected every year (i.e. elections for three years, with a fourth year with no election). This is certainly a discussion which needs to be had, but that is regardless of whether there is to be an elected mayor. And only the full Council or the government could change the city's electoral arrangements - whether we have a Mayor or not.

How am I going to vote in the referendum?

At the moment, I am inclined to vote no. I acknowledge some of the benefits it is claimed an elected mayor would have. But I also believe these benefits are not guaranteed to actually come about, and even if they do, many of them are intangible. On the other hand, I believe the disadvantages are real and significant. I also don't believe that the current system is as dreadful as is often claimed. Admittedly Bristol has some problems, but an elected mayor is not a panacea, and nobody has yet managed to make a convincing argument to me that simply fiddling with the Council's governance arrangements will solve those problems.

More Information

The Council's official, neutral information on the referendum is here.

The 'Yes' campaign can be found here. The 'No' campaign is here.

There is an interesting Guardian article about the referendum here.

Cabot eNews - January 2012

Dear Resident,

Happy New Year, and we hope you had a happy Christmas!

Welcome to this edition of Cabot eNews - your monthly local e-newsletter
from Cabot councillors Alex Woodman and Mark Wright. Cabot eNews is sent
to those who have expressed an interest in what is happening in Cabot
ward and central Bristol. If you're receiving Cabot eNews for the first
time, we hope you find it useful and informative. If not, please let us
know and we will remove you from the distribution list.

In this edition:

1. College Green camp to leave
2. Bristol successful in all 3 major transport bids!
3. Park St bus-stop improvement works
4. Bristol secures further £19m funding for new primary places
5. Bristol primary schools consolidate progress
6. Redcliffe Residents Parking consultation
7. Kingsdown Residents Parking update
8. £50 million investment for Bristol's priority infrastructure
9. £1m for Bearpit transformation
10. £0.5m million investment for Stokes Croft gateway to Bristol
11. 50% recycling rate first dividend of new waste contracts
12. New Cut clean-up by Friends of Avon New Cut
13. Exhibitions at M Shed 2012
14. Spike Island Gallery Exhibitions
15. Safety is the priority for Bristol's first mobile enforcement car
16. Kings Arms pub planned conversion to student flats
17. Future of Bristol Ice Rink
18. Friends of Brandon Hill AGM
19. Persistent illegal fly posters to pay over £1,000
20. Bristol's first Rickshaw company
_________________

1. College Green camp to leave

In the New Year the Council and the Cathedral (as the landowners)
jointly decided to proceed with legal action to recover possession of
College Green. There was a court hearing on Friday 13th, at which the
bulk of the protesters chose not to contest the case and not to attend -
having previously decided that it was time for the protest to move on. A
small number of protesters did attend and did not help their case by
their behaviour towards the judge. The judge then ruled in favour of the
Council and Cathedral.

A spokesman for the camp has said that they intend to leave within a
couple of weeks and to try to clear the park to the best of their
ability. Talks are continuing between the camp, the Council and the
Cathedral to finalise how and when the camp will move on. Alex and I
welcome that this appears to be a peaceful conclusion to the protest and
hope the park will be back to its former glory soon.
_________________

2. Bristol successful in all 3 major transport bids!

Over the Christmas period the Government announced that - to the
surprise of quite a few - Bristol had been successful in all 3 of its
major transport bids:

* Ashton Vale to Temple Meads Rapid Transport Line - £50m
* South Bristol Link (new road and Rapid Transport Line) - £45
* North Fringe to Hengrove Rapid Transit Scheme - £102m

This £200m will have a transformative effect on Bristol transport over
the next decade, and is an indication of how seriously the Coalition
government takes Bristol's chronic transport problems.
_________________

3. Park St bus-stop improvement works

As part of the new bus scheme along Whiteladies Road, the two existing
bus stops on College Green will be combined into a larger single stop,
with a larger shelter providing better weather protection and an
upgraded real time passenger information (RTPI) display providing
predicted departure times. In addition, the pavement will be widened to
create more space for pedestrians, and passengers waiting at the stop.

As well as the bus stop improvements, the works also include the upgrade
of the pedestrian crossing across Park Street. Works will last for
approximately ten weeks and will be carried out in four stages so that
disruption is kept to a minimum.
_________________

4. Bristol secures further £19m funding for new primary places

Bristol City Council has secured a further £19 million funding to create
more new primary places in the city. This follows a recent allocation of
£18.3 million emergency funding from government this financial year, in
recognition of the scale of the challenge Bristol faces in creating new
primary places.
_________________

5. Bristol primary schools consolidate progress

Test results for children in their final year of primary school show
there has been continued progress in raising standards, according to the
latest figures released by the government today. The percentage of
Bristol children achieving level 4 or above, the level of appropriate
for their age, at Key Stage 2 is:

English 80% (78% 2010, 72% 2007)
Maths 80% (80% 2010, 69% 2007)
_________________

6. Redcliffe Residents Parking consultation

Informal consultation in Redcliffe begins on Wednesday 11th January 2012
and closes on Friday 10th February 2012. Alex and I have been
campaigning for this for a couple of years, including a petition
submitted by Alex last year, so we are very happy to see this at last!

Full details of the proposals can be found online at
www.bristol.gov.uk/redclifferps and the plans will also be available for
inspection at Bedminster Library from 11th January. There will be a
drop-in session at Bedminster Library on Tuesday 31st January from
3.30pm-7.30pm.
_________________

7. Kingsdown Residents Parking update

The proposals to make some minor amendments to the Kingsdown Residents'
Parking Scheme went out to statutory consultation in December. The
consultation period has now closed and a decision on whether or not to
proceed with the changes will be made next month. The council promised
to make tweaks to the scheme after a review was carried out in July last
year.
_________________

8. £50 million investment for Bristol's priority infrastructure

The Lib Dem Council Cabinet has announced a budget proposal for an
additional £50 million to be invested in priority infrastructure across
the city.

The Investing in Bristol's Future package will help stimulate the city's
economy and create new jobs. It will focus on urgent investment needed
in services such as school places, transport and elderly care. More
details here:
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/press/council-and-democracy/%C2%A350-million-investment-bristol%E2%80%99s-priority-infrastructure

_________________

9. £1m for Bearpit transformation

Most important for Cabot in the £50m identified above is the prospect of
£1m towards the transformation of the "Bear-pit" at St James Barton
roundabout, to expand on the great work done by the Bearpit Improvement
Group. Details:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-16484476
_________________

10. £0.5m million investment for Stokes Croft gateway to Bristol

Work has started on £190k improvements to Stokes Croft. The work will
include:

* the complete replacement of the existing poor quality footpath from
City Road to 51'02
* removing and relocating signs and street furniture to 'declutter' the area
* provision of new bins and cycle stands
* widening the footpath outside the Full Moon
* changing the end of Moon Street to make it more pedestrian and cycle
friendly.

These works were prioritised by the local community from the vision set
out in the St Paul's Neighbourhood Plan. Further improvements are
planned for Stokes Croft later this year with £300k from the
Government's new Local Sustainable Transport Fund. The Stokes Croft
Traders group has agreed this money should be focussed on the widest
section of Stokes Croft below the City Rd junction.
_________________

11. 50% recycling rate first dividend of new waste contracts

Bristol's recycling rate has soared in the last month, thanks to new
waste contracts put in place this year beginning to yield results.
Provisional figures show Bristol's recycling, composting and reuse rate
for November was over 48% - that's 12% higher than this time last year,
and around 7% higher than the previous month.

The landfill rate for November was down to around 28%, compared to 63%
last November (and 88% before Bristol's weekly food & organic kerbside
recycling were introduced in 2006). And the preliminary figures suggest
Bristol will be the #1 council in the country for the smallest
"residual" (i.e. un-recycled) waste per head!

However, there have been a number of teething troubles in some areas
with the new collections teams, including missed collections and other
issues. We are working with the Council and May Gurney to try to get
these sorted as quickly as possible. Please contact us with details if
you are experiencing problems.
_________________

12. New Cut clean-up by Friends of Avon New Cut

Their next event is the Coronation Road riverbank clean-up on Saturday
28th January, 10.00am to 12.00 noon. Meet at Gaol Ferry Bridge (south
side). Wear warm, waterproof clothing and strong shoes and bring
protective gloves if you have them. They will supply spare gloves and
litter-pickers. Free coffee and cake will be your reward afterwards!
_________________

13. Exhibitions at M Shed 2012

Resistance: Which way the future? 5 Jan - 5 Feb
Immersing you in drama, documentary film and audio-visual 'whispering'
voices, Resistance takes you on a journey and time for reflection on a
little-known but significant moment in history.

Norman Parkinson: An Eye for Fashion 21 Jan - 15 Apr
Featuring over 60 vintage fashion photographs, from Norman Parkinson -
one of Britain's most significant portrait and fashion photographers of
the 20th century. Admission charge of £4/£5 applies.

Chinese New Year: 28-29 Jan
2012 marks The Year of the Dragon and both M Shed and Bristol Museum &
Art Gallery will be celebrating.

Bristol Urban Sport: 23 May - 9 Sep
The exhibition will look at the range of sports that take place using
the city's infrastructure - both the natural landscape and the urban
environment.

In addition, M Shed has been short-listed for European Museum of the
Year Award 2012!
_________________

14. Spike Island Gallery Exhibitions

Haroon Mirza: 21 Jan to 18 Mar
Winner of the Silver Lion Award for 'Most Promising Young Artist' at the
2011 Venice Biennale, Mirza merges techniques, approaches, methodologies
and materials from both art and design cultures.

Suzanne Mooney, The Edge of Collapse: 21 Jan to 18 Mar
Spike Island presents a solo show of new photographic work by Bristol
based artist Mooney.
_________________

15. Safety is the priority for Bristol's first mobile enforcement car

Dangerous and inconsiderate illegal parking - at schools, hospitals and
bus stops - is the target for a new camera enforcement car in Bristol.
The car system means that officers can reach multiple schools in the
morning peak to deter motorists from illegal and dangerous parking on
zigzag lines which puts pedestrians - and particularly small children -
at risk.

The car is due to begin operations on 30 January, following a 'warm-up'
period from the 17 to 29 January when motorists who break the rules will
be sent polite warning letters. The car will operate from 0700 to 2200
Monday to Saturday, 0900-1700 on Sunday. It will be deployed to
specific locations at specific times, such as schools during weekday
arrival and exit times.
_________________

16. Kings Arms pub planned conversion to student flats

A set of plans first circulated in 2010 to convert the Kings Arms pub in
High Kingsdown into student flats has returned. Back in 2010 I told the
developer that I would oppose any plans that involve demolishing the pub
building, which is in a decent state and fine for re-use; and that I
would oppose it being converted for student flats because High Kingsdown
is already over 50% converted to multi-occupancy flats and HMOs, which
is harming the sustainability of the local area. If residential is not
possible, then it should be "key worker" accommodation for the local
hospital staff. Since the plans have not changed since 2010, I have
submitted the same objection as before. As chair of the central planning
committee, Alex can't comment on the application in advance.
_________________

17. Future of Bristol Ice Rink

The owners of the ice rink on Trenchard St - the Bristol student
accommodation company Unite - have unveiled plans to partially rebuild
the site as student flats. The plans include a space for "leisure" uses,
which could be a new ice rink, but the space is not as big as the
current rink. However, this issue is more complex than it has been
presented in the media.

I have long supported the building of more purpose built student
accommodation in the city centre (as opposed to Kingsdown - see above),
but like many others we are concerned about the future of ice skating in
Bristol. Alex and I met with the developers to discuss the plans, and
during that meeting I put it to them that there was enough room on the
site to create leisure space that would be just as big as the current
rink. We will see how the developers respond to this proposition at the
end of the public consultation.
_________________

18. Friends of Brandon Hill AGM

If you love Brandon Hill and would like to be involved with taking care
of it, the Friends of Brandon Hill Annual General Meeting will take
place on Tuesday 31st of January starting at 7pm, in the University of
Bristol Systems Centre, Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Rd, BS8
1UB. The meeting will take place in the Knowledge Exchange Suite on the
bottom floor. Please attend if you are interested!
_________________

19. Persistent illegal fly posters to pay over £1,000

Two Bristol men who persistently posted flyers illegally were found
guilty of five charges in magistrates' court in December and were
ordered to pay £1,150 between them. Evidence supplied included CCTV
footage of them posting events adverts illegally from April to June
2011. They pleaded guilty. The posters were pasted in the Gloucester
Road, in Stokes Croft and in the centre. These posters were put up
without the permission of the planning authority on property hoardings
and street furniture.
_________________

20. Bristol's first Rickshaw company

Pedal Walla was created in June 2010 with a simple mission - to bring a
completely new form of green pedal-powered transport to the UK's first
cycling city and make travelling by bicycle rickshaw a part of Bristol's
identity. They have just launched Street Art Tours to attract people to
Bristol to enjoy our fantastic Street Art Culture. If you are interested
in this human-powered mode of transport, visit their website:
http://www.pedalwalla.com/
_________________

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