Thank you!

Jane, Lawrence and I are truly humbled to have been re-elected as your councillors by such a big margin in the early hours of Friday morning. 

It was a very long night, largely because at one point the counting staff managed to apparently lose our box of postal votes!  Still they found them in the end and finally, at about 5.30am, the result was announced as being:

Ansell	Roger	Labour	575
King	Nick	Conservative	1,865
Kirkland	Shaun	Liberal Democrats	397
Montrose	Jane	Conservative	1,755
Rose	Margaret	Independent	802
Sharman	Debbie	Labour	512
Sibanda	Innocent	Liberal Democrats	318
Williams	Lawrence	Conservative	1,743

Thank you to everyone who voted for us and to those who didn't but still bothered to take part.  We pledge to continue our work of the last four years - keeping you in touch with local issues, fighting over development and striving for a lasting solution to our area's parking problems.

Riverside Avenue development update

I didn’t manage to speak to the Planning Officer dealing with the latest application for Riverside Avenue until Wednesday.  As I suspected, he doesn’t have a great deal of information at this time because the application is still one that only covers what would be required from the council in terms of an environmental audit to cover the screening to be placed around any potential development.  At the moment there’s no indication of what kind of housing the 160 units would comprise, what the lay out would be or what form the nursing home and health care facility attached to the application might take.

He was able to tell me a little more about the outline of the plan though:

·         The application has come not from Troika as we thought but from the Trustees of the Cooper Dean Estate who actually own the land (Troika have an option on the land for their development)

·         It definitely doesn’t go outside the current footprint of the field between Riverside Avenue and the backs of the Courts and the Hospital.  Nor does it include the Retired Nurses Home site, that would remain surrounded by the development.

·         The land is designated in the Borough Plan as Commercial/Industrial.  Therefore any change to residential would need agreement by the Planning Board to a fundamental change in use.

 But most importantly:

 

·         The proposal shows access being gained through Riverside Avenue and NOT from the A338.

This last point is of course the one of most concern.  Accessing the site for so many properties via Riverside Avenue would place an unacceptable  burden on Castle Lane East and would require the widening of Riverside Avenue causing, I would believe, an unacceptable degree of environmental damage to the south side of the road which is of course green belt.

To that end Jane and I have already made it know we would not support any application that accesses the site through Riverside Avenue and with Lawrence we would campaign actively against it.  At this point there’s not much to campaign against in the sense that it isn’t a formal application.  However that message is being taken back to the applicants by the Planning Officer.

New Troika Planning Application

The Council’s weekly Planning Application List was produced late Thursday and it includes an fresh application by Troika for their land at Riverside Avenue (at the back of the hospital).

The new proposal is for ‘screening for the erection of a up to 3 storey 60 bed nursing home, a three storey health care and nursing facility and up to 160 dwellings with associated landscaping, vehicular access and car parking’

Currently the application is for an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) which essentially means that Troika are testing the ground over the changes to their previous applications.  An Environmental Impact Assessment asks the Council to respond telling them what they would have to do in terms of environmental reports were they to go ahead with an application.  There are therefore no detailed plans for us to look at.

To remind you, the planning permission that’s already been passed is for a new junction on the Wessex Way, a park and ride facility to the south east of Riverside Avenue (alongside the sewerage works) and for offices on the land identified here.  We have been consistent in opposing the application because part of it is on green belt land and most importantly the office application provided for accommodation for up to 5,000 workers but parking for no more than 2,000 of them.

Our greatest, and most immediate, concern is the point about ‘vehicular access’.  I have been told that Troika have been attempting to get out of their commitment to build a new junction on the A338 to service this site for a little while.  If their new application for housing proposes accessing the site through Riverside Avenue, and therefore Castle Lane East, that would be a very major concern.  Castle Lane is already over capacity and I cannot see a circumstance where that would be acceptable.

It would appear that this fresh application does not impact upon the green belt.  However, as with any application for this site, it does impact greatly upon the Retired Nurses Home and we would therefore want to talk to the trustees and residents to make sure their interests are protected.

It may be though that housing is a better prospect on this site rather than offices, particularly if there is sufficient parking provided.  We of course need to see much more detail and therefore I’ve requested an urgent meeting on Tuesday with the Chief Planning Officer to go through what he knows of the scheme.  Once we have a little more information we can pass that on to local residents and obtain your opinion before formulating our position in either opposing or supporting the change from offices to housing.

We will, as always, keep you up to date.  Do please let me know if you would like any more information, particularly about the history of this site, or if you have any initial thoughts.

Residents' Parking & Traffic Issues

Our pilot Residents' Parking Permit scheme is getting underway in Newlands Road - the existing yellow line has been removed and the new bays due to be put down any day.  As promised, we are working hard to address the considerable parking problems in various areas within our ward. 

Currently we are carrying out a consultation with residents in Ovington, Cheriton and surrounding roads looking at various options to address traffic volume, speed and parking issues there.

Green Waste Collections

I thought you may find it useful to know that the 2011 Green Waste Scheme has started today and will run until Friday 25th November.  Additionally, the garden waste collections in Kings Park will recommence on Sunday 10th April from 9am until 1pm. They will run every Sunday until the end of November 2011.

Temporary Traffic Order - Littledown Avenue

We've received the following Temporary Traffic Order pertaining to Littledown Avenue and Thistlebarrow Road in Old Littledown.  Any concerns or queries, please do get in touch.



TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC


NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Bournemouth Borough Council, under provisions contained in Section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 as amended by The Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992, has resolved for a maximum period of 5 days:

To prohibit waiting at any time on Littledown Avenue - on both sides for the entire length, and Thistlebarrow Road - on both sides from its western junction with Littledown Avenue to the access into the football ground.  This is because works are to be executed on or near the highway to Maintain Emergency Access.  Bournemouth Borough Council will carry out the works.  Access to properties will be maintained commensurate with the progress of the works and site safety.

 It is envisaged that works will be completed on 12 March 2011, however this prohibition by Notice will be effective for a maximum period of 5 days from 12 March 2011 until 16 March 2011

 N.B: The restriction(s) in this Notice may be extended by a further Notice or an Order until such time as the works are complete.

 The Council regrets any inconvenience to the public caused by this temporary prohibition.

Gadget Recycling for Bournemouth

Bournemouth's introduced a new scheme for recycling gadgets.  It's good to see that recycling is continually being made easier for residents.  Council press release follows:

Recycle your gadgets!
New recycling banks have been introduced to help Bournemouth residents environmentally dispose of their small electrical items.

Goods classed as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) include small kitchen appliances, mobiles phones, ICT equipment, lamps, electric tools and entertainment gadgets such as games consoles and music equipment - anything which needs electricity to fulfil their main function.

The banks can be found at Cranmer Road Car Park, Winton, and Hawkwood Road Car Park in Boscombe. A third will be placed in Durley Road Car Park, West Cliff, later this month.

Councillor Michael Filer, portfolio holder for Environment & Transport, said: "Electrical and electronic equipment plays an ever-increasing role in our daily lives and it is difficult to know sometimes what to do with items which we no longer need, are broken or simply want to get rid of. I am delighted we are able to offer an environmental solution and I would encourage as many people as possible to use the new recycling banks."

He added: "I am so proud of Bournemouth's recycling achievements to date. We have already reached the 50 per cent mark and are now progressing ahead. We are in the top ten per cent of authorities in the UK and hope when the next official figures are published later this year, we will be amongst the leaders."

Georgina Lamb, Environment and Recycling Officer, said: "In Britain we throw away a million tonnes of household electrical and electronic waste every year and is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the UK. If the item is still working we would always advise trying to pass it on for someone else to reuse - perhaps via a charity shop. However when goods have reached the end of their life please use the new banks so it can be recycled. Together we can recycle more and waste less!"

Items dropped at the banks must be no more than 60cm x 45cm x 35cm in size. Anything larger will need to be taken to Millhams Household Recycling Centre in Ringwood Road near Longham as leaving items outside the banks can lead to a prosecution for flytipping.

Examples of small electrical items which can be disposed of in the new banks:

*       Small kitchen equipment - kettles, toasters, food processors, fryers, grinders, coffee machines, electric knives
*       Small living room equipment - lamps, heaters, irons, DVD players, telephones, computers, laptops, clocks
*       Small domestic care equipment - irons, smoke alarms, heat detectors
*       Personal care equipment - hair dryers, razors, shavers, toothbrushes, massagers
*       Gadgets - mobile phones, MP3 players, cameras, sports equipment, toys, video games, games consoles
*       Small DIY/Garden tools - drills, shredders, sanders
*       Electrical wire/extension leads