Ralph Boyer - exhibition opens

Randwick artist, Ralph Boyer had a preview of his exhibition at Kendrick Street Gallery, Stroud this evening - it is entitled "A Touch of Magic" and the exhibition will be open for August. It was great stuff - indeed a touch of magic! I particularly liked the seascapes - especially the one over the door in the photo left. Click here to see his website.

Animal rights and coffee

I was asked to chair the Coffee House Discussion on animal rights at the Star Anise cafe in Stroud last night - a wonderfully lively discussion and a great reminder of how urgently we need to move away from intensive factory farming, not just for the sake of the environment and animals but also our health. It was also great to see so many young people coming along and participating in the discussions.

Click here to read more about the evening.

Planning, hospitals and more

This week has been quiet re Council meetings - for me just a half an hour one looking at planning needs of members - this has allowed me to catch up a bit on other issues like the Folly farm footpath re-routing (see blog below) and two residents issues regarding planning applications that have become rather complicated.

The fight against the hospitals continues - it is great to see 7000 marched in Cheltenham and some 150 made it this week to lobby Patricia Hewitt when she came to Cirencester. I also met this week with 15 year old Ruth Royall lead singer of local award winning band Sub Justice and also now singing on her own - this hugely talented Ebley girl has recorded a wonderful single that she has donated to the Hospital campaign. The recording involved 6 sets of her voice and then adding the Stroud Samba band - am sure it will soon be being heard on local radio and hopefully national.

Other meetings this week have included catching up with Green Stroud District councillors to look at our response to various consultations like the Regional Spatial Strategy (see Blog on 10th July) and meeting with Vision 21 regarding their plans for a conference in October looking at climate change.

Plus the usual general Green party news releases - visit the website to see what we've been doing this week - interestingly my letter in SNJ was sent to them on 17th May!! A number of more recent letters have been sent since then regarding the Government's Energy Review - they really need to print up to date letters.

Folly Farm footpath change - consultation until 23rd August

For background information and links go to my blog on 16th June 2006.

Three people have responded to me already with concerns re the notices that went up a couple of days ago re the consultation of this footpath - that goes through Folly Farm - see photo left. Concerns include trees possibly being cut, the extra people will have to walk, the possible steepness of the slope and more.

I am hoping to arrange a meeting on site with Officers so that the site can be viewed. If people are interested they should phone me on 01453 755451. It is often hard to see just from the plans. I did vote against the proposed change at a recent Development Control meeting as I was not reassured by the information given. However a site visit will hopefully allow us all to see the implications.

There might even be some advantages of opening up a walk along the edge of the brook, but I will need to be considerably more reassured regarding the extra distance to walk, the gradients involved etc and the loss of a Right of Way that has been around for many, many years.

If people wish to make objections, they should write to SDC before 23rd August - see previos Blog for contact details etc. The proposal then may be approved or passed to the Secretary of State to consider.

Ruscombe, Whiteshill - past and present celebrated

Using an interactive and imaginative website, Stroud is engaging us digitally to bring the town's past, present and future to life. There are many different sections about what makes Stroud 'Stroud'.

It explores an area which is defined by the 'Limitation of Stroud' of 1304 and also includes areas which later became part of Stroud parish and Stroud Urban District. These areas include:

Stroud town, Over and Nether Lypiatt, Paganhill, Thrupp, Bourne, part of Brimscombe, Steanbridge, Ruscombe, Whiteshill, Dudbridge, Cainscross, Ebley, Uplands, Rodborough, Badbrook, Beeches Green and Wallbridge.

Visit Digital Stroud at:
http://www.digitalstroud.co.uk/about.php

The Plain, Whiteshill - traffic problems remain unresolved

Another issue that comes up regularly is traffic in the two parishes. This is a County Council issue rather than a District Council one but clearly it has huge implications for all and I think we all need to pull together to find a solution. It is certainly worth letting me, the Parishes and particularly County councillors know about concerns.

This week I've had an email re The Plain (see photo) - the main road through Whiteshill - it is plainly too fast and has those absurd humps do little to slow traffic and only add to noise and look ugly! It was in many ways very sad that the road was straightened in the past as that has only increased speed along it.

I am also against mass parking restrictions on The Plain - this was raised last year at a Parish Council meeting - then I made the point, widely accepted by traffic engineers, that parked cars usually slow traffic, whereas the open road tends to speed traffic. However where it is single file, in some locations, this can lead to cars racing to reduce waiting time of cars coming the other way.

Randwick Parish have also raised problems repeatedly and a few weeks ago I was at a meeting with a group of concerned residents at Nouncells Cross looking at how road dangers could be reduced - they had a huge consultation and plans drawn up by the county over a year ago, but nothing has happened since. Clearly there are funding difficulties and priorities must be those with the most accidents but that doesn't mean we should not look at problems that are adversely effecting communities.

Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish have had the Highways department to look at The Plain - answers were in my view very unsatisfactory - traffic is too fast for many parents to even let their children cross the road on their own to the playground - yet there is no room for a crossing and apparently no way a 20 mph can be put on this road. I understand the Parish are contesting this. I have fully supported this move.

A 20 mph is by no means an answer - nor do I think the answer lies in temporary flashing speed sign that is being considered - I understand that several sites will be looked at and it may be moved to different sites during it's proposed initial 6 weeks in the Parish. At the last parish meeting it was also noted that speeds before and after should be taken to see if it has any effect.

My own view is that we need to start looking at more radical solutions - I have been involved in a project looking at the Shared Spaces approach - where implemented properly it has reduced traffic speeds, congestion and accidents. The Parish may look at a consultant to consider what might be possible - to read more see my brief article on the subject.

I hope this might offer some solutions - humps are not only noisy but ugly and do little to slow traffic - indeed people still speed over the middle of them on The Plain - and we need a solution!

If 'Shared Spaces' ideas seem possible I know the Parish will be looking at consulting - certainly they are open to ideas - sadly it is County that holds the purse strings and have also relied on traditional 'solutions' involving more signs, more humps, more barriers etc. Another huge disatvantage is that I understand that this road is designated as a route for use by emergency vehicles - a route to Gloucester Royal etc - infact I think that was part of why the road was straightened in the first place.

Ideas welcomed! Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish will be discussing the matter further at future meetings.

Noisy recycling?

I have now had two people contact me regarding the 6.00/6.15 am start of the recycling trucks - they - the trucks I mean - are disturbing the sleep of the good people of Whiteshill. Although only once a fortnight, disrupted sleep is for many far from a trivial matter - and to be fair the Council do seem to take the issue seriously.

The earlier start has come about as part of the change to a 4 day week. This was brought in to stop the disruption on the 6 bank holidays each year. Apparently this move has been popular with people - clearly not all.

Unfortunately changing routes can be very disruptive to collections as people get used to certain times and also Whiteshill is early as it is furthest from the tip so the lorries travel the least distance. However contracts are under regular review and the Officer at Stroud District Council who is responsible for this has noted the concerns; one option they are considering is a return to a 5 day week including work on bank holidays. Clearly this has some cost implications. I have also asked that he let's the operators know that quieter collections would be appreciated - this is something he has already raised and clearly moving these materials quietly can be very difficult.

In the meantime I can only suggest that concerned residents raise the matter with Officers at SDC so that a quicker review might be possible.

Another clear-up at Hamwell Leaze

Stroud Valleys Project are planning another habitat restoration workshop at Hamwell Leaze in Cashes Green on Saturday 29th July, 10am -1pm.

Ruscombe Brook at the bottom of Hamwell Leaze is in urgent need of a good clear-out. We will be cutting back overhanging vegetation, getting rid of all the rubbish, dead wood and the occasional bicycle or shopping trolley(!) We will also make the footbridge safer with chicken wire so it’s not too slippery during the wet winter months. The amenity area created at the last habitat workshop will be cut again to keep the grass short and make walking easier. The last habitat workshop proved very popular with the local volunteers, who cleared a large area of brambles to stop them from invading the wildflower meadow - I found over 25 vodka bottles (empty)!

Hamwell Leaze is a 3 acre greenspace gem tucked away between Cashes Green Road and Paganhill Lane in the heavily built up parish of Cainscross, which has 6,000 residents but only about 3% of the land is accessible to the public. Hamwell Leaze is one of the last remaining significant greenspaces in the area and as such is very important for wildlife and the local community. Cainscross Parish Council owns the site and Stroud Valleys Project look after it with the help of local people.

See Blogs for 8th June and 6th July for more re Hamwell Leaze and Blog re the last clear up for 24th June.

Meet: at Hamwell Leaze, by the oak tree. Directions: turn right from Cashes Green Road into Hyett Road. At the end of Hyett Road turn right again into Walter Preston Court. Hamwell Leaze is at the end of the cul-de-sac - follow the signs.

Contact for further info: Ivi Szaboova - Baxendale, Greenspaces and Community Worker, Stroud Valleys Project, tel: 01453 753358

Local artists exhibit - Pete Morris and Ralph Boyer

This weeks' Randwick Runner reports that Randwick artist Pete Morris (19), held his debut Art Exhibition at Stafford Mill, Thrupp. I didn't hear about the evening until later but it seems it went really well - you can check out his website at:
http://www.freewebs.com/petemorris/index.htm

Another Randwick artist, Ralph Boyer opens his exhibition at Kendrick Street Gallery, Stroud - wont be missing this one - Ralph is well known locally and further afield and will be presenting "A Touch of Magic". The exhibition will be open for August.

Walk in Ruscombe - 2 years since Gladwish

The valleys of Ruscombe were alive with some 50 people criss-crossing the footpaths - it is two years since Gladwish Land Management bought the three fields in Ruscombe Valley and divided them up into 184 individual house-size plots.

The Ruscombe Valley Action Group formed to maintain the fields as agricultural land and we have been active eversince. This was our latest action to highlight the concern over the land deteriorating - how can so many plot owners be responsible to look after the land properly?

Photo of footpaths - you can possibly make out, in the distance, people making their way to the playground in Whiteshill for a picnic - I only caught the walk and the beginning of the picnic as I had family staying but by all accounts we were able to make our point and hopefully get some press coverage.

See Blog on June 9th for background information.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Jenny Wren Productions produced The Importance of Being Earnest in the open air at Court Lodge, Randwick by the lake a beautiful setting (Friday to Sunday). I'd missed previous productions and had heard excellent reports about them - keen not to miss this one I'd booked early - it was indeed wonderful - described as Oscar Wilde's "trivial comedy for serious people".

A great evening by a great cast - all directed by Jenny Wicks who lives locally. Many 'picnic-ed' beforehand or drank glasses of wine - a great summer evening - huge thanks to all involved - a quite huge task to put on - another truimph for Randwick! And the Rotary club raised money for honey farmers in Kenya.

Stroud's Environment Green paper

Thursday was Cabinet and one key item was the Environment Green paper - this is the first chance to see the thoughts of how the Council should move forwards to tackle climate change and improve the environment.

This document clearly needs more time and the Green party will be looking at it more closely over the next weeks as it goes out to consultation. However first thoughts are that we certainly welcome this exciting, positive and comprehensive first step. Stroud has already achieved much - success for example with the Eco-Management and Audit scheme and tackling energy efficiency with schemes like Warm and Well - unglamerous compared to other measures but possibly one of the most important in terms of reducing energy use and tackling climate change.

We also particularly welcome the commitment to eradicate fuel poverty and also the statement about dispelling the myth that reducing waste and emissions will mean a reduced living standard.

We accept this is a draft document that will now go for consultation, but there is much that is needed to make this a document that really takes the environment seriously. Some other quick comments:

1. The paper lacks punch or vision. While it identifies many of the most important tasks ahead it fails when it comes to actually aiming for targets - it states things like: "working to make the best contribution we can." It does not adopt specific targets or even aspirations like other Councils have to achieve zero-waste or go carbon neutral.

Clearly as a Council we have problems that relate to what policies come out of central government to support us and clearly many of these activities and actions are difficult to measure. However I think there are few in this room who are not concerned by our future. We need a bolder stating of where we want to go and a mucher greater sense of urgency about enacting these policies.

2. Maybe I've missed it but no where in this document does it specifically accept that human activities are the cause of climate change - indeed it seems to indicate that the causes are unknown. While a very small minority of people do not accept the science I think it is not the place of SDC to not acknowledge the cause of climate change as accepted by Governments, Science academies of all key countries including the US, China and India, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and most scientists working in the field.

3. This leads on to the issue re energy supplies. Cllr Chas Fellow' 'Forward' recognises 'uncertainty over fuel prices and fuel supply' but the document does not. There is strong evidence, accepted by other governments, geologists and oil companies that oil prices are set to double and triple. If nothing else this paper should be making it clear that the measures we are planning are about building a stronger economic future for SDC.

Other comments:

- Latest figures re CO2 emissions and action needed go beyond what is currently planned.
- Global problems list underestimate the seriousness of climate change on the economy, food supplies and much more. It is insulting to suggest effects will be 'some good and some bad' - most will be catastrophic.

Lots more to say - coming soon to Report section of the Green party website.

Julius Caesar and power politics

I've just been fortunate to have been to a course looking at Julius Caesar and the use of power in politics. Lawrence Olivier's son Richard set up a company that mostly works with the big guys - large corporations etc. However he and the actors he works with kindly donated a 2 day course to the Green party.

At the wonderful Gaunt's House mansion with outdoor swimming pool 30 of us including Green MEPs, London Assembly members and councillors from around the country spent time exploring power and how it can be used wisely. To often we see leaders like Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher abuse their power - using Julius Caesar, which must surely be one of the most important political writings, we looked at every aspect - fascinating indeed and hugely useful. I would love to write more but must dash as the outdoor play in Randwick starts soon! If anyone is interested in hearing more please contact me.

End of term and 2 teachers leave Randwick School

This morning dropping off my partner's granddaughter at Randwick school there was more of a buzz than usual - last day of term and summer holidays. The very sad news is that teachers, Mrs Cushnan and Miss Thomas will be leaving - both enormously popular with the children. Sal Cushnan has been there many, many years - fortunately she wont be leaving the area and will still be involved in the Ruscombe Brook Action Group! I wish them both well in their new jobs.

Former Whiteshill headteacher dies

The Stroud News and Journal (19/06/06) report the sad loss of former headteacher of Whiteshill Primary School, Robert Cox who died unexpectedly of heart failure aged 62. Robert, from Upton St Leonards, died at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on June 2.

Many people will know that he worked at our local school for nearly 15 years while his wife Dorothy was also a headteacher - at Longlevens Infant School in Gloucester. Robert left Whiteshill Primary School in 1997, and spent his time caring for adults with learning difficulties.

continued...

The Citizen ask why is environment growing in importance?

The Citizen regularly do column's on a whole range of issues by various politicians and local people. The Green party have rarely had this opportunity so I was very please to have been asked to do 350 words on 'Why is environment growing in importance?' Below is my draft:

Green groups can take significant credit for the growing importance of the environment on the political agenda - but it is also becoming increasingly difficult for all but an ostrich to ignore the signs around us. Over-harvested fish stocks, stretched freshwater supplies, massive deforestation plus the coming end of cheap oil while scientists warn about the severity of runaway climate chaos.

In the UK our lifestyles are using resources equivalent to three planets - this is wholly unsustainable.

People do care about the environment, and more are seeing we can make a difference by our individual actions. Politicians rarely act unless they have public support. More are waking up to our concerns, but we need to be wary of their hypocrisy. It isn't good enough to one minute talk green, the next, airport expansions and road building!

It is not true that living sustainably means living miserably! We can create a green future of greater employment, healthier food, stronger communities, warmer homes from better insulation and a future where, instead of hours in traffic jams, we have clean, safe, reliable public transport. A future self-sufficient in energy: a safer world where foreign policy isn't about securing fossil fuels in unstable parts of the world.

To build this future we must also challenge the very notion of economic growth based on ever increasing use of natural resources. The planet is our life support system: we need to take care of it for ourselves and future generations. Many poorer developing countries need economic growth, but once basic needs are met, research shows that more and more money doesn't make us happier. We are talking about quality of life, not quantity of consumption.

Martin Luther King isn't remembered for having a nightmare, he's remembered for his dream - a positive, inspiring, vision of what the future can be. There are many opportunities. We know what needs to be done. The challenge is for all of us to build sufficient will to start making the changes happen. As more people take the environment seriously we can be sure something better is on it's way - but it needs all of us to do our part.

International Day against Climate Change: action at Staverton

Today I joined various other Green groups in an action organised by the Cheltenham-based Climate Change Action group, to highlight aviations' role in climate change and concerns about expansion at Gloucestershires airport at Staverton.

At a time when few now deny the urgency of addressing climate change, the rapid growth in flying threatens to throw all efforts to reduce dangerous emissions off course. We must work together to find ways of making the aviation industry reduce its social and environmental impact - this action hopes to highlight the absurdity of expanding an industry that is subsidised by £9 billion per year and generates pollution, noise, congestion – and climate change.

See more

Weavers Croft - submission

This is a draft of my submission re Weavers Croft. Please consider making your own submissions if you haven't already - I enclose addresses to send it to at the end. The consultation details can be found at:
http://www.partnershiptrust.org.uk/content/services/mh_consultation.htm


Consultation on Changes to Mental Health Services in Stroud

These proposals will have considerable impacts on Gloucestershire County Council, the voluntary sector, other public bodies and many vulnerable people and their family/carers. The pace of change is too fast, unrealistic and unnecessary in view of my understanding of guidelines by the Government. Our community is also being unfairly penalised for funding problems in other areas of the Strategic Health Authority.

I would like to make the following additional points:

- There is no analysis of other alternatives to the proposed cuts like alternative ownership arrangements or partnership arrangements.

- The proposals seem to be coming from the provider trust rather than the commissioning trust yet it is surely the commissioning trusts that should be consulting on the types of services they would purchase?

- The services at Weavers Croft are recognised locally as being excellent. Closure goes against key policies by failing to recognise patient choice or supporting community services.

- A move to Cheltenham will increase congestion and impact severely on the environment in terms of climate change emissions. Alternatives to travelling by private car are very limited and inadequate to meet the increased need. There also appears to be no consideration of those alternatives and what costs they might entail.

- A move will also significantly increase traveling time and distances by family and friends to visit. I know of many older carers who would not feel confident to drive outside the local Stroud area to Cheltenham. The additional distances will impact severely on family and carers

- many of whom are already stretched to breaking point by the stresses of looking after an elderly person with a mental health problem. Not only could this move lead to the possible need for additional assistance to carers but if fewer visits result that could also impact detrimentally on the elderly person receiving services. For example carers sometimes help feed or just be with the patients: such benefits to the patient of a caring known person cannot be underestimated.

- Information on financial savings is poor with little or no assessment of the impact of these proposals on other bodies or service users. Costs do not for example seem to have been calculated for withdrawing services like day care, the additional transport, restructuring and more. It is also of concern that the majority of savings seem to be being made in cuts on services to older people with mental health problems yet this group nationally already gets a proportionally smaller share of resources.

- Population increases seem to have not been considered. The over 65 year old age group for Stroud District is expected to increase over the next 20 years from the estimate for this year of 20,000 to 29,000 in 2026. This will surely lead to a significant increase in the number of people with problems like dementia?

Lastly while not an issue that is directly within the remit of this consultation I would like to note concerns re Government policies that are increasing private sector involvement in the NHS generally. Private companies involved with the NHS are reported to be making windfall profits of £3.3 billion out of Private Finance Schemes alone. This figure dwarfs the £40 million needed in Gloucestershire.

In short the case for closing Weavers Croft has not been made and I would argue strongly it should be kept open for both inpatient and day care services.

Philip Booth

Send to:

The Communications Manager
Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust
Rikenel, Montpellier
Gloucester GL1 1LY
servicechanges@glos.nhs.uk

Jeff James
Chief Executive
Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust
Rikenel, Montpellier
Gloucester GL1 1LY

Rt Hon. Patricia Hewitt, M.P.
Secretary of State for Health
Department of Health
Richmond House
79, Whitehall
London SW1A 2NS
email: hewittph@parliament.uk

Feedback can also be offered via the Trust website at www.partnershiptrust.org.uk

National Trust campsite closed at Randwick - can we reopen?

As many will know the National Trust campsite in Randwick woods closed due to vandalism and noise. The site has no road access, was unstaffed and originally opened for walkers of the Cotswold Way.

At a recent Randwick Parish Council meeting it was noted that problems were still occuring on the site and now in other places due to the closure. Infact 2 weeks ago pallets were taken from a nearby householder.

Groups can still camp on the site

The National Trust note that there are no plans to reopen site following the very real problems they had there. However they will consider applications from groups such as walkers, schools or Scouts to use the site. Infact the local Guide group has just applied.

If other groups are interested in a licence to camp at the site they should write to: David Armstrong, National Trust, Ebworth Centre, Ebworth Estate, The Camp, Stroud.

Do we want to reopen the site fully?

Randwick Parish Council are rightly exploring whether it might be better to reopen the site and return this important amenity to the community - but how to avoid the problems? One route that is worth exploring, following my conversation with the National Trust, is to appoint a warden or wardens who visit the site regularly and could be on call at weekends on a rota. Is this feasible? I can't see that volunteers would be sufficient or easy to organise. A paid post maybe appropriate? Who would fund? Would a warden satisfy the concerns of local residents? Could opening times be restricted?

The National Trust will be writing to Randwick Parish and are open to further discussions, but clearly there are a number of hurdles to get over.

Council's work to challenge health cuts - train on Tuesday to Westminister

An update on work at Stroud District Council re the threat to our health services is enclosed below. The Town Council are also busy with submissions. Last night at the Ruscombe and Whiteshill Parish Council they agreed to do a submission to both Weavers Croft and Stroud Maternity. If people haven't done theres yet please make the time even if you only send a brief letter - and not just to the health trusts but also Patricia Hewitt. See links below for help.

Catch the train on Tuesday

Cllr John Marjoram has been busy helping organise the train to Westminister from Stroud - The Forest of Dean have scheduled a special train to Parliament to present a petition to Patricia Hewitt to stop the closure of two Hospitals in the Forest. The Stroud campaign have hired a coach (72 seats) on that train to discuss action with Gloucestershire's 5 MP's including a member of the all Party Group on Maternity and a Royal College of Midwives representative. Part of the Houses debate that day is on Health. The fare is £20 leaving Stroud at 10am back from Paddington at 6pm - get your tickets from the SNJ or John Marjoram on 01453 750962.

Various other actions are also taking place. Read more at:
http://www.savestroudhospitals.org/
and http://www.stroudmaternitymatters.co.uk/

Stroud District Council update:

1. SDC are providing secretarial, administrative, meeting room and other support to the Save Stroud Hospital Taskforce (this taskforce does include Berkeley representatives). David Miller MBE, Chair of the Taskforce, has taken the time amongst all the many things he is doing to write to Chief Exec saying "One very noticeable part of this campaign is the efficiency of your staff and their very obvious willingness to help, this has been greatly encouraging to me and very beneficial to the campaign."

2. The Council has sent a brief to the Kings Fund, a national organisation specialising in health consultancy, asking them to help us on 'alternative options'.

3. The Council has offered £4000 financial assistance to Stroud Maternity Matters to employ a consultant to undertake the financial analysis. A similar sum for work on analysing the Weavers Croft and Tyndale Centre financial case has been offered but to date no consultant has been appointed.

4. The Council is represented on a Locality Forum, led by Cotswold and Vale PCT, which is drawing up proposals for the Berkeley, Cam and Dursley area. This group is undertaking the work that is necessary to put flesh onto the PCT's proposal to change health provision in this area of the District. As and when the PCT produce the detailed financial analysis to substantiate their outline proposal, we will seek to have that analysed in the same way.

5. Through Cllr Ray Apperley, the Council's representative on the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee run by Gloucestershire County Council, we are aware that the consultants employed by the County Council have published an interim report. The main recommendations are that more financial information needs to be made available by the trusts, together with their justification for choosing the course of action they propose and whether they looked at other options.

Whiteshill children present inspiring vision for village

Last night at the Parish Council three of the school children presented their vision for the 'Village Green' - that triangle of land near the pub (see photo).

The presentation was excellent - using images they had collected we were led through a high standard Powerpoint presentation by the children. Clearly lots of thought had gone into the work and Parish councillors were keen to take on board many of the ideas.

Some of the issues children raised included the current very poor access for wheelchairs (the need to lower pavement in places), the need to replace the terrible tarmac and concern to be protected from speeding cars along the road (possibly by railings that could also double in someway as a game).

Other wishes:

- interesting benches
- sculpture and mosaics
- a drinking fountain
- more flowers and pots
- fruit trees
- blackberry and raspberry bushes
- a water fountain, possibly running over a sculpture
- bird feeders and more wildlife encouraged
- grass

A sub-committee of the Parish is looking at how to improve the 'Village Green' and agreed to look at the ideas.

After the presentation and a few questions we then got an impressive 5 minute DVD prepared by Class 2 looking at how to improve the playground. Again there were many wonderful ideas: new slide and swings, a water slide, new poles, a rope swing, new benches, an archway, repairing the fence, more colour on the equipment and fences, flowers and more.

The Parish thanked the school very much for their ideas - it was noted the equipment had passed all it's safety tests, that bright colours may look out of place in the rural location and that looking old didn't mean that we should replace it! However they were keen to explore some of the childrens ideas and agreed to consider the ideas properly at a later meeting. They also approved funding for the fence repair.

To me it was inspiring to see the school and Parish looking at how to engage children with our democracy - hopefully showing how you can make a difference. Great stuff - looking forward to the next step!

Post box slots too small!

The Parish Council last night had received a letter back from the post office saying they would not be extending the size of the box mouths in the Parish to cater for A4 envelopes. This seems to me another example - all be it very small - of the slow deterioration of our postal services. Post offices closing - we've already lost Whiteshill PO locally, Abbeyfield in Gloucester had it's closure confirmed yesterday - and failure to invest in improvements to bring standards up to the age we are living in.

It seems extraordinary how shabby POs are compared to other High Street 'names' - the Government has failed dismally to invest in what should be a leading successful brand on every High Street - the latest pilot move with WH Smiths to improve a number of stores (not in our area) is sadly more privatisation and will likely leave the other services - especially rural - which can't turn the profits - to close.

It was also noted that in the next weeks A4 letter price was due to increase more than the ordinary size.

Gloucestershire's first Forest School - near Whiteshill?

At the Parish Council meeting last night I raised the issue of Whiteshill School hoping to set up Gloucestershire's first Forest School. They are seeking an appropriate site.

John Pritchard at the school is looking for a site within walking distance of the school. If it is further away, past experience shows that the schemes are eventually abandoned due to transport costs. The area needed is usually no more than an acre (although the option to move to a different site within the woodland after a period is better for the natural environment). The gradient of the site should not be so steep as to pose a significant hazard to young children.

They have already written to the solicitors of the new owners of Ruscombe woods and may also consider Standish Woods or Sherman's Wood if that was possible? The National Trust campsite which has now closed may also be an option.

A Forest School scheme would be an excellent addition to the education of Whiteshill School children. They are an innovative educational approach to outdoor play and learning. At present there are no Forest Schools in this County, but they are well established in Wales, Herefordshire, Avon, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and many other counties. With Stroud's commitment to the environment it would be excellent for this area to lead Gloucestershire into this scheme. Forest Schools have been running in England for over 10 years and there are more than 200 schemes in operation. The idea originated in Scandanavia, where they have successfully used forest schools for decades.

The philosophy of Forest Schools is to encourage and inspire children (in this case they are considering reception and year 1 children) through positive experiences and participation in engaging and motivating achievable tasks and activities in a woodland environment, helping to develop personal, social and emotional skills:

~ Independence
~ Self-discovery
~ Confidence
~ Communication skills
~ Raised self-esteem

Forest Schools have demonstrated success with children of all ages who visit the same local woodlands on a regular basis and through play, learn about the natural environment, how to handle risks and most importantly to use their own initiative to solve problems and co-operate with others. Programmes run throughout the year going to the woods in all weathers (except for high winds). This develops understanding of the world, the environment and everything within it through use of their emotions, imagination and senses. Children use full sized tools, play, learn boundaries of behaviour; both physical and social, grow in confidence, self-esteem and motivation.

The Parish Council seemed broadly supportive and shared ideas for possible sites. Does anyone else locally have ideas or offers?

More info at:
http://www.foresteducation.org/ and
http://www.evesham.ac.uk/forest/

Greens in the news

As part of my role helping the Gloucestershire Green party with their press work I produce a monthly summary of links to the party's news releases and letters. Over 55 items this month - about 70% of them make it into at least one of our 6 local newspapers in the County - despite this, other than in the local letters pages, Greens still have on average much less coverage than their share of the vote would suggest they should.

There are many reasons for this but perhaps most obvious is the similar lack of coverage in national media - another is reflected in a quote from a journalist at The Independent newspaper - something along the lines of 'we don't do climate change as we have too many holiday and car adverts' - infact they are probably the best national paper on the subject - and certainly in the last year things are changing in all the national press in terms of climate change...

Anyhow that is a discussion for another time - for now here is the contents of the latest GNN - which shows we've been busy on a huge range of issues - I've been particularly involved with the first two sections:

QUOTES 1. NUCLEAR: STRUCTURALLY DEFECTIVE REACTORS BUT NEW BUILD GETS GO-AHEAD 2. GLOS HEALTH: TRAIN TO WESTMINSTER, BIGGEST EVER MARCH, PRIVATISATION PLANS AND A POEM 3. PEACE: MAYOR OF HIROSHIMA, BROWN BREAKS LAW, WTO AND MORE 4. CLIMATE CHANGE: STAVERTON ACTION, GREEN EU SUCCESS, BARRAGE AND MORE 5. GM: FRENCH GM PHARMACEUTICAL CROPS RISK AND SW MEPS FAILURE TO SIGN DECLARATION 6. TWO INTERNET FREEDOM CAMPAIGNS 7. LOCAL FOOD: GLOUCESTER VEGGIE FAIR, STROUD MARKET AND FOOD MILES 8. 95% of 47,000 RESPONSES SAY NO TO CULLING BADGERS 9. CUTTING CRIME: PRISONS AND STONEHOUSES' TEEN REPELLANT 10. WASTE, RECYCLING, BISLEY COMPOST AND BATTERIES 11. LOCAL CHILD ABUSE CHARITY CLOSURE CONDEMNED 12. OTHER ISSUES: TESCO IN DURSLEY, GREEN TORIES, DHANDA AND DEBT, ASDA STRIKE AND 'DONATED' ORGANS 13. NEW ON 'BIG ISSUES' 14. WEBSITES THAT MIGHT INTEREST 15. UPCOMING KEY EVENTS: COFFEE HOUSE GATHERING, WALMART AND STAVERTON

To see back issues of GNN go to the Glos Green party website - to receive them regularly go to Mailing Lists section of the website in the top right hand corner and click on subscription instructions - very simple:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php

Natural pond treatment

As you will see from the next item I will post I help with press work for the Gloucestershire Green party. One of the jobs is to read the local papers: today along with a number of Green party letters I couldn't not respond to an article in the Wilts and Glos Standard.

Dobbies - a big garden company writes a regular garden feature - and understandably wants to push products to sell - this and along with our culture of quick fixes means that natural solutions to problems often don't get the airing they should. Infact their articles aren't that bad, but in this case missed many of the most important ways to control algae and weed. I've dashed off the letter below but not sure if it will really make people think.

We urgently need government action. In the US they are still looking at testing chemicals on orphans and children, while in the EU proposed laws re chemicals have been watered down, and they have rejected calls to look at aspartame while our government wont look at links between breast cancer and chemicals. We are long overdue an ethical chemical policy.

Dobbies Garden World article on stopping algae ruining a pond misses some of the most effective and natural methods of control (Wilts and Glos Standard 13/07/06).

Barley straw in old stockings or netting helps lots - farmers have thrown a bale in their ponds for centuries. A fountain can also help as it gets more oxygen into the pond. Prevention is crucial: stopping leaves getting into the pond in the first place (use a net in autumn if necessary), using rain rather than tap water and reducing compost and fertilisers in the surrounding garden as they are high in nitrogen and can cause algae problems.

Dobbies mention fish and the importance of feeding them - but these foods are also high in nitrogen so over feeding will add to the problem of algae. Similarly too many fish can be a problem. Other natural methods include increasing the number of native oxygenating plants - as with much of the natural world it is about getting the balance right.

Sadly too often we resort to quick 'chemical solutions' when there are healthier, more sustainable ways that don't further pollute our gardens and lives.

Philip Booth

Regional Spatial Strategy - don't yawn this is too important

This afternoon I've been at Shire Hall in Gloucester with a couple of hundred others - John Marjoram and myself appeared to be the only two from Stroud District Council. We came to hear about the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy, or RSS - a new kind of plan for the SW region up to the year 2026.

This sort of thing is close to perfect for curing insomnia - yet buried in pages and pages of text is a regional framework about ‘where things go’, what the scale of development should be, and the links between broad issues like healthcare, education and crime, as well as basic infrastructure such as transport. All vital stuff that will be hugely influential on planning locally and regionally...indeed this is probably one of the most important documents being produced.

The Draft RSS is out for consultation until 30th August and in my view while there is much to be welcomed there are also some deep flaws. I will be delving more deeply into the Strategy in coming weeks to make a submission to the consultation. I will post more on this Blog in future but would certainly welcome any comments and feedback from those brave enough to read this document.

See more about Strategy:
http://www.southwest-ra.gov.uk/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=538&tt=swra

See more about consultation:
http://www.southwesteip.co.uk/home/

Ruscombe valley listed on "property scam" website - and Bill dropped

The Sale of Countryside Awareness Movement - a website fighting the blight of green belt land plot sales now lists Ruscombe Valley and the Land at Farmhill Crescent - you can see our summary of the Planning Policy Situation relating to the site (note link is from drop down menu headed "Plot site information"):
http://www.propertyscam.org.uk/htdocs/ruscombe.htm

See also 9th June Blog for background details.

Latest on Bill

MP Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) introduced the Sale of Green Belt Land Bill which aimed to outlaw land banking, the practice of buying up green belt and and selling it on at a profit. Sadly it looks like the Bill has just been dropped for the moment due to other Parliamentary pressures.

However the subdivision and sale of small plots of agricultural land like in the Ruscombe Valley remains a matter of widespread public concern. There also appears to be cross-party support for trying to end land banking. The Ruscombe Valley Action Group will be continuing to ensure this issue doesn't get forgotten.

Development Control Committee - planning queries??

Several people have asked me about planning and what goes on - here is a brief ramble with some of the very basic background - as many will know I sit on the Development Control Committee - formerly known as Planning - it meets once a month: a daytime meeting that can be 3 hours long or as in the case of the last one closer to 7! In addition to this meeting there are also Site Visits - again usually once a month and are usually only 3 or so hours long - these Site visits are called when members are seeking more information - in some cases plans, descriptions, reports and all are not sufficient - in these cases a site visit is very important.

The next Development Control meeting is Tuesday and in the weeks prior to the meeting members get large amounts of paperwork. This includes lists of planning applications and decisions across the whole District - every development including conservatories, extensions, footpath changes and more. The majority of these are decided by officers in the planning department according to policies etc - if the decision is perhaps not straight forward then they go before the Development Control Committee - this can happen for various reasons like a certain number of people object in writing and the local Parish/Town Councils object etc.

On Tuesday we have 24 applications to consider - 7 of them have had Site Visits - the paperwork is 140 pages or so and all needs careful consideration - I've already spent many hours looking at them and how the policies in the Local Plan fit or don't - hopefully this process will get quicker for me as I learn more but I know from other members if you are to properly consider each application then it needs lots of time. In some cases one application can be for a Major Development - this week one application is a site for 1900 houses.

Officers make recommendations to the committee but the committee doesn't necessarily have to follow them - and doesn't always - the issues can be very complex - last time for example there was a site which has seen a horse gallop being built up more than the plans agreed. Indeed many tonnes extra of rubble and earth have been moved to the site with the hundreds of large lorries causing terrible suffering to villagers and allegedly the local road surfaces. Should SDC enforce and get them to remove the extra or is it better to leave and avoid many more lorry movements removing the stuff? Certainly the site is reported to not be to bad from a landscaping view but others say not to enforce is letting people get away with flouting the rules....

....we are discussing it further this Tuesday - and members on the committee do not express opinions about applications before Committee - a sensible precaution so that we hear all the evidence from all the parties before making a decision.

It is worth noting that for certain reasons members sometimes have to leave the room while a planning application is being heard eg the application is connected in someway with their interests, family or whatever - again there are guidelines about this to ensure transparency.

As a last point I note that the best place to go if you have a planning query is the Planning Department itself - however if there are particular issues I am happy to see if I can help - indeed already I have visited a couple of sites locally for specific issues.

More about planning and Stroud District Council see the website at:
http://www.stroud.gov.uk

Fire in the Woods

I read in my Randwick Runner that Sian Mein reported a fire in the woods along the bridle path known as Robbers Road on 24th May 2006. It appears a campfire had been made and left with sizeable logs burning. She called the fire brigade with her father who used half a tank of their vehicles water to put the fire out - then they split the logs with axes to put out the fire deep inside them.

Apparently there was a large fire in the woods back in the 1970s - Sian's prompt action meant that this fire didn't get more out of hand. Crimestoppers are seeking information: 0800 555111.

Community land trusts, Fordhall and Standish

Thursday night was the AGM of Stroud Common Wealth - an organisation founded as a land trust in 1999 to acquire property for community ownership and to enable social enterprise development - their work includes projects like The Space, Stroud Community Agriculture, Capel Mill and more.

Stroud Common Wealth has also helped the headline-hitting community farm buy-out in Shropshire. The farm was secured for the community by more than 5,500 people buying shares. See the letter below and links to read more about the inspiring story.

The AGM was followed by a talk by Greg Pilley and Nick Weir that looked at Fordhall and the national action research project which is seeing how to enable the development of community farm land trusts for sustainable agriculture and horticulture for the benefit of communities. There followed a lively discussion about how it might be possible to develop a Stroud-based Community Farm Land Trust to enable affordable access to farms for young farmers and the community.

Our Government and the EU fail to see the central role farming should have in our economic, cultural and social life - affordable farms are crucial if we are to sustain farming - and all the more needed with Peak oil - oil prices are set to soar - supermarkets hugely energy intensive distribution systems, fertilisers, pesticides, processed foods and packaging will be unsustainable in the current form. Changes will come and a return to farming the land will be essential - it is vital we sustain our farming and the associated skills - see my Blog on 15th June re Cubas' experience of suddenly not having access to oil.

As an aside I was disappointed to see Gordon Brown set up a team of advisors to look at how Britain should compete with emerging economies like India - unbelievably CEO of Wal-mart/Asda was chosen for the panel - our government should be taking the lead in making business the most socially responsible in the world, not taking the advice of CEO Lee Scott whose company is an international byword for exploitation.

Anyway back to farms - Gloucestershire County Council like many Councils own farms - some Councils are actively selling off their land while others are retaining them. Gloucestershire appear to be retaining them but there are reports that some farm homes and buildings have been sold to maximise profit while the land is being retained and merged with neighbouring farms. Locally there are farms around Standish - wouldn't it be great if they were retained forever in the hands of the community - I am afraid I have little faith in our Councils' ability to do this for us - too often we have seen playing fields or hospitals paid for by the community being sold for profit. Land trusts seem an excellent way forward.

After the meeting there was agreement to explore further how we could possibly establish a fund so that when land comes available we wcould be in a position to buy it for the community - we also need a law change like in Scotland that allows the community first option to buy - maybe then we would have had time to secure Ruscombe woods for the community - not just for walks, but also Forest Schools and to use part of it for the growing biofuel market - elsewhere in the Stroud area there are plans to set up a project to use and manage woods in a sustainable way.

Do please get in touch if you have ideas or thoughts about Community Farm Land Trusts.

Letter in The Guardian from Stroud Common Wealth:

The community buy-out of Fordhall farm by the 5,500 members of Fordhall Community Land Initiative is as significant for England as the 1996 Isle of Eigg community buy-out was for Scotland. This sparked the 2003 Scottish Land Reform Act giving the community right to buy, start-up help and the Scottish Land Fund. Fordhall shows English support for community land trusts, which mutualise landholding using cooperative, non-profit models. Mutualising land enables it to be forever affordable to individuals and accessible to the community. Land is taken off the market, rather than privatised.

Norman Warner, however, and New Labour, are busy privatising public assets on a massive scale. Health minister John Hutton described the Standish Mutual Care bid for the redundant 32-acre Standish hospital site to David Drew, Stroud's MP, as the "preferred bid". But then Warner, Hutton's successor, vetoed the community bid. This would have delivered a range of local health services; affordable homes for health staff, kept the site in community land trusteeship and reinvested any surplus. Warner awarded Standish instead to an unnamed private bidder in a secret deal. Isn't it time we mutualised assets for community benefit?
Martin Large
Stroud Common Wealth
Community Farm Land Trust Action Research Project

See also Guardian article about Fordhall
See link to Times article about French and British approached to farming.

Hamwell Leaze: support growing for a partnership to tackle brook problems

Over 15 people from many different agencies and organisations attended the Hamwell Leaze site in the rain to see what plans British Waterways might have for the site - flooding so bad today that I was only one to brave the raging torrents along a footpath in my wellies - we then decamped to the Parish Council offices.

In short British Waterways only have money to de-silt the Lake at the Lawns (£25,000) and will not be doing anything at Hamwell Leaze. I am still not clear as to why we had a site visit if they knew this - but perhaps they, like us, were hoping another option might have been possible.

The Lawns work will be completed by the end of the year - the much-needed cutting down trees around the lake will also be undertaken and it was said reeds will naturally be allowed to grow at the site. Road run-off into Lawns was raised as an issue that needed attention: it wasn't clear if the budget could include this.

The de-silting work is clearly needed and part of the reason that the Stroud Community Land Trust agreed to take on the Lawns site management. However, while understanding the funding and timing limits etc, it is disappointing that the Lake will be de-silted without actually tackling some of the main causes of the silting. This is what happened over 10 years ago and without tackling the causes the Lake quickly silted up. Some residents are understandably concerned that history is repeating itself.

De-silting of the lake is very expensive and also damages biodiversity - we should be trying to avoid the need for it in the future - this site is difficult and may well need some de-silting but we could improve the situation significantly with measures like reed beds and other work further up the brook.

Everyone present agreed that the causes of the problems needed tackling and that a more formal partnership offered a possible way forward. Bob Nightingale (Stroud District Council) agreed to look into setting up a partnership to look at long-term solutions - possibly similar to the Bourne Partnership.

Other decisions from the meeting included:
- ideas to Bob about draft aims of partnership
- Cllr Laurence Carmichael will approach SDC re funding possibilities - SVP can also help in this area but need to be clear about what help we are seeking
- Bob to chase up CCTV results from Severn Trent
- Bob to produce initial survey of brook and then to look at what further work is needed to understand the problems
- RBAG and Julian Jones (Vision 21) to look at pulling together existing ideas that could be worked into draft plans for Hamwell Leaze. The idea would then be to consult with all partners and then seek funding for wider consultation with community.
- Environment Agency and Bob to look at funding re fishing lake
- agreement to meet again in 3 months time to review progress. Bob to ensure invite goes to all bodies.

Ruscombe Woods sold

John Rogers, Chair of Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Council writes below about the Woods - see Blog on 24th June for more background information:

Just to let you know I have been told by the agent that Ruscombe wood was sold to a local individual for considerably more than the guide price. I was pleased by the response to my appeal which totalled £13,250 but suspect that we would not have matched the wining bid even if we had more time and used gift aid.

For general information should a similar situation arise the Woodland Trust have only got funds to look at woods that are at risk although they will provide experties on management and fund raising. Likewise the National Trust have no general funds for woodland purchased but would have considered taking over the wood to manage it.

Thank you all for your interest and support

Regards John Rogers

Policy panel and Full Council

Another week with a collection of 'interesting' meetings - the Policy Panel being on Climate Change - at last this issue is being taken more seriously but for me still frustratingly slow - and disappointingly low turn out - 3 Greens and only about 8 other councillors - this is one of the most important issues and our local Council can and should be doing much, much more. This is an issue I will be pushing relentlessly - and as I noted after the meeting in response to a comment questioning climate change - even if we don't accept the overwhelming evidence about climate change then we still must act as oil is running out - we need to start significantly reducing our energy consumption and switch to renewables if we are to place Gloucestershire in a good economic position for the future.

It was Full Council this week - a pre meeting on Monday then the full one on Thursday - the highlight was the announcement and comments re Sheffie getting the MBE - a councillor who has served his ward and our community for many years - the rest of the discussions were mainly about the Best Value Performance Plan and audit....download the Plan from here:
http://www.stroud.gov.uk/docs/best_value_2006.asp

As is common and normal the Plan paints a wonderfully positive view of Stroud District - and there is much to be pleased about but there is also much that needs doing - I mentioned climate change earlier yet it barely gets a mention in the Plan.

And as for audit, as one councillor noted, the figures are now so complicated that only accountants can understand them - what use is that? Government needs to relook at how it balances the need for Councils to provide info and the need for that info to not be so complicated that no one can understand it!

The sell-off of Council housing led to much heated debate (see Citizen report) but at the end of the day the Labour Government must take the rap for forcing the consultation and proposed sell-off process on Councils. Our tenants have voted twice that they want our Council to continue to manage their homes. Interestingly a whopping 30% of Council housing rental goes back to central government rather than being invested locally. More of all this at a later date - need to cut some grass as it is a little cooler now!