Fun with words

I have just been sent the winners of this year's Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. I have to say some had me chuckling and although I've not shared any of those 'amusing' emails before I did think this one was worth passing on...

Photo: view across from Sandpits Lane, Randwick

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus: A person who is both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor (n.): The colour you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
Words with alternative meanings

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj.. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n.. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Arne Naess dies

On Jan 12, 2009 Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess died at the age of 96. The International Herald Tribune noted that his "ideas about promoting an intimate and all-embracing relationship between the earth and the human species inspired environmentalists and Green political activists around the world."

He did indeed - his ideas inspired many of us with his theory he called deep ecology. Its central tenet is the belief that all living beings have their own value and therefore, as Naess once put it, "need protection against the destruction of billions of humans."

Deep ecology, which called for population reduction, soft technology and non-interference in the natural world, was eagerly taken up by environmentalists impatient with "shallow ecology" (another of Naess's coinages) which did not confront technology and economic growth. See more: http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/15/europe/15naess.php

New dodgy constitution for NHS and say no to 0845 at health centres

So the NHS has a new constitution - well I will add my voice to those concerned that it is too weak to protect the core ideas behind the NHS against the impact of commercialisation.

Paul Evans, director of the NHS Support Federation says: “Government lawyers will have been working long and hard to ensure that the NHS constitution cannot be used to stop its commercialisation programme, but it is this precisely which is the greatest threat to the values and principles of the health service."

The Federation believes that the terms of the constitution are at odds with the impact of government policy. The NHS constitution states that "The NHS is an integrated system of organisations and services bound together by the principles and values now reflected in the Constitution". In reality the NHS is becoming more fragmented as more commercial providers are contracted to run NHS services.

Surely as the current economic crisis shows we cannot rely on commercial companies to act in ways which protect the public interest. Yet the government seems set on placing commercial values at the heart of the NHS. I can't see this constitution being any match for the large corporate interests currently looking to run NHS services.

Meanwhile here's a petition worth signing:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Healthtelephone/

Local health centres and NHS medical practices should be banned from using 08 numbers or offer a local 01 or 02 number alternative for booking appointments. I am not aware of any in the Stroud area (??) - but where operating these expensive charges impact unfairly on those with low income - indeed sometimes you can wait a long time on the phone just to make an appointment. Take for example an 0870 number - it costs 10 pence per minute.

Stroud District Council's IT department

I read that an IT infrastructure planning analyst from Staffordshire county set up a programme that scans all the council's 7,500 computers and automatically switches them off if any have been left on after the user has gone home. The saving is £40,000 a year - I have passed it onto a councillor who has raised it with our IT department.

Let us hope that will help make some savings...meanwhile I thought it was worth a mention that Sitemorse look at all local authority websites on a monthly basis, awarding marks out of 10 for 4 major categories, namely function (broken links), accessibility , code quality and performance (speed of response, etc.). Stroud is typically in the top 50 but last month have been ranked as number 17 out of 460 authorities, scoring 8.72 out of 10. This apparently would have been higher still had it not been for a PDF document containing broken links. Congrats to the team there - go see it here.

SNP arrogance over Scottish Budget?

So the Budget was defeated in Scotland - the press are crediting Greens for that but it is not quite as simple - See what Green Member of Scottish Parliament Mr Harvie (pictured) has to say here.

The Scotsman newspaper writes (and I am not sure they have the whole picture): "Right at the end of the debate, Mr Swinney said £33 million would be provided for the scheme, insulating 100,000 houses, as Mr Harvie wanted. Although Mr Swinney guaranteed that this money would be spent, he could not give an assurance that all of it would come from the Scottish Government. Mr Harvie was worried that some of the money might come out of budgets already earmarked for fuel poverty when he wanted it all to be new money. And it was at that point that he decided the Greens should oppose the SNP's Budget."

Here is what SW Green MEP candidate Dr Richard Lawson notes: "My impression is that the SNP treated the Greens with political disdain, failing to negotiate clearly and communicate their views in good time. In the end, any money spent on saving energy has to be a good investment, and the SNP has paid the price for their political arrogance and economic ignorance."

Let us not forget the original scheme proposed by Greens would cost just £100m a year and would have made a massive contribution to cutting fuel poverty and climate change emissions, to reducing household bills and to boosting employment. It is a relative drop in the overall budgetary ocean - a third of one percent of the coming year's spending. Indeed it makes sense any way you look at it.

Is it time to end the Veolia contract?

Corporate Watch have produced a briefing on companies involved in Israel - see here. One of them they mention is the BBC - yesterday I wrote a letter to local press re their refusal to air the appeal - see here (thanks for the thank yous re that letter).

Photo: from Indymedia

Another of the companies is Veolia Environment - a French multinational that trades in water and waste management, energy and transport services and with who Stroud District has a contract.

Veolia Transport is apparently a subsidiary of Veolia Environment and a leading partner in the CityPass consortium, contracted to build a light rail tramway system linking west Jerusalem to illegal Jewish settlements such as Pisgat Ze'ev, French Hill, Neve Ya'akov and Gilo in occupied East Jerusalem. Once built (due to be completed in 2020), the rail system will help to cement Israel's hold on occupied East Jerusalem and tie the settlements even more firmly into the State of Israel. There is more you can read about their 'business' in Israel and it is no wonder that John Marjoram has raised concerns about this.

Veolia infact lost a €3.5m contract in Sweden over its involvement with the Jerusalem light rail project (see here). In 2006, Dutch bank ASN also broke off financial relations with Veolia for the same reason, as did the Irish tram drivers union broke. Is it time to end the Veolia contract?

LGBT Greens go West!

LGBT Greens have chosen February, LGBT History Month to launch in the South West region a new group for Green members of the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered community. See my press release today here and see more re Gay Pride Gloucestershire at http://www.gloucestershirepride.org.uk/

It is still Zero Waste Week

I had planned to cover Zero Waste Week and participate - it is this week until 1st February. However it is black bag day today and we have failed dismally here in Ruscombe - indeed for the first time in many months we've managed to nearly fill a black bag - usually we can barely find enough to fill a third of the bag but a clear out last weekend and some guests all mean we have a full bag - embarrassing to put out? Maybe one day it really will be for all....

Photo: Gavin from the My Zero Waste website and their visit to the flagship programme in Bisley - an amazing collection of events

However I can report good news from the rest of the family where one of them participating in the challenge has, so far, only a few bits of plastic and a v small amount of food waste - not enough to even half fill a carrier bag. For another successful project where a family are seriously reducing their waste and have lots of ideas and discussion see over in the Forest of Dean:
http://myzerowaste.com/

Anyhow the Gloucestershire's Zero Waste Challenge aims to help us reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill sites by challenging households to produce not a single item of waste during the week. More details here. It is a great initiative to highlight our waste and I am disappointed that I have not joined in this year - so can I also say that I am disappointed not to see others in the area doing the same - on my way to Stroud today there were still piles and piles of black bags...

Aston Down: appeal date at last

A long time ago I wrote a report about development at Aston Down near Minch - see it here - it looked at the site to see if it was a sustainable development opportunity or an unsuitable site for development in 55 hectares (136 acres) of an Area Of Natural Beauty(AONB) - it was an eye-opener for me - and I learnt a lot about how Council's work - well that was 4 years ago - the issue has now come to a planning appeal.

Up to 40 firms employing more than 300 people are based without planning permission on the old Aston Down airfield site near Minchinhampton. Why do they do that?? Some good companies up there but why not seek sites with planning permission? Is it cheaper to have a site without planning?

Anyhow the hearing begins on March 3rd - the appeal is by the airfield's owners Leda Properties and is expected to last 10 days. It is against Stroud and Cotswold district councils' refusal to allow the continuation of the light industrial and warehousing use of the huge old aircraft hangars and other buildings. The local residents action group will be able to speak at the meeting.

Leda, who bought Aston Down in 2002, is also challenging enforcement actions both councils took to try to stop what they say is unauthorised commercial development in the countryside. The appeal does not involve Cotswold Gliding Club's part of the site.

I have to note that after reviewing the site all that time ago it is clear that the extra traffic and heavy lorries to and from the site were unacceptable on the minor roads serving Aston Down - especially as it is in the official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Indeed since then I have seen many more photos and witnessed heavy lorries using the site inappropriately.

The hearing will start at Ebley Mill in Stroud and move during the second week to a venue to be announced in Cirencester.

However to finish this blog entry I would like to note that while it seems clear the current industry is excessive there is surely a possible use for some of the perfectly good buildings - extreme care will be needed to see what might be possible that does not generate the traffic and fits with local planning laws.

Painswick Gateway project nears fruition

After more than two years of negotiations, trustees of the Painswick Gateway project are close to deciding whether it will go-ahead - see previous blogs here and here - I have had little to do with the project recently but was involved in highlighting the plight of the library - indeed my blog was picked up by a trade International magazine whose editor came and interviewed us in Painswick - see here - I digress...

Photo: inside Painswick library

Trustees plan to buy the village library in Stroud Road from Gloucestershire County Council for £90,000 – which they would then run on behalf on the community. There are also plans to reconnect the church rooms with the library. Under the scheme a new safe access-way to Painswick would be created for residents and visitors. This is all exciting stuff to create a real community resource.

More than £73,000 has been pledged to the project by nearly 200 residents, plus a £20,000 grant from Stroud District Council and another from a local trust, for the purchase of the library. The original prospectus of the project, approved last January, can be viewed at www.painswickgateway.org.uk along with contact details. Observations or further pledges of support are being sought. A final decision will be made next Wednesday.

Contact me re Wessex Water issues in Stroud District

As some will know I was appointed to the Wessex Water panel for SDC - see here details of my first meeting - well firstly below is a press release I sent out last week and haven't managed to put on this blog yet then below are the questions I asked at Wessex last time.

Photo: top of Ash Lane

Here is the press release:

COUNCIL REP CALLS FOR WESSEX WATER ISSUES

Act now on payment difficulties

Cllr Philip Booth, who was recently appointed as Stroud District Council's representative on the Customer Liaison Panel for Wessex Water, is asking members of the public and businesses if there are any issues they would like him to raise at the panel’s next meeting on 26th February. He is also urging customers with payment difficulties to contact the company immediately.

Philip Booth, who has a particular interest in water issues and promoting more sustainable use of water, has helped found both the Safe Water Campaign for Gloucestershire and a local brook action group. He said: "Wessex Water are leaders in their field. Last year they celebrated being the first water company to gain the hugely coveted and prestigious Queen's Awards for Enterprise for Sustainable Development (see more here). Nevertheless there are always going to be issues to raise and Wessex seem to be genuinely striving for improvements. If there are issues I am happy to take them to the next Customer Liaison Panel. Do please contact me here or on 755451."

Payment difficulties?

Philip Booth who is District councillor for Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill near Stroud said: "Wessex Water has a good approach in the way they manage customers who are genuinely struggling to afford to pay their water bills. There is no question that with the Credit Crunch more people are and will have difficulties. The earlier people contact Wessex Water the easier it is to set up the best tariff and payment option."

Wessex Water covers 10,000 square kilometres of south west England including Dorset, Somerset, Bristol and Bath, most of Wiltshire and parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire. They serve 1.3 million drinking water consumers and provide sewage services for 2.6 million.

Questions to the panel last time

Already I have several issues for next meeting in February - the answers given at the last meeting were comprehensive - below the answers here are just notes...

1. Ofwat would like to see all newly built homes having their own water meter. However I have read about concerns in the Thames Water area that in for example newly developed apartment blocks and redeveloped flats in Victorian homes, the developer can agree with the water company to fit only one meter. There are clearly incentives for the landlord and developer to have a single meter as landlords can charge an admin fee and installation is cheaper. I understand in some cases this has led to very unfair bills for users in the apartment blocks and clearly also does little to help customers conserve water. Please can you assure me that Wessex Water will be insisting on water meters for every home?

A. The Water Act requires meters.

2. I would like clarification re your policies re pumping water from boreholes to top up rivers. I understand from some organisations that this approach is not the most sustainable?

A. Stream support is water from aquifers used to provide additional flow to watercourses at times of low flow. It is only installed when agreed with Natural England that ecology is considered.

3. The Pitt Review recommends more SUDs. I understand in many countries the approach is mandatory, but while there is alot of support to move towards more SUDs this doesn't seem to be happening with enough urgency. What are the issues that prevent Wessx Water from insisting on more SUDs?

A. WW supports SUDs. The more storm water out of sewers the better but this is difficult as many are combined flow. Ownership following installation also needs considering.

Bathing Water standards

Defra has announced England 's bathing water quality standards for May to September 2008. The results show that of the 414 bathing waters in England, 398 met the mandatory standards.

In the South West 10 beaches failed the mandatory water quality standard, but none of these were in the Wessex Water area. In our region 100% of bathing waters met the mandatory quality standard for the fifth consecutive year. There was an above average 76.6% compliance rate with the more stringent guideline standard.

Some bathing waters failed to meet the tougher standards during the summer months, however WW are confident that their sewerage infrastructure performed well during times of intense rainfall. Other factors, such as agricultural run off, may have affected the quality of bathing waters in the region following the heavy rainfall experienced during the summer of 2007.

New nuke at Oldbury

It has been a while since I covered local nuke news - there was the recent Oldbury Stakeholders meeting which I missed but have now had feedback from folk attending - one issue raised by campaigners was around cancer - indeed several in the audience got quite animated and expressed their fears that cancer levels seemed to be rising down wind of Oldbury, although they couldn't prove it.

Photo: Randwick sheep last month

In the end, the big boss of the outfit announced that at the April meeting there would be a proper debate. He would bring in lots of doctors, health officials (all clearly pro-nuclear!) while the audience was cordially invited to bring along their "opinions". That will be interesting as there is growing evidence of health risks - studies from 2001 showed an eleven-fold increase in leukaemia in nearby Chepstow, fifty percent extra breast cancers downstream of Oldbury and 37.5 percent extra prostate cancers downwind of the plant - but more of that in another blog....

New nuke at Oldbury

More worrying is the news that three reactors could be built in the West in a new wave of nuclear power stations with Oldbury to be nominated for a plant. The South Gloucestershire site which is 16 miles from Stroud would join Hinkley in Somerset, where two reactors are being planned.

Furthermore the Government is easing the way forward for the nuclear industry while dismissing major public concern on this expensive polluting project. There are hints that it will cut access to local footpaths and beaches and discourage public events where people can raise their voices. The ongoing problem of nuclear waste has been skimmed over. Plus it looks like no public meetings to discuss the matter. See more here.
Sedgemoor's dirty deal?

I have to say I was a little horrified at news that Sedgemoor District Council secretly asked nuclear energy firms for a £750,000 handout as they prepare to submit plans for a controversial new power plant in Somerset. The council says it was trying to avoid burdening local taxpayers yet this has exposed the council to allegations of unethical practice. Independent planning consultant Hugh Richards said: "It clearly conflicts with the ethical and professional standards of the Royal Town Planning Institute. There is a procedure for legitimately levying a fee on planning applicants, and it is this procedure that should be followed."

Worse still councillors appeared to know nothing - West Somerset councillor Jon Freeman said: "None of us knew anything about this, we were all shocked and horrified. It is West Somerset District Council which is the planning authority covering Hinkley, not Sedgemoor."

Meanwhile Stop Hinkley spokesman Jim Duffy said: "It's easy to imagine nuclear companies expecting a smoother passage for Hinkley C had they paid this premium. Sedgemoor made a bad mistake here, not least in doing this behind the backs of its own and West Somerset councillors."

Sedgemoor says the Government has since agreed to put up the cash as it will be Westminster that decides on any future planning application, not the district. See more from Stop Hinkley here.

Floods, Core Strategy and nonsense new planning rights

Last night was a Policy Panel at Stroud District Council - a sort of training come consultation thing that gets councillors up to speed on a number of issues - last night there were three and I have to say the last raised many concerns for me...

Photo: Love this shot of windows along the Whiteshill Main Road

First up was a presentation on the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment - lots of interesting stuff - the papers are on the District's website here - what surprised me is when I asked about the 1 in 20 year or 1 in 100 year flood predictions and I learnt that these do not include Climate Change - a separate set of maps is produced for them - also on the website - I need to look at this more - clearly new planning applications now need to take account of all factors so there is an improvement - but despite flood and drought being two sides of the same coin the Government has not considered drought at all in this assessment - when are they going to wake up to understanding even basic issues of sustainability - it is scary and shameful!!! I could write lots more but that'll do for now.

Next up came the Core Strategy which we will all hear lots more about as this in March as this plan is the one we need to put in place for the future - it covers many aspects from environmental policy to housing - including the absurd Government targets of increasing housing in the District by 4,500 or whatever each year!! Anyhow I will return to that - you can see the Green councillors opening statement from last year on this here. This is a real opportunity to make Stroud more sustainable so it will need many of us to contribute.

And lastly the new planning permitted development rights - download these at:
www.stroud.gov.uk/info/householder_permitted_development_rights.pdf

Words almost fail me with the nonsense of these rulings - they are so unclear that District Councils are going to struggle to interpret - they also give absurd permitted development rights - indeed at times it was laughable - how can these folk even devise such rules without talking to folk who do the job??????

You couldn't make this up: Greenvision contest!

Yes remember Terry Wogan, nil point, Boom Bang a Bang and all that - I got so excited as a child watching Eurovision - well now comes the Greenvision song contest 2009.

The European Green party is launching a campaign song competition for the 2009 European Parliamentary campaign. This campaign song competition is open to everyone and anyone (individual singer-songwriters or bands) who feel they have enough talent and inspiration to compose a campaign song for the European greens for the coming election campaign.

More information: http://europeangreens.eu/greenvision/

Visit to the Methodist Church, Stonehouse

Thursday night last week I was invited as the speaker to the Methodist Church in Stonehouse (see photos) - and asked to fill the 90 minute session with Climate Change and local solutions. It always feels like a privilege to speak to a group - for people to give up their time to listen - it was only the second time I've spoken about climate change in a church (see last time here).

I gave some of the flavour of the last talk but a little more about climate change and lots more about the things that are going on locally - and while there was plenty to scare and make fearful it was the facts as far as the science knows and also I tried to focus on the hope - so much has changed in the last few years - indeed over the weekend I helped send out a letter about Obama from Martin Whiteside as he wasn't able to use his internet connection - see it here. I like the last line which is adapted a little from a Caroline Lucas quote: "In politics, 'hope' is a powerful driving force. This is a new start for US and global politics, and Barack Obama is to be congratulated on a breathtaking journey which is far from over."

At the end I finished with a quote from John Wesley that I've always liked: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

Then questions - David Drew arrived in time for those - and then it was a much-needed cup of tea and some interesting discussions - one of those with several of the audience about being about whether nuclear power is the answer - of course it is clear cut to me - nukes wont be ready before 2017 and we need to act now - spending money on them means less available dosh to invest in the efficiency and renewable measures needed - of course there are many other reasons - some of which Gerald Hartley covers in his letter in response to one in the SNJ - see here - Gerald has been selected to fight the County seat in this area this May - he has already been helping me deliver some leaflets - I hope we will see more of him.

Eco-renovation Open Homes for 2009?

Just finished another 90 minute telephone conference re the national situation re Open Homes projects - see first conference call here - lots of good ideas and actions about the way forward and a larger group this time.

It was good to hear re plans to twin with projects in Australia and Germany, links with Heritage Open Days, improving feedback forms to get the info needed to improve the events and see how more help can be offered to those wanting to take action on their homes, more case studies on the web, more help to others thinking about running Open Homes in their area, more website sharing, Greener Living Fund and other resources and the possibility of meeting up at Earl's Court's Eco Build conference. A whole host of actions came out of the meeting and plans to talk again in 2 months as to where we are...

....also trying to find a name that we can use more readily across the country as each area has different ideas. I never liked Stroud's 'Open Homes for a Sustainable Future' - eco-homes doesn't work for some homes as they don't see themselves as an eco-home but on the road to becoming one - my favorite is the 'Eco-renovation Open Homes' - but still a bit of a mouthful. Some projects like in Brighton have a strict criteria about the homes included in terms of the carbon cut - therefore eco-home would be great however others like here in Stroud have included all sorts of measures being taken. For me the crucial thing is to have the debate about the measures. We certainly don't want folk thinking they've done their bit if all they do is one solar thermal panel and haven't even insulated properly - equally opening homes that have measures like lime plastering or a solar thermal panel can play an important role in raising the issues.

....also we talked of those attending the telephone conference founding NERO - a National Eco-Renovation Organisation - or something similar to promote the idea more.....someone suggesting HERO might be a better name - Home Eco-Renovation Organisation then again something with ZERO would be good - any thoughts welcomed!

Gaza: an act of state sadism? Petition BBC over their appeal

There are few who could have avoided the fact that the BBC is refusing to show a charitable appeal for humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza - their suffering is too "politically contentious" apparently.

Photo: Ruscombe valley trees

The violence of Israel's 22-day attack on Gaza killing over 1,300 people and wounding 4,200 has appeared to many to be 'an act of state sadism'. Israeli forces repeatedly bombed schools (including UN schools), medical centres, hospitals, ambulances, UN buildings, power plants, sewage plants, roads, bridges and civilian homes. The recent vigils in Stroud have seen 200 plus people protesting (see photos of first vigil here) and across the country many thousands more have also protested.

It is also now confirmed that the Israeli army used white phosphorus incendiary weapons (see earlier blog here) - designed to burst over a wide area and burn to the bone - against civilian targets, including hospitals and UN buildings. The use of these weapons against civilians is a war crime.

It is surely not taking sides to give food, shelter and medicine to the civilian victims of conflict? Indeed 13 of the world's most respected charities including the Red Cross, Save the Children and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) have an exceptional record of helping such victims impartially. Avaaz have launched a petition to the BBC and while I had to change the wording on my email I still sent it off:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/bbc_charitable_appeal

One of my gripes with the wording is that I don't believe the BBC and indeed other press has been impartial - for example the Israeli ambassador in the UK has received 2,000% more press coverage than his Palestinian counterpart - see full story here.

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MEP has called the BBC's decision 'disgraceful' and written calling for an inquiry. "It is not for the BBC to tell these professional aid agencies how to do their jobs," she said. "Everyone knows the situation in Gaza is dangerous and that the cease-fire is extremely fragile."

As noted before the crisis in Gaza has again highlighted the UK's complicity in arming Israel. Some weaponry is supplied directly - military equipment valued at £24 million in the first two quarters of 2008 was licensed for export from the UK. However, UK arms are also supplied via the US as components and subsystems of weaponry such as F-16 aircraft and Apache helicopters. More information about UK arms sales to Israel is available on the CAAT website:
http://www.caat.org.uk/emailbulletin/jan09/homepage.php

From there, you can link through to the Stop Arming Israel site, which is a collaboration between several organisations including CAAT, War on Want and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The CAAT website also links to a petition on the No10 website calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to impose an arms embargo.

Trailers at the Household Recycling Centres

I had a phone call last week from a Randwick resident who rang up re his double axelled trailer and booked a slot to take his domestic waste to Horsley. He went successfully a couple of weeks ago and tried to book again to take part of an old kitchen but was told his trailer was too large and would not be accepted.

Photo: recycling at Sharpness?

I've since spoken to District and County Council and both are looking to improve the situation with the contractors. It is clearly confusing to customers - and worse still this guy was given no advice as to where to take his waste. This seems a missed opportunity and could well lead to an increase in flytipping?

There is a meeting coming up in a couple of weeks and it looks like a way forward might be to ask folk about the size of their trailer then book the bigger domestic trailers in at off-peak times. Clearly having a large trailer in the centre at peak times could cause chaos as there is little enough room to move there.

It is also essential good advice is given if they cannot accept the waste - ie mainly that would be business waste - I have asked if the Councils can advertise more prominently the excellent website the Waste Directory on their websites as this gives good info re disposal - see: www.wastedirectory.org.uk/

See more re what can be recycled at the Household Recycling centres here - plus info re booking your trailer in for a visit there.

The case for a Green New Deal

Here is an article of mine based on stuff by Caroline Lucas setting out more re a Green New Deal. I'm hoping a local magazine re sustainability will run it as this is really the way we must be going...

We now face not just an ecological crisis but recession. A dark time indeed. However as an eminent Kyoto professor said in the Japan Times, “The darkest hour is just before green.” It may sound better in Japanese, but the sentiment is entirely apt in any language.

The answer to both crisis is to go green. Proposals so far go no where near far enough. We need a full-blown green industrial revolution.

We are far behind Germany in solar power and we trail many countries in green waste management – which sustain more per jobs per megawatt and tonne respectively than their less green alternatives. We have ten times Denmark's population yet we have only just passed Denmark in off-shore wind power. Plus our current transport policy still emphasises more roads, whereas light and heavy rail systems would create more jobs per billion pounds of investment as well as being less polluting, healthier and more socially inclusive.

Worse, current proposals mean the continuing promotion of globalisation. This means exporting jobs, making the UK economy even less well-balanced, and shipping goods over longer distances, with the resulting bigger carbon footprint.

What we need is a major shift in our understanding. We need to forget the false arguments about environment vs economics, because ultimately the only viable forms of economics will be those that don't compromise our ecological sustainability. We need a Green New Deal (GND).

Although in reality what a GND proposes isn't really new at all. Greens have been advocating these policies for a long time, but economists and industrialists are increasingly coming around to our way of thinking. We are seeing many schemes now in practice from Germany's massive solar investments which were devised by Green Party ministers, to the insulation schemes led by the Greens on Kirklees borough council in Yorkshire and now being discussed as a potential £1 billion project by the Scottish Parliament.

In November in the Sub Rooms in Stroud a GND was launched by Colin Hines, co director of Finance for the Future and a former head of Greenpeace Economics Unit. He co-authored a report with a panel including Dr Caroline Lucas, Green party Leader and MEP, Richard Murphy, Co-Director of Finance for the Future and Director, Jeremy Leggett, SolarCentury boss, Larry Elliot, Guardian Economic Editor, Andrew Simms, New Economics Foundation Director, Ann Pettifor, former head of the Jubilee 2000 debt relief campaign and Charles Secrett and Tony Juniper, former Friends of the Earth chiefs.

In contrast to the Government's plans this GND would fundamentally re-engineer the economy: £30bn would create half a million jobs over the next year in public transport and environmental works. There are 22 million homes in the UK that need improved energy efficiency if we are to tackle climate change and peak oil.

The GND also proposes a windfall tax on fossil fuel companies and creating new national investment products, such as local government bonds, to fund this work and provide a safe haven for pensions and savings. Funds would also come from closing offshore tax havens to stabilise the financial sector and discourage tax avoidance.

Indeed the GND policies aim to rekindle a crucial sense of purpose, restore public trust and refocus the use of capital on public priorities and sustainability. It will also deliver a low-energy future. The absence of any such plan at present leaves our country very vulnerable.

We have had enough green vocabulary it is time for a green agenda.

Philip Booth, a Stroud District councillor for the Green party

Download a copy of GND here.

Tory U-turn on voluntary grant cut

This afternoon I went to a meeting to discuss Member Development and training - a small committee which looks at how best to develop members knowledge etc - anyhow I have to confess I nearly forgot it and had made plans to catch up on emails etc - I remembered in time - but emails will have to be done tomorrow now - but I wanted to quickly note more re Full Council last Wednesday as promised - see also previously re budget and ethical investment here and here re insulation.

One item that caused a stir and led to a U-turn by the administration was the 'Rural and Community Grants Scheme.(£39,000).' Here is what Independent Councillor Janet Wood had to say: "The quiet dropping of the above scheme voted through by us at last year’s budget meeting is nothing less than scandalous. The scheme which has been supported cross-party since its inception in the middle nineties supports small voluntary organisations without employees and acts as parish pump style funding for sports clubs, play-grounds,village halls, youth clubs etc. It was recognised that rural areas get very little for their council tax and the scheme helps sustain village life.(clearly supporting environmental and social inclusion aims).

"On page one of our Residents Survey it states ‘there has been a downturn in positive satisfaction for many services with the exception of concessionary fares, energy advice and grants to voluntary groups.’ Thirty groups attended the application training session in the Spring and thirty one applications were made from some 20 bodies some for several different projects. Projects bad for the fund by the end of June deadline. On being asked what the outcomes were I discovered the Scheme had quietly been cut. When a Council agrees to do something it must be seen to keep its word. This is about the whole ethos of public service."

Janet proposed a motion to restore the overall sum for this year only - it was passed overwhelmingly after much debate - well done to Janet - a shame such cuts are still planned in future but we should not forget that SDC gives more to voluntary groups than many other Councils. Nevertheless an economic downturn means more vulnerable and disatvantaged needing support - we have to be clear that funding of voluntary groups will continue in this area. Apols I was also going to write more re grants but I'll point you to SDCs website where you can see it all on the webcast - must go as tea is ready.....

Gully cleaning could be better

As regular blog readers will know Gully cleaning has featured lots on this blog but I've not mentioned for a while. So here is a wee update as I am still seeking improvements to Highways over the issue of SUDs.

There has been a desperate need to update the County's Design Guidance re SUDs and more. The current Guidance dates to 1999, with a review in 2001, and there are areas that do not reflect national policy or best practice (such as Manual for Streets for example). The County is working to ensure that they make progress with a review and may well have developed a policy as the target was to have an adopted Transportation Design Guide for publication by the end of 2008. However despite having made many comments I have not heard news so this week have been chasing up.

Meanwhile here is an email below to Highways re their recent gully cleaning programme which saw our area have all the gullies tackled.

Photos: Gullies with sludge piled up beside them in Humphreys End

Just a note to give a huge welcome to your gully cleaning programme but I am disappointed that the sludge is still being piled up next to the gullies - see two photos below - in one place the sludge is now as high as the Cotswold stone wall it is leaning against - this is clearly not good for the wall.

Furthermore as noted previously in these critical sites like at Humphreys End and Ash Lane in Randwick piling the sludge up there means with the next heavy rain it gets washed straight back down into the gully (see photos). I understood from a previous conversation with you that you would alert the teams to this issue and certainly at least in key sites this practice would be discontinued.

I would welcome your views as I am concerned we are not getting the best out of this programme. Can we please get teams to take the sludge completely away from the gullies?

Cllr. Philip Booth

More bits and bobs of local news

Bits and bobs of local news:

Photo: Tarot reader Cate Montgomery in local paper - see below

Art Classes in Randwick: at John Wesley Room and Village Hall: 8weeks from 2 to 4pm for 8weeks from 28th Jan - £64 - welcome to free taster before signing up - call Judith Newman, Village Agent on 07776 245791

Randwick Runner Editor needed: call Sheila Bliss on 752478

Revellers Pantomime: 6th and 7th Fe - tickets from the Vine Tree

Monthly Coffee Morning: Sat 7th Feb with bring and buy and raffle at Randwick Church

Runnickers on Hadrians Wall talk: 7.30pm 26th Feb - Allan Smith of Randwick Historical Association - more details from 764289 0r 763485.

Spaces available at local Woodcraft group: Elfins aged 6 to 9 have spaces at the moment - more details here. The photo is from last Thursday when we went to Glos Climbing centre.

Gardening Assistance Scheme: up to 12 sesssions free for ex-service personnel otherwise £4 per hour for those who qualify - call Care and Repair on 767154 or ring Village Agent Judith Newman on 07776 245791

Tarot readings in Randwick: Local resident Cate Montgomery is offering people the chance to dip into the future. The former property lawyer-turned is launching a series of tarot card reading sessions later this month. She also has a workshop on January 31 at the Coffee Mill in Upper Mills Trading Estate, Stonehouse, between 9.30am and 4.30pm. Tickets cost £49 and people should take their own Rider Waite tarot deck. For details, ring Cate on 07970 550076.

Rob Hopkins in Minchinhampton: founder of the worldwide Transition Towns movement is coming to start Transition Minch on 11th Feb at 7.30 in Holy Trinity Church, Minch. Tickets (£5, or £4 concessions) are available from outlets in the town, including M&B Stores, The Crown, and Taylors butchers, or from 01453 885707 or transitionminch@btinternet.com

84 towns already in this country including Stroud and movement spreading to US.

Hard to Treat Insulation grant cut?

Snatching a moment to add another item to this blog raised Wednesday night by Green Group leader Sarah Lunnon at Full Council - have another issue to also raise here re Council but that will have to wait as my Mum in hospital so I'll be seeing her today - and sadly missing the Gaza vigil today at 11.30 in Stroud.

Photo: Insulation products on show at Randwick Village Hall during the Open Homes event

Anyway the WISE (Well Insulated Saving Energy) Homes Project, 'Hard to Treat Insulation' is for the ‘Able to Pay’ Sector. Hard to treat insulation means those houses with solid walls and/or rooms in the attic - about 30% of houses in Stroud District are thought to be in this category! SDC has been giving grants since 2002 to private householders (see more below). Some expertise among Council staff and builders has been built-up. The total has only been about £30,000 per year. However this has now 'come to an end and not been renewed' in the 2009/10 budget.

There is continued funding for heat pumps for hard to treat houses (off mains gas) but not to insulate - this doesn't seem the right way to go as we need to target energy efficiency first - but then the heat pumps were linked to other sources of funding. The 'logic' for cutting these grants is that the SDC has hardly enough to meet its statutory obligations of private houses of people on low incomes not meeting the decent homes standard. They are therefore prioritising these.

This is understandable to some extent if funds are limited - targeting homes of people on low income is sensible, but encouraging insulation by the less poor saves carbon too - particularly when this is such an important area - the money is peanuts in the overall budget yet was starting to make a difference and raising awareness that will lead to more action by householders in the paying category - Greens will be looking at ways to ensure this innovative project continues - the answers given at Full Council still seemed to leave the door open for opportunities so we'll keep fingers crossed and push this one a little more.

What we need is a free insulation scheme for all householders like the Green group achieved in Kirklees - indeed Scotland are now considering the idea - see more here and here. Indeed as regular blog readers will know I hope we can also do this in Stroud but there seems to have been some resistance to taking forward the idea - however I sense things are again moving in the right direction - but must dash now....

Background

There was a feasibility study in 2003 - the WISE Homes project received funding from the Energy Saving Trust to cover coordination and marketing activity over a two-year period from 2004-06. The scheme targeted “hard to treat” homes; those which have a lot to gain from energy efficiency improvements but have features which make this difficult to achieve (rooms in the roof, solid walls, no mains gas). It was a joint project with Cotswold District Council each authority agreeing to provide £40,000 each year for the two years of the project. This funding was for capital works to be allocated through the WISE Homes grant scheme. Those occupying ‘hard to treat’ properties were offered information and advice and a home visit. During the visit householders had the chance to discuss in detail the relative merits of some of the less well-known measures, such as installations of solar water heating panels, sloping ceiling insulation, a clean wood pellet-fuelled heating systems, interior solid wall insulation and high efficiency oil and gas boilers. Following the visit which involved a full NHER energy assessment the client received a home energy action plan with recommendations for their individual property. The WISE grant scheme was designed to complement the recommendations. At the end of the project in March 2006 across the two districts 180 home energy action plans had been issued and 49 measures were installed through the WISE grant scheme and a further 52 through referral to other grant schemes. Cotswold District Council decided it did not have funding to continue the project. Stroud District Council has over the last 3 years continued to allocate funding of £40,000 each year for capital works and staffing resources to continue advice, home visits and the home energy action plans.

The WISE Homes grant scheme includes a range of eligible works;
· Sloping ceiling /flat roof insulation
· Solid wall insulation
· Underfloor insulation
· Heating installations or upgrade (only available to those on low incomes)
· Micro renewable installations

The individual grant funding available per applicant depends upon whether they are on low income or in fuel poverty or within the ‘able to pay’ category. In order to stimulate the market and raise awareness of the benefits of solid wall and ceiling insulation a 40% grant up to a limit of £1000 is available regardless of income (able to pay category) and/or £500 towards a micro renewable installation. At the time the project was launched very little was being done regarding Hard to Treat properties and this was a very innovative project from which a lot of information has been gained as well as installations achieved. Since 2006 however, there have been some very positive legislative changes elsewhere in the domestic housing market which have a bearing on the hard to treat problem.

1. The Fitness Standard against which all private sector properties were measured was replaced in 2006 with the Housing Health & Safety Rating System. For the first time this assessment placed an emphasis on the health effect of the property on the occupants rather than the physical condition. The HHSRS includes a specific assessment of the property with regard to cold and damp. The LA has a statutory duty to take action where a category 1 hazard has been identified.
2. The Decent Homes standard was extended to include the private sector with a PSA7 target introduced for local authorities to ensure that 70% of vulnerable people occupy decent housing by 2010.
3. Building Regulations requirements now require significant improvement in insulation and heating standards to the whole property when works are carried out.

Current Situation

The budget available for the implementation of the Private Sector Housing Renewal policy in 2008/9 is £652,000, the budget for 2009/10 is reducing to £502,000. The Private Sector Housing budget is not alone in receiving reduced future funding as the funding available to the Council is under pressure in all areas. The availability of all grants under the policy have always been subject to there being budget available at the time an application is made.

The WISE Homes scheme is about more than just grant aid and will continue in 2009/10 although the current grant regime cannot continue as there is currently no SDC funding identified for insulation works. Staff within Environmental Health have built up a strong knowledge base and staffing resources will still be available to provide advice, information and encouragement to those wishing to improve the energy efficiency and energy consumption of their hard to treat homes. The WISE homes project has in the last 18 months made good progress in stimulating the market for hard to treat insulation with an Installers Network being established.

Whilst there is no doubt that the continued availability of grant aid to the ‘able to pay’ sector would further enhance this local installers base, progress is likely to continue without grant funding, albeit at a slower pace. Specified capital grant allocation is received for bringing homes occupied by vulnerable persons up to the decent homes standard and additional allocation has been awarded for 2009/10 following a successful project bid. Those who are vulnerable or in fuel poverty and their homes are identified as having a category 1 health hazard due to cold and damp will be eligible to apply for funding towards hard to treat insulation works to reduce the hazard through the proposed Home Repair Loan funded by the private sector renewal allocation. The ‘able to pay’ sector are not eligible for this externally sourced funding.

In 2008/9, the WISE homes Renewable grant has been the main mechanism for delivery against the LAA target in relation to the installation of renewable energy. SDC have been successful in drawing in significant additional funding from the County Council towards these works. Funding of £10,000 is available in 2009/10 for the £1,000 WISE homes Renewable Grants. This funding is from a £10,000 capital growth item linked to the S2S heat pump project and again will be used to draw in additional County Council funds.

When making recommendations for the targeting of the capital funds available, Officers have considered the eligibility of projects for the available funding and the Council’s statutory obligations to the most vulnerable. It is not considered appropriate to allocate discretionary funding to the able to pay sector especially where in some circumstances they now have a legal obligation to carry out the works when the Council is facing a significant deficit in the DFG budget. The Council is still making significant funds available for other climate change projects where there is a wider community benefit to be achieved such as the continuation of the Target 2050 project and the approval of significant capital growth for the S2S heat pumps project.

Council Budget and Ethical Investment

It was Full Council Thursday night and the Budget was up for discussion and debate - various votes - some of which had my support, opposition or abstention - wont go into all that here - do see the webcast for details - basically it was a business-as-usual budget in many ways that does not restructure to take account of the urgency re climate change and Peak Oil - however it does make some important moves - like support for businesses to cut carbon - an excellent scheme - but nothing like enough.

Photos: more of those sheep up near Ash Lane from a couple of weeks ago - looking down to Ebley and the Mill where we had the Full Council meeting

One issue that again was raised was ethical investment - an issue raised a fair few times here - it was again unsatisfactory but again a sign of hope as the Cabinet member suggested Scrutiny look at the issue.

I fully accept that it is difficult for the Council to invest ethically - and that we urgently need leadership on this from our Government. Even the United Nations in 2006 issued it's Principles for Responsible Investment and several Council pension funds are signed up to it. Sadly the UK has trailed behind other European countries in this - however, some local Council's have achieved ethical investment policies and therefore the report we were issued in Appendix B of the Council papers was disappointing...

...it was not even 2 sides of text and has not researched those Councils or other organisations that have successfully invested more ethically. Some have been committed to public health and refused to invest in tobacco industries that lead to some 100,000 deaths a year. In Norwich councillors have expressed concerns regarding pension funds investments in arms companies: fund managers will now have to explain exactly where they are proposing to invest money so informed decisions can be made.

Camden Borough seeks to ensure it's pension fund considers climate change amongst other ethical issues. Surely Stroud District should also ensure tax-payers money is used to enhance our policies to tackle climate change? Are we really happy to see funds invested in places that potentially are working against our policies?

Indeed there is evidence to show that a company that pays inadequate attention to environmental and other ethical issues may carry higher risks and reflect how the business is managed as a whole. Also if we want the best possible financial return in the long-term then we need to be arguing that we must not be increasing our CO2 emissions which forecasts indicate are likely to impact catastrophically on our economy.

The Oxford Council on Good Governance in their recent paper to Oxford University about ethical investment write: "The performance of ethical investment funds in each major world economy has been – at worst – indistinguishable from that of their conventional rivals. The evidence shows that there are no longer financial costs to ethical investment behaviour. In the absence of any trade-off then, those who would oppose Socially Responsible Investment strategies should recognise that they are defending for its own sake an ethical position which explicitly refuses to draw any lines at all."

Clearly ethical investment opens the door to untold ethical dilemmas but these cannot be solved by taking this extreme position. We need to find a better way forward. I am hoping the issue can now be discussed in more depth at our next scrutiny meeting....time for bed for me as been a busy day - more of that in a blog another day plus more re Full Council meeting if I get around to it!

Join Baron Booth of Bread Street and become a virtual peer

Some will remember a while back I purchased a peerage - see here and here - and more on reform here - this was to highlight the absurd situation re the 'cash for peerages' row: 17 out of the 22 individuals who have donated more than £100,000 to the Labour Party have received an honour; all but one of the individuals who have donated more than £1m have received a peerage. This is totally unacceptable in a modern democracy.

Photo: Press coverage of Baron Booth of Bread Street

Well you may have seen in the news last week that Gordon Brown has now appointed the Banker Mervyn Davies to be a Business Minister. The Prime Minister of the day can do this, without any scrutiny, on a whim. What's more, if the person he wants to appoint is not an MP, "convention" dictates that he must make that individual a member of the House of Lords.

Mervyn Davies replaces Digby Jones in government. Jones was only a minister for just a year, yet gets to keep his peerage for life. We think this system is a nonsense.

Elect the Lords was formed in 2004 to lobby the House of Commons to support a predominantly or wholly elected second chamber. This is now official government policy but progress on this issue remains frustratingly slow. For me only a wholly elected chamber would suffice. Anyhow Unlock Democracy is keeping up the pressure, and need your help.

Since the "Loans for Lordships" scandal erupted a couple of years ago they have been quietly selling "Virtual Peerages" to raise money for campaigns and to allow people to show their support for reform in a novel way. They are now stepping up that campaign.

A virtual peerage won’t get you a seat in the House of Lords, but your donation will help them in their campaign for an elected second chamber. You will be sent a “certificate of inauthenticity” and - with your permission - your name will be added to their Virtual House of Lords. So if interested go to the Unlock Democracy website.

Transition takes off in the US

It is great to hear from the Transition Network News that Transition has been welcomed with open arms in the United States (what is Transition Towns? See here). It really is taking off around the world - going viral as they say...

People in all areas of the US are now presenting Transition talks to their local groups with their own local flavors. Several groups have re-aligned themselves with the Transition model without yet seeking official Transition Initiative status. The Transition US Initiating Group (TUSIG) has now been formed, headed by Pamela Gray (Transition Network trustee) and Jennifer Gray, who established Transition Penwith in Cornwall, the second Transition Initiative - and is now living in the US. They have already had training sessions - in San Francisco there were more than 100 people on the waiting list–and that was after we had expanded the training size to include 45 participants rather than the usual 22! Similar large trainings were held in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles.

These trainings galvanized community organizers and we now see many more Transition Initiatives springing up. Currently there are eight official Transition Initiatives in the US, three awaiting official approval, and several more lining up behind them.

Carolyne Stayton writes re the US: "There is a tremendous enthusiasm for Transition in this country. With the shift in the Presidency, anything seems possible. We are off to a good start that feels a lot like a “new beginning.” With luck, commitment and the sheer enjoyment of reigniting community, we anticipate success in this great, unfolding adventure of Transition."

See more:
http://www.transitionus.org/
Transition US Networking Site
http://transitionus.ning.com/
Transition Stroud:
http://www.transitionstroud.org/

Keep MPs expenses transparent

On the 16th of May 2008 the High Court ruled that MPs' expenses must be published under the Freedom of Information Act. This Thursday, MPs are voting to change the law to keep their expenses secret after all.

Your MP may not even know about this proposal (it was sneaked out under the Heathrow runway announcement). Please take a few minutes to alert them to this attack on Parliamentary transparency and ask them to vote against the measure. Here is my email to David Drew MP who has always been open about his expenses: "You are probably aware that on Thursday in the House of Commons the intention is to exempt the expenses of MPs and Lords from the Freedom of Information Act and thereby close them to public scrutiny. This is to be passed almost a year to the day after the Derek Conway scandal erupted, when it emerged that the MP had been paying his sons as research staff while they were at university, despite not being able to demonstrate that they had actually done any work for him. We need proper scrutiny otherwise scandals such as this wont come to light. Gordon Brown when he became Prime Minister published the Governance of Britain Green Paper which asserted that “It is right that Parliament should be covered by the [Freedom of Information] Act.” Please can you ensure Parliamentary transparency remains. Could you also please sign Early Day Motion 492 re this matter."

Here is a comment from Unlock Democracy: "It is completely outrageous that the Government should seek to do this at all, let alone in such an underhand manner. The Government is planning to put us all on a national identity database, force us to carry identity cards, keep the DNA of millions of innocent people on a database and to read all our emails, phone and internet records regardless of whether we are supposed to have done anything wrong. Their argument is always “if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” Why, then, is it one rule for us and another rule for politicians?"

Go to the Unlock Democracy website to read more.

Energy Roadshow in Dursley on Valentines Day

This morning I had a good meeting with folk from Vale Vision and Uley Go Zero - we were looking at how we could work together more re promoting energy efficiency and renewables. Following the Open Homes event last September that I coordinated - see report and details here - we were looking at how to work more together so as not to reinvent the wheel.

The Open Homes was hugely successful - over 1,100 visits to the exhibition and 12 homes - and over the last weeks I've been having meetings and phone calls to see how best to take it forward for next year. More of that soon but here let me publicise the Energy Roadshow in Dursley on 14th Feb - see more re their exhibition and talks at: www.uleygozero.com

It looks set to be a great day - already Nailsworth had a small event put on by Green councillor Fi MacMillan and Sustainable Stonehouse are planning one very soon as well. In our meeting we looked at possible ways of working more together and also shared some great ideas about ways forward.

Stratford Park: cleaner but a way to go

Once again I am getting behind with reports re meetings - last Thursday was the Performance and Audit Overview and Scrutiny Committee and many exciting items like General Revenue Fund Estimates, Capital Programme, Budget proposals, Housing Revenue Account, Corporate Delivery Plan and much more - you can see all that on the webcast and in Council papers....

Photo: I went swimming Saturday for first time in ages and was pleased to see it clean although I reported one shower not working - apparently the parts are on order to repair.

One other item was Stratford Park Leisure Centre - an issue several people have contacted me about - we monitor performance every 6 months. Numerous issues came up - I, a long time ago, raised the need for a pool cover and a Green Travel Plan - I got confirmation the pool cover would come in April - the Travel Plan is moving ahead but a little slow - there are hopes for working closer with Stagecoach but cycle facilities have still not happened. More needs to be done on that.

In terms of customer service and cleanliness. One councillor considered the reception of Stratford Park to not be a welcoming entrance - saying "it's not something that excites me. The first impression you get in any business is when you walk in the door. Your priority should be that every person gets a greeting and a smile."

Kieran Sinton, who returned to the centre as manager to improve standards, seemed to accept the comments and also noted the improvements. He said: "We are undertaking additional staff training to ensure customers do get a positive and warm welcome. We are undertaking mystery visits by our users forum to highlight different issues that maybe we don't see."

Parkwood Leisure manages the centre for the district council and its contract beyond 2011 is due for consideration soon. Members on the Performance and audit overview and scrutiny committee members acknowledged Mr Sinton had made many improvements to the centre but more work needed to be done.

Photo: Citizen before Christmas highlighting the survey

The most recent survey of 198 Stratford Park Leisure Centre users, showed 79% were "fairly" or "very" satisfied with cleanliness of changing rooms. However, nine per cent were "very" dissatisfied and another nine per cent "fairly" dissatisfied.

At the meeting we heard that the past 18 months has seen a dramatic improvement in cleanliness. Indeed a deep clean was carried out last year. Some councillors seemed to be blaming customers for bringing the dirt in - but as Cllr Sarah Lunnon (Green), said it's not good enough. "Can we blame the public for making a place dirty that is open to the public? Kieran Sinton promised a massive improvement in cleaning, and there was. But it does not seem to have been kept up. The wet changing rooms are a running sore on the people of Stroud. People don't want to go there because of the yuk factor. There is still a way to go before we pat each other on the back."

The meeting confirmed April will see the free swim sessions starting for over 60s and over a 100 people have now had GP referrals to Stratford Park - this seems to be a good scheme. All in all we are very fortunate to have such a great centre in Stroud. See webcast for more details here.