More on Scrutiny: fly-tipping and leisure centres

It was Scrutiny meeting on Thursday night at Ebley Mill and I have already covered the report that I presented on climate change measures - see here - and the one on planning here. The rest of the agenda is here and included looking at performance indicators, the housing improvement plan and lots more....but here I'll just cover the fly-tipping and joint leisure centres briefly...

Photo: Pic of Randwick looking through to where Ebley Mill is sited!

Joint Use Leisure centres

I've covered this before here and here: those bits cover the background. Basically it is Cabinet's recommendation to 'terminate' JUC contracts at Nailsworth, Wotton and Berkeley and 'further review the future management of the other joint use sites'. Here are some comments from Cllr Fi MacMillan, Green councillor for Nailsworth:

• With an 'intent to terminate' JUC agreements, this is not an open consultation process which gives confidence to communities that leisure provision has ongoing commitment from SDC. • This recommendation has been developed behind closed doors without democratic involvement undermining confidence in partnership working. • There is no interim funding on the table to allow communities to make the transition from a subsidised service provision to a stand alone service. • Mostly importantly, this decision is not aligned to the Council's objectives set out in the Sustainable Communities Strategy to be 'fair and just', to promote 'health and wellbeing' and to provide sustainable services. • It is not aligned to our targets under the Local Area Agreement to increase adult participation in sport, National Indicator 8. • This recommendation takes no account of how well SDC has been meeting the needs of any of these communities - some of the services appear to have withered through inadequate provision of services.

The ideal would be that we have a leisure strategy across the district and align all Leisure Services expenditure behind this, rather than cutting the JUCs one by one - a slow and painful death leaving our communities without adequate leisure provision in the long-term.

The administration is describing this as an 'efficiency saving', which it is not. It is a cut in service by this Council. In addition the notion that JUCs be 'returned' to the schools is a slight of hand. Nailsworth School Governors are clear that schools are not permitted to use their resources to facilitate leisure activity at their premises. We are being told that there is adequate private sector provision in some areas which makes JUCs outdated. There is private sector provision available to those who can afford this - but not to others. This is not 'fair and just'.

Nailsworth Town Council are equally damming in their report "Observations of the Report to Special Cabinet on 28 January 2010 - Review of Joint Use Sites and Wotton Pool". In their summary they note:

• The Report is fundamentally slanted to justify the closure of these three centres, and has basic inaccuracies • The financial costs have been loaded so that smaller centres such as Nailsworth are asked to carry far more of the costs than larger ones such as Rednock. • The Report claims that Nailsworth school governors have been consulted. They have not. • Inexplicably the Report looks at 'competitor' facilities within a 10 mile radius, quite ignoring accessibility or affordability. • The Report ignores the special needs of potential users in Forest Green. • It is claimed that much effort has been put into advertising and promoting the centre. Yet we know of nothing. • In summary, the very Report is written in a way intended to justify the closure of the Nailsworth (and Vale of Berkeley and Wotton pool) centre, and has flagrant inaccuracies. Sadly, it highlights the determination of SDC to close them

The decision will be made at next Council meeting and it looks set to go through. I am unhappy, as noted before, in the whole way this review of services has been done. However I do have some faith that the Council will seek to maintain services in the community if possible - I did ask if transition funding might be available - it wasn't ruled out. Indeed closure will not be a good move politically.

Fly-tipping

The Council has made it's first prosecution for fly-tipping - a woman caught in day light tipping stuff under the sign that says no fly-tipping! Stroud is seen as 'effective' in dealing with fly-tipping - as opposed to 'not effective' or 'very effective'. We have seen a 19% decrease from 800 to 650 incidents between 07/08 and 08/09. The national picture is also to less fly-tipping - about 9% decrease nationally and 11% in the South West.

This meeting is a chance to quiz officers and members on our approach....Well I raised the issue of rubbish left over after the sledging (see here the views of one local about the impact on our area) - apparently that is litter rather than fly-tipping even though it includes tyres, a car bonnet and highway signs. Anyhow the District agreed to look at this issue with interested parties although it is private land.

Another issue I asked about was whether the free collection of bulky items by the District Council reduced fly-tipping. I was very surprised to learn that research indicates this is not a factor in fly-tipping! Does this mean we will be set for charges? Mind the administration of charges is costly in itself.

After the snow: why the mess?

I have discussed some of the aftermath of the sledging and snow - see here. We are now looking at what can be done longer term - the notices put up did help reduce the mess but what else? The letter below sent to the SNJ is from a local farmer and with the photo gives some indication of some of the mess left....

Interestingly the District Council also report more litter on the roads during the snow - perhaps more people out walking?

Madam - Cans Sweet papers Crisp packets Bottles Bin liners Broken sledges Assorted hardboard Piles of plastic sheeting A car bonnet Part of a canoe Car tyres Several stolen road signs And A thermos flask and bunch of keys

These are some of the items which had to be cleared after 8 days of tobogganing on fields in Randwick, Ruscombe, Whiteshill, Cainscross and Stonehouse - all land in the Cotswolds AONB and along the Cotswold Way, and part of my farm. This depressing picture was duplicated around the 5 Valleys, on Common land and other farms, where easy access to hills is possible. This has been anti-social behaviour on a large scale, and in some instances included wanton damage to property such as fences, gates and water courses. As such, it raises a number of questions.

Since this also happened in February last year, why did it not in 1981? Where were the parents in this, in informing and controlling their children? The schools – what are they teaching about the countryside and wider social issues of responsibility and care? Why is it deemed safe for children to career down hills (and sometimes along streets) on toboggans, yet trying to get them onto farms to learn more about the countryside, food production and the environment is pretty well impossible, sometimes on the grounds of so called risk. (I spent 3 years attempting to develop links with 10 local schools to use my farm as a learning classroom, only for this to founder for lack of take up).

The only offers of help to clear up over the 40 acres concerned, came from non-tobogganing local people or Parish/Town Councillors and local environmental groups? Why, and where were the families who created this mess when it had to be man/woman handled across sodden fields, bagged up and left by the road side? And finally, why does the press portray all this sledging as so fantastic? Can anybody answer these questions for me please?

Julia Currie - Ebley

Snow brings rubbish fears

Some will remember the huge volume of dreadful rubbish left by tobogganers on Devereux Hill last February. There are concerns that it could be worse this time. Already broken sledges and sheets of plastic have been left by fun-seekers - last year the mess took many people hours to clear the several skip loads of debris.

I have helped today put up some notices from the County Council along with black bin bags and tried to talk to at least some of those with sledges - one of the landowners also looks set to appear on Points West to raise this issue.

Meanwhile I was fortunate in being able to work at home today - although didn't get out in the snow until dark - hoping roads will be clear enough to get out tomorrow at the moment only 4x4s are making their way along Bread Street and even one of those slid as I watched.

Should Stroud go plastic bag free?

Well a very happy new year to all. I actually started this blog post many months ago and I never quite managed to finish and indeed it is now a rough ramble with bits that might well be out of date. I was trying to cover too many issues about the plastic bag in one post - including whether they are a distraction to the real issues and the alternatives...and whether paper is better than plastic? Plus where is the world's largest waste site? Well here the blog post is for all it's sins it kicks off 2010....

John Marjoram, when he was Mayor, started the drive to reduce the number of plastic carrier bags used in Stroud (see here) - there has recently also been the launch of a bag-free pledge for the town known as ‘The Stroud Charter’ as another step on route.

Stroud Town have been working hard on a campaign to join other towns in the UK who have already made the move to plastic bag-free. This last month Wales has affirmed it's plans to cut bag use by taxing plastic bags - see here.

Every year around 13 billion plastic bags are given away to UK shoppers - some previous estimates put plastic bag use at over 290 for every person in the UK. Many of these end up being dumped on landfill sites, where experts believe they can take up to 1,000 years to break down. As we are increasingly being made aware, the environmental impact of discarded plastic is devastating, with many plastic bags ending up as waste in our seas, on our beaches, streets and parks - indeed the couple of photos below have been reproduced many times along with numerous others to highlight the plight of wildlife. Indeed a whale washed up off the coast of France had 800 kilos of plastic bags in its stomach!

Indeed they have been dubbed "roadside daisies" in South Africa and some now even mournfully refer to them as the country's national flower! In Ireland, they are known as "witches' knickers" because they flap like satanic underwear in trees - indeed there were some photos in Stroud this last month capturing this 'photogenic' aspect of plastic bags!

To play our part in easing the burden the Town Council, the District Council and Stroud Chamber of Trade and Commerce have joined forces to help promote a new Charter for Stroud with the aim of raising awareness of the impact that the continued use of plastic bags has on our environment, and to encourage shoppers to actively think about the way they carry their shopping.

As part of the scheme they will be encouraging local businesses to join in helping reduce the use of plastic bags in Stroud with a target of reducing use by at least 50% before May 2010. We have seen the District Council, on behalf of the Town Council has sourced a re-usable hessian bag as an alternative to plastic. The bags carry a 'Shop Local' message and have been available to customers for £1. Meanwhile many local businesses have also signed up and have their own alternatives to plastic. Shops signing up to the Charter are being asked to display The Stroud Charter poster in their windows: 'The Stroud Charter: working towards a plastic bag-free town'.

Modbury did it first

Modbury became the first in Europe to reject plastic bags in its shops. Rebecca Hosking’s film was the inspiration for Modbury becoming the first town in England to phase out plastic bags and shows the effect of plastic on wildlife, including how an albatross had picked up plastic drifting in the sea mistaking it for squid and then feeding it to its chicks.

People said it wouldn't last, yet the self-imposed ban by the 40-odd shopkeepers has held firm and led to many others seeking to ditch what has been described as 'the eponymous symbol of the throwaway society'. The news of Modbury's success has even made it back to Hawaii and the island of Maui, where a film was made of upsetting footage of plastic bags killing marine animals. Maui itself is in the process of passing making the island and its 125,000 residents plastic bag-free within three years.

Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire has already become the second town to stop handing out plastic bags after four women calling themselves the Bag Ladies convinced nearly all the town's 104 traders that plastic was passé.

The National Trust has already managed to cut its plastic bags by 95% after starting levying a five pence charge as part of a drive to make its’ properties more environmentally friendly.

Brighton also looks set to go plastic bag free, while 33 boroughs in London agreed unanimously to create a city-wide ban on all throwaway bags but then pulled out in response to the Government plans to try and reduce bags (see here) - and the islands of Mull, Arran and Guernsey, are racing to become the first plastic bag-free island in the world ahead of Maui. In South Africa the legislation threatens imprisonment for violations! Indeed across the globe various moves are being made.

In Ireland, who were one of the first to tackle bags, a tax of 15 cents per bag resulted in a 90% drop in plastic bag usage, and raised 3.5 million Euros which was spent on environmental projects. San Francisco, Greens pushed through a ban on all non-recyclable plastic bags at major supermarkets and pharmacies and it is estimated that this ban alone will reduce oil consumption by nearly 800,000 gallons per annum. Bangladesh has banned polythene bags altogether while Taiwan and Singapore are taking steps to discourage their use.

A student from Mumbai, India noted to a Green colleague that floods there had caused a huge amount of damage and plastic bags clogging up drains were a huge contributory factor and as a result the city has banned plastic bags.

China has also announced a ban on super-thin plastic bags in the country as well as a fee for other plastic bags. A notice on a Government website said: "Our country consumes huge amounts of plastic bags every year. While providing convenience to consumers, they have also caused serious pollution and waste of energy and resources because of excessive use and inadequate recycling." The notice suggested widespread use of cloth bags and baskets instead. Penalties for rule flouters, including manufacturers of plastic bags that are less than 0.025 millimeters thick, include fines and other penalties. Up to 3 billion plastic bags a day are used in China. China has seen the closure of one of the world's largest plastic-bag factories, with the loss of 20,000 jobs, due to the government's concern about "white pollution".

Is the plastic bag campaign a distraction?

Of course minimising plastic bag use is desirable - however I do see a bit of a problem in that the Government (and many retailers) are happy to shout about this because it provides cover for not doing far more important things. They put out press releases, appear on the telly etc and get plaudits for reducing a visible, but in the grand scheme of things minor, environmental problem.

Too many think they are green by refusing plastic bags, buying organic food and cycling the odd trip. Do plastic bag free towns actually reduce pressure for people to act on more serious issues? We need much more fundamental changes. Plastic bags only represent a tiny fraction of the waste stream by weight or by volume. For example, in the US they account for less than half a percent of domestic refuse.

In Ireland, following the small tax on each bag as noted above, plastic bag use went down 90%. However binliner use went up over 300%. Binliners are heavier than plastic bags and not taxed. However overall plastic use is still down but not as much as sometimes argued - and there has been almost no change in import figures for plastic to Ireland.

Another effect of the tax was to encourage an increased reliance on paper bags which, according to a number of life-cycle analysis studies that have compared the environmental performance of various types of bags, can require more energy to manufacture and release more greenhouse gases when degrading following their disposal! More on that in a mo...

It isn't the plastic bags but what is inside them that counts!

Of course as I noted above - the plastic bag is only a small part of the problem - it is not the bags that are the issue - it's what's inside them. If the consumer fills their organic-hemp-bags-for-life with Pacific tuna and air-freighted kiwi-fruit, and salad crops in December, they're not solving any problems by buying into the greenwash - they're still part of the bigger problems. Plastic bags are not our most pressing issue by a long long way. It is our consumption...

So what to think?

James Lovelock has referred to the current obsession with plastic bags as "rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic".

Danny Kennedy, the campaigns manager for Greenpeace Australia-Pacific said: "I see the case of reusable bags as fairly superficial, but also very useful..The best thing about the plastic bag campaign is that people recognized the ecological world view; that everything is linked. It's also very empowering that so many people have engaged, and so quickly. If that's people's first entry point into taking action, then it's fantastic. Their first taste is a win. But governments can't think that's the only thing."

Chris Goodall, the author of "How to Live a Low Carbon Life, and Ten Technologies to Save the Planet" says: "It's the carbon content of what goes into your plastic bags, not the plastic bags themselves, that we should be worrying about. This is 100% more important than, say, the amount of oil used to make one plastic bag. Plastic bags are a litter issue – yes, they certainly cause great damage to marine life – but they are frequently seen as a carbon issue. They are not. They are an easy target because they are one of the most visible environmental problems. But this doesn't make them the most important environmental issue. Many assume that recycling is the answer to the waste problem, rather than simply consuming less. It's not an easy message for many people to accept. Worrying about plastic bags also gives the illusion that small steps make a difference. This kind of radical change in thinking will take a generation."

View from a campaigner: "My personal view is that the disposable plastic bag is the icon of our unsustainable lifestyles. I know that removing plastic bags from our lives won't make us a sustainable culture anymore than saving the polar bear will stop global warming. However, plastic bags and polar bears will make us all stop and think about the bigger picture."

Another view from a campaigner: "Plastic bags are widely recognised as an environmental menace, both as non-biodegradable waste and as a profligate form of oil consumption. The UK needs to legislate to curb this most ubiquitous symbol of consumerist short-termism."

And my view?

Well at the end of the day plastic bags are the ultimate symbol of our throwaway culture and it is right that they should be targeted but let us not get distracted from the wider issues - this must only be the start of much wider changes.

So what is the most sustainable thing to do? If we do use plastic then heavy duty multi-use plastic bags with closed-loop recycling. Charge for the bags, and give a refund when they are recycled. All of a sudden, they have a positive value - and they don't get thrown away. However plastic is still plastic - what about the alternatives...more in a mo on that....

Alternatives to the bag?

See where it all started with the first Plastic Bag free town with Rebecca Hosking in Modbury, Devon here with excellent stuff on her website about the alternatives here to plastic bags. In a letter I wrote to local press more than a couple of years ago I made a similar point about needing to take care about what we replace it with:

You report that the newly launched limited edition 'Anya Hindmarch' designer bags were sold out within 10 minutes at Sainsbury's in Stroud (27/04/07). The bag has a great logo with an important message: 'I'm not a plastic bag'. Sadly it is made from pesticide-sprayed, fertiliser-grown, intensively-irrigated Indian cotton: a crop which is causing untold damage to ecosytems and the Indian people alike. There are many sustainable alternatives to both plastic and this cotton. We don't need this 'greenwash' from Sainsbury's. Apparently one customer even had his new Hindmarch bag put inside a plastic bag! It is time instead we had real action in this country to cut our plastic use and end the disposal costs of some eight billion bags a year. Buried plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to decompose while a whale washed up off the coast of France had 800 kilos of plastic bags in its stomach! San Francisco has just banned all non-recyclable plastic bags at major supermarkets and pharmacies. Similar bans are in place in South Africa, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Paris. In this country many including the Green party and some local authorities want to see a tax on plastic bags. When the Irish did this they reduced their use by 95%! A MORI survey in this country shows 63% support a tax. Let's do it.

The first plastic "baggies" were introduced in the US in 1957. Now one million are handed out every minute, according to We Are What We Do, the not-for-profit group that was the driving force behind the Anya Hindmarch-designed reusable bag mentioned above. It is time we looked seriously at the alternatives.

Paper vs Plastic?

This section was adapted from a recent debate amongst some colleagues.....

It is first necessary to understand what happens when someone decides to make no further use of the bag. Plastic bags can in principle be reused many times more than paper ones.

In terms of environmental damage and pollution from the manufacturing process it would appear that plastic can be shown to be better than paper - that is on average - there are a lot of factors - but paper manufacture is a pretty dirty process. A University of Winnipeg study for example concluded that in their manufacture "paper bags are twice as energy intensive as a plastic one".

Paper bags are in principle more easily recyclable than plastic - both can be recycled, but both seldom are. Pretty even here. Although there is evidence to show that plastic bags contaminate our recycling stream, and dozens of people are needed to pull them off the conveyors, lest they jam the machinery.

In terms of disposal then plastic hangs around in the environment much longer and can do much more damage - this was the starting point for the plastic-bag-free town movement from Modbury already mentioned. Paper wins this round - it can also be composted. But what if this paper ends up in a landfill site? Well, it will degrade and you'll get methane produced. Maybe as much as 80% of methane produced in your average landfill site will get caught and burned
in a landfill gas engine, thus displacing fossil fuels at the cost of [we would hope] renewable CO2. But the other 20% will leak out and have an impact 20-23 times as great [landfill gas has a much larger Climate Change Potential than CO2.] In this case, we might be better off using
plastic as it just sits there and doesn't cause any more damage...

In terms of resource use both can use a recycled component, but the raw feedstock for plastic is of course a totally non-renewable resource. Again paper probably wins - but where is the pulp coming from - sustainably managed forests, or non-renewable forests?

Whats best?

So overall its a moot point. The best solution is perhaps unbleached fair-traded organic cotton (or jute) printed with good inks re-usable bags and then getting shopkeepers to use cornstarch bags for items requiring wet-wrap (fish, meat, hot items etc). Cornstarch performs
well but is about 10 times the price of plastic. Yes there are all sorts of problems with cornstarch - but for those items that need a wet-wrap it is an alternative - not for everything.
Our grandparents used to get meat and fish wrapped in paper by the butcher/fishmonger but a butcher tells me they can no longer get suitable paper and/or are not allowed to. See link mentioned above at the Modbury website on alternatives.

However as I've noted above perhaps most important of all plastic bags are symbolic of our wasteful society - we are in need of clear breaks with the waste society of the last few decades, and bags are something almost our whole society uses. Getting folk to question their packaging raises awareness and may make people more aware of other things they throw away.

Biodegradable plastic the answer?

In short, no. While bio plastics have an application in modern life (especially in farming), they are limited in their effect. They require high temperatures, a very specific pH and high levels of light to decompose, but such conditions rarely occur in natural environments, let alone sea, where there are lower temperatures and levels of sunlight. In an ocean environment, as in a landfill, biodegradable plastic will remain intact, causing damage to wildlife and ecosystems for many years.

What have others to say?

In California there is a campaign called 'The Bay versus The Bag' - see it here with videos and good info. Even the Daily Mail had a campaign against plastic bags - see here. There is also an excellent abolish plastic bags website and even a international day - see here - and even perhaps more surprisingly a save the plastic bag campaign site - see here for some interesting info that ultimately fails to persuade. To read Green party's Derek Wall's blog on this issue "To avoid danger of suffocation" see here. Justin King, chief executive of Sainsbury's writes here. Lastly a poem here about plastic bags.

Time to mine our seas for plastic?

This map shows how oceans suffer in graphic detail with all but 3.7 percent of the world's oceans affected by humans and some 41 percent of seas heavily affected by human activity (see original map here).

Threats, include climate change, overfishing, fertilizer runoff, coastal development, and shipping pollution. Researchers found only a few small areas near both poles remain relatively pristine - though, according to one coauthor, "they are not untouched." Plastic is one aspect of the human activity and you can see here an extraordinary article about mining the sea for plastic which could then be used via pyrolysis to convert to diesel!

What's the world's biggest landfill?

Well it covers an area at least a quarter of a million square miles... nearly three times the size of the UK. It's actually a slick of human debris in the sea, floating around in the Pacific starting from around 500 miles off the west coast of the US (see Schnews article here). It's caused by rubbish that gets caught up by spiraling underwater ocean currents, called a gyre, which draw it in from all around and trap it into a floating layer of filth near the surface of the ocean. SchNews suggest it might have been named by a Star Trek fan - the phenomenon has not been named 'Garbage Gyre' but given the more frightening tag of 'Trash Vortex'.

In 1979, the manufacture of plastic overtook that of steel. Today we use 20 times more plastic than we did 50 years ago. Each year, 100 million tonnes of plastic are used worldwide. We each dispose of 185lb of plastic every year.

Here is what SchNews said: Just how big it is a matter of hot debate. While many organisations cite it as being around the size of Texas, Charles Moore, the American oceanographer credited with first discovering it, has recently been quoted as claiming that it's now twice the size as continental United States, extending nearly all the way to Japan. Either way, its staggeringly big... Whilst some of the junk is stuff dumped by boats of one sort or another or off oil platforms, 80% of it originates from the land. It's caused by wind and rain taking trash from the land (and indeed landfills) into rivers, people dumping along the coasts, poor sewage treatment and waste from industry. Just how many millions of tons a year the Konsumer Kings of Krap discard into their vortex may be unknown, but with Californians alone using 19 billion plastic bags a year, there's no shortage of waste to go round. In fact around 90% of human pollution in the sea is plastic and this is far from fantastic news for sea-dwelling organisms and the ocean ecosystems. Made from a process using that ol' war-causing fossil fuel, oil, plastic is toxic to marine life and indestructible. While most plastics only officially take up to hundreds of years to degrade', the truth is they never actually chemically break down and return to the ecosystem at all - they just disintegrate into ever smaller pieces, making a deadly plastic dust. And it doesn't always have to wait so long to be dust; billions of tiny plastic pellets, called nurdles - the raw materials for the plastic industry - are lost or spilled every year, many ending up in the sea. These act like chemical sponges, soaking up other toxic man-made chemicals, all artificial pollutants (for toxicity think DDT pesticide etc), concentrating them up to a million times more than in normal sea water. Trawls of the Pacific vortex have revealed that for every pound of proto-plankton, the foundation of the marine ecosystem, in a given volume of water, there are six pounds of plastic waste. Plastic is therefore a catastrophic threat to the world's seas as stuff chucked away anytime in the last fifty years is still out there degrading somewhere. Waste caught up in the trash vortex, the gyre currents keeping it suspended in a plastic 'soup' near to the surface, is only the thin end of the widget. Around 70% of marine plastic waste sinks straight to the sea floor where it can slowly choke plant life and the animals that feed on it, unseen. According to the UN Environment Programme, plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, with countless fish and more than 100,000 whales, seals and turtles. Greenpeace have identified at least 267 separate species known to have suffered from entanglement or ingestion of marine debris. And before we get too cocky about how green and caring Europe is compared to their uncouth American cousins... they may not have vortices, but the North Sea is one of the most polluted seas in the world and the Mediterranean is the most plastic-polluted sea by density on the planet. Whether serious attempts to do anything about our constant adding to an already critical problem will really materialise before climate change or economic collapse give us a helping hand is anyone's guess (you can guess what we'd guess) - and so much damage has already been done. With respected journal 'Science' projecting that Earth's stocks of fish and seafood will collapse by 2048 if trends in overfishing and pollution continue, it looks like we're all gonna be sea sick soon.

For more from Greenpeace here. I think that is enough about plastic bags - if you got this far well done indeed!

News: schools, lane closed, housing, convent, SVP and more

A quick round up of some bits and bobs of local interest:

Photos: Woodcraft Folk Willow Elfin group rafting in Chalford this evening and below Open Studios exhibitions closed on Tuesday - a truimph - well done to all who made it possible.

The Vine Tree pub fundraiser for Mesothelioma UK - well done to Naomi Hawkins and all who raised money for the charity by designing and selling calendars and more.

Stroud District's Land Availability Assessment - this evening after work I was off to make rafts with Woodcraft Folk - see photo - then arrived slightly late for the Policy Panel on land availability in Stroud - basically Stroud District Council have appointed consultants Roger Tym & Partners to undertake a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) for the District. The study should provide up-to-date information on the future housing potential in the district up to 2026 - and will form part of the evidence base on housing potential. It will also inform the emerging Local Development Framework and will contribute to how the housing provision figures in the South West Regional Spatial Strategy can be met. Lots of stuff then and important. It includes a list of sites, cross-referenced to maps showing locations and boundaries of specific sites plus an assessment of the deliverability/ developability of each identified site (i.e. in terms of its suitability, availability and achievability) to determine when an identified site is realistically expected to be developed. Plus the potential quantity of housing that could be delivered on each identified site or within each identified broad location (where necessary) or on windfall sites (where justified) and the constraints on the delivery of identified sites with recommendations on how these constraints could be overcome and when. Of course of most interest is where the housing is going - will for example Ruscombe fields be included? However this is only about availability not whether it will be developed - lots more needs to be considered but it is an important step that I will be following up....

The Lane closed in Randwick - Highways have alerted me this afternoon to the fact that they will be undertaking vegetation clearance/maintenance works at Randwick School Retaining Wall. This work is "to enable inspection work to be carried out on the wall and any required repairs to be undertaken thereby ensuring the future stability of the retaining structure, and therefore the safety of road users and residents. The works are programmed to start on the 27th July 2009, should last for approximately 3 days. There will be a no parking policy in the vicinity of the work while the works are being undertaken, though all access to local properties will be maintained. Prior to the vegetation clearance a contractor will be carrying out herbicide spraying during the week commencing 6th July 2009. This work will not require and any traffic management or road closure but we request that consideration be taken whilst driving along The Lane during this week to ensure the safety of the workforce."

Randwick Mayor to Visit Randwick - yes Mayor Bruce Notley-Smith of the City of Randwick in Oz is due in the village later this month - more details soon.

Belties at Risk - front page of the Runner had news that the Belted Galloways cattle, a traditional rare breed at the field at the top of Ash Lane have been put at risk by the litter and fires - cows are inquisitive and will seek out new things in their environment - this threatens their mouth and feet. The Runner asks us to either let those lighting the fires know about the impact of their actions or to please report fires to the National Trust warden on 01452 810052 or teh Community Police Officer on 0845 0901234 - these cattle are v important as they help ensure that our grasslands remain full of wild flowers and wildlife.

Whiteshill Primary School - Pupils will sing and dance in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Cotswold Playhouse on the evenings of 7th July and 8th July. The children were inspired to put on the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic after seeing a performance of the musical at the Bristol Hippodrome earlier this year.

Randwick CofE Primary School - reports in local papers show that it has made a good impression on an Ofsted inspector who found pupils' academic and personal development was outstanding. Here is what Stroud Life had to say: The 84-pupil school was marked good in its overall effectiveness after a visit by Shirley Billington. She said: "This is a good school. Pupils do well academically and their personal development is outstanding. Pupils make a first rate contribution to the school and local community, showing a keen awareness of the part they need to play in the wider world." If that was not enough, Randwick school was then judged outstanding when a second inspector – Muriel Griffiths from the Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools – toured its classrooms a month later. "Randwick is an outstanding church school. Christian values underpin the whole life of the school and ensure that everyone feels cared for and valued," she reported. "There is a delightful family atmosphere that permeates the whole school. The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Randwick as a Church of England school are outstanding." Headteacher Fiona Montacute said everyone was delighted with the outcome of both inspections. "They help build a picture of Randwick as an outstanding church school," she said."Randwick is a small village school and special to everyone involved within it. It is great to have the opportunity to celebrate our achievements both within the school and the community."

More Hall Convent Open Day - I missed it this year but by all accounts it was great - the nuns even turned their talents to Morris dancing during the annual fete. Here is the local press report: "The Indian and Sri Lankan sisters from the Benedictine Order of Grace and Compassion twirled, jumped and hopped to the admiration of visitors to the fundraiser. The sisters also made spicy samosas to their own recipe that were served as tasty snacks to the crowd, said More Hall spokeswoman Joanna Boddington. More Hall, founded in 1968 in Cashes Green, is home to half a dozen nuns led by Sister Elsy and cares for 10 elderly men and women. The fete provides money for extras for residents. This year's event drummed up £1,000 and will be used to provide raised flower beds in the garden.

Stroud Valleys Project - who have just celebrated their 21st birthday have also just got a grant of £5,000 to run wildlife workshops and surveys at The Lawns and Hamwell Leaze (booth on the Ruscombe Brook) along with a couple of other sites.

Green bits of interest

Going through my emails I picked out several that might interest....

Photo: view from Whiteshill across to Stroud

What's in a name? There has been much discussion about whether it is better to use Global Warming or Climate Change - or Climate Catastrophe or even Climate chaos to best describe the science and it's impacts....a PR firm in the US says "our deteriorating atmosphere” is what we need to use?? The report’s authors especially like the phrasing, “Local temperatures always fluctuate naturally. But when the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990, we have a problem.” See more here.

Pluralistic leftwing politics anyone? In 'Labour's rub of the Green?' John Harris writes in The Guardian about Caroline Lucas at the Compass conference - see here - there is room for pluralistic leftwing politics. He concludes - and I agree - "Caroline Lucas, for what it's worth, offered this vision-cum-soundbite: 'Not a big tent, but a campsite of smaller tents.' It's maybe not the greatest of analogies, but I quite like it."

A single issue party? In 'There are many shades of Green' Jenny Jones comes back at Leo Hickman who claims we are a one issue party - see here.

Law and Your Environment - I've just added the link to this website to my blog role - it is a new plain guide to Environmental Law, mainly covering England and Wales. The kind of problems covered are: fly tipping; noisy neighbours; graffiti; litter; dog mess; pollution; planning; wildlife; rights of way. You can find out where to go for help, who the regulator is and how to approach them, how the legal system works, and follow links to the original laws. This is great stuff and hopefully will improve access to environmental law information and empower more people to participate in environmental matters in line with the objectives of the Aarhus Convention 1998. It also promotes a culture of environmental citizenship by providing helpful information on environmental rights and responsibilities.

The Independent on Sunday - two articles by Jonathan Owen on Stroud Greens - the first on Kathy Dimock, aged 101 and Britain's oldest green campaigner - see here and the second featuring John Marjoram at 70 in 'The seven ages of green' - see article here.

Local news bits: Whitestock, toilets, recycling and Tricorn

Whitestock - The Friends of Whiteshill School hope to repeat the huge success of their first music festival - gates open at school at 6pm on Saturday 4th July with the Whiteshill Samba band then a mix of various other acts including the Johnson and Kempner Partnership teachers jazz band and the Reservoir Hogs - ring Angie Mason on 753461 for details.

Photo: Standish Woods

Our Wonderful World exhibition - Randwick School's exhibition 9am to 5pm in the church until the end of June - pride of place is the Tree of Life.

Randwick Hall Toilet block success - the Glos Environmental Trust have come up trumps with £8,000 for the toilet block - this means the £40,000 phase II of the hall development is now set to go-ahead this year - an incredible achievement to raise all that money since September - special thanks to Val Flack for masterminding it all.

Recycle Week - yes it's recycle week this week - see more here and here - it is good to have these reminders about what we can recycle but none of this goes far enough - we need Councils and the Government to wake up - we are still years behind countries like Germany. Oh and another website that is good is that Love Food Hate Waste site: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

On street recycling bins launched - lots of hard work by Stroud District Youth Council (SDYC) means that innovative litter recycling bins will be unveiled this week at locations across the local area. Recognised as the active voice for 11 - 18 year olds for the district, the youth council formed a litter recycling pilot project team. They decided to introduce recycling bins around Stroud, concentrating on routes most commonly used by young people such as the paths to and from school. Following extensive design work and consultation with officers at Stroud District Council, bespoke multi compartment recycling bins were sourced, customized artwork produced and locations known to have a high density of litter were identified. Well done indeed to them all.

Tricorn House - Objections to the compulsory purchase of the eyesore Tricorn House will be heard at a public inquiry to start on 14th July. The building's owner Wellfair Holdings will argue against Stroud District Council's plan to buy the derelict office block and hand it straight on to the company Ecotricity - who want to redevelop the site on the Cainscross roundabout as its new HQ. It will be before a government inspector, whose final recommendation will probably go before the Secretary of State for approval. As many will know I have long argued along with most of the local population that this site urgently needs redevelopment - indeed I raised the issue when I was first elected 3 years ago - so I have given a warm welcome to this move at last of compulsory purshase - Tricorn was built in the 1970s and was originally Stroud's Department of Social Security building. In the last 10 years it has not been used and has looked worse each year. See a photoshop of someone elses' view of Tricorn House here.

Cashes Green Hospital - site has got the go-ahead for Outline Planning permission - see previous blog here.

Full Council: 50 mins on dog poo

On Monday I was quoted under a headline "Green fears over leaflet drops" - well more of that in a moment with the dog poos but first a very brief summary of some of the other issues raised at Thursdays' Full Council meeting...

Photo below: view of Ebley Mill from Randwick

Well there was the Interim Sustainable Communities Strategy - Greens have made many comments about this in the past (see for example here) and are drafting a letter about how we want to see the main strategy develop - certainly this is wholly inadequate as it is at the moment as it tags on cliamte change as if it is an extra point like others rather than setting it at the heart of policy. The Sustainable Communities Bill was finally passed - Greens put a motion in a while back - see here.

Both Stroud and Nailsworth planning strategies were passed - great stuff, there was also a report from the Scrutiny committee I sit on plus the Private Sector Housing Renewal Policy - something many opposition councillors voted against as it appears a reduction in service to disabled members of the community. Greens also raised many concerns re changes to the way Parishes and individuals may object to applications - more on that soon in a separate blog....

OK to the 'Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act - and Fixed Penalty Notices' - here is how THe Citizen reported it before the meeting...

FEARS that new laws tackling litter could silence free speech have been allayed by district council leaders. But Green Party members want to know more about legislation allowing leaflet distributors to be fined for handing out material that is dropped in the street. As The Citizen reported last week, anyone caught dropping litter in Stroud could be fined £75 and that would extend to "unauthorised distribution of literature". The legislation is expected to be passed by Stroud District Council on April 16.

Campaigners, activists, pressure groups and political parties often hand out flyers to Stroud town centre shoppers and Stroud district councillor Philip Booth, (Green, Over Stroud) was concerned it might affect legitimate political activity. SDC's Conservative administration has moved to allay those concerns but Coun Booth said: "I would have concerns that it could be imposed on small businesses who use leaflets and flyers. I would want to know more about the legislation. The existing legislation is sufficient to cover the problem."

If the council passes the new laws under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, anyone caught abandoning a car, dropping litter, daubing graffiti, damaging bins, not clearing up dog mess, or causing nuisance parking could be hit with a fixed penalty fine of between £75 and £200. Coun Joe Forbes (C, Minchinhampton), SDC cabinet member for community safety, made it clear there are exemptions from the legislation. The act gives councils the option to make an order to prohibit the unauthorised distribution of printed material to try and prevent the significant problems of littering associated with free leaflets, most of which end up on the floor only a few metres from where they are handed out," he said.

"It is primarily designed to prevent the big problems of litter in city centres, caused by the handing out of pub or club flyers. These glossy flyers are hard for street sweeper machines to pick up. This isn't a major problem within our district. However, it is important to include them in the council report, so that members are aware of the breadth of the legislation. There are also exemptions to the order, notably the handing out of leaflets by charities, or where the distribution is for political purposes or for the purposes of a religion."

Well I have to say I was deeply disappointed that despite starting to ask my questions several weeks ago I did not get answers to all the issues I raised before Council however I was somewhat reassured at the meeting and talking to Officers about the Council's plans for use of these Fixed Penalty Notices - about the fact that education would be a priority before issuing them. I still though wonder if there are not better ways than such fines and as for the 'unauthorised literature' who authorises it? We should note that while our current officers and members are fine the powers could possibly be abused in the future...and hey this is yet more legislation - Labour have brought in literally hundreds of new laws since they came to power - laws upon laws don't necessarily make us a more cohesive and safer society....at least they seemed to have recognised that their CCTV culture has gone too far - see Guardian here.

In the end Council spent what seemed like more than an hour on discussing dog poo and litter - yes I know it is an important issue and can blight many communities but hey this was the issue we spent most time discussing not climate change or......and it was not the most constructive discussion - and yes I know the stuff is dangerous - indeed a doctor has told me that my mothers' toxiplasmosis (often caught from dog poo) prior to having me could have led to my less strong immune system....anyhow I was going to write more but have another appointment so must dash and save this for another time...

Help clear up after sledging

I cannot believe the amount of rubbish following the sledging - on Doverow Hill already a whole trailer-load has been removed - must get some photos as it really is unbelievable!

Photo: Pigeons in Bread Street

Many walkers are also doing their bit but it still looks like it has hardly been touched - vast quantities of rubbish remain - steel doors, metal road signs, sheets of plastic, glass, doors and more - worse some sharp white plastic has shattered into sharp shards - cattle were hoping to go on that field but clearly can't.

The landowner, Julia Currie has appealled in the letter below for help clearing up - Randwick Parish chair Richard Huxford is helping although it is not quite in our Parish. There is a date - Sunday 1st March - the hope is to have lines of litter pickers to work their way down the field - I hop[e folk reading this will be able to join the great litter-pick.

I have rung the District Council but it is outside their responsibilities - although hopefully they will be able to help provide pickers and bags and may remove collected rubbish....it is clear Julia is not alone - I have heard from other farmers about the amount of rubbish they have collected - Kings Stanley Primary School have already helped clear one field - we are hoping a school might also help locally here.

Julia's letter to press:

During the recent snowy weather, hundreds of people, maybe even some who live in Randwick, were able to toboggan down Doverow Hill, part of my farm. I am pleased that so much fun was had. However I, and no doubt many others, are counting the cost. And that cost will be very dear.

Doverow Hill is now covered in the debris and rubbish left behind, including plastic bags, hard plastic in small and large pieces, glass and plastic bottles, metal from improvised sledges, and other unidentifiable objects.

Randwick residents will know that this land is crossed by the Cotswold Way and is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Not so beautiful now. Additionally, and soon when the grass begins to grow, cattle will be put out to graze there. If any sharp metal objects or plastic is eaten by them, they may well be harmed.

I, and others so affected, will have to personally clear large areas of land. This will be painstaking and time consuming work.

May I therefore request that anyone, particularly those who had such fun in the Doverow snow, please consider giving up an hour or so of time to help litter pick. Please call 764376 or 765013 to do so, or meet at the stile exiting Doverow Tump from the woods and on the Stroud side, at 11am on Sunday 1st March. Please wear suitable clothing and shoes, and if possible, protective gloves.

Thank you on behalf of those walking this beautiful area and the cattle that will soon be grazing there.

Local news: brook, sewage, footpaths, Alec Alder and more

Here's some bits of local stuff from this week:

Ruscombe Schoolboy walks for charity - another SNJ feature was about Luka Chadwick, aged 10, who goes to Whiteshill Primary and walked the whole of the 21-mile Five Valleys Walk to raise funds for the Meningitis Trust. In 2001 he became ill on the day of the Five Valleys Walk and arrived in hospital unconscious - it was diagnosed as having viral meningitis - he came home after 2 weeks where he made a full recovery. See photo with his mum Anneke De Winter.

Alec Alder featured - was featured in the SNJ this week - aged 90 - he lives in Westrip, owned a coal merchants and A and A taxis - and used to be the minister for the old Pentecostal church in Ruscombe for 40 years - he talks to the SNJ this week about how he has cheated death 14 times - one of those cycling to Paganhill from Randwick down a lane where a car hit him anyone travelling down Puckshole today will know it is possibly even more dangerous - which leads me onto the next item as a tributary of the brook is flooding that road...

Ruscombe Brook Action Group meets - we met for the first time since our AGM in July - 15 of us in a home in Ruscombe on Tuesday night - there was much to catch up on - we started with an update from Adam on Ilaria's report and its implications for Ruscombe Brook (see more here). This is very exciting as Illaria's report instead of recommending one pond and dam to stop water flooding the Slad Road (it would need to be a one kilometre long pond!!) recommends a series of small ponds all the way up the valley - just like the old days - if this can take place it will be ground-breaking - the only scheme in the country. So to allay fears a smaller scheme is being considered first in Stonehouse - if these work then we will be looking at Ruscombe - the reality is that in those other two areas the priority is greater as homes are flooded - having said that we will also be looking at measures in Ruscombe with the landowners. We then had a presentation from Alastair and Erfan on their ecological
survey of biodiversity in Ruscombe Brook. this was fascinating and I hope to put it on the planned new website we are seeking funds for at the moment. Much else was covered and much apple cake eater - also looking at a direct action group to clear out the ditch at Puckshole - RBAG members are in touch with the landowner - more of that soon - in fact have had lots of phone calls so will do a separate blog on that v soon.

Update on local sewage works - Just to recap slightly, the flow survey was completed a while ago and the hydraulic model has also now been verified. This indicated that there is a
capacity issue within the main Ruscombe Brook sewer. Further survey work has been undertaken by Severn Trent within some of the subcatchments which feed into the main Ruscombe Brook sewer to help us all identify possible solutions. These subcatchments contain significant areas of private drainage systems for which there were no records available. This has meant tracing sewer routes and undertaking manhole surveys where necessary. Severn Trent are also in the process of undertaking some initial impermeable area surveys to identify which areas drain to the foul system and what drains to surface water sewers. Once they have undertaken these surveys they are hoping then to be able to start formulating outline solutions. This is all good news - and a very different picture from 3 years ago when we started the brook group and the water company was saying there wasn't a problem - now they are working with us on this.

Sewage incident - sewage incidents used to be many and often - however we now get them rarely - there was the first one for a while reported to us about 2 weeks ago - a manhole cover opened with the heavy rains near homes before Hamwell Leaze. Hopefully once problems are identified these incidents will be further reduced.

Conmen in Whiteshill - Police have checked on homes in Whiteshill after conmen stole from a home there - however it appears they seemed to have targeted one home specifically.

Wheelers Walk footpath update - Some will remember I have complained about the state of this path that was impassable at points this summer - see here - I wrote several times as got no answer - yesterday I did - here it is: The Public Rights of Way Team carried out a condition survey of all paths in the County last year. This path was inspected on 21 December 2007. There was no evidence of a drainage problem although it was muddy. The path was again inspected yesterday. I again found no evidence of a drainage problem. I consider this path to be in a condition I would expect at this location and at this time of year, especially taking into account recent weather conditions. The path follows a hill with a steep gradient. The amount of rain over the last few weeks which has poured down the hill has caused the ground to become muddy at the point where the access from Wheelers Walk meets the field. Apart from walkers exercising their dogs, this is obviously, due to the amount of graffiti and litter, an area where kids congregate. I have now inspected this path in the middle of winter and after a period of sustained rain. I do not consider that a bridge or boardwalk is necessary at this location. I will arrange to inspect the path again however after a period of relatively dry weather to ascertain whether the surface has indeed improved. It does seem the path has improved - the litter (eg polystyrene, cardboard etc) was mostly put down so that folk could cross the site - and the sewage smell is currently not present but I am not confident the problem has gone away.

Buy or Barter Brunch - and event from Transition Stroud - Sunday 21st September 11.00 – 1.00 - Mills Café, High Street, Stroud - £2 entry - a challenging and fun way to get good local food and think about trading and a local currency Please bring (locally sourced if possible) food to share. On arrival your £2 will be exchanged for a local currency which you can then use to buy, sell, trade or barter the various wares on offer to make a tasty brunch. Arrival and coffee 11.00, then 11.30 buy or barter begins. Don't forget Sunday is also the day for flags outside Sub Rooms at 3pm - see more here.

Bus stop at Stratford Road - many will know we have been campaigning for years for this - we heard earlier in the year Tesco were set to build one but it is still not there - a resident has contacted me this week to see why not - in my emails to the County and Tesco I have learnt that approval from Tesco to release funds will be made this week. Hopefully that means it wont be too long.....especially with autumn coming - although I reckon we could have done with it this summer!!

Dangerous footpath made more dangerous - a footpath we have highlighted many times since a meeting with Highways - see here - has finally seen some action - exactly the action we said we didn't want = the Wardens path has been addressed with the installation of a low metal barrier across a short section at the top of the bank. However, as we had predicted the children/youths/adults treat it as a challenge and leap over it and as a result go down the bank even faster and with even less control than before. It more than annoys me that public money has been wasted on a totally ineffective scheme and that once again neither the Parish Council nor myself were consulted or even given the opportunity to comment - baaaaaaaaaaaaah! I will be writing to the County!

Basketball hoop for Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish - the Parish Council have accepted the free hoop that I have managed to obtain from Stratford Park - more of that coming soon.

How quickly should refuse be removed from our streets?

Stroud District Council is in the process of applying new Government guidance to its street cleaning service.

Photo: Shopping Trolley

See Defra stuff here:
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/litter/code/pdf/cop-litter.pdf

There used to be 11 categories for purposes of keeping public land clear of litter - all with response times - now we are getting only 4 - while I am sure this will be an improvement it is yet again Government telling local councils how to do it - I am awaiting guidance on how to tie my shoelace - yet when it comes to the big issues like putting renewables on all new developments and higher insulation specs it seems we wait for ever - and indeed have things put in the way to make it difficult for local councils to go their own way....enough moaning here are the categories with examples from this ward - let me know what you think...

This is about response times rather than frequency of cleans which will go for wider consultation with Parish Councils etc...

High intensity eg shopping areas - none in ward - response within half a day
Medium intensity eg residential areas - most of Whiteshill, the top end of Ruscombe nad central Randwick Village are included in this - response within 1 day
Low intensity eg industrial areas - well that is the example they give but it included Bread Street, Lightwood Lane and other bits of Randwick and Ruscombe - response within 14 days
Special circumstances eg employee health? None in ward - Response 28 days or as soon aspracticable

I will be asking for the other bits like Westrip, Bread Street and other residential areas to be included in the one day response - 14 days is not acceptable.

Whiteshill: Car on fire and local crime priorities

Last week many will know there was a car on fire in Whiteshill playing fields - it was videoed by a local resident who also caught the shop fire on video - here is what they wrote about the car...

Photo: Dusk near Westrip

"Yet again we have been awoken by youths in the village car park this time stuck in the mud .....setting fire to a car...fire engines getting stuck in the mud!!!!! We lost 3 hours sleep last night but at least that's one less car on the road!!!!!!"

I also have just heard back from the recent local Neighbourhood Panel Meeting for Stroud Urban area. The current three Urban Priorities that had been set at the last meeting:

1. Anti-Social Behaviour – Park/Bank Gardens Stroud
2. Criminal Damage – Park/Bank Gardens Stroud
3. Speeding – Nouncells Cross and Whiteshill

Infact Bank Gardens and Park Gardens have shown a dramatic decrease in crimes and incidents being reported. A further 6 people have been caught and fined for speeding in the areas set as the priorities. In regards to the Whiteshill area it was noted that National Express coaches had been stopped by Police from using Whiteshill as an alternative route and this had resolved part of the problem reported. Again Speed checks had also been carried out - there are still plans for flashing signs.

The group also had a discussion about new priorities - this included concern re Nouncells Cross and also concerns re youths congregating around the Spar shop at Cashes Green and surrounding roads and alleyways. Some residents feel that youths are intimidating the elderly and additional patrols are needed in the area - unfortunately the Spar shop had failed on tests re selling alcohol to people underage. Another Test Purchase Operation is planned for the near future.

There is also a Mosquito at Cashes Green - some wondered if it was working - the responsibility of switching it on lays with the owner of the Spar shop - I am personally against the use of Mosquitos - see my comments here. Discussions also included concerns like problems at Whiteshill with the car park and playing field being main concerns for
Anti-Social use of motor vehicles during evenings and weekends. Indeed cars have also been damaged many times in the car park.

The decision on 3 priorities for agencies to address were agreed. Anti-Social Behaviour in Park and Bank Gardens had decreased significantly and this priority could be replaced. Due to the concerns of Anti-Social Behaviour in Queens Drive and the surrounding area of Cashes Green it was decided that this would be the first new priority. It was decided that high visibility patrols would be increased in the area and the council would look into the litter problem with perhaps providing more bins etc and the Neighbourhood Warden SM would also be involved with patrolling the areas.

With the high concerns of Nouncells Cross and the Anti-Social Behaviour increasing it was decided that it would become the second priority extending to the top of town with an increase in patrols in the area. This was agreed.

Speeding was a main concern for many areas and after a short discussion to specify which areas would be covered it was decided that Speeding in Bisley Old Road, Whiteshill, Folly Lane, Lansdown Road and Westward Road would be the main areas of patrol for the third and final priority.

One issue I put forward is that we need to renew our Neighbourhood Watch schemes - many new residents have moved in and some of the schemes could do with more new blood - although my own view is that they should act more like Neighbourhood Care schemes that look out more for the less able or more vulnerable in our communities.....

Puckshole, drains, gullies, sewers and street-cleaning

Is it a drain, a sewer, or a gully? The Citizen yesterday had a useful section in their paper telling us the difference between drains, gullies and sewers...I have taken the liberty of copying it below. Meanwhile still no news re the local drains that were reported blocked? See blog entry on 14th January 2008.

Although walking around this morning - delivering more of my news leaflets - I see at least one of them has been sorted. However do please report any blockages to the County Council on the numbers given in the previous blog on this topic.

Puckshole floods

Residents of Puckshole are also seeking a meeting to see if more action can be taken to prevent the serious flooding there - yet again the Lane was under water and even today the water is gushing along the side of the road still (see photos). We will set something up but as the Ruscombe Brook Action Group have found, it never seems a priority by authorities as homes are not damaged and ownership of the culvert seems to not be clear....also the problem according to experts we've spoken to seems to be largely (but not wholly) caused by the size of the culvert...here are answers from the District Council's Drainage Officer to some questions asked about the situation...

What is the main cause of the problem? I think that the restrictive culvert under the access is the main reason for flooding rather than anything to do with the land owner.

How to sort the problem? I understand that the lane serving Acre Place is private - I made some enquiries with the County Council some time ago. It follows therefore that those who live in Acre place have a shared responsibility towards it's upkeep. I'm also aware that Cooke's culverted the brook under part of their site by using old oil drums as support for the concrete pour, therefore the size of the pipe under their site should be big enough to allow most flows to pass. The best action would be if the residents would club together to get the pipe under the highway replaced with a bigger one, I would suggest a minimum of 450 mm diameter. This should allow most minor debris items to pass and therefore remove the need for the homemade grill that holds back leaves and silt. The increased pipe may sit a bit lower and therefore help silts to be carried away, probable to the Lawns.

Has the latest Archway development made situation worse? Regarding the balancing pond at Archway school, I think this has been designed to intercept all the surface water runoff from the school and the new development next to it, so the situation should actually be better than before.

A query re street cleaning.....

- Randwick/Ruscombe are have two contracted street cleans each year plus cleans are done if requested
- Last Monday 7th someone from the Parish reported to the District Council the need for street cleaning up Ruscombe Road and Far Westrip. The contractors have confirmed this was done last Thursday 10th. However a resident writes: "I went for my walk up there on Sunday 13th and if there had been street cleaning, I found it to be totally inadequate, with the old debris in the gullies etc." She phoned the District who noted the street cleaning process involves a small vehicle with brushes and the cleaning of gulleys involves hosing them out. This is clearly an issue to be raised at tonights Parish meeting.

Is it a drain, a sewer, or a gully?

What is a drain? It is an underground pipe which carries either surface or foul water from a single property and discharges into a public or private sewer.

Who is responsible for drains? The owner (or in some cases the occupier) of a house is responsible for maintaining, repairing and cleaning his/her drain until it empties into a sewer. This means that the owner or occupier is still responsible even if it passes through somebody else's land.

What do I do if a drain is blocked? Drains are the responsibility of the owner of the property concerned (irrespective of whose land they are on).

What is a sewer? It is an underground pipe, which carries surface water or foul water from more than one property. Where two or more drains meet the pipe becomes a sewer.

Who is responsible for the maintenance of a sewer? This depends on whether it is a public or private sewer. Public sewers are maintained by the Water Authority - which in this area is Severn Trent. Private sewers are the responsibility of the owner or occupier of all properties draining into the length of pipe in question.

Who should I contact if a sewer is blocked? The clearance of public sewers is carried out by Severn Trent on 0800 7834444. For private sewers, the responsibility ultimately lies with all the owners of the properties upstream of the defect or blockage.

What is a gully? Road gullies allow water to drain away from roads and pavements. They consist of a gully grating and a gully pot underneath, and are situated at the side of the road by the kerb. Removal of rainwater from the highway is key to ensuring the safety of the road and preventing deterioration from standing water.

Who is responsible for gullies? Gloucestershire Highways is responsible for highway gullies which are drainage pits covered by an open metal grating located on the road edge. Their purpose is to drain rain water from the highway into the sewerage system.

How often are gullies emptied? The Highways Authority operates a programme to ensure that all gullies are cleared of leaves, litter, silt and debris at least once a year. In known trouble spots gullies are cleared more frequently.

Who do I contact if a gully is blocked? The county council's emergency gully clearance service can be contacted through the call centre on 08000 514514.

Who is responsible for water supply pipes? Severn Trent, who can be contacted on 0800 7834444, 24 hours a day.

Who is responsible for main rivers? The Environment Agency has powers to maintain and improve main rivers. It can construct and maintain defences against flooding, issue flood warnings, and manage water levels. Defra decides which are the main rivers. To find out who to contact at your local office call 08708 506 506.

Who is in charge of ordinary watercourses? Under the Land Drainage Act 1991, the local authority is the operating authority for ordinary watercourses where there is no Internal Drainage Board.