Cabot eNews - January 2012

Dear Resident,

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

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

In this edition:

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

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

A spokesman for the camp has said that they intend to leave within a
couple of weeks and to try to clear the park to the best of their
ability. Talks are continuing between the camp, the Council and the
Cathedral to finalise how and when the camp will move on. Alex and I
welcome that this appears to be a peaceful conclusion to the protest and
hope the park will be back to its former glory soon.
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2. Bristol successful in all 3 major transport bids!

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

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

This £200m will have a transformative effect on Bristol transport over
the next decade, and is an indication of how seriously the Coalition
government takes Bristol's chronic transport problems.
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3. Park St bus-stop improvement works

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

As well as the bus stop improvements, the works also include the upgrade
of the pedestrian crossing across Park Street. Works will last for
approximately ten weeks and will be carried out in four stages so that
disruption is kept to a minimum.
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4. Bristol secures further £19m funding for new primary places

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

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

English 80% (78% 2010, 72% 2007)
Maths 80% (80% 2010, 69% 2007)
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6. Redcliffe Residents Parking consultation

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

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

The proposals to make some minor amendments to the Kingsdown Residents'
Parking Scheme went out to statutory consultation in December. The
consultation period has now closed and a decision on whether or not to
proceed with the changes will be made next month. The council promised
to make tweaks to the scheme after a review was carried out in July last
year.
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8. £50 million investment for Bristol's priority infrastructure

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

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

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9. £1m for Bearpit transformation

Most important for Cabot in the £50m identified above is the prospect of
£1m towards the transformation of the "Bear-pit" at St James Barton
roundabout, to expand on the great work done by the Bearpit Improvement
Group. Details:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-16484476
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10. £0.5m million investment for Stokes Croft gateway to Bristol

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

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

These works were prioritised by the local community from the vision set
out in the St Paul's Neighbourhood Plan. Further improvements are
planned for Stokes Croft later this year with £300k from the
Government's new Local Sustainable Transport Fund. The Stokes Croft
Traders group has agreed this money should be focussed on the widest
section of Stokes Croft below the City Rd junction.
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11. 50% recycling rate first dividend of new waste contracts

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

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

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

Their next event is the Coronation Road riverbank clean-up on Saturday
28th January, 10.00am to 12.00 noon. Meet at Gaol Ferry Bridge (south
side). Wear warm, waterproof clothing and strong shoes and bring
protective gloves if you have them. They will supply spare gloves and
litter-pickers. Free coffee and cake will be your reward afterwards!
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13. Exhibitions at M Shed 2012

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

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

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

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

In addition, M Shed has been short-listed for European Museum of the
Year Award 2012!
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14. Spike Island Gallery Exhibitions

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

Suzanne Mooney, The Edge of Collapse: 21 Jan to 18 Mar
Spike Island presents a solo show of new photographic work by Bristol
based artist Mooney.
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15. Safety is the priority for Bristol's first mobile enforcement car

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

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

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

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

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

If you love Brandon Hill and would like to be involved with taking care
of it, the Friends of Brandon Hill Annual General Meeting will take
place on Tuesday 31st of January starting at 7pm, in the University of
Bristol Systems Centre, Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Rd, BS8
1UB. The meeting will take place in the Knowledge Exchange Suite on the
bottom floor. Please attend if you are interested!
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19. Persistent illegal fly posters to pay over £1,000

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

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