22 JULY 2010
BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL HAS IGNORED YOU!
At its meeting today, Bristol City Council's ruling Cabinet (8 Liberal Democrat councillors) decided to implement the proposed Residents' Parking scheme in Kingsdown.
This is despite the fact that the response to the recent public consultation was overwhelmingly against going ahead!
Of the 1037 responses to the Council's consultation, 995 were against and only 42 were in favour.
Responses from roads within the scheme boundary were 473 against and just 27 for. Many others were from people living just outside who would be directly affected.
154 public statements were made to the meeting - 129 were against and only 24 were in favour.
What part of this does our council not understand?
Strangely, there is no straightforward legal route to reverse this clearly undemocratic decision.
However, Councillor Alex Woodman, councillor for Kingsdown, who backed proceeding with the scheme, is due for re-election next May - just 9 months' time.
If you agree with us that it is wrong to go against such massive public opposition please email Councillor Alex Woodman and tell him what you think. His email address is: alex.woodman@bristol.gov.uk
Please send a copy to us at: mail@keepparkingfree.org
14 JULY 2010
CONSULTATION RESULTS AND DECISION MEETING
The results of the Kingsdown 'statutory consultation' were released today and show overwhelming opposition to the plans:
Against the Kingsdown residents' parking proposals: 995
For the Kingsdown residents' parking proposals: 42
However, even with this massive vote against, Bristol City Council's officers are recommending that the scheme goes ahead! The final decision will be taken at a meeting of the council's Cabinet at 6.00pm on Thursday 22nd July at the Council House, College Green.
The meeting is open to the public - just go to the main door in the centre of the Council House. Please try your very best to attend the meeting to encourage our elected councillors to see sense.
For further details see:
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/committee/2010/ua/ua000/0722_5.pdf
10 MAY 2010
FINAL CHANCE TO SAY NO
The statutory consultation period for the Kingsdown residents' parking proposals runs from 11th May to 4th June 2010.
No decision on whether or not to proceed with the scheme has been taken and the council is legally obliged to take proper account of responses to the statutory consultation. The Cliftonwood proposals were dropped after the statutory consultation so don't miss this final chance to make your views known!
Write saying you object to the proposals with your reasons (e.g. loss of parking spaces; cost for residents and visitors; overspill parking in neighbouring streets; more yellow lines, signs and tow trucks etc), quoting reference CAE/NMT/P-662 to: Head of Legal Services, Bristol City Council, Council House, College Green, PO Box 2156, Bristol BS99 7PH. The council does not accept email objections but you can fax your letter to 0117 922 3836. The deadline for receipt by the council is June 4th.
Full street by street details of the proposals are available at www.bristol.gov.uk/respark
31 MARCH 2010
CLIFTONWOOD GOOD NEWS
Bristol City Council's Cabinet decided on March 25 not to proceed with the residents' parking plans in Cliftonwood but to continue with the statutory consultation stage in Kingsdown
This means that Cliftonwood is reprieved, which is fantastic news, but Kingsdown will see notices on lampposts etc advertising the scheme as part of the next stage of consultation.
The Kingsdown decision is, frankly, shameful. To hold a vote in one area and then, when you have the result, change the area (and get a different result!) is entirely wrong. There are even 6 roads included in the new area that didn't get a vote at all in the ballot! And they wonder why politicians get a bad name!
Thank you to everyone who attended, asked questions or made statements at the meeting on March 25. The support was fantastic and none of the councillors present could have left without appreciating the strength of feeling against these proposals.
MARCH 25 MEETING DETAILS
The papers for the meeting are available on the Council's website: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/item/committeecontent/?ref=ua&code=ua000&year=2010&month=03&day=25&hour=18&minute=00
Please note that the maps in the report are (this is the really awful bit!) earlier 'draft' ones, which were superseded by the 'final' plan on which people voted. The final plans can be viewed at: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/respark
**NO means NO**
People in both Cliftonwood and Kingsdown rejected the council's residents' parking proposals in the recent vote - see details below.
And we believe the results could have been even more emphatic as the council's questionnaire - because it was based on households rather than individual voters and large households would suffer more than small ones if the scheme were introduced - was significantly biased in favour of a 'yes' vote.
However, despite the plans being rejected, the council has continued with a 'statutory consultation', with Traffic Regualtion Order notices on lampposts etc, in Cliftonwood. Guess who paid!
NO means NO. What part of 'NO' is hard to understand?
**VOTING RESULTS**
CLIFTONWOOD
Total responses 457
For 176 (38.5%)
Against 262 (57.3%)
Undecided 19 (4.2%)
KINGSDOWN
Total responses 565
For 253 (44.8%)
Against 268 (47.4%)
Undecided 44 (7.8%)
The response rate in Cliftonwood was 25% of households and in Kingsdown 18% which Jon Rogers, the council's Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability, said he was 'very pleased with'.
**SPECIAL NOTE FOR KINGSDOWN**
Contrary to some mis-information being put around, there was no ‘original’ Kingsdown area that somehow voted in favour of the plans. Indeed, the first consultation, in July 2008, did not even have a 'Kingsdown' area – it consisted only of so called LSOAs (small areas used by government for statistical purposes).
A 'Kingsdown' area was drawn up for the council’s November 2008 Cabinet meeting but with a note stating specifically that the boundaries were flexible. A larger consultation area was then added in 2009, most of which was later taken away for the next plan. And then the area was changed yet again for the ‘final’ vote last month.
There simply wasn’t any ‘original’ design. And even if there had been, of course, it was the final plan that people voted on and rejected!
You cannot alter the boundaries to try to get a different result once people have voted and you have seen how they voted!
**SIGN OUR PETITION**
Join the more than 3,000 people who have signed our petition. Add your name online on the 'Petition' page.
