Friday, August 24, 2007

BETTER TRANSPORT NEEDS MORE LOCAL CONTROL


BETTER TRANSPORT NEEDS MORE LOCAL CONTROL

Further to our recent poll Leslie Turner given transport is at the top of the agenda has sent in this very good press release.

*Councils need more local powers to deliver quality public transport*,
says the South East England Regional Assembly's Planning Committee

.

Responding this week to the Government's Draft Local Transport Bill, the
committee argues that the Bill must be strengthened to address councils'
two key problems - long term funding and quality control. Councils need
greater power and flexibility in managing bus services eg specifying
services, fares and frequency. They should also be able to enter long
term contracts with bus companies.

The committee supports the creation of Passenger Transport Authorities
(PTA), which devolve decision-making to the local level but it doesn't
want PTAs limited to existing council boundaries. Current proposals
would prevent for example the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire from
creating a PTA. The committee also wants the Assembly to be consulted on
any proposals for a PTA in the South East and wants clarification on PTA
funding.

Chairman of the South East England Regional Assembly's planning
committee, Cllr Moira Gibson, said:

“To improve public transport in the South East Government must give
councils more power over bus services and bigger long term budgets.
Each transport authority must be able to tailor services to local
needs but still ensure value for money.

“Improved bus services will also encourage more sustainable use of
transport reducing carbon emissions, which is a key objective of the
Assembly's South East Plan

- a
20-year planning vision,” added Cllr Gibson.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

And finally the results of our poll...




Here are the results of our poll, thank you everyone that participated and I can confidentantly see it is the largest amount of feedback we have had. Further to this we will be acting upon this and our campaign group will now be looking at transport as the next issue. Thanks.



Health (23) 23%

Transport (38) 37%

Crime (9) 9%

Environment (19) 19%

Education (13) 13%



Total Votes: 102

Leslie's letter to the Editor - the West Branch campaign

Dear Editor,

Thank you Liz Davies for the brief study of the housing crisis on August
21 - may I try to comment too but in around 300 words?.

Yes, some tenants have been reluctant to switch from Council to RSLs
but that has not in any way hindered the onward thrust of Government
policy in this regard and the Green Paper of July 2007 does not set out
any significant change; the financial arrangements for those
diminishing numbers of Councils that remain as landlords will do much
to influence the decision they take to transfer and Government may chose
to continue just to wait and concentrate mainly on those who do agree.
There are however, in my view, two really outstanding aspects to the
Crisis : firstly the elevated price of private houses (70% of the
population inhabit those), and : the shortage of houses to rent
(including social houses, and 1.6 million await those.). Some other
problems such as rough sleepers and non-decent council houses, have
diminished in the last 10 years.

In respect of the monstrous price-escalation, the government failure to
take any steps to limit it, fiscal or otherwise, (but allows the Market
interest rates to exacerbate it) is a great crime, the effects of that,
with increasing interest and other charges, will remain with our
children for a generation. Already the numbers of repossessions
increase and the untold misery of trying to keep up high payments, as a
proportion of household expenditure, will take its toll in great
discomfort and privation for many years and adversely affect trade and
prosperity. Failure to build sufficiently for 30 years is now said by
this Government as a major cause of the present crisis. It is
reprehensible of the Government to tolerate the presence of vast numbers
on waiting lists (many in dire need by reason of overcrowding) and the
virtual absence of new lets, together with insufficient social housing
to rent and no rent control at a time of rental pressure, (for the
average let alone the minimum waged). Government seems to be unable to
understand what a crucial difference it would make to prices if the
240,000 p.a. new builds contemplated in the Green Paper (which hardly
equals projected new household growth) was nearer to the 420,000
actually achieved by a previous government which resulted in some
stability. The numbers of houses to be built up to 2020 now quoted in
the Green Paper while formidable in the millions is still insufficient
to break the back of the Crisis and the immediate proposal for 45-50,000
p.a. social homes will take over 30 years to clear the backlog alone.
Lets have a Fifth Option : at least 400,000 new houses p.a., with half
social homes, as built in 1967/8 during a Labour Government!

Sincerely, Leslie Turner,

Monday, August 06, 2007

A message from Leslie Turner - HOMES FOR THE FUTURE



As the CLP and others have been interested for some years in the
Housing Question may I suggest that the following notice be published on
the CLP Web site pointing out that there is now ample opportunity to
respond in an organised way to the Green Paper on Housing published on
23 July as the period for consultation goes on until 15 Oct. It is
possible to read the Paper on the Web and to get a free hard copy which
is a blessing as it is 121 pages long.
As the Paper includes most of the matters about which we have been
campaigning the CLP should perhaps make an opportunity to discuss it by
the medium of the e-mail and for those able to attend perhaps too a
meeting devoted to it. The Question also arises too as to whether to
respond to the recent appeals from the Fourth Option Housing Campaign to
submit yet another resolution to the annual Conference and if so in what
format and content.
Yrs Les T

HOMES FOR THE FUTURE



Yvette Cooper, Minister for Housing and Planning, has announced the
launch of the Government's Housing Green Paper -* *Homes for the future:
more affordable, more sustainable
www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1511890

The Paper sets out our plans for three million new homes by 2020. Our
plans include:

* *More homes* -- backed by more ambitious building targets,
increased investment, and new ways of identifying and using land
for development
* *More social housing* -- ensuring that a decent home at an
affordable price is for the many, not the few
* *Building homes more quickly* -- by unblocking the planning system
and releasing land for development
* *More affordable homes* -- by increasing the options for low cost
home ownership and more long term and affordable mortgage products
and
* *Greener homes* -- with high environmental standards and flagship
developments leading the way.

Supporting documents that have been published alongside /Homes for the
future/:

* Eco-towns prospectus
www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1511894 -- setting
out a vision and specification for local authorities and
developers, including an invitation to propose at least five new
eco-towns
* Building a Greener Future: policy statement
www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1511895-- our
strategy and timetable for achieving zero-carbon homes by 2016
* Building Regulations - Energy Efficiency Requirements for New
Dwellings, a forward look at what the standards may be in 2010 and
2013 www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1511884
* Water Efficiency in New Buildings
www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1511887 -- our joint
policy statement with DEFRA
* The future of the Code for Sustainable Homes
www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1511885 --
Making a rating mandatory
* Strategic Land Availability Assessment: Practice Guidance
www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1511886 -- to provide
local planning authorities with advice on identifying land for
housing and assessing deliverability; and
* Impact Assessment for Homes for the future
www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1511920
* Regulatory Impact Assessment for Building a Greener Future
www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1511899
In addition
* Implementing Planning Performance Agreements

www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/docdownload.aspx?doc=PPA%20Guidance.pdf&pid=52DB9140EE54C7797FC91B4A65E56A6

preliminary advice that accompanies the Department's current
consultation on Planning Performance Agreements: a new way to
manage large scale planning applications.
has been published on the English Partnerships website.

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