Better facilities for Cyclists

I recently brought a motion before Wirral Council to secure support for proper facilities for cycle storage at new-build blocks of flats and commercial premises. This reflects years of frustration on the part of the Wirral Cycling Campaign who have been campaigning on this issue.

This was referred to the planning committee. I'm glad to say the committee unanimously supported the motion which reads as follows:

BETTER PLANNING TO FACILITATE CYCLING
Proposed by Councillor Pat Cleary Seconded by Councillor Phil Gilchrist

This Council supports the development of facilities for cycling in the interests of improved health, reduced air pollution, less congestion, and more economical travel. In particular, Council recognises that secure cycle parking/storage facilities are fundamental in facilitating the bicycle as a practical mode of transport for Wirral residents.

Council recognises that efforts to update Wirral's cycle parking standards have been ongoing for some time and looks forward to their implementation.

In the meantime, Council requests that officers reporting to the Head of Regeneration and Planning and the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment adopt a robust approach in requiring all relevant planning applications to identify, on submitted plans, the provision of cycle-parking facilities at homes and destinations which comply with the approved Council Cycle-Parking standards contained in Supplementary Planning Guidance 42 (Cycle Parking), and supplementary Planning Guidance Document 2 (Designing for Self-contained Flat Development and Conversions).

Below you can read my comments to the committee about this motion:

This motion is based on a very simple principal: If people cannot keep their cycles securely at home and at their destinations, they will not own a bicycle, and therefore cannot benefit from the cycle facilities which the Government and the Council are currently funding and seeking to provide in the future. 

To facilitate this we need clear standards that are properly enforced so that submitted plans routinely include adequate provision for cycle storage.

I doubt that apartment blocks in my ward are very different from anywhere else in Wirral but when I visit them I frequently encounter bicycles left on landings, balconies or chained to staircases. Or, even worse, a lonely bicycle lock still clinging to the railings following the theft of its parent. Of course, we have no idea how many people never acquired a bicycle in the first place because they had nowhere safe to keep it. What we do know is that, gradually, more people are cycling. Bicycle sales nationally in 2014 were 3.6 million compared with 2.4 million cars.

We also know that housing costs and welfare changes including the bedroom tax are forcing more people to downsize. The new lower benefit cap from April is likely to accelerate this shift to smaller accommodation. For those affected, a bicycle is often the most economical and perhaps the only form of affordable transport. It can greatly expand access to local services, training and employment.

Moreover, we are fortunate on Wirral that we have in Merseyrail a transport operator that takes bicycles seriously and has invested smartly in providing cycle storage facilities on its trains and at its stations. For many people, myself included, a combination of bicycle and train offers a real alternative to car ownership.

The background to all of this is a long standing campaign by the Wirral Cycling Campaign to secure better cycle storage in blocks of flats and places of employment. I have a brief quote from a letter sent to David Ball in August this year which reads as follows:

"For the past 15 years we have routinely and constructively objected to planning applications that fail to meet Wirral's guidelines in relation to cycle parking. All this in the hope that developers, pressed by the Planning Authority, would submit their applications at the outset with the appropriate facilities shown on the plans.  With very limited exceptions, this has not happened.  Worse still, the planning process has rarely dealt with the issue, except that on most occasions (but not all), case officers now simply add a cycle-parking condition to the planning permission.  This is not satisfactory, as staffing arrangements do not allow for non-compliance to be monitored, and enforcement action to be taken.  The time has surely come for more robust action from the Planning Authority to implement the Council's policy on cycle-parking.  WE ASK THAT PLANNING APPLICATIONS SHOULD NOT BE REGISTERED UNTIL THE REQUIRED FACILITIES FOR CYCLE-PARKING ARE SHOWN ON THE SUBMITTED PLANS.   This happens in other situations when inadequate planning applications are submitted, and such action will concentrate the minds of applicants."

If we look at items 4 and 10 on tonight's agenda we see two experienced applicants who have failed to include proper cycle storage in their plans thereby resulting in conditions being applied. Given budget cutbacks, it is hardly realistic to expect officers to enforce these conditions. The obvious solution is to ensure that submitted plans include adequate provision and that, over time, developers see this as something this is routinely included.

That's what this motion seeks to achieve. We are simply asking officers to implement council policy and play their part in increasing the number of journeys by bicycle and the many benefits that derive from that.

TODAYS LOCAL, 65-67 OXTON ROAD, BIRKENHEAD

Re: Application for sale by retail of alcohol, 65-67 Oxton Road, Birkenhead.

An application was recently made for an alcohol license on Oxton Road. Below is a copy of the letter I have sent to the licensing panel which will meet later this month to consider this application:


I wish to object to this application which I feel will have a detrimental impact on the people I represent. I believe it impinges some of the key objectives of the Licensing Act 2003 namely:

To prevent crime and disorder
To protect public safety
To prevent public nuisance

My specific objections are as follows:

1. The Oxton Road area has a well established problem with street drinking. I have witnessed this at first hand many times. Along with Hamilton Square, I receive more complaints about street drinking around Oxton Road than in any other part of my ward. Clearly another licensed premises will exacerbate this problem. I have no doubt that the majority of local residents would oppose this application as it will contribute to the level of street drinking in the area. There are established services in the immediate area such as the YMCA dealing with the fall out from alcohol consumption and we should support them by denying yet more access to cheap alcohol.

2. Alcohol is an undoubted contributing factor to the level of criminal activity around Oxton Road and the wider Birkenhead area. Police figures confirm the high reported instances of crime and the contribution alcohol makes to the overall level of crime in the area. Significant policing resources are required to deal with the adverse impacts that alcohol is having via crime and anti-social behaviour. In the circumstances, the last thing the area needs is yet another off-license.

3. Alcohol consumption is a clear source of public nuisance in this area not just as a result of street drinking and anti-social behaviour. The broader environment suffers hugely and I get frequent complaints about the level of litter in the area much of which consists of discarded alcohol containers. For example I received the following message on Sep 21st:

Dear Pat,
Borough road from Charing Cross on the Oxton road side it's an absolute disgrace with thousands of beer cans and bottles right up to Wirral Spares.The bushes and trees are an absolute eye sore.Why is this allowed to happen time after time ?
J B, Ashford Road

I have included some photos taken on Tetbury Street (off Oxton Road) on September 22nd which clearly shows the public nuisance caused by discarded alcohol containers. Not only is this a public nuisance but it clearly places further strain on council services.

4. There are already numerous retailers selling alcohol in the immediate area. It is likely that there will also be a Lidl supermarket on Oxton Road selling alcohol. Moreover, the new supermarket (currently seeking planning permission) has the potential to significantly change the character of the Oxton Road area. Increased footfall may create additional opportunities for commercial premises that could enhance the street scene and broaden the retail offer. This application, if successful, would reinforce the area's existing reputation and could detract from future investment.

In summary, this application clearly runs counter to the public interest. It will worsen established problems relating to crime, anti-social behaviour and public nuisance. I urge you to reject it.

Cllr Pat Cleary
Green Party councillor for Birkenhead and Tranmere

How you can support Green energy on Merseyside

The Collective Energy Switch Scheme enables residents across Merseyside
to pool their buying power to achieve savings on their energy bills.

I am pleased that the scheme's current instalment has incorporated my
suggestion to allow residents to indicate an interest in green tariffs
i.e. electricity that is generated from renewable sources - wind, solar,
tidal etc.

This will facilitate those who wish not only to achieve a better deal
financially but who also want to use their spending power to support
green industries and protect our environment.

You can register your interest at www.lcrenergyswitch.co.uk or by
phoning 0800 043 0151.

Letter to the press: Benefit Cap

Next April the government's new weekly benefit cap of £384 per household
will take effect. This will decimate household finances for many Wirral
families and represents a financial time bomb for Wirral Council which
has a duty to accommodate homeless families.

Take the example of a couple with three children. Currently they can
claim up to £166 per week in housing benefit. From April this figure
will plummet to just £50/week. This is well below the average rent for
social housing (£93) and way below average rents in the private sector
(£145).

In Wirral, more than 1,700 households including over 5,000 children are
set to be acutely affected by the benefit cap. Many will inevitably face
eviction. A moderate estimate suggests additional costs to Wirral
Council of dealing with increased homelessness of £9 million each year.
This is a sum that threatens to undermine service provision across the
board in Wirral and put upward pressure on council tax bills.

The benefit cap represents a brutal attack on low income families and
their children. Yet only the Green Party opposes it. We call on all
those with a social conscience to join us in exposing its devastating
impacts and working with us to defeat it.

Cllr Pat Cleary
Green Party councillor for Birkenhead and Tranmere

Wirral's Five Year Plan

Tonight's council meeting was devoted to Labour's five year plan. I voted in favour but made the following points emphasising in particular the dire implications of the benefit cap for Wirral families:


The Green Party welcomes this report and also welcomes the opportunity for all councillors to comment on it. We recognise the incredibly challenging backdrop given the government's persistent attack on local government. In that context we support the broad thrust of the plan though naturally we would have different priorities. I will restrict my comments to three priorities I would see as especially important.

1. It's a shame the report makes the all too common mistake of separating business and the environment. The clear implication is that business comes first and environment is secondary rather then weaving both into one clear and consistent vision of how we achieve our economic aspirations while fulfilling our environmental obligations. The words "climate change" are sadly absent from this report. Wirral has enormous potential to encourage more people to visit our beautiful heritage sites and coastal areas that provide abundant opportunities for low cost, low carbon activities using our excellent rail network. Tapping into Liverpool's success by encouraging many more to make the short trip across the Mersey to enjoy our environment and heritage is the sustainable option that we should be focusing on. This will not only attract more visitors to Wirral but will also increase the sense of pride and place of those who live and work here.

2. The plan, if delivered, would provide a safe, affordable, well maintained and efficient transport network. It will also encourage residents to live healthier lifestyles and promote physical activity.

All well and good but when reading the papers for last week's council meeting I was struck by the the cabinet report on capital monitoring in which it was claimed that Wirral now has some of the best roads in the country. Well not for cyclists it doesn't and not for pedestrians either. Wirral is part of a city region that has the worst figures for pedestrian casualties in the entire country. Pedestrians here are 44% more likely to be killed or seriously injured than in Greater Manchester and 53% more likely than the UK average. In Wirral, the number of cyclists seriously injured has seen a steep and worrying increase in recent years (22 in 2012, 29 in 2013 compared with average of 15 from 2005-2011). Pedestrian casualties have also increased. Frankly I don't believe either Wirral Council or Merseyside Police give road safety a high enough priority. This document is a missed opportunity to help address this.

3. The plan is terribly vague on homelessness saying only "we will also continue to tackle the challenges and causes of homelessness in Wirral". This is of acute concern to the Green Party.

From April next year, the benefit cap of £20,000 per annum will decimate household finances for many, many Wirral families. Take the example of a couple with three children. Currently they can claim up to £166 per week in housing benefit. From April this figure will plummet to just £50/week.

Over 1,700 families in Wirral are set to be acutely affected by the benefit cap. Many will inevitably face eviction. Given Wirral's duty to provide temporary accommodation to homeless families for up to two years how will this be funded? A conservative estimate suggests additional costs to Wirral of £9 million pounds per annum.

This is an enormous sum that threatens to undermine service provision across the board in Wirral. Affected families are entitled to know how their local authority plans to support them yet this document provides no guidance on how Wirral will cope with what is likely to be its biggest challenge over the next five years.

More property marking dates

The police have provided me with more dates when you can get your
valuables (bikes, phones etc.) security marked at local railway
stations. These include October 7th at Conway Park.

09th June 2015 0900-1200 at New Brighton.

11th August 2015 0900-1200 at West Kirby.

07th October 2015 1700-1900 at Conway Park.

09th December 2015 1700-1900 at Hooton.

Conway Street car parks

Last year a planning application for two car parks on the grassed area of Conway Street that borders Parkfield Avenue and Simpson Street was rejected.

Unfortunately, the applicant has appealed this decision. Below you can read my submission to that appeal:


I would like to make the following points regarding this appeal:

• As you will be aware, the planning committee was unanimous in its view that the original application should be rejected. There was overwhelming opposition to the proposal.
• The area directly opposite this site (which includes Europa Pools) is currently the subject of a major regeneration proposal. In that context, it would be unwise to allow proposals for additional car parking to proceed until those regeneration plans are finalised.
• As stated in the original officer's report, "there is no requirement for additional parking provision within this locality". There are currently six council owned car parks within 500 metres and a further four privately operated car parks. In total, these provide 2,187 spaces. The site is extremely close to Birkenhead bus station and Conway Park railway station so there are clear, more sustainable alternatives. The national planning policy framework says local authorities should support a pattern of development that facilitates the use of sustainable transport. This appeal clearly runs counter to that objective.
• This land is designated as primarily residential. Moreover, the established community on Simpson Street/Parkfield Avenue clearly benefit from the grassed area along Conway Street. This is complemented by a similar strip on the opposite side of Conway Street. This provides an important buffer against noise and pollution. This. This will change completely if this development proceeds. I cannot agree with the officer's report which states this development "would not have an adverse impact onto the character of the area or existing residential amenity," Residents in the surrounding streets are united in their opposition to the proposal for car parks. You will be aware of the petition against the proposal but I would like to add that I have not spoken to a single resident who feels there is any merit in converting this land for car parking.
• I am particularly concerned that vehicles exiting the Simpson Street car park will not necessarily turn right onto Conway Street. Traffic here frequently backs up from the junction with Exmouth Street. There will be a clear temptation for vehicles to exit left out of the Simpson Street car park and access Conway Street via Simpson Street and Parkfield Avenue. I therefore cannot agree, as stated in the report, that "there are no highway safety issues relating to the proposal". Additionally, there will be a further erosion in air quality in the immediate area.

For these reasons, I urge you to reject this appeal.
 
Cllr Pat Cleary, Birkenhead and Tranmere ward