Forgotten "Three Score"?

Site visits are one of the best things about being a Councillor because you can point to an issue and say to a council officer: "there you go, what do you think of that!" and they will see it rather than just note a name of an area from an email.

This morning I spent a few hours doing the rounds in Three Score, a new development in my ward, with 2 highly experienced council officers looking at the situation. What we saw was rubbish, weeds, broken glass, fly tipping, over grown bushes, hacked back bushes and a real sense that the footpaths in particular had no care in them.

One resident said to me it felt like a "forgotten" area - except, he added, when they needed his tax money.

There's a lot that needs to be done - the residents here pay full council tax and demand full services. Next week I am showing the City Council CEO around the area too in a bid to raise its profile and get the action it needs.

Safe Play Teams - meaningless jargon or something better?

The news that Bowthorpe's parks are to be covered by a Safe Play Team is clearly to be welcomed. There is so much more we can do to make these areas safe, clean and attractive for families. Very good news in fact, because this formed a central plank of our election manifesto in the last few years.

Yet, drilling down on what this actually means leaves me rather disappointed. It means linking the wardens and lottery-funded play rangers. Well, erm, why hasn't that been happening and also why does this require a new name and a media launch?

Local Councillors have been doing this work, on the ground, for some time. The real improvements made in the Three Score Park, between Caddow Road and The Runnell, has ben achieved thanks to work of the police, PCSOs and wardens. Isn't that the same as the Safe Play Team?

Or is there something else we don't yet know about the work of these teams? There is a lot of scope for these teams, and I suppose that development will tell us if these teams are there for headlines or actually improving life.

Come on Council - what's the vision?

If they're in, they're Tory

Today was mainly spent as part of a big group of canvassers hitting the streets of Bowthorpe. Although I am sure that blogger-campaigners always say this, but today it's true, it was the most amazing day of canvassing I can remember in a long, long time.

The feeling on the doorstep was very positive - towards both us locally and also towards the national party. People who we canvassed as Labour for the last 3 elections were saying they were thinking of switching. The Conservative vote was very solid indeed. Reviewing the canvass cards tonight, what is clear is if they were in, they were voting Conservative. In fact it became the running joke of the day that if you met somebody it must have been positive.

Nobody goes into local politics to be thanked, but what was also nice was the feedback about the work that John and I put in - people were very pleased with the Three Score cleanup, the ASB tackling and the CCTV in Clover Hill. It's nice to be thanked every now and again! One of our group, who came to help us canvass from a neighbouring authority, said that she wished all of our councillors worked as hard as we did in Bowthorpe because it would help us to hold seats given the feedback from the doorstep.

Very little word about Labour - a couple of people mentioned they were opposed to the 20mph campaign Labour are currently running in Three Score; this is interesting because all politicans assume road safety is a vote winner. Maybe not? People were saying that any 20mph zone would be ignored and it was unenforceable; road calming (of one sort or another) is what is required. We're certainly going to have to knock on a few more doors about this matter I think.

Finally a word about Niki. I've campaigned for a lot of candidates in my time, some of whom I have been impressed with and others less so. In fact, I've delivered leaflets for some people where I know I preferred the opposition! But Niki is really growing into the role and I am more and more impressed with his thinking and his doorstep manner. Local people are certainly warming to him. It helps being a young, enthusiastic candidate I suppose! Niki is rallying a lot of troops to his colours, so good on him.

Overall, good to be back on the stump. Being a Councillor means being in touch with your ward and the people of Bowthorpe have given us a lot to think about today. Democracy in action!

Three Score Park Meeting

Tonight John, Niki and myself went to a street meeting with the police, wardens and residents to discuss some of the atrocious events at the Three Score Park, on Caddow Road.

Young people throwing bottles at houses, swearing at residents, threatening other children, urinating on the play equipment, grafitti, revving their cars ... the list is endless.

The residents want a fence up between them and the park and also a signt to point out that this is a private road. Only the council won't do that because the road isn't adopted and the developers seem not to care. We are supporting the residents in their fight for this, but I do worry about two things.

Firstly that any changes provide a new target for these nasty thugs - they kick down fences as it is. And secondly if it does work, do we move these people onto the next community to harass? There seems to be no long term strategy here.

The police try their best but by the time they arrive the offenders have scarpered. So what can be done? What we need here is the rights of the law abiding residents being paramount. They shouldn't have to live in a fortress.

Changing the area with fences and chains is a good start but we need to tackle this behaviour at source. The police and wardens should patrol this area day and night to catch these youths and when they do they should be punished and seen to be punished.

We need to fight this as a community - the residents here should be proud of what they've done and now we need to support them.

Tippett Close

The Conservative team are having a walkabout with the area Neighbourhood Housing Officer in and around Tippett Close, Three Score, today to look at what can be done about fly tipping, litter and the state of the pavements. If you are around at 10am then just give us a shout.

Is the Council's Communication Department now directly supporting the campaigning work of Labour Councillors?

Councillor's were surprised yesterday to recieve two copies of the same Norwich City Council press release regarding the environmental standards of new homes in Three Score, Bowthorpe.

The first was the standard press release copy sent to the media, councillors, senior council officers and others.

The second was a carbon copy of the first, with the exception of one thing ... the addition of this line:

Further to the below email, Bowthorpe councillor Brenda Ferris is available for comment on XXXXX XXX XXX. Thanks

This is a bizarre move - normally all the material the council wishes to give is in the press release and no further comment is made. On Norfolk County Council Press Releases the contact details for all 4 party spokesman are given in order to be fair. Normally Norwich give contact details of nobody to be fair.

Yet on this important story regarding Bowthorpe, a decision was made to encourage the press to contact a specific councillor for more comment - and it just happens that this specific councillor is the sole Labour member for the area. The majority Conservative Councillors were ignored. Neither Cllr Wyatt nor I were contacted.

Was it because of Cllr Ferris being Deputy Leader of the Council? Nope. Look at the wording - it's very clear. Not Deputy Leader Councillor Brenda Ferris, but Bowthorpe Councillor Brenda Ferris.

John and I have now had to ask why this was the case and also for assurances that the Communications Department at City Hall were not "leaned on" over this story. We need to know that press officer were not asked to put in the line in order to get publicity for a Labour councillor in a marginal seat up for election next May. We also want to know how many press releases are followed up with Labour Councillor contact details.

This unfortunately looks very suspicious. The extra e-mail, the inclusion of the local member details and the fact it was only Cllr Ferris should make us think again. We need assurances on this - and fast. Our Communications Department must be, and must be seen to be, pushing the message of the authority not of a political party. The impartiality of local government depends on it.

Of course, the irony is that the EDP who followed the story up today took the quotes from the press release from Cllr Morphew and also those from my own press release which I did off my own back and without the aid of a local government bureaucracy.

Three Score - the Masterplan

Tonight I went to a really useful meeting of the Bowthorpe Community Partnership where the outline plans for the 1200 house Three Score development was debated. There was a lot of good questioning of the planning officers and I have come out quite comfortable with the plan ... remember that this is just the outline plan rather than the details.

I am glad that the roads are wider than in the "old" Three Score development, where there is clear room for parking and also for manoevering cars.

I am glad there ther is a distinction between neighbourhood roads and home zone roads.

I am slightly worried about the lack of play space and the lack of development of the two 0.1acre play space areas.

I am worried that the proposed sheltered housing and small shop plots may get mangled in the development process and may fail to materialise.

I am pleased that the environmental standards are going to be very high.

Comments appreciated - you can view the Masterplan at the Planning Reception, Level 2 at City Hall