£5m ‘green’ transport boost for the county – but Ormskirk misses out again!

 To quote for the County Council website:

LANCASHIRE County Council has won £5m for transport schemes to boost economic growth and cut carbon emissions.

The investment will focus on three areas:

• Improvements to infrastructure such as traffic management and control systems to help traffic flow more efficiently and make the best use of existing road capacity.

• Creating comprehensive safe cycle and walking routes to make sustainable travel a realistic option. This will include better crossing points and cycle storage facilities to make it safer and easier for people to leave their cars at home.

• Promoting smarter travel. Among a range of measures is a plan for travel advisors to visit over 100 businesses a year to make employees aware of alternatives to the car.

But once again, there is nothing in this for Ormskirk / West Lancashire.  Only two areas will benefit – Preston and Lancaster.

News : £5m boost for Preston and Lancaster commuter routes

 

Still no 20 mph zones for Scott Ward

The Lancashire County Council has just started (on 23rd May) the consultation for phase 3 of the plan to lower the speed limit in residential areas to 20 mph but most of Ormskirk has been missed out yet again.  Phase 3 includes just 2 relatively small areas in Derby Ward, but nothing for Scott Ward (or Knowsley Ward).

First it was Continental Markets, now we are to have Vintage Markets

The following two reports appeared on the Qlocal news website yesterday:

Come and have a taste of the Continent

Vintage Markets coming to Ormskirk

That’s all very well but the continental markets are expensive and don’t do much to support the local economy (we don’t yet know about the vintage markets) – let’s have some Lancashire farmers’ markets with good local produce!!

Another attempt to build student accommodation on Burscough Street!

A further attempt is being made to demolish the (now derelict) property at 198 Burscough Street and replace it by student accommodation.  The plans can be viewed on the West Lancashire Borough Council’s website (or at the council offices) by searching for planning application reference 2012/0461/FUL.

 

I have submitted objections to this application primarily on the grounds that it is a flagrant attempt to get round the restrictions on HMO’s (Houses in Multiple Occupation) that are designed to ensure that the student population is spread more evenly around the town.

This property needs to be demolished and replaced as it is derelict and an eyesore.  However, the replacement building should be designed for ‘permanent’ residents, not students.  Suitable alternatives would include either a pair of semi-detached houses  or a block of one- or two-bedroom apartments.  In either case these could then be sold or let on a long-term basis.

I am also concerned that the  plans as specified only provide 6 off-road parking spaces for a total of 24 students.  The inevitable increase in on-street parking would cause problems for other local residents and would make the junction of Yew Tree Road and Burscough Street more dangerous particularly for traffic turning right out of Yew Tree Road.

The West Lancashire Local Plan

To quote from my election leaflet:

• Many comments were made during the recent consultation.
• Changes will now be made to the plan before the ‘Final Draft’ is produced in the summer.
• There will then be a final opportunity to make representations on the plan before it is submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for approval.
• Once approved, the plan will control development in West Lancashire until 2027 – we must get it right!

• Of particular concern in Scott Ward is the plan for land at Grove Farm, High Lane to be taken out of the green belt and made available for development.  The loss of even a small part of the relatively narrow green belt separating Ormskirk and Burscough should be resisted.

To find out more:

A full copy of the Local plan and further details about the process can be found on the West Lancashire Borough Council website.

FOCUS election leaflet 2012

My ‘Focus’ election leaflet for the 2012 council election which is now being printed ready for distribution next week:

Bag it, bin it 2

 

 

Unfortunately some dog owners are irresponsible and don’t clear up their dog’s mess – but there is a MUCH BIGGER problem:

Whichever way you look – drink cans, bottles, fag packets, fag ends, fast-food packaging, even bags of it – rubbish everywhere!!  Stop targeting the dog owners, many of whom  do clear up after their dogs – Everyone needs to ‘Bag it, Bin it!’

Bag it, bin it …

… say the newly painted signs on the path / cycle way leading from Old Boundary Way to ‘The Pads’.

At about the same time as the signs appeared, the Borough Council stopped supplying free ‘poop scoop’ bags – even though this was one of their most popular on-line services!  I hope this does not prove to be a case of ‘penny wise, pound foolish’ – unless all previous users of this service start buying bags elsewhere, it might cost the council more in extra signs and street cleaning than the amount saved on bags.

If you agree with Nick Clegg ….

… that the income tax threshold should increased to £10,000 more rapidly, there is now an  e-petition on the HM Government website.  It says:

“Please sign this to persuade George Osborne to fast track the Lib Dem policy to increase the income tax threshold to £10,000 in the next budget, and hence take thousands more people out of tax and put £700 back in people’s pockets. There are measures that can be taken to pay for this including the clamp down on tax avoidance and a mansion tax. Please support this and help the Lib Dems to help the lowest paid and middle income workers in this country.”

You can sign the petition here.

An excellent vision for the Comrades Club Site

See the Ormskirk Qlocal news site for an excellent vision for re-developing the former Comrades Club site for community use.  This will need a lot of backing by community groups as well as individuals but it would be the best use of the site by a long wasy – so let’s all do what we can to make it happen!