Focus on

Budget update: Following last Tuesday’s indecisive budget meeting, the Lib Dems are calling on the Mayor to seek cross party consensus on alternative proposals ahead of the next meeting on 2nd March.

At the meeting the Mayor decided that he was not prepared to accept the budget as amended by Bristol’s elected Councillors so he can either choose to bring back that amended budget, bring his original budget back, or bring alternative proposals. Much was made before the budget meeting of Councillors’ responsibilities with regard to setting the budget - but in the event, we were denied a say on the budget as amended. The Mayor sought to claim the opposition parties were playing politics, by implication suggesting that even the process of proposing amendments and pursuing the standard budget procedure was thwarting the Council’s duty to set a balanced budget. In the event, it was he who decided to postpone the setting of the budget without putting it to a formal vote. We believe that the best course of action now is for the Mayor to seek cross-party negotiations with all the groups in the Council with a view to agreeing alternative proposals acceptable to all. We have therefore written to the Mayor to offer the assistance of our group in achieving this aim.

Jubilee Pool update: One of the budget amendments that was debated at Full Council last week was for a loan mechanism to prevent the closure of Jubilee Swimming Pool. The Liberal Democrats voted unanimously in support of this amendment but every Labour councillor voted against. The good news is, the amendment passed with cross party support. The bad news is, as we mentioned earlier, the Mayor has refused to accept the democratically expressed wishes of local councillors so there now begins a period of behind-the-scenes discussions.

We fear that the Jubilee Pool amendment will be dropped but we’ll keep you posted.

Callington Road Nature Reserve litter pick: A hardy few braved the elements and turned up for the litter pick and bramble bash at Callington Road Nature Reserve on Saturday. Well done to everyone who attended. Hopefully, the next event will have better weather!

Unsightly mess on Sandy Park Road: Local residents are rightly annoyed with the constant mess at the junction of Winchester Road and Sandy Park Road. We reported the problem to the Neighbourhood Enforcement Team (NET) last October and officers spoke to the local businesses and residents concerned. Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated again with rubbish, shop furniture and fixtures and illegally parked vehicles blocking pavements and attracting vermin. We submitted a new report to NET last week and I’m pleased to say they acted promptly and we are hopeful they can sort out this unacceptable situation as soon as possible.

East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood: Lots of local people have responded to the East Bristol liveable neighbourhood pilot consultation so far. Participation from people outside the pilot zone is also welcome and there are a number of ways to get involved: By filling in the general survey: Here Dropping comments on the interactive map: Here

By completing the survey for local business: Here

Clean Air Zone: The vehicle checker has been developed by the government to help drivers plan and check whether they will need to pay the charge in each zone. Businesses can also use it to check their vehicles by uploading a spreadsheet of the registration numbers of all the vehicles they own. Bristol’s zone is in the central area where pollution is highest. No vehicles are banned but older and more polluting vehicles will be charged to travel inside the zone: Here

Hundreds of Brislington West residents have signed up to receive our monthly newsletter via email. You can register using this link: http://www.bristollibdems.org/efocus. By Jos Clark, Liberal Democrat Councillor (Brislington West) Email: cllr.jos.clark@bristol.gov.uk Mobile: 07584 370429 & Andrew Varney, Liberal Democrat Councillor (Brislington West) Email: cllr.andrew. varney@bristol.gov.uk Mobile: 07584 183381

Bristol’s Clean Air Zone has now been added to the national clean air zone vehicle checker. The government’s online tool tells motorists whether they will need to pay to travel in Bristol’s zone when it’s introduced in late summer.