Conservative run Gloucestershire County is consulting on closing Bohanam House an elderly persons care home in my county division. Cabinet voted to approve the report, which sets the process off. Here are the questions I submitted and the answers I got back.
Residents in Kingsholm are being asked for their views on new proposals to free up parking spaces for households, with an informal consultation now open until 15th October for people to provide their feedback.
Residents have eight weeks to have their say on a potential new and improved permit scheme aiming to make it easier for them to park closer to home.
Over the years many parking issues have been raised by Kingsholm residents and the county council wants to make sure on-street parking provision in the area is still fit for purpose.
Potentially introducing a permit scheme is one way which could prioritise residents’ vehicles over other users. Already some roads in Kingsholm have a residents’ parking permit scheme.
The county council is also keen to find out what people think of on street electric vehicle charging points in the area. As part of the consultation, possible locations will be included for new on street EV charging points in these review zones for residents to consider. These charging points will be the first of 500 double charging points (1000 charging points in total) around the county, allowing those without a driveway to consider moving to an electric vehicle to reduce their carbon footprint.
County Cllr Jeremy Hilton (Lib Dem) for Kingsholm, said: “The parking survey carried out in 2020 showed that a number of streets in Kingsholm were severely congested with parked cars and some roads were near to their capacity. Many residents do not have off street parking and find it very difficult at times to park their cars near to their homes. I’m therefore pleased that the county council is now carrying out a public consultation on parking in my division. I encourage everyone to have their say.”
Kingsholm City Councillor Angela Conder (Lib Dem) said: “There is no easy solution to managing on-street parking in Kingsholm, but we believe that the county council can do better. We are also interested in what people think about the location of the proposed electric vehicle charging points. Are they in the right place?”
View the plans and give feedback online at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/parkingreviews
Parking Review Process
Each parking review follows a similar process as outlined below:
The consultation questionnaire will be open for comments until the 15th October 2021.
These are my written question to cabinet members at the county council being held virtually on the 17th March. It’s one of my tasks to keep the Tories on their toes. To challenge constructively.
Q1 – Vernon Smith
What is the outcome of the study carried out by Severn Trent, in collaboration with the county council, into the August 2020 floods that impacted on parts of Kingsholm?
Q2 – Lynden Stowe
Does the county council own any land at Javelin Park that is not used by UBB and which may be free for non-incinerator uses?
If so what is the size of the unused land?
Q3 – Nigel Moor
Has the county council received the annual report from Allstone about their search for an alternative site to relocate their stone crushing, recycling, aggregates and skip hire business to?
Q4 – Dave Norman
When will the Kingsholm parking review be completed?
Q5 – Vernon Smith
After so many years of Tory control why are there as so many potholes all over the county?
Q6 – Patrick Molyneux
What plans do you have to build a new non-selective secondary to serve the north of Gloucester?
Q7 – Vernon Smith
Will you join me in condemning the persons who vandalised the speed survey equipment on Sandhurst Lane Gloucester?
Q8 – Nigel Moor/Lynden Stowe
What discussions have been had with the county council over plans} to locate an eco-park at the site of the Hempsted Landfill facility?
A few months ago Gloucestershire County Council resurfaced Horton Road from its junction of London Road to the Aspen Centre.
A great job was done says local Lib Dem councillor Jeremy Hilton (Kingsholm & Wotton).
Now the county council is to complete the work, which Cllr. Hilton previously requested. This will be a section from the Aspen Medical Centre to the junction with Great Western Road.
The planned start of the work is from the 26th of January to 1st of February, with the roadworks taking place between 7pm to 7am, excluding weekends.
Cllr. Hilton said: “I’m really pleased that this work is now taking place. The dates are subject to weather conditions. I ask those that need to use Horton Road to be patient. The contractors are very efficient. Once the new surface is down the road marking will be repainted. The current ones are badly faded to the extent drivers may be breaking traffic regulations without knowing it.”
My best wishes to you all, take care and stay safe. I hope that now two vaccines have been approved life will return to normal this coming year.
People across Kingsholm & Wotton county division pulled together brilliantly to help each other get through 2020. From our fabulous NHS and key workers to individuals volunteering to help their neighbours.
2020 has been the busiest year ever for me as a local councillor.
I have dealt many issues ranging from the impact of the pandemic, the new cycle route on London Road, tackling anti-social behaviour, the effects of the flooding during August, repairing our roads and footways, to raising petitions to save Kingsholm’s family homes and lobbying Sainsbury’s to try and stop them closing their Northgate Street…and much more!
It’s a great please to serve you on the council, I expect 2021 to be just as busy, do contact me, I’m here to help.
Part of Horton Road in Gloucester is shortly to be resurfaced. This is after a concerted campaign by the local county councillor, Jeremy Hilton.
The planned work is to be carried out at night between the 2nd and the 12th of October. The road will be closed between 7pm to 7am during the weekdays. It will not be closed on weekends.
Cllr. Jeremy Hilton (Kingsholm & Wotton) said:
“I have been pressing the county council to resurface Horton Road for a long time. I am disappointed that only the stretch from London Road to the exit of the Aspen Medical Centre is to be resurfaced. The stretch from here to Great Western Road also needs doing.
“There has been patching work, but Horton Road has needed a complete resurface.
“This road is used by a lot of traffic and it’s breaking up in many places. The previous resurfacing wasn’t good enough. I am hoping this time the work will include strengthening the foundations.”
The county council is proposing to introduce an experimental traffic order from 2nd of November, which will close of Sweetbriar Street, Guinea Street and Union Street at school drop off and pick up times. Residents will always be able to get access as permits will be provided.
The ‘school streets’ project at Kingsholm Primary School is will operate for 18 months on a trial basis.
In principle, I support school streets as it will remove the hazard of cars parking around the school at these times and reduce the air pollution.
For many Kingsholm parents who walk their children to school it way may be beneficial, be safer and healthier for their children.
Parents from other parts of the city who drive their children to school will now have to park further away and walk their children to school.
The total budget for the school streets project that also incudes schools in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury is £100,000.
The county council is finalising documentation and it will be issuing advice about this project shortly.
If you have any concerns write to me jeremy.hilton@gloucestershire.gov.uk or thinktravel@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
Loads of people are complaining about the changes to the Cheltenham Road and Estcourt Road roundabout. And rightly so. It is part of the new London Road cycle route, which in principle I support. I did walk the route with the cabinet member and engineers ahead of design work. However, we started from Denmark Road and walked towards the city centre. We didn’t visit the roundabout, which is a pity. As I would NOT have recommended it laid out as they suggested.
I only got the published plans 40 minutes after a press release was issued. Despite my request 8 days before asking for the final plans. I was not happy. It’s when I got these plans that it became obvious the roundabout had been added to the scheme.
This project has been rushed through by the county council cabinet. The leader of the county council lives on Estcourt Road. Neighbouring Longlevens councillor Kathy Williams also serves in the cabinet.
I am also currently backing residents on London Road who have lost their on-street parking spaces outside their homes with very short notice. I’m also unhappy with the removal of the pedestrian refuge outside Tesco. I’m OK with two new pedestrian crossings and the reworking of the England’s Glory crossing. The reworking of the buildout outside Healey Mews looks OK, but I await feedback from the residents who live there. I’m hoping the removal of the speed camera doesn’t see an increase in traffic speeds.
Projects like this one need to be carefully considered, fully consulted on and professionally implemented. This hasn’t been done. I am told the roundabout scheme, which has only partly been implemented is under review and being revised. When I get the drawings I will post them on this website.
Tory leaders at Shire Hall are being quizzed on their performance by a senior Liberal Democrat councillor.
Councillor Jeremy Hilton, who represents Kingsholm and Wotton, has tabled a dozen challenging questions to Conservative cabinet members for its full council meeting on September 9.
He has asked questions about care home admissions, the performance of children’s services, gulley cleaning, new cycling projects, the future of local government in Gloucestershire and the financial health of the county council.
Councillor Hilton, who is also leader of the Lib Dem group on Gloucester City Council, said:
“I am concerned about the poor performance of the Tory administration who control the county council and the impact this is having on services in Gloucester.
“After 15 years in charge, they are struggling to deliver decent services.
“They failed miserably to handle the Covid-19 crisis in our care homes, children’s services is still poorly performing and there are big holes in the council’s finances.
“Frankly, the Tories are exhausted and complacent. They have run out of good ideas. They are clueless. They are unable to keep budgets under control and vulnerable people are getting a raw deal.
“With all this going on the Tories are now planning to spend valuable time on local government reorganisation leaving Gloucester without its own dedicated council for the first time in over 500 years.”
Councillor Hilton said he will be very interested to see the answers from the cabinet when they are published. He can ask supplementary questions.
Written Questions put by Cllr. Jeremy Hilton
1. To Tim Harman
Staff in elderly persons care homes are now being tested for COVID-19 anti-bodies. Can you please provide data to include how many tests have been done so far and how many tests proved positive or negative?
2. To Kathy Williams
On the 7th of April a press release was issued by the county council in which you were quoted. The press release reported that the county council was helping the NHS Hospital Trust transfer patients from hospital into elderly persons care homes within three hours.
Considering that it was known at the time that some elderly people were not being tested for Covid-19 infection and that some subsequently died, why didn’t you say no to such untested transfers?
3. Kathy Williams
How many residents in the county elderly persons care homes have died from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic?
4. Richard Boyles
Can you please state what the agreed budget for services vulnerable children was for the following years and what the financial outcome (final spend) was when the accounts were closed?
2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20
5. Richard Boyles
How many young people are in the council’s care?
6. Richard Boyles
How many of those young people in your answer to the previous question are placed out of county and what is the cost to this council?
7. Richard Boyles
Under your leadership will you ever turn around the failing children’s services? You only have until May 2021 to do so.
8. Vernon Smith
How many gullies in the city of Gloucester were cleaned during the Covid-19 lockdown period?
9. Nigel Moor
What plans other than on London Road, do you have to improve the cycling infrastructure in the city of Gloucester
10. Mark Hawthorne
As a city resident, would you support the abolition of Gloucester City Council in favour of a single unitary council serving the whole of Gloucestershire, ending the current two-tier system?
11. Lynden Stowe
What is the expected additional cost, in this financial year, to this council for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic?
12. Lynden Stowe
Could you please list all additional Covid-19 grant funding this council has received from the government or has been promised?
The county council’s long-awaited review of on-street parking in Kingsholm is just about to start and should be completed by November this year.
The first stage of the project will be a camera car survey this month to carried by contractors Atkins. This will take vehicle data to establish the occupancy, parking stress and demand on an area as well as duration of stay and generally how far people have travelled to park, i.e. are they local to area, the street, city or come further away.
The survey will take place over a week, picking two or three days that week and carrying out the surveys three times a day. The results of the traffic survey will take a month to come back. Afterwards, an informal consultation will be done from March to May with residents and businesses.
Local Lib Dem councillors Jeremy Hilton and Isabel Brazil are pleased that work on the review is starting. They have received loads of complaints from residents about parking congestion in Kingsholm. They have passed on several emails to the traffic manager about parking problems.
Cllr. Jeremy Hilton said:
“The streets in Kingsholm are overloaded with commuters parking in residential streets leaving little space during the daytime for residents to park up near to their home. There many properties in the ward which do not have off street parking.
“The survey area will consider most streets in Kingsholm. Hopefully, at the end of the project we will have parking regulations that are fit for purpose.”
Cllr. Isabel Brazil said:
“Parking congestion in Kingsholm is a problem. We do encourage residents to write to us and we shall pass all comments onto the parking manager to form part of the evidence.”
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