The Abbey Residents Association

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act

2011-12-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

This is the Act whose primary function is the introduction of elected police commissioners and it is this aspect of the Act which has been most widely publicised.

However part 2 of the Act deals with changes to the licencing regime these changes will have considerable significance for the management of Bath’s night time economy. The main changes brought in by the Act are summarised below:

The Licensing Act 2003 defines responsible authorities as including the police, fire authorities, local authorities exercising health and safety, local planning, environmental health and child protection functions, and any licensing authorities (other than the relevant licensing authority) in whose area the premises are situated. The relevant licensing authority, in our case BANES, is currently is not a "responsible authority".
Only responsible authorities can make representations in relation to applications for the grant or variation of a premises licence or club premises certificate, or request the review of licences.

This Act introduces amendments to bring BANES licencing department within the definition of "responsible authority".

The Act also makes the local Primary Care Trust a responsible authority.

Under the Licensing Act 2003 ‘interested parties’ (persons who can make an application for review or representations) must have a particular relationship to the vicinity of the premises (for example, by living in the vicinity or being involved in a business in the vicinity). This Act removes this test of ‘vicinity’ from the Licensing Act. This will enable any person to make representations in relation to applications for the grant or variation of a premises licence or club premises certificate. However, all representations will need to relate to the licensing objectives and must not be frivolous or vexatious.

The Licensing Act 2003 imposes a general duty on BANES to exercise their licensing functions with a view to promoting the licensing objectives; the objectives are the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. The 2003 Act requires BANES to take steps which are "necessary" for the promotion of the objectives.

This Act amends this by requiring licensing authorities to take steps which are "appropriate" for the promotion of the objectives. This has the effect of reducing the threshold which licensing authorities must meet.

The Licensing Act 2003 currently includes a scheme which enables an individual to carry on a licensable activity, on a temporary basis. To hold a temporary event the event holder (‘premises user’) must send a temporary event notice to the licensing authority and the Chief Officer of Police at least 10 working days before the event. The Chief Officer, if satisfied that the temporary event would undermine the crime prevention objective, must send an objection notice to the licensing authority and premises user no later than 48 hours after receipt of the temporary event notice.

Police objections trigger a requirement on the licensing authority to hold a hearing and may result in a counter notice being sent to the premises user if the licensing authority agrees that the temporary event would undermine the crime prevention objective. If a counter notice is issued, the temporary event notice will no longer authorise any licensable activities.

This Act extends the right to object to a temporary event notice to the environmental health authority, and allows the police and the environmental health authority to object to a temporary event. It also allows licensing authorities to issue a counter notice under section on the basis of all four of the licensing objectives.
This Act introduces the new category of ‘relevant person’, and revises and adapts the processes governing objections from relevant persons; these relate to the holding of a hearing or modification of a temporary event notice following receipt of objections from one or more relevant persons.

This Act enables BANES to impose conditions on a temporary event notice if it considers that this promotes the licensing objectives. A licensing authority can only impose such conditions if an objection has been made by at least one relevant person, and at least a part of the premises in relation to which the temporary event notice is given is already subject to a premises licence or club premises certificate.

The Act allows the premises user to give a limited number of temporary event notices in a shorter timeframe to the existing temporary event notice process. This is defined as a "late temporary event notice". A temporary event notice which is given in accordance with the existing timeframe is defined as a "standard temporary event notice". An objection from at least one relevant person to a "late temporary event notice" will result in a counter notice being issued. This will make the late temporary event notice ineffective.
The Act extends the period in which a relevant person can object to a temporary event notice from two to three working days.

The Licensing Act 2003 makes it an offence for a premises licence holder, or person who has given a temporary event notice, to sell alcohol on two or more occasions in a three month period to a child. On conviction, a person is liable to a fine not exceeding £10,000. This amendment increases the maximum fine to £20,000.

This Act enables the police and trading standards officers to issue a closure notice to a person for whom there is evidence that they have committed an offence for which there is a reasonable prospect of conviction. The closure notice discharges the person from any further criminal liability but prevents them from selling alcohol for the period specified in the notice. This act increases that period from a maximum of 48 hours to a period of between 48 hours and 336 hours.

The Licensing Act 2003 contain powers to make regulations to prescribe the annual fees payable by the holders of premises licences and club premises certificates. A fee which is not paid on the due date can be recovered as a debt due to a licensing authority. No other sanction for non-payment of an annual fee is available to a licensing authority. This Act requires a licensing authority to suspend a licence or certificate for non-payment of an annual fee if certain conditions are met.

This Act enables BANES to introduce a levy payable by the holders of a premises licence or club premises certificate if they are authorised to supply alcohol between midnight and 6am.

The Live Music Bill

2011-12-12T00:12:00.001-08:00

This piece of legislation is being steered through Parliament by our local MP Don Foster.

We, however, are very concerned that this Bill will undermine conditions designed to reduce noise pollution from premises licensed to sell alcohol. One of the great things about this city is that large numbers of residents still live in the centre – around 10,000 in Abbey and Kingsmead, the two central wards. These people’s lives are already subject to disruption from licensed premises and their clientele, and we are strongly opposed to measures of deregulation which could make the present situation worse. Most working adults and the elderly retire not long after 22.00 hours, but small children are put to bed from 19.00 hours. It is unacceptable that more noise should be allowed during the period when people are trying to get to sleep.

The Bill relies heavily on a cut-off of 200 patrons, as if implying that a function with such a number is unlikely to cause a problem. We believe that this is completely misguided. Most premises in the hotspots in Bath have a lower capacity than this, but have great potential to disturb nearby residents if not properly controlled. It is also entirely unclear who the supporters of the Bill believe are going to enforce such a limit.

Most licensed premises in Bath have licence conditions relating to noise i.e. closed windows, noise limiters etc. The Bill would remove these conditions unless residents had gone to the enormous trouble and stress of seeking a licence review to re-impose them. It is not right that the onus for obtaining a reasonable outcome should rest on residents, rather than the businesses who will be making a profit out of the increased noise.
Some licensed premises, such as restaurants, which do not have regular entertainment, may have no conditions concerning noise. These can cause a problem when a band or DJ is brought in for an occasional function. It would be wrong to allow them to be deregulated. The is no evidence at all that the current regulator regime is stifling live music in the city one only has to look at what is on offer at venues such as Moles, the Pump Room, the Bell, the Guild Hall, the Forum, the Chapel Arts Centre and the Pavilion to name but a few.

It is unclear to us how the Bill distinguishes between noise relating to musical performance and crowd noise. The latter can be a problem from people on the premises, as well as from noisy groups making their way between premises, or staggering home late at night.

For other premises, the supporters of the bill appear to have in their vision fairly benign music promoters such as local community groups, schools, morris men etc. But the Bill opens up scope for commercial promoters to hire other premises and spread the noise pollution associated with their activities, (amplified hip hop comes to mind), to places where it does not happen currently. Worse than that, it could attract guerrilla promoters who will create events in unpredictable places with little or no consideration for their neighbours.
In general we believe that implementation issues have been completely ignored in this debate. Who is going to count the size of audiences for instance or monitor the end time? Many of these events may be one-offs but several one-offs can be very damaging in a small area, such as the clusters of licensed premises in Bath. There is a kind of cumulative impact here, of which the Bill takes no account.

A key issue underlying all this is the continual assumption that the existing noise complaint process via environmental protection is robust. It is, with respect, nonsense for the Explanatory Notes on the Bill to say that ‘licensing authorities will continue to have a range of powerful sanctions available’. In B&NES environmental protection is in a separate department from licensing.Here, as in most parts of the country, the service is notoriously under-resourced, even before the present round of budget cuts. The complaints process is bureaucratic and imposes considerable work on the complainant. And effective action can only really be taken against regular offenders, whereas it is in the nature of live music events, that many are irregular and cause unpredictable patterns of nuisance.

We understand that the promoters of the Bill themselves guestimate that implementation would lead to a 10% increase in complaints about excessive noise from entertainment events. No evidence for this figure has been produced, but we would say that any increase is a problem, which cannot be offset by increased profit to business, let alone by the claimed ‘wellbeing from attendance and participation in ‘wellbeing from attendance and participation in more live music performance’

The Localism Act

2011-12-03T14:06:00.001-08:00

The Localism Act, which will come into force early next year, has the potential for introducing significant risk for our local environment.

The Act contains a number of provisions relevant to TARA, notably:

A Neighbourhood Plan will be, for a small local area, an extension of the Local Plan and will have to be considered when planning decisions are being made. It will have to be broadly consistent with the Local Plan and with national policy. It will be subject to various procedures including a local referendum.

Neighbourhood Development Orders could grant planning permission for specific developments, or for a class of development (for instance rooftop wind-generators), or could place conditions on development given permission by the General Development Order (for example to say that house extensions have to be faced with Bath stone). They will be subject to various procedures including a local referendum.

The Community Right to Build is a particular kind of neighbourhood development order, which would grant planning permission for specific developments. They will be subject to various procedures including a local referendum.

Owners of property on the List of Assets of Community Value will not be able to dispose of it without advertising the fact first so that a community organisation can make an offer for it.

Outside urban areas, most of these things will be dealt with by parish councils. In areas such as Bath there will have to be a process for identifying who can take action on them.

• Neighbourhood Plans and Neighbourhood Development Orders will be the responsibility of “Neighbourhood Forums” acting in “Neighbourhood Areas”. There can be only one Neighbourhood Forum in a Neighbourhood Area at a time, and it lasts for five years. Any organisation can offer itself as a Neighbourhood Forum, subject to certain restrictions, and B&NES will have the main role in deciding which of them go ahead in an area.

• The Community Right to Build is to be exercised by a “community organisation”, which is a “body
corporate established for the express purpose of furthering the social, economic and environmental well being of individuals living, or wanting to live, in a particular area”, and which meets other conditions which the Government sets out in regulations.

• Assets of Community Value may be nominated for a List by a voluntary or community body with a local connection (or otherwise as determined by a local authority), and it is the local authority which decides what goes on the list..

FoBRA, TARA and other residents’ associations are concerned at the risk that commercial developers may capture and exploit these mechanisms. Most of them would be pretty expensive to use (a neighbourhood plan could easily cost £50,000 or more), and it is unlikely most genuine community organisations would easily be able to afford to use them. We have drawn these concerns to the attention of B&NES, who are currently developing protocols for handling their own role in these processes.

The Live Music Bill

2011-12-03T09:59:00.001-08:00

Don Foster, is taking the Live Music Bill through the House of Commons.

This piece of legislation will remove controls on amplified and unamplified music at venues with a capacity up to 200 people. There are many pubs, bars and restaurants in the centre of Bath which feature live music, but few of them have a capacity of more than 200. So at a stroke this measure will remove noise controls from most venues in the city.

Residents in Bath are already too often subjected to unnecessary disturbance from the night time economy, including the noise of music and the noise of patrons making their way to and from their favourite night spot. It is very difficult to keep the lid on this nuisance, but residents’ associations have worked with the licensing authority to press for sensible controls. With a few exceptions, we have a reasonable compromise at the moment, and most significant licensed premises have noise conditions written into their licence.

10,500 residents live in the two central wards, Abbey and Kingsmead, including some 900 children and 1,800 elderly people, most of whom live only a stone’s throw from one or more licensed premises.

Noone is objecting to live music as such, as it brings great pleasure to many people. But particularly where it is amplified, there is the risk of disturbance, and so it is absolutely right that there should be controls on noise. If the Live Music Bill is passed into law, the only way in which residents will be able to regain a degree of control is to go to the length of applying for a licence review or invoking the Noise Act. Both involve very onerous procedure, with an uncertain outcome.

Like the Licensing Act 2003, which has caused so much damage in city centres across the country, including Bath, the Live Music Bill is presented as an innocuous measure of ‘deregulation’. Its promoters even claim that there is a quantifiable increase in ‘wellbeing from attendance and participation in more live music performance’. The pub trade object to the ‘hassle of red tape’ and are all in favour of the Bill.

We urge other residents who don’t share the trade’s view about this to write as we have done to Don Foster at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, or don@donfoster.co.uk, to ask that the Bill be amended so that sensible controls on noise are not swept away.

HGV's in Bath City Centre

2011-11-29T10:28:00.001-08:00

One of the matters of greatest concern to us is traffic congestion and air pollution in the city. The entire main road network in Bath has been designated an Air Quality Management Area due to nitrogen dioxide levels above the safe health limit of 40 micrograms per cubic metre. High levels of nitrogen dioxide are linked to respiratory disease, heart disease and early death.

These levels of air pollution are almost entirely due to road traffic, and Heavy Goods Vehicles contribute a disproportionate amount of pollution relative to their numbers. They can also cause serious congestion as they try to negotiate Bath’s narrow streets.

Failure to observe HGV limits is a moving traffic offence; the enforcement of the limits is a police responsibility. We are concerned that in practice there is almost no enforcement of HGV limits in the city.
In particular, there is a 7.5 tonne limit on the A4 through the centre of Bath. The A4 route includes Queen Square and George Street and significant numbers of HGV pass through this area without any checks being applied. Traffic counts have shown 220 HGV movements a day at The Paragon junction with Broad Street. It is a matter of everyday observation by our members that HGVs pass through the city which are unlikely to be making deliveries – for example double trailer lorries with shipping containers.

We recognise that some of this HGV traffic is making legitimate deliveries in the city. But when the Police last, to our knowledge, conducted systematic checks on HGVs in October 2009, they found a significant proportion were just passing through and had no justification for being in the city centre.

B&NES Council is proposing an 18 tonne limit on vehicles turning left from Bathwick Street to Beckford Road and vice-versa. If this can be successfully implemented and enforced, it should result in a significant reduction in the heaviest HGV traffic along Bathwick Street and London Road. However, it will be a pointless exercise if the limit is not enforced.

There are a significant number of ANPR cameras throughout the city. Could these not be used to help in the detection of violations? Clearly the fact that an HGV is recorded in the city does not of itself mean that an offence has been committed. However, if a vehicle was recorded at, say, the London Road/Cleveland Bridge junction and then on the Upper Bristol Road within 15 minutes, that would constitute prima facie evidence that the HGV limit had been breached, since it would not have had time to make a delivery. If, when served with a notice of breach of the HGV limit, the owners could produce a relevant delivery record that would of course exonerate them. The technology must exist to automate such a system. Most of us have seen how effectively the London Congestion Zone is enforced using ANPR, as are yellow box junctions in the capital, so we believe there is real scope to do more about HGV's in Bath.

Sexual Entertainment Venues BANES draft policy

2011-10-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

TARA is broadly supportive of the principles articulated in the draft policy.

We would want to make a couple of additional comments:

• We think that there is broad agreement that these sort of premises should not be sited close to residential properties. We think it important that the policy requires that this decision be made on a case by case basis rather than on the basis of zoning .

• We think it is important to look at the wider impact of such establishments on the mix of entertainment provided in a particular area. For example the centre of Bath attracts lots of hen nights currently but few stag nights. Looking at the web sites of companies who sell hen and stag night packages the reason for this seems to be the lack of sexual entertainment venues in Bath. So the provision of such venues in close proximity to Bath’s vertical drinking venues would have the potential to create a very considerable negative impact on the environment of the city centre.

OPA and BANES failure to protect residents

2011-08-26T05:43:00.000-07:00

We cannot put it better than this

The Fubar application for a new license

2011-08-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Grove Street a substantially residential street and residents often have occasion to complain about noise and nuisance caused by the customers leaving the several drinking establishments and the night club that already operate close to the end of the street.

This application would represent a substantial change in the nature of these premises.

Currently these premises are operated as a restaurant where the emphasis is primarily on the quiet enjoyment of food and where alcohol is only consumed as an accompaniment to the food. This license if granted would potentially create premises where the focus was on drinking and music based entertainment. Karaoke rarely creates a quite atmosphere and we note the applicants even at this stage are anticipating these premises becoming a party venue. All this will be further aggravated by operating longer hours and having people drinking in the open air.

These premises are located in an area which is supposed to be subject to the Cumulative Impact Policy; if this application is granted residents will be moved question what the purpose of this policy is.

Should, despite this, the licensing authority be minded to grant this application we would submit that the conditions proposed by the applicant are inadequate to control the nuisance which experience tells us will result.

We would suggest they consider, in addition, the following:

Closing times of two am in this area at any time would be wholly inappropriate

Outside areas and drinking alcohol particularly outside the context of a substantial meal have proven to be an almost inevitable source of nuisance and no premises in the centre of city that we are aware of are allowed to have drinking outside beyond 11pm at the latest.

Noise leakage from doors and windows are a frequent cause of nuisance were premises are playing loud music and most premises are required to keep all doors and windows closed after 11pm.

Any music amplification equipment should be fitted with noise limiters set to a level selected by the licensing authority.

We note the applicants anticipate significant queuing outside these premises. People queuing to go into drinking establishments and congregating outside when they leave are known sources of litter and many premises therefore have conditions set requiring them to regularly clear up litter, vomit etc. from outside their premises.

No one should be allowed come out of the premises onto the street with alcoholic drinks.

Comments on proposals to expand the Pig and Fiddle

2011-08-11T05:22:00.000-07:00

The planning authority has made decisions about this area already which need to be considered in relation to this application.

One is planning approval for a large pub opposite this site on the former King Edwards School site the other is approval for residential accommodation adjacent to both.

This latter decision has already created heighten conflict between residents and the operations of the large number of drinking establishments and associated business in this area

The former decision has potentially created a huge addition to the volume of drinking establishments close to George Street an area already the focus of much drink fuelled anti-social behaviour.

The local authority and both political parties have made great play of their intention to create a better balance between residential amenity and the provision, many would say over provision, of vertical drinking venues in the City centre.

As a concrete expression of this BANES adopted the Cumulative Impact Policy.

Residents will find it hard to understand how the huge expansion of an existing drinking establishment in this context fits in with any of these policies and commitments.

If BANES, despite these considerations, is minded to approve this application then we think it is essential that they impose planning conditions that ensure that the applicant is held to their assertions and the implications of their illustrations of this additional space being used as a quite area where people will be sitting and enjoying alcohol in a context where food is a key part of the offer.

Problems of the Night Time Economy - Street Drinkers

2011-07-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

Street drinkers and other addicts create problems for residence when:

They gather in abusive groups even if the abusive behavior is not directed at passers by
They menace passers-by
They engage in begging
Rifling through rubbish bags

Notes on a meeting between resident's and Bath Rugby Club Officials 11th July

2011-07-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

It was positive to hear the Rugby Club were now only targeting a capacity of 18,000. In presentational terms it was less reassuring that in the course of the meeting they moved from 16,000 at the start of the meeting.

It was positive to hear that the east stand will remain temporary but make better use of the space. However we are still not clear on actual size and position.

It was positive to hear the plans for the riverside stand with an attractive face to the river and views through to the rec. The plans for cafes and shops seem modest and positive but we will have to watch out for “mission creep” during the planning and licencing phase. Similarly with the hospitality spaces.

The club's reassurances about there being no plans for night time drinking and nightclubs were welcome but as one resident pointed out in the event of economic downturn or a change of ownership who knows what might be proposed

We were pleased to hear that the Empire is recognised as a key sightline but it remains important to ensure that residents on the north side of the river are properly included in any further consultations or advisory panels.

The question of traffic management remains a black hole.

We thought the idea of effectively redrafting the covenants to make them clearer and more in accordance with the modern agreement we want to strike creating a legal framework outside the vagaries of the planning and licensing regimes was a positive idea that seemed to gain wide agreement.

For more information about TARA visit our web site

High Street Works - Public Realm and Movement Programme

2011-06-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

We are broadly supportive of the Public Realm and Movement programme’s proposals for the High Street and Orange Grove particularly the proposal to remove coaches from Orange Grove.

The creation of a dedicated 'continental' coach bay opposite the Abbey which will, as we understand it, accommodate only one coach will avoid the current situation where two or even three coaches block the exit from the Empire and Guildhall car parks. We will be seeking reassurances about management of noise from the audible indication on the pedestrian crossing.

The extended taxi rank will hopefully relieve the unofficial 'overflow' taxi park which stretches from opposite the Parade Gardens right around into Grand Parade and causes obstruction and inconvenience for residents and visitors. Particularly In the evening a longer more integrated taxi rank will be easier for the Taxi Marshals to control allowing the rank to be better managed and more efficient.

The increased Pavement Area outside All bar One is welcome as this is a congested area which often looks dirty, with delivery vehicles, bus passengers, shop keepers and pedestrians all competing for space.

We are however less comfortable with the plans for coach parking in North Parade which already has its challenges with bendy buses and the volume of traffic. There are also particular issues with bus and coach noise and the residential blocks towards the bridge end of the parade which these proposals could exacerbate if coach parking is not better managed than it is in its current location

The Localism Bill

2011-06-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

A timetable recently published by the Government indicates that by November 2011 the Government’s Localism Bill will be passed.

Key points of the Bill

The bill is split across four main heading and some special provisions for London

• community empowerment

• decentralisation and strengthening local democracy

• reform of the planning system

• social housing reform.

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Right to veto excessive council tax rises

Any council tax rises above a ceiling set by the secretary of state and approved by the House of Commons will trigger a referendum of all registered electors in their area.

Community Right to Challenge

A right for voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, parish councils and local authority employees delivering a service, to challenge a local authority, by expressing an interest in running any service for which they are responsible. A local authority must consider and respond to this challenge.

Community Right to Buy

This will require local authorities to maintain a list of public or private assets of community value put forward for consideration by communities. When listed assets come up for disposal communities have the chance to buy the asset when it comes on the open market.

Local referendums

This measure gives people, councillors and councils the power to instigate a local referendum on any local issue. Although these referendums will be non-binding.

DECENTRALISING AND STRENGTHENING LOCAL DEMOCRACY

General Power of Competence

The general power of competence will provide local authorities powers to do anything apart from that which is specifically prohibited.

Local authority governance

These measures will allow principal authorities to return to the committee system of governance, should they wish.

Directly elected mayors

Giving areas the right to have a mayor if they wish to following a referendum.

Predetermination

This will make councillors free to campaign, to express views on issues and to vote, without fear of being accused of having a closed mind on a particular issue. The bill is intended to make it clear that the normal activities of a councillor – campaigning, talking with constituents, expressing views on local matters and seeking to gain support for those views – should not lead to a legal challenge to a council decision.

Standards Board

The bill would bring about the abolition of the Standards Board regime. A new duty on local authorities to promote and maintain high standards of conduct will be introduced.

Pay accountability

Provisions are included that will require authorities to approve and publish annually a senior pay policy statement which they will be required to follow when setting senior pay.

Scrapping bin taxes

So-called 'bin tax' schemes would have allowed local councils to charge residents for household rubbish collections or fine families for having a full bin. The bill will repeal sections 71 to 75 of, and Schedule 5 to, the Climate Change Act 2008 thus stopping these schemes taking place.

REFORM AND THE PLANNING SYSTEM

Abolition of Regional Strategies

The bill will remove primary legislation which sets the basis for Regional Strategies.

Community Infrastructure levy

The Community Infrastructure Levy allows local authorities to set charges which developers must pay when bringing forward new development in order to contribute to new infrastructure.

Local Plan reform

The Bill will remove the ability of the Planning Inspectorate to re-write local plans and remove procedures on timetabling and monitoring. Planning inspectors will continue to assess local plans at a public examination, and authorities will only be able to adopt plans judged ‘sound’ by the inspector, but inspectors will only be able to suggest changes at the request of the local authority.

Neighbourhood planning

Neighbourhood plans will enable communities to permit development without the need for planning applications.

Community Right to Build

This measure will give local communities the power to take forward development in their area without the need to apply for planning permission, subject to meeting certain safeguards and securing 50% support of the community through a referendum. It will be for communities to identify suitable land, sources of finance and secure support for their proposals.

Duty to co-operate

The bill introduces a duty to co-operate on local authorities and public bodies.

Pre-application consultation

The bill introduces a new requirement for prospective developers to consult local communities before submitting planning applications for very large developments.

Enforcement

Proposals in the bill will tackle abuses like making deliberately misleading planning applications and running retrospective planning applications and enforcement appeals simultaneously.

Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects

This measure will replace the Infrastructure Planning Commission with a system that provides a fast-track process for major infrastructure projects.

SOCIAL HOUSING REFORM

Social Housing Allocations reform

This measure will take transferring tenants who are not in housing need out of the allocation rules.

Reform of homelessness legislation

The bill will give local authorities the right to bring their homelessness duty to an end with an offer of suitable accommodation in the private rented sector without requiring the household’s agreement.

Social housing tenure reform

The provisions in the bill will enable local authority landlords to grant tenancies for a fixed length (the minimum length being two years).

Reform of council housing finance

Under the new system, councils will keep their rental income and use it locally to maintain their homes.

National Homeswap Scheme

This measure would require landlords to participate in web-based mutual exchange services that enable tenants to see a wide range of properties across providers in England.

Reform of social housing regulation

This measure will: make reforms to the regulatory system for social housing; abolish the Tenant Services Authority and transfer its remaining functions to the Homes and Communities Agency; and make changes to the Ombudsman regime applicable to social housing complaints.

Facilitating moves out of the social rented sector

The bill will ensure that housing association tenants who are also members of their landlord organisation are allowed to take up incentive schemes which help moves out of the social rented sector into owner occupation. Current legislation does not allow this because it precludes the making of any gifts to tenant members or former members.

Home Information Packs

This measure will repeal Part 5 of the Housing Act 2004 thereby abolishing Home Information Packs.

The Consultation on the Rec

2011-06-10T04:29:00.000-07:00

We feel that there is not enough information provided to make any meaningful comment on the balance between benefits and detriments in the Trustees’ proposals. We don’t think a meaningful judgement can be made in the absence of a substantive proposal for any new development. This would need to include:

Details of facilities, including non-sporting facilities such as shops, bars and restaurants
Some idea of the size and outline of building on the site
Indications of proposed usage beyond rugby and expected attendance numbers required to achieve financial viability
Indication of how the impact of the above would be managed in terms of such issues as parking provision, traffic and noise management

In any case it is not clear that the proposed land use plan referred to in the consultation documents can be relied on. The owner of Bath Rugby seems to have indicated in recent press interviews that he wants the club to have a substantially bigger stadium than the trustees seem to envision in their statements.

The consultation appears intended to close off discussion of other locations for a new stadium and does not seem to distinguish local residents from visitors to Bath who may well have an opinion about the Ruby Club but have no interest in Bath or the Rec beyond that. It also seems a strange decision to run such a consultation ahead of the results of local elections and the consequent change of trustees.

Pavement Parking remains a problem

2011-05-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

We think this one speaks for itself.

Parking permits and the Bath Sky Ride

2011-05-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

We asked BANES for their official advise to residents displaced by parking restrictions put in place for the Bath Sky Ride. They have sent use the following statement:-

As last year, residents who hold a B&NES Parking Permit for the roads effected by parking suspensions, will be reminded that from:

6 pm on Saturday 4 June until 8 am on Monday 6 June 2011, they are able to park on any Parking Zones, with the exception of Zones 15 and 16, which applies to those roads East of Lansdown Road to the London Road (Except Doctors bays, Car Club bays, Disabled bays and Loading bays) within the City and on single yellow lines, not effected by the parking suspensions.

In addition, the terms and conditions outlined in the application for a Parking Permit states:

"With the exception of reserved car park bays the parking permit does not guarantee a parking space.
Parking is only permitted in a Permit Holders Bay or a Dual Use Bay in the zone or car park for which the permit has been issued.
Pay & Display, Limited Waiting, Yellow Line Markings and other highway restrictions must be obeyed as signed.
The permit must be prominently displayed at all times in the windscreen of the vehicle in the Permit Holder provided in such a manner that a Civil Enforcement Officer can easily read or scan the details.
Where applicable paper permits must be completed in ink, alterations to the details on a paper permit will automatically render it invalid.
The permit is only valid for the vehicle registration(s) given. The Council must be immediately notified of any change to the vehicle registration prior to the permit being used. Alternative parking should be sought pending confirmation of the change.
If the permit becomes defaced, illegible, lost or destroyed it is the responsibility of the holder to obtain a replacement. An administration fee will be payable. Until a replacement permit has been obtained you must find alternative parking.
Vehicles must be parked wholly within the bay markings.
Responsibility for renewal of the permit lies with the permit holder. Displaying an expired/invalid permit may result in a penalty charge notice being issued.
The Council or Police may temporarily suspend the whole or part of a parking place which will be marked accordingly. Vehicles should not be parked in a suspended parking place without signed authorisation from a Council Official or Police Officer.
The maximum laden weight of a vehicle permitted to park in a parking bay is 2.0 tonnes. Permits will only be issued for:
a passenger vehicle; a car derived van; a goods vehicle with a taxation class of PLG
Where a dispute arises as to the eligibility of any applicant for a permit, the Council’s decision in relation to the issue of that permit shall be final.
Failure to comply with any of the above conditions may result in a Penalty Charge Notice being issued which will be enforced. No further warnings will be given.
The Council reserves the right to make changes to these Terms and Conditions"

Proposals for the Bath Sky ride

2011-04-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Our experience with this event last year leaves us with some areas of concern.

Last year the signage for the event from the point of view of motorists was poor and the diversions were ill thought out.The stewards manning road closures seemed poorly trained and ill-informed about alternative routes and event timings.

We hope that this year these issues will have been ironed out and the event will cause less disruption.

Also we have asked the council officials invovled in approving the extensive suspension of parking spaces associated with this event what their official guidance to residents is as to where they should park their cars when they move them from the areas that are being closed if they have city centre parking permits.

Street Drinkers

2011-04-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Drinkers and other addicts who choose or are forced to live on our streets are a recurring problem in Bath. They are particularly a source of nuisance when they:

Gather in abusive groups

Beg

Menace passers-by

Rifle through rubbish strewing on the streets where it becomes part of the litter problem and attracts vermin

The Bodrum Takeaway licence review

2011-04-12T04:25:00.001-07:00

We were very pleased to see the excellent work that Environmental Protection done in gathering detailed evidence about the nuisance associated with these premises. Broad Street has a long history of noise and disorder associated with crowds moving down form the clubs and bars in George Street. The Bodrum Takeaway adds to this by:

-attracting drinkers to walk through the increasingly residential Broad Street in preference to other less residential routes
- encouraging crowds to gather and loiter near residential units
- encouraging crowds to loiter on relatively narrow pavements on a street which is a well-used route for cars leaving the city

We do not as an association have the resources to undertake the sort of evidence gathering that Environmental protection have done but we are in receipt of regular expressions of concern by residents. As part of a regular programme of city centre reviews we did visit the area just after 12:30 am on the 14th March and 1:00 am on the 20th March.

On the 14th there were approximately 6 people sitting and standing on and around the barrier outside these premises eating food and making considerable noise until two PC arrived to talk to them

On the 20th we saw a man putting a ground sheet in the doorway of the premises next to Bodrum were he sat and fed his takeaway purchase to his dog. While we continued to watch a party of 20 to 25 revellers came down the street, both in the road and on the pavement, from George Street shouting loudly. The entire party then packed, or at least tried to, into the Bodrum Takeaway.

We entirely support Environmental Protection's call for the hours of these premises to be restricted. Indeed we would ask the licencing committee to consider whether in the light of their evidence their recommendations on closing times go far enough

What would you do to reduce congestion and air pollution in Bath?

2011-03-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

FOBRA recently posed this question to the three main political parties

The Labour Group said:

“The Group supports any move to reduce transport pollution and also carbon emissions . In the case of private car transport the problem can only be relieved by a more effective provision of public transport. Up to now this has been proposed to be met by the Bath Package funding offered by the previous government .However the reduction in the funding and alterations to the package proposed by the present Government make this, in our view, a much less attractive solution. We would wish to see instead of a total reliance on Park and Ride solutions better and cheaper bus services and investigation of the options for greater use of rail e.g at Keynsham and Oldfield Park. The Transport Commission chaired by Peter Hendy will presumably be working on some innovative solutions but unfortunately our Group have not been offered a place on the Commission”

The Lib Dems said:

“Sustainable transport is the key to reducing congestion and air pollution in the city. We need real alternatives to private car travel, not a tarmac bus road through back gardens in Newbridge that won‟t make any difference. We need to improve public transport, through real time information and on street ticketing for example, and we need to do more locally to encourage walking and cycling. In addition, we need to work to get HGVs out of Bath city centre.”

The Conservatives said:

“This is perhaps the most pressing issue facing Bath. Parts of the city have some of the worst pollution levels in the country, and congestion is set to become increasingly worse over the coming years if nothing is done to address it. Furthermore, Bath‟s congestion is cited time and again by businesses as the number one reason why more companies do not establish themselves and grow here, holding back our local economy and stifling jobs creation.
I believe that we are the only Party with a credible plan to tackle congestion in the city. We have remained committed to the Bath Transport Package and Greater Bristol Bus Network project, we have established a new independent Transport Commission for Bath to oversee transport improvements, and we are taking action to cut the city‟s HGVs by creating a consolidation depot for those making deliveries into Bath and proposing an 18 tonne weight limit for Cleveland Bridge.

The Bath Transport Package is the only viable option if we are to be serious about improving Bath‟s transport infrastructure. It has received the backing of many local businesses, the Bath Chamber of Commerce, both the city‟s Universities and organisations such as Travelwatch South West. Expanding our already successful and overcrowded Park and Rides will significantly cut the number of cars entering the city. The East of Bath Park and Ride will finally address the appalling congestion on the London Road, taking thousands of cars off it every day. And the Rapid Transit route will provide a fast and reliable public transport spine into the city to open up the second phase of Western Riverside and encourage more commuters out of their cars.

We will therefore remain committed to the Bath Transport Package and to securing Government funding for the scheme. We will also invest in local bus services, delivering Real-Time information displays at bus stops along key routes and continuing to subsidise threatened bus routes, as well as liaise closely with the new Transport Commission on any other innovative proposals they may have for improving Bath‟s transport.”

Comments on applications under the Gambling Act 2005

2011-03-15T04:38:00.000-07:00

TARA has no wish to re-visit arguments for and against the city’s decision to host one of the mini casinos permitted under the 2005 Act. Stage 1 applications for Provisional Statements currently under consideration are concerned largely with the applicants’ background and credentials and their willingness to meet standards and objectives set by the legislation and the Council. We do not feel competent to assess the four competing bids against these criteria and have elected to confine our comments to matters of most concern to our members, namely the possible impact of the mix of uses proposed on the immediate area in the case of the four selected sites and the quality of the schematic building concepts put forward.

The mix of uses suggested by the applicants includes, in addition to the casino, ‘leisure and entertainment,’ hotels and ‘commercial development,’ shops restaurants and bars, retail, a conference/auditorium facility and apartments.

Residents will expect that premises which sell alcohol to the public will be subject to the usual requirements of the Council’s Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003 including the Cumulative Impact Policy.

Some uses such as ‘leisure and entertainment’ and ‘commercial development’ are not defined in sufficient detail to allow comment.

Residents will have no objection to the provision of further shops, hotels and apartments in the city centre if there is a demand for them and there will be support for the much needed auditorium, though whether Bath citizens will wish to see this combined in a single building with a casino as one applicant proposes must be open to question.

The casino should not be sited close to residential neighbourhoods particularly where homes are, or are likely to be, occupied by families with children. This will be particularly important where, as appears to be the intention in some cases, 24 hour a day operations are proposed. Residents must not be disturbed late into the night by smokers, arriving and departing customers and the slamming of car and taxi doors. Sites close to schools, churches and other places of worship should also be avoided. This would seem to preclude the Manvers Street site which, as well as being a part residential area, is close to St John’s Catholic Church and the Bath Islamic Centre at 8 Pierrepont Street. The Cattle Market car park is also close to residential areas including The Tramshed where there are families with small children. On this basis Saw Close, already home to the Theatre Royal and Komedia and where there are relatively few occupied homes, would seem to be the most appropriate location.

So far as the schematic building concepts are concerned, with the exception of the proposal for Saw Close which largely makes use of existing buildings much in need of renovation, none of the schemes submitted would, in our view and on the basis of the limited information available at this early stage, come anywhere close to offering the potential that ought to be required of such a key leisure facility in a city of Bath’s international standing. There is no mention, in any of the submissions, of the city’s aspirations for development in the city centre as a whole, or of the constraints and opportunities provided at each of the three selected sites. All three sites are of major importance to the city’s future development and character and none of the practical or visual issues relating to their development has been addressed.

We recognise, of course, that this is an early stage in the evaluation process and that detailed licensing, let alone planning, submissions have yet to be made. We do not feel, however, that even the limited information available at this stage should pass without comment and trust that the concerns of city centre residents, both as to content and quality, will be fully taken into account as the project proceeds.

Problems of the Night Time Economy - Rowdy crowds

2011-02-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Rowdy crowds cause broadly two types of problems at night in the city centre:

1. They create noise which is a problem if they are near residential premises or other noise sensitive locations such as the hospital
2. They can, often without intending to. intimidate other users of the city centre.

Crowd tend to form:
-Outside pubs and clubs because they cannot smoke inside
-Outside pubs and clubs because they are just loitering prior to going home
-Outside pubs and clubs because they have been ejected or refused entry
-Outside fast food outlets
-In queues for buses and taxis

Sometime crowds are just wandering the streets with no real aim.

Crowds are particularly a concern because they are often the breeding ground for fighting and threats of violence

Lord Clement-Jones “Live Music” Private Members Bill

2011-02-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

Should this Bill become law public performance of live amplified music, between 08:00-24:00, would no longer require a licence in premises such as pubs or clubs provided that, at the time that the music is being performed, alcohol is being supplied for consumption on the premises and the performance takes place before an audience of no more than 200 people.The exception to this would only be where a specific condition about music is included following a review of the licence or club premises certificate.

The Bill provides that live music in any place that qualifies as a workplace (including schools,hospitals, restaurants and cafes) not otherwise licensed under the Licensing Act does not require a licence, provided it takes place between 08:00-24:00 before an audience of no more than 200 people.

Unregulated live amplified music in a place like Bath has a potential to cause enormous problems. One-off events are one thing, but regular and continuous amplified live music can wreck a neighbourhood.

Presumably the Bill proposer Lord Clement-Jones lives on a country estate or in a flat in Westminster far away from any likely venue!

Check the Bill at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldbills/012/11012.1-i.html.

On March 4 2011 we may find out whether the government supports this Bill, but it might be helpful if letters are sent to John Penrose, Minister for Licensing, at the DCMS -

address:

2-4 Cockspur Street
London
SW1Y 5DH -

pointing out your concerns before 4 March

The Night Time Economy - Key concerns

2011-02-17T14:28:00.000-08:00

Key issues which concern city centre residents in relation to the operation of the night time economy can be summarised as follows:

-Rowdy Crowds
-Street Drinkers
-Litter
-Poorly managed licensed premises
-Individual anti-social behaviour

Residents are of course concerned with the more "serious" issues of crime such as violent and sexual assaults. However, these are rare in Bath and so the focus inevitably falls on these lesser forms of crime, disorder and nuisance.

Bath city centre residents recognise that the many benefits of living in the centre of a beautiful and vibrant city are inevitably attended by the need to be tolerant of a wide range of other users of the city's amenities.

City centre residents are on the whole very tolerant of the inevitably lively atmosphere in Bath at night. However, the issues listed above if not kept under review and managed can make living in the centre intolerable and Bath would be a very different and poorer place if residents voted with their feet as has sadly happen in so many other cities.

It is for this reason that TARA devotes much of its time and resources to working with the police, council, responsible licensees and other agencies concerned with the management of Bath at night.

Proposals to restrict traffic in the Circus area

2011-02-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

TARA is concerned about the Circus Residents’ Association’s proposals for traffic management in their area.

Firstly, we are concerned about the research that underpins these proposals which consists, as we understand it, of a traffic count and an assumption that the majority of traffic is using the Circus as a rat run from Gay street to Lansdown. By our own observations there are a number of reasons why vehicles are in this area e.g.looking for places to park, delivering to local business and residents, dropping off at the Assembly room etc. We need to understand why people are in the Circus before making decisions about managing them.

We also need a proper impact assessment for neighbouring roads before we put more vehicles on the already congested Lower Lansdown, George Street, Gay Street south and Queen Square. The CARA proposals for ameliorating this impact seem inadequate. The proposal to make the single yellow lines in George Street double yellow lines will create considerable problems for both residents and their commercial neighbours.

These kind of piecemeal proposals which tinker with the problem of traffic management in Bath by shifting the problem from one area to another within the city seem symptomatic of a systemic failure by BANES and the other public authorities involved to come up with an overall plan or even vision for managing the problems of traffic congestion and associated rising levels of pollution in the city.

Even the part of the CARA proposal which might win wider support, i.e. preventing coaches from cruising the city’s historic landmarks, lacks the necessary context of a city wide plan for managing tourist coaches except at one off events like the Xmas Market.

Complaints about 'rat running' often betray a misunderstanding about how a city road system functions. It is essentially a self adjusting network that, by giving drivers a choice of routes from A to B, should automatically reduce overall journey times, congestion and harmful emissions if it is working efficiently. In this context the idea that traffic should not enter an area unless it has destination business there is misplaced and attempts to limit traffic flow anywhere on the network should not be undertaken unless the consequences for overall performance and risk of increased problems on other network links have been assessed.

This is not to say that limiting 'through' traffic in, for example, what are plainly residential areas should never be attempted, they should and often are and the Circus may be a case in point, but this should not be done until the local benefits have been systematically evaluated against effects on other localities and on the overall performance of the network.

Bus Stops

2011-02-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

There is now an increasing emphasis on improving public transport provision in Bath which we broadly support. We are also seeing the immergence, particularly as the election looms, of ad-hoc traffic management schemes which in the absence of an overall scheme for Bath or proper impact assessment we do not.

One of the often unrecognised effects of these two activities is the effect it has on the siting of and level of usage of bus stops. For instance the proposals for closure of Pulteney Bridge to various types of traffic have led to an increased use of bus stops on North Parade outside noise sensitive residential accommodation at times when it impacts the amenity of those residents.

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The BANES Core Strategy

2011-02-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

Broadly we are not unhappy with the draft strategy there are however some general point we would make.

The strategic issues do not explicitly acknowledge the issue of balancing the legitimate but competing needs of visitors, residents and people working in the city centre. This issue becomes particularly acute in relationship to the management of the night time economy.

The document does not acknowledge to existence of the BID.

The document mentions assisting the creation of a Rugby Stadium but the section on traffic and transport does not seem to take this into account.

It is not quite clear what the traffic scheme for Bath is should the BTP not get funding

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King Edward School - Further Developments

2011-01-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

Council planners have advised against the removal of Condition 21 from the planning consent for King Edward School which limits the numbers that can use the rear courtyard at any one time to 96. Under this advice Conditions 3 and 5 which set time limits on the use of bars, restaurants, parlours and the rear courtyard in the early morning would be amended in accordance with the applicant's request although use of the courtyard would not be permitted until 08.00.

This advice is consistent with objections raised by TARA. Any decision by Council members can, of course, be appealed by the applicant under the planning laws.

TARA's Engagement in the issues of the Bath Night Time Economy

2010-12-29T09:36:00.000-08:00

TARA is involved in a number of activities aimed at improving the management of the night time economy and ensuring that resident's views are considered when decisions are being made.

We provide the chairman of a Police Resources and Visibility Working Group whose terms of reference are to:

1. Make practical recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of policing in the centre of the city

2. Make practical recommendations as to how the police and other agencies can work together to improve the experience of people using the city centre

3. Support the development of a vision for the management of the night time environment in Bath which can be used to guide future planning

4. Suggest ways of improving public understanding of policing in the City

We have a representative on BANE'S NTE Steering committee which is a coordinating body for all the agencies involved in the management of the night time economy.

We have a representive on the City Centre Management Partnerships’ - Environmental Management Project Group where local business representative discuss projects aimed at improving peoples' experience in the city centre.

We provided assessors for the overnight audit team for the Purple Flag which aims at improving the night time economy and winning outside recognitions for having done so.

We routinely act on behalf of Residents’ in the processes associated with:

* Licencing
* Planning and Development and in
* Discussions with Licensees

King Edwards School - Planning Application

2010-12-17T05:09:00.000-08:00

We have objected to Samuel Smiths application for the removal, in its entirety, of Condition 21 of their current planning permission which relates to limits on the patronage of the rear courtyard area. The use of this large area by excessive numbers of customers could seriously harm the amenity of the occupants of the 20-odd apartments in the immediate area. It was for this reason that TARA, together with neighbouring residents’ groups, pressed for limits to the number of patrons allowed to use this area at any one time and we believe that the Committee was right to impose this condition.

The applicants’ reference to government Circular 11/95, and their argument that Condition 21 duplicates a condition imposed under the Licensing Act 2003 is, in our view, misconceived. The existence of parallel conditions on the same premises under the planning and licensing regimes is common. Even if this were not the case we believe there is no duplication. The licence condition which requires that the rear courtyard area be ‘predominantly seated’ turns on the meaning of the word ‘predominantly’ and, as such, is open to interpretation and would be difficult, if not impossible, to enforce. The planning condition which refers to a maximum occupancy of the rear courtyard of 96 patrons is, by contrast, precise and enforceable.
Since the applicants’ argument relating to Condition 21 depends entirely on the existence of ‘duplication’ we believe Condition 21 should be retained in its current form.

King Edward School - Latest Developments

2010-10-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

On September 29th the Yorkshire brewer Samuel Smith was duly grated planning permission to convert the old King Edward School building in Broad Street into a pub-restaurant with hotel accommodation on the upper floors. Given that the proposals are consistent with the Local Plan and that a licence was granted three years ago there was never much doubt about the outcome. Of course, our city centre needs a large new pub like a hole in the head but TARA believes that, after years of work on both the licence and the planning application sufficient safeguards have been imposed on the owner to ensure that this can never become a large stand-up boozer of the kind that has so disfigured our city centre in the past. Hours have been limited, only one smallish bar has been permitted and there are restrictions on the use of external areas to the front and rear. The licence requires that much of the floor space in the restaurant and bars be taken up by furniture.

And there are some positives. It is the case up and down the country that only the licensed trade can afford the expense of restoring some of our most vulnerable city centre buildings (O’Neill’s in Saw Close, formerly a Methodist chapel, is an example). At least the old school, which some TARA members attended, will be brought back to life and given a role and we will be able to get inside and have a look round.

And remember, before local architect Thomas Jelly built the school around 1754 the site had been occupied by the Black Swan – a pub.

The OPA License Review

2010-09-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

A BID FOR BATH - 2

2010-09-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

Earlier we reported on efforts by the city centre manager, Andrew Cooper, to get a Business Improvement District established in our city centre. We now learn that detailed proposals will go to council leaders and business owners in the next few weeks. If voted through and fully subscribed these proposals would include a permanent team of five focussing on the cleanliness and management of city centre streets, an award scheme for businesses reaching exemplary standards in the management of their premises and their surroundings, an organisation which would help to manage the night time economy, a marketing drive which would include festivals and cultural events and improving access to the city centre.

Yes, this is a business-led initiative and it will be important to ensure that residents’ interests are not overlooked and that the BID creates real additional resources, not just more lobbyists, but TARA believes, on balance, that the Bath BID represents a real prospect of channelling the additional funding in the city centre to make real the many improvements in our surroundings we would like to see.

These are important proposals and we urge the council, Future Bath Plus and the city centre business community to get behind them. Anyone who would like to see what can be achieved should visit Northumberland Place where local businesses have already acted together to make a colourful and vibrant street out of what was becoming a grimy and unkempt backwater. Congratulations to the Northumberland Place community and to FBP’s Environment Panel chaired by Graham Webb of St Johns.

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The Weir Lounge

2010-08-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Weir Lounge has applied to the Licensing Authority "To remove the condition which limits the number of persons who may be present on the premises when the authority of the the licence is in use".

We are frankly astonished to see this application. The limit on numbers was set as we understand it to ensure that numbers of people at this venue remained at levels where they could be properly managed to avoid crime, disorder, public nuisance and safety breaches.

Since this limit was set these premises have been the subject of constant complaints from residents who suffer the nuisance caused by drunken revellers draw to the area by these premises who regularly use cheap drinks offers and drink based promotions to attract customers. See examples from their Facebook site below:

WeirLounge Bath TONIGHT MASHED WEDNESDAYS TOP TUNES AND CHEAP DRINKS
WeirLounge Bath MID WEEK MAYHEM TONIGHT AT MASHED MASHED WEDNESDAYS @ The Weir Lounge SEE YOU THERE
WeirLounge Bath ★ ☆ LUSH PRESENTS THE DOUBLES SATURDAY ★ ☆★ANY★HOUSE★ DOUBLE★AND★MIXER★FOR★£2.50★★FREE GUESTLIST TEXT YOUR NAME TO 07867 930436
WeirLounge Bath TONIGHT GET SMAHED AT MASHED GRADUATION THEME PARTY AT THE WEIR LOUNGE

The police have catalogued a list of licensing breaches, disorder, drunkenness and violence all of which suggest severe problems with the management of these premises.

If any conclusion can be drawn from this it is that the number of persons allowed to use these premises was set too high and should be lowered.

We ask the committee to refuse this application.

Banes Street Trading Policy

2010-07-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

We would like to see an explicit reference to proximity to residential properties and residential amenity in the criteria for pitch selection.

We would like to see reference to consulting the residents’ associations about applications as there are no parish councils to consult in the city centre

We think it would be helpful to all concerned if the council published more explicit guidelines regarding the appearance of stalls as a baseline for good practice.

TARA’s Comments on the proposed BANES Cultural Strategy

2010-07-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

In general we are concerned that this document does not discuss measures of effectiveness in any detail. It does not set measurable goals.

The document does not address how in practice the relationship between this and other key planning and control processes such as planning and licensing will be managed.

We are unclear why a focus upon the North East Somerset communities outside of Bath is a central aspect of the work of Tourism Leisure and Culture division.

The document cites “evidence” and “studies” but gives no references.

Where the document talks about rural and urban divides in cultural provision it seems to us simplistic and muddled; people choose urban and rural location to live and each has built in advantages and disadvantages. City centre residents have ready access to more cultural offers but also have to tolerate close proximity to noise and anti-social behaviour.

The document concatenates cost and access to public transport and rural and urban living. Cost is an issue that transcends the urban/rural split there are many people living in Bath who find cost a barrier to attending cultural events. The public transport issue is more likely to be addressed by providing better more affordable public transport to take people to Bath than using council resources to scatter cultural events across BANES.

The document addresses how to make culture available to disadvantaged people but rather than discussing how to give disadvantaged people better access to culture falls back on taking about taking cultural events to areas where they live thus immediately closing off other options.

The public sector has a fairly poor track record in forecasting social trends and market mechanisms are much better at addressing this. For instance this document forecasts that Box Offices will fall out of use however the selection of ticket purchasing channels is, if history is any guide, likely be much more complex and diverse that this section “forecasts”. The market will decide the fate of Box Offices and there seems little to be gained by BANES attempting to second guess the outcome.

The strategy talks about considering and planning for how public transport might impact on start and end timings of cultural events. We think there ought, in addition, to be more consideration about how public transport availability should be changed to reflect the needs of people attending cultural events.

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Cyclists on Pavements

2010-07-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that cycling in pedestrian areas is a cause of annoyance to residents in the city centre. It is a particular concern when cyclists show a reckless disregard for the safety and opinions of pedestrians and are abusive when their offence is pointed out.

However in considering what should be done we need to recognise that pavement cycling is only one of a range of low grade antisocial behaviours that impact people in the city centre when allowed to escalate..

Inconsiderate cyclists sit alongside:

• inconsiderate smokers and gum chewers
• people who throw food wrappers and dinks containers
• people who urinate and vomit on pavements and in doorways
• fly tippers
• drunks shouting and fighting
• beggars
• people ringing doorbells in the early hours of the morning
• people who park on pavements

Tackling these issues is not straightforward; while the police have an important role to play the nature of these offences means that police alone cannot do the job. Indeed enforcement alone cannot do the job. There is a need for more effective:

• education about the harm caused and the legal penalties
• police monitoring of the levels of offending - these offences are under reported
• action by the police when they do observe offences
• coordination by enforcement agencies
• utilisation of council officials on the street
• engagement of residents as has been done over pavement parking
• vision, strategy and structures for managing the city centre

A-boards

2010-07-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

BANES say they are developing a new policy on A-board advertising. In our view it cannot come too soon.

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Cracked pavements

2010-07-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

Walking around Bath one is struck by the number of cracked paving and kerb stones.

Much of this damage is due to people parking on pavements. As residents we suffer:

• from the unsightly and dangerous condition of the pavements

• the cost of the local authority repairs

• the loss of utility services because extensive vaulting in Bath means many are buried very shallowly

We welcomed and are active participants in the police scheme to provide residents with warning notices to put on cars as driver education is key to addressing the problem.

However, enforcement is also vital if this problem is to be addresses properly.

We would like to see the remit of the parking enforcement officers extended so that they routinely handed out warnings and penalties to drivers committing this offence.

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PROPOSED CHANGES TO PARKING AND RELATED FEES AND CHARGES 2010/11

2010-07-13T03:27:00.000-07:00

Going Forward

• We support in principle proposed increase in the number and working hours of the Parking Enforcement Officers
• We are concerned about the likely impact of a refurbished Manvers Street Car Park on traffic flows
• We would welcome in principle the extension of Park and Ride to Sundays but in general we would like to see more discussion of how the charging strategy links into the wider transport strategy and in particular the provision of public transport

Park and Ride Charges

• We would like to discuss with BANES what their models indicate about the impact of fee increases on traffic coming into the city

Off Street Parking in Bath

• We support the principal of keeping on street parking more expensive than of street parking and off street parking more expensive than park and ride

Resident’s Parking Permits

• We understand the need for the charge to cover costs in the current financial climate and welcome the proposals to increase enforcement. We would however like to see this fee increase accompanied by proposals to increase the availability of parking spaces for residents in the central zone

On Street Parking Charges in Bath

• We would like to see these charges applied on Sunday as there is little practical difference in the use of cars in the city centre between Saturdays and Sundays

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Consultation on the Closure of Pulteney Bridge

2010-07-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

TARA is supportive of the Council's Public Realm and Movement Strategy and is in favour of careful management of how and when vehicles access the centre of Bath.

Pulteney Bridge and Pulteney Street are key heritage assets and they need protection against the impact of traffic both visual and physical. We also have long had concerns about pedestrian safety.

However, the closure of Pulteney Bridge would inevitably displace traffic to other areas and increase congestion and pollution in these areas. We were hoping for a meaningful consultation on this where BANES shared what their studies indicated about where the displaced traffic is likely to go and what plans they have for mitigating the impact on these areas.

Unfortunately such a discussion was not held and therefore there seems little value in the consultation process.

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The Komedia Licence Review

2010-06-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

On reading the public statements by Komedia and its supporters we at TARA began to feel rather worried. Apparently they have discovered a conspiracy involving the police and local residents groups to tear a huge hole in the economic and cultural life of Bath by inviting the Licensing Committee to abolish Komedia. We had just started to have alarming visions of hundreds of vehicles turning away from Bath as the occupants learned that we would no longer be able to offer them the chance to see the “Ministry of Burlesques High Tease” or “Drags Aloud at the Movies” when we decided to go back and check what this committee was actually being asked to do.

Most residents, welcome a well run Cabaret venue in Bath. In particular we did welcome, with some reservations, the kind of establishment that was described when this venue applied for its initial licensing and permissions.

What we are asking now seems fairly modest. It is that in the light of reality, as documented by the police and experienced by residents, of how this venue has actually operated in using it’s licensing permissions that this committee reviews the terms of the license and in particular considers whether the very late opening hours are appropriate.

It was particularly interesting, reading Komedia’s submissions to the committee, to understand why these very late hours were so essential to delivering their contribution to the cultural life of the City. The explanation offered in their last submission appears to be that if they cannot offer very late drinking the Stag and Hen parties will take their pursuit of culture to other venues.

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Police Resources and Visibility Working Group

2010-05-25T02:09:00.000-07:00

TARA will be chairing a new working group focussed on city centre policing consisting of senior and frontline police officers and representatives of nearby residents associations and students. The terms of reference for the group are:

1. Make practical recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of policing in the centre of the city

2. Make practical recommendations as to how the police and other agencies can work together to improve the experience of people using the city centre

3. Support the development of a vision for the management of the night time environment in Bath which can be used to guide future planning

4. Suggest ways of improving public understanding of policing in the City

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KOMEDIA

2010-05-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

We support the police in calling for a review of the licence for these premises.

We have, as part of the planning process, raised resident’s concerns that the accumulated permissions and licences issued to this applicant would open the way, given the design of this building, to allowing the applicant to run late night events with very large numbers of young people and pointed to their advertising targeting students and vertical drinking. We understand the venue has regularly put out advertising promising cheap drink offers.

We have on previous occasions not opposed license applications because we were assured that this sort of event was not part of the venue’s business model. We understand that this assurance was offered to other interested parties.

In the event these assurances have proven empty and the venue is gradually turning into the sort of late night music and dance venue targeted at young people and fuelled by drink promotions that have become the focus of late night noise and anti social behaviour elsewhere in the city.

We do not need more venues of this type in the city. In particular these premises are close to a number of noise sensitive housing units and complaints of noise disturbance and anti-social behaviour have provided ample evidence of the need to review the conditions attached to this license to prevent them operating in this way in future.

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A BID for Bath

2010-05-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

TARA welcomes the news that efforts by our city centre manager, Andrew Cooper, to establish a Business Improvement District (BID) in the commercial heart of Bath seem likely to bear fruit.

In a BID the local business community agrees that a cleaner, brighter and safer environment is good for business and pools its resources so that more money can be spent on upgrading streets, pavements, lighting, signs and other infrastructure, on better street cleanliness and enhanced public safety. Obviously, though not subject to the BID levy on businesses, city centre residents and visitors can benefit significantly from the results.

The first BID was established in Canada more than thirty years ago and although the legislation to enable BIDs in the UK was not enacted until 2003 there are now close to 100 BIDs in operation in this country including thirty six in London alone.

Concerned at the meagre resources available to our city centre manager in Bath TARA carried out an on-line survey of similar operations in other parts of the country. This showed that the Bath public-private partnership, Future Bath Plus, is quite typical of similar organisations elsewhere, as is the role of our city centre manager which was described by one respondent as “a gadfly offering advice, pressure and encouragement where possible but living on wits rather than money.” This is fine but once administrative costs are taken care of there is typically little left for ‘projects’. To raise much needed funds many city centre managers across the country have BIDs or are actively preparing them.

In an era of impoverished councils a city centre BID in Bath offers perhaps the best hope of implementing the Council’s Public Realm and Movement Strategy, a complete transformation of the quality of our environment in the city centre of a kind which many comparable cities in the UK and, especially, on the continent completed many years ago. TARA supports the Public Realm and Movement Strategy (with qualifications) and, while it will be important to ensure that the particular concerns of residents are recognised, will do everything it can to encourage the city centre manager to persevere with the BID for Bath.

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Proposed Experimental No Right Turn from Manvers Street to Dorchester Street

2010-03-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

As so often with BaNES consultations it is very difficult to evaluate this proposal on the basis of the information provided. No evidence is given of current, or projected, problems in Dorchester Street or the extent to which these are, or may be, caused by vehicles other then buses and taxis. There is no evidence on the extent to which problems would be resolved by a right turn ban out of Manvers Street, none of the category of trips likely to be affected by the ban, none on alternative routes likely to be used by diverted drivers, none on the effect on their journey times and none on increased traffic levels on other routes.

Some city centre residents face the prospect of seeing their option of several exits from the city centre with traffic divided more or less evenly between them all effectively reduced to one exit - and this on a route which is heavily congested at times already. Added to this the extra traffic generated by the proposed Dorchester Street experiment (including eventually all the cars leaving the Manvers Street Car Park) and by the closure of Pulteney Bridge to traffic and they are likely to be face a serious and routine delays. The traffic lights allowing vehicles on to Pulteney Road only allow 2/3 cars through at a time (although going the other way quite a few cars can turn the corner into the city when the filter light is on), but there are many other problems on this route - open top bus crawling along, coaches/buses dropping/picking up at the sports centre and bus stops, lorries delivering to the clubs/hotels and traffic feeding in from the Sports Centre car park, the Cricket Club car park and the Court car part - often forcing their way out several at a time and not feeding in turn and many even wishing to execute a U turn back into town.

Drivers leaving the south eastern quadrant of the city centre, where TARA has many members, for the south and west will be considerably disadvantaged by the need to divert via North Parade and Widcombe. What gain it is anticipated this proposal will create is unclear from the information BaNES has provided. However, it seems to us unlikely that these will outweigh the inconvenience to residents and businesses in the city centre.

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King Edward's School - TARA response to latest develoments

2010-03-09T08:52:00.000-08:00

TARA, some of whose members attended King Edward School, would like to see this important building restored and brought into productive use. However, with alcohol-fuelled disorder and noise, with littering, public vomiting and urination particularly on weekend nights still among their principal concerns city centre residents will be seeking assurances that the applicant can be held to his undertaking to create a high class ‘boutique hotel’ in the centre of our city and not another large scale stand-up drinking venue of the kind that has been so damaging to the city centre in the past.

The applicant seeks a C1 (hotel) consent. It seems inconceivable to us, however, once the costs of restoration are taken into account, that the applicant could operate a viable business with so limited a number of rooms and that, consequently, substantial support will be required from non-resident use of the bar and dining facilities on the ground floor. The applicant cites Robert Raikes House in Southgate, Gloucester, as an exemplar. This business, owned by the same applicant, a brewer, and also a conversion of an important historic building, has had the benefit of planning consent as a ‘pub with conversion of upper floors to hotel accommodation’ since 2003. It does not, however, offer rooms, does not claim to be a hotel and is not listed as offering accommodation by the Gloucester tourism office. It seems reasonable therefore to conclude that the King Edward School application is effectively, not for a hotel with ancillary bar and dining facilities but for a bar-pub to be named the King Edward Tavern with ancillary bedroom accommodation on upper floors which may never be realised. We have calculated, moreover, that if furniture indicated on plans were to be excluded from the dining, bar and ‘parlour’ facilities on the ground floor, and the bar enlarged, from 300 to 400 drinkers could be accommodated in the building. This has the potential to be a disaster for an area of the city centre already overloaded with drinkers at weekends.

Aware of the concerns of residents and visitors alike Bath has in recent years recognised the need to curtail the introduction of large new drinking establishments into the city centre. A few years ago the Bath and North East Somerset Community Safety and Drugs Partnership (CSDP) collated information from a variety of sources which demonstrated that in Bath city centre ‘a defined geographic and temporal area experiences a significantly greater degree of alcohol related crime and disorder than the remainder of the authority area’. The Council accordingly resolved, on September 13th 2007, that inclusion of a Cumulative Impact Policy (CIP) in the Statement of Licensing Policy was justified. In areas covered by the CIP, which remains in force and includes Broad Street and George Street, licence applicants must now demonstrate that they will not materially add to existing problems of alcohol-fuelled disorder in the city centre before being considered for a licence.

The applicant does make reference to the effect of the proposed change of use on existing residential amenity, citing inter alia BaNES Local Plan Policy D2 Para 6.3 (f) and acknowledges that there are people living in the immediate area. It is important to remember, however, that a large premises offering alcohol for sale in the city centre can seriously harm the amenity not only of local residents but all those both living in and visiting a much wider area.

Having previously been inclined to give the applicant’s stated intentions the benefit of the doubt in the hope of at last seeing this important building restored and put to good use TARA now believes, on the balance of the evidence available, that the principal intention is to create a large new drinking establishment in the city centre. On this basis we have no alternative but to OPPOSE this application.

We consider this an important and controversial application and ask that, if the Case Officer is minded to recommend consent, it should be referred to Committee for decision. We ask, however, that if consent is granted whether for a pub, bar, hotel or any combination of these, conditions such as the following be imposed to ensure that the applicant’s stated intentions are realised and the concerns of city centre residents recognised

1. Substantial food shall be available to order from 12.00 noon each day until 22.00 hours Monday to Saturday and 21.30 hours on Sunday.
2. Alcohol shall be cleared away from consumption areas (with the exception of bedrooms/suites) by 23.30 hours Monday to Saturday and 23.00 hours on Sunday.
3. There shall be seating provided at all times for not less than 28 persons in the area marked ‘bar’ on the plans, not less than 60 persons in the area marked ‘dining lounge’ on the plans, not less than 8 in the area marked ‘front parlour’ (north) and not less than 12 in the area marked ‘front parlour’ (south) on the plans, and the courtyard area at the rear be predominantly seating.
4. There shall be only one bar servery, as shown on the plans, and this bar servery shall not be increased in size.
5. The Broad Street terraces shall not be used for the sale or consumption of alcohol or for smoking.
6. Consumption of alcohol in the rear courtyard area shall cease at 22.00 hours nightly.

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Sightseeing in Bath - Part 1

2010-03-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Chewing Gum and waste bins in Westagate Street and chewing gum outside Sally Lunns

Management of the Night Time Economy

2010-03-06T15:26:00.000-08:00

Bath city centre is special and one of the things that make it special is the large number of people who choose to live in the heart of the historic city. It is also important for the city that we continue to attract people to visit the historic city both because of the economic benefits they bring but also because of the rich cultural life which they make possible.

Both these groups of people complain that they too often have to suffer the consequences of drink fuelled noise and antisocial behaviour in the city at night especially at weekends. The management of the night time economy is therefore a key issue for anyone who cares about Bath.

TARA is working with other stakeholders and the local authorities to improve the way in which the night time economy is managed and planned.

We support initiatives such as the Cumulative Impact Policy, Purple Flag accreditation, the City Centre Manager and the Kingsmead Square project. But we think there is a need much more effective coordination of the planning and enforcement agencies to deliver:

• A city centre which is seen to be safe and welcoming for a wide range of people;
• More smaller eating and drinking establishments catering to all age and social groups;
• A richer night time entertainment offer with less emphasis on noise and alcohol
• A significant reduction in drink fuelled antisocial behaviour;
• A significant reduction in noise for residents

In pursuing these objectives TARA:

• Works to achieve licence conditions which protect the interests of the wider community;
• Lobbies for better co-ordination of enforcement agencies;
• Works to oppose planning and licensing decisions which will expand the number of vertical drinking establishments and nightclubs in the city centre;
• Lobbies for more joined up thinking in planning for the evening and night time economy of the City centre

OPA Bath Ltd: Proposed change of use from restaurant to mixed use as restaurant, bar and nightclub

2010-03-04T02:55:00.000-08:00

This part of the city centre is primarily residential. The block on which OPA is located bounded by North and South Parades and Duke Street is entirely residential containing 65 apartments in 7 apartment buildings as well as a residential hostel for foreign students which has operated on North Parade above the subject premises since the late 1980’s The application, if granted, will cause significant harm and distress to these local residents by reason of intolerable levels of noise and disturbance. For some time, and on many occasions, local residents and local businesses have complained about the noise created by OPA’s operation; indeed they have been the subject of noise abatement enforcement by Environmental Protection officers. We know that local residents will be providing testimony to this effect for the Local Planning Authority to consider. The noise complained of derives from extensive noise leakage from OPA’s premises and noise created by, often rowdy and intoxicated, revellers entering and leaving the building and gathering outside on the pavement to smoke.

It is perhaps useful in this context to quote the Department of the Environment (now DETR) document Planning Policy Guidance:

“Commercial developments such as fast food restaurants, discos, night-clubs and public houses pose particular difficulties, not least because associated activities are often at their peak in the evening and late at night. Local planning authorities will wish to bear in mind not only the noise that is generated within the premises but also the attendant problems of noise that may be made by customers in the vicinity. The disturbance that can be caused by traffic and associated car parking should not be underestimated”

OPA has effectively become a nightclub by stealth. The case officer’s report on their previous application for the use of Parade Gardens as an extension area, 09/01794/FUL,heard in October 2009 contains numerous references to it being run as a bar/nightclub while only having planning permission for use as a restaurant. The most telling reference is in the third paragraph of page 6, “Therefore, this means that a change of use has most likely occurred from restaurant to restaurant/bar without the benefit of planning permission and can still be subject to enforcement action.” OPA now seek to regularise this use by this application. The premises were operated as a restaurant between 1983 and 2007 without adversely affecting the amenity of local residents and this is the appropriate use for these premises in view of the fact that “the premises are very near to premises that are used for residential accommodation” to quote the words of the applicant’s own solicitor.

If the application is granted a precedent will be set for other bars and restaurants elsewhere in the city centre to flout planning regulations, turn themselves into nightclubs and then seek retrospective planning permission. This is not fair to the majority of businesses who play by the rules and show respect for the planning regulations.

TARA has no objection to OPA operating as a traditional well managed restaurant similar to many others in residential areas of the city centre. Our objection is to OPA as a restaurant/bar and nightclub. This application for change of use threatens the delicate balance which exists between businesses and residents in this small and primarily residential corner of our city. This is a noise sensitive residential area and the imposition of a premises who seek to attract the nightclubbing crowd that already create problems in other parts of the city centre is wholly inappropriate

King Edward's School planning application

2010-02-22T17:07:00.000-08:00

TARA, some of whose members attended King Edward School, would like to see this important building restored and and brought into productive use. However, with alcohol-fuelled disorder and noise, with littering, public vomiting and urination particularly on weekend nights still among our members principal concerns we would wish to see sufficient safeguards built into any consent to ensure that the applicant can be held to his undertaking to create a high class 'boutique hotel' in the centre of our city and not another large scale stand-up drinking venue of the kind that has been so damaging to the city centre in the past.

The applicant seeks a C1 (hotel) consent. It seems inconceivable to us, once the costs of restoration are taken into account, that the applicant could operate a viable business with so limited a number of rooms and that, consequently, substantial support will be required from non-resident use of the bar and dining facilities on the ground floor. It is our understanding that so long as rooms are on offer to the public the requirements of a C1 consent will be satisfied. We have calculated, however, that if furniture indicated on plans were to be excluded from the dining, bar and 'parlour' facilities on the ground floor, and the bar enlarged, from 300 to 400 additional drinkers could be accommodated in the building. This has the potential to be a disaster for an area of the city already overloaded with drinkers at weekends.

The applicant does make reference to the effect of the proposed change of use on existing residential amenity, citing inter alia BaNES Local Plan Policy D2 Para 6.3 (f)and acknowledges that there are people living in the immediate area. It is important to remember, however, that a premises offering alcohol for sale to the public can seriously harm the amenity not only of local residents but all those living in and visiting a much wider area.

We ask that if consent is granted conditions such as the following be attached to ensure that the applicant's stated intentions are realised

1. Substantial food shall be available to order from 12.00 noon each day until 22.00 hours Monday to Saturday and 21.30 hours on Sunday.
2. Alcohol shall be cleared away from consumption areas (with the exception of bedrooms/suites) by 23.30 hours Monday to Saturday and 23.00 hours on Sunday.
3. There shall be seating provided at all times for not less than 28 persons in the area marked 'bar' on the plans, not less than 60 persons in the area marked 'dining lounge' on the plans, not less than 8 in the area marked 'front parlour' (north) and not less than 12 in the area marked 'front parlour' (south) on the plans, and the courtyard area at the rear shall be predominantly seating.
4. There shall be only one bar servery, as shown on the plans, and this bar servery shall not be increased in size.
5. The Broad Street terraces shall not be used for the sale or consumption of alcohol or for smoking.
6. Consumption of alcohol in the rear courtyard area shall cease at 22.00 nightly.

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King Edward's School

2010-02-09T04:32:00.000-08:00

A new attempt is being made to win planning permission for the conversion of the derelict King Edwards school in Broad Street into a hotel and bar.

TARA want to see this historic building being used once again and secured from the risk of further deterioration.

We have been reassured by previous discussions over the conditions likely to be imposed on any planning permission and licensing agreement relating to this important building.

We therefore support this project going ahead in principle; but will be closely monitoring the progress of the planning and licensing applications to ensure that the safegaurds discussed and promised previously are put in place in practice.

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Noise nuisance and the night time economy

2010-02-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

Noise from late night drinking establishments in the City is regular cause of complains by both residents and visitors.

This noise nuisance derives from 3 main sources

1. People entering and leaving premises
2. People standing around outside premises
3. Music blaring from premises

People entering and leaving cause noise because:

• They are often in a noisy and boisterous mood and door staff do little to make them be quite
• The constant opening and shutting of the door lets the sound of music inside the building out onto the street and not infrequently on busy nights doors have been propped open; often in breach of licensing conditions

People stand around outside premises:
• To smoke
• To chat away from the noise inside the premises
• To get fresh air
• Because the have been refused entry or made to queue for entry

Door staffs rarely act to make these crowds of people behave and sometimes even add to the noise themselves. Police rarely intervene in these situations unless there is violence and sometimes not even then.

Music blares from premises:
• Because the music is too loud
• Because the type of music has being played has a heavy base line which transmits through and is amplified by the structure
• Because the doors are not kept shut

Most licensed premises have noise limiters fitted by environmental protection but walking the streets of Bath in the early hours provides evidence that limiters are ineffective. However, there is rarely anyone from the enforcement authorities out on the streets collecting this evidence.

TARA believes there is a need for the enforcement agencies to be much more proactive in all these areas to impact the noise issues associated nightclubs and late licensed bars.

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Urban Gulls

2010-01-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

Residents living in the city centre regularly raise their concerns about the gull problem and the costs and nuisance they incur:

• They defecate on buildings, cars and people.

• Faeces on the ground are very slippery, particularly in wet weather.

• The birds become active very early in the morning in the summer months, and residents are commonly woken in the early hours of the morning by screaming of gulls.

• Clearing up after these birds and, the often ineffectual, schemes to deter them cost a large amount of money

Bath’s economy is dependent on the spending of some 5 million visitors per annum. Feedback from tourists often refers to the nuisance from seagulls.

The number of breeding pairs is measured to be rising inexorably .At best counter measures are slowing this growth; at worse they are simply changing the way gull colonies are distributed.

Tara is supporting Bristol University’s application for funding to undertake much needed research into the behaviour of urban gulls

The Bristol University research proposal offers a real hope of gathering the information needed to target future gull prevention work more effectively.

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Comments on the proposed closure of Pulteney Bridge to traffic.

2010-01-24T07:03:00.000-08:00

TARA is supportive of the Council's Public Realm and Movement Strategy and is in favour of careful management of how and when vehicles access the centre of Bath.

Pulteney Bridge and Pulteney Street are key heritage assets and they need protection against the impact of traffic both visual and physical. We also have long had concerns about pedestrian safety.

However, the closure of Pulteney Bridge would inevitably displace traffic to other areas and increase congestion and pollution in these areas. We would welcome further discussions with BANES about what their studies indicate about where the displaced traffic is likely to go and what plans they have for mitigating the impact on these areas.

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TARA response to consultation on public toilet provision - key points

2010-01-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

There has been an over-emphasis on the provision of public toilets in public parks at the expense of the commercial and heritage core of the city.

Better facilities are needed close to the main north-south commercial axis of the city centre (Milsom/ Stall Streets) and the main cross-routes (Westgate/Cheap Streets/ Upper Borough Walls)

Bath has a compact city centre with a relatively high number of residents and a high visitor density therefore a 200m access standard is preferred

At night the patterns of demand for toilet facilities in the city centre change. Large numbers of mainly young people are on the streets moving between pubs, bars, clubs and fast food outlets. It may be that temporary toilet facilities are most appropriate for the night time economy and we believe the facility at Orange Grove need to be retained and extended to three other areas: South Parade (taxi rank) Kingsmead/Sawclose and George Street.

The Partnership/Community Toilet Scheme is a promising idea but private sector partners will need to be far more welcoming to the public by providing accessible and well signed locations.

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City Centre Pollution

2010-01-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Nitrogen dioxide levels along most of the main roads in Bath city centre are 50% above the Government limit of 40 micrograms/cubic metre, at which pollution is considered to be a potential health risk.

Most of the pollution in Bath city centre is caused by traffic and TARA is pressing for more to be done to control traffic in Bath and to monitor the health impact on local residents.

The Bath Transport Package and the ideas floated in the recent consultation on measure to address pollution are useful and important contributions.

However we are continuing to press for more for more urgent action to:

• Restrict traffic and especially through traffic.

• Reduce the number of Heavy Goods Vehicles.

• Improve public transport

• Undertake studies on the impact of pollution on the health of city centre residents

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Night Patrol

2009-12-31T06:03:00.000-08:00

On Saturday December 19th Between 01.30 and 02.30 we carried out one of our regular patrols of city centre streets. The weather was damp and chilly, no wind. The focus was on night clubs: Moles, Blue Rooms, Back to Mine, Club XL, Opium, the Weir, OPA, Po Na Na, Qube and Second Bridge. We also visited the Huntsman, Bog Island, where it appeared that the problem of excessive noise from inside the pub had been dealt with.

Crowds on the street, drunkenness and noise levels appeared to be about average. There were no exceptional ‘incidents’ to report. With the exception of door staff security observed by us consisted of one street marshal (City Marshal) patrol, one mobile police patrol and one Street Pastor patrol. We saw no police on foot. Door staff, though usually present, were scarcely visible and in general were making no effort to control noise at the door. Only the OPA doorman had on a high visibility jacket. Back to Mine appeared to be in breach of licence conditions as their doorman was not wearing a reflective jacket.

As usual the main problem, which varied in severity from club to club, was the noisy crowds of arriving and departing customers and smokers at club entrances and the noise of music which blarred into the street as entrance doors were constantly opened and closed. We will continue to insist that door staff are an essential element in enhancing the safety and security of our streets at night and should look and behave as if this was the case. In particular, all security staff on our streets should wear high visibility jackets of the kind that have proved so successful in other cities such as Norwich.

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TARA's Response to the BANES Core Strategy - Key Points

2009-12-24T04:31:00.000-08:00

• We would like to see recognition of the fact that part of the special nature of Bath derives from the number of people choosing to live in the historic centre of the city.
• We would like to see more emphasis on the importance of walking and pedestrian access in the city.
• The importance of independent retailers in the making the Bath retail offer distinctive needs to be highlighted
• We would like to see air quality as a separate health issue not just an add on to the traffic problem
• We would like to see acknowledgement of the problem created by the imbalance in the evening economy with the dominance of vertical drinking establishment over other forms of premises tending to exclude families and causing nuisance for residents and law enforcement
• The question of student accommodation is rather oddly presented as an objective. This is at least as much an issue for the development of the campuses and their adjoining communities as it is for central Bath.
• We would have concern over any strategy which emphasised the need for identifiable commercial office units in the centre of Bath over other requirements such as cultural and tourism facilities

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Cleanliness Issues in Bath City Centre

2009-12-24T04:25:00.000-08:00

Things we still see too often

1. Black bags tearing open
2. Bottles and glasses whole and broken
3. Chewing gum on pavements
4. Cigarette smokers from shops and other business premises using other peoples doorways to smoke in
5. Coffee cups and other takeaway food litter
6. Confusions about rubbish collection days leading to bags and boxes being on the street for several days and acting as a magnet for litter
7. Fly Tipping
8. General littering
9. Gulls tearing black bags
10. Litter dropped by people hanging about outside clubs and bars to smoke, talk and get fresh air
11. Litter dropped by people queuing to get into clubs and bars
12. Litter thrown in doorways and alcoves in the property line that are not cleaned by the street cleaners
13. People using the Charity Shops as a cover for fly tipping
14. Smokers stubbing cigarettes out on walls
15. Spitting on pavements
16. Street drinkers rifling through black bags and charity shop “donations”
17. The street cleaning schedule being out of step with peak littering/bleeding/vomiting times
18. Trade waste left overnight or poorly collected
18. Urine everywhere
19. Vomit on in alcoves, doorways and walls not tackled by street cleaning services
20. Vomit on pavements

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TARA comments on the Cork planning application

2009-12-09T08:42:00.000-08:00

The garden area of these premises on the James Street West side has, since mid June this year been the source of a major noise nuisance to local residents.

There is seating provision for a very large number of people and in addition large numbers of people can and do stand.

Local residents have made numerous formal complaints to Environmental Health. We understand that in late August the Cork was served with a Noise Abatement Order. Residents report that they have done little to comply with this.

Residents have reported that the noise from these premises in the summer months routinely disturbs their sleep and make their lives a misery.

Nearby residents include elderly people and people with significant health problems.

The creation of an outdoor drinking area on this scale in this area is wholly inappropriate.

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TARA comments on the Olive Branch development

2009-12-04T01:33:00.000-08:00

Local residents on Milsom Street, George Street and Gay Street already suffer considerable noise nuisance and other forms of public nuisance from licensed premises in the front of their buildings.

Up to now the noise nuisance at the rear of these buildings has been minimal. These proposed new premises threaten this and the quiet enjoyment of their premises of the more immediate neighbours

The premises lie at the focus of an amphitheatre formed by the backs of the buildings in Old King Street, Gay Street, George Street and Milsom Street which makes this location a particularly sensitive one when considering the potential noise nuisance

Of particular concern is the owners intention to create a roof garden. A sizable crowd of people socialising, eating and drinking at this level in an open area will inevitably create a significant noise and it is not clear how they will manage noise generated here to avoid causing significant disturbance to neighbours

Outdoor areas in licence premises are a frequent source of nuisance and complaint.

In a noise sensitive area like this we believe such an outdoor area at roof level, which in the case of many residents will mean the level of their bedroom windows, should not be allowed.

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The Latest PACT meeting

2009-11-26T04:33:00.000-08:00

The Abbey and Kingsmead PACT Meeting took place on Wednesday 4th November 2009 at The Guildhall, Bath. The following priorities were agreed at that meeting:
• Commercial food waste left out in plastic bags.
• Parking on the pavement.
• Coach parking in the City Centre.
The panel will work towards resolving these issues and will report back at the next PACT meeting scheduled for 6.30pm on Wednesday 27th January 2010 at The Guildhall, Bath.

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Bath Night Watch

2009-11-17T04:57:00.000-08:00

On October 21st City Centre Manager Andrew Cooper and his Night Time Economy Officer Jodie Smith launched the Bath Night Watch scheme at O’Neill’s, a converted Methodist chapel in Saw Close. The scheme, which has been months in preparation, offers Bath licensees a package of measures aimed at improving information sharing and communications between licensees, the police and Council officials in an effort to reduce night time rowdyness and petty crime in the city centre. Subscribing licensees, who will pay an average of about £1000 a year and could include pubs, clubs, restaurants, hotels and even supermarkets, will benefit from an enhanced, integrated radio network which links licensed premises to each other, to the police, street marshals and CCTV controllers in the basement of the Guildhall so that information can be instantly exchanged on street incidents and the movements of known troublemakers. In addition, the number of street and taxi marshals patrolling the city centre will be increased and promotional material such as window stickers and beer mats will be made available to subscribers.

Late night alcohol-fuelled anti social behaviour has long been high on the list of concerns of city centre residents. Among measures which TARA has consistently pressed on Council and police officials over the past few years has been better co-ordination among those responsible for the management of the night time economy and the need to agree common standards for licensees wishing to do business in Bath. City centre residents will therefore welcome the arrival of an organisation which has the potential to replace the defunct Bath Bar Charter Group and the inactive Licensing Forum as a body capable of raising the standards of night life in Bath to the level we all expect.

There are certainly concerns, however. Though it was good to see that some 40 licensees attended the launch at O’Neill’s it was far from clear how much support there is in the city centre for Night Watch, particularly among the larger supermarkets and pub chains. Without broad support the pioneers among Bath’s licensees who have loyally and consistently supported such initiatives in the past will, yet again, feel that their larger and more powerful competitors who are immune to peer pressure are getting a free ride at their expense. It is equally unclear at this stage how Night Watch is to be managed and whether city centre residents will consulted or involved. Without resident participation there is a danger that, even it is successful, the Night Watch scheme will fail to address the issues that can make weekend nights in Bath city centre an ordeal for both residents and visitors: the noisy crowds outside night clubs in the early hours of the morning, the shouting, shrieking and brawling and the fast food litter, vomit, urine and broken windows that are all too often revealed at dawn.

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Street Cleanliness in Bath

2009-11-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

On October 5th Councillor Charles Gerrish (Customer Services) gave a meeting of the Bath City Liaison Forum details of proposed improvements in the city’s street cleansing and
litter removal programme. These included
• An additional one-off contribution to the budget of £54,000.
• New street cleansing vehicles which should help to release staff time for street cleaning. These include 3 Brava cleansing machines aimed at clearing cigarette butts, etc, 2 new street washer/sweeper vehicles, 2 new vehicles for litter bin collection, 2 ‘walk and work’ mobile platforms and a Dimax Odormaster to combat the effects of public urination and vomiting.
• The relocation of staff and equipment to local depots to increase efficiency. Avon Street in being considered and talks are in hand with the Southgate and Podium shopping centres.
• New uniforms under private sponsorship.
• Dedicated and identifiable area teams.
• Route optimization.
• Trial in the Southgate centre of Magicote, a product that helps in the cleansing of street surfaces.
• A public education campaign.
• Improved enforcement especially against restaurants.
• A joint study with Bristol and Bath to co-ordinate approaches to the gull menace.
Residents, including TARA members, who contributed hours of their time to the work of the Task and Finish Group, set up earlier in the year by the Forum to advise the Council
on ways of improving the cleanliness of our streets, can hardly complain that no notice is being taken of their ideas and proposals. Nevertheless, with no apparent increase
in the regular city budget for street cleansing, currently about average for cities across the nation, it is hard to see how these measures on their own will meet the Forum’s
avowed aspiration and number one priority, to make Bath the cleanest city in the nation. City centre residents should remain vigilant and report litter and cleanliness
problems immediately to Council Connect 01225 394041.

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Fly Tipping

2009-10-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

One of the persistent problems in the centre of Bath is rubbish in our streets. This derives from many activities smoking, casual littering, uncollected or badly collected trade and household rubbish and rubbish put out for collection on the wrong day. However, I want to focus on another persistent source of mess and that is "donations" for Charity Shops left outside when the shop is closed. This stuff is unsightly in the form in which it is left but it usually ends up being picked over and scattered by passing vagrants and late night revellers. Most of the charity shops ask people not to leave stuff outside their premises and much of what is left in this way is of very poor quality and little value.

The suspicion must be that those doing this know that the shops would probably not want they are leaving and therefore do not bring it to the shop when it is open or call the shop to collect. It seems that dropping it outside a charity shop is often just more convenient than taking it to the dump.

Trial of Portable Toilets

2009-09-25T10:58:00.001-07:00

There is to be a 12 week trial of portable toilets in Orange Grove on three days a week between 10pm and 3pm. The trial has the support of the police who argue that it is difficult to take effective enforcement action against street urination where there are so few public conveniences. The scheme also has the support of Fobra who are anxious see the council addressing the issue of public urination. The choice of location was, as we understand it, dictated by the need for the loos to be sited centrally and the need for some supervision which in Orange Grove can be provided by the late night taxi wardens.

TARA have a view that while the trial has value there is real concern that it will be unsuccessful as research has show we have now created a culture where vomiting and urinating in public carries little or no stigma among young late night drinkers and that they will urinate where it is most convenient for them; indeed you can see people leave licensed premises to urinate on the street before returning to the pub or club rather than queue for the pub toilet.

There is a need to create better permanent public facilities and reinstate some of the one that were closed and we will continue to lobby accordingly. There is however in addition an urgent need to counter the culture of public urination by a mixture of education about the damage and distress it causes and a much tougher enforcement regime.

Recent Developments at North Parade

2009-09-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

Many of you will know that the OPA nightclub applied for a licence variation that would have enabled it the sell alcohol on a parcel of land it was planning to lease from BaNES in Parade Gardens. The applicant sought to argue that such a variation would reduce nuisance to neighbours by cutting back on the need for customers to gather at the club entrance.

TARA and a number of local residents objected to this proposal on the grounds that it would merely add a further source of night time disturbance to residents. On July 29th the Licensing Panel accepted these arguments and rejected the application.

An appeal by the owner of the Penny Lane party boat against conditions imposed by the Licensing Panel was heard by Bath magistrates on August 26th. TARA had provided written evidence to the court and offered to assist the defendant, Bath and North East Somerset District Council, with verbal evidence at the appeal hearing but in the event this was not necessary as the appellant elected not to dispute any of the evidence provided by the defendant and his witnesses.

The magistrates decided to tighten conditions relating to the closure of doors and windows, the loading and unloading of the vessel and the posting of signs requiring the operator to have regard to the needs of local residents. The ban on the playing of music outside the vessel after 22.00 when it is east of Churchill Bridge was replaced by a condition requiring that no music be played outside the vessel in any location after 22.30 each day.

In our view the magistrates afforded local residents at least the same or better protection than had been proposed by the Licensing Panel. It will be important, however, for residents to continue to monitor the operation of this vessel and its adherence to licence conditions.

Given time limits imposed previously by the Licensing Panel on the use of the riverside terraces, and assuming that the OPA owner is in compliance with these conditions, night time disturbances from this area should have been largely eliminated.

This leaves noise and disturbance caused by smokers and arriving and departing customers at the club entrance. We intend to call a meeting of residents in the next few weeks to review this and other issues of concern to see what further action needs to be taken. In the meantime resident should continue to monitor and log nuisances and disturbances in their area from whatever source.