Kingsholm Councillor

How to Contact me

2011-12-19T23:13:00.001Z

There are several ways to contact me if you need my help with anything.

You can write to me at

Gloucester City Council,
Herbert Warehouse,
The Docks,
Gloucester GL1 2EQ

or use the contact details on my council page to send me an email or phone me:

http://www.gloucesteractive.co.uk/committee/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=695&J=1

You can also report a problem via my Councillor Website.

I use Twitter, and often tweet about my council work. You can send me a tweet to @sebfield.

If you want to contact the city council directly, you can write to the address above, telephone 01452 396396 or send an email to heretohelp@gloucester.gov.uk.

Gloucester City Council Online Budget Consultation

2011-12-13T23:02:00.002Z

Gloucester City Council's online budget consultation is now, er, online. This is a fantastic tool which allows you to have your say in how the council sets its budget. You simply follow the instructions in the 'fantasy budget' programme and say how you would spend the money. The answers will be added to the mix of public feedback which will inform how the Conservative administration sets its budget for the next financial year. With the council having to save £3.9million over 3 years, it's never been more important that residents have an input into this process.

The link is here and if you complete the survey you could win £20!

Written questions

2011-09-15T12:27:00.002+01:00

At council meetings, members have the opportunity to ask questions of the Cabinet Members. These can range from the type of question that 'tries to catch them out' to the slightly fawning question from a member of the same party, who will ask how well such-and-such a project has done when they already know it has done well, giving the Cabinet Member the chance to say how well the administration is doing etc. It happens at Prime Minister's Questions and it happens at council meetings up and down the land.

It's generally assumed that Cabinet Members should be able to answer a variety of questions relating to their brief, and (within reason) opposition councillors will try to put them on the spot, holding the administration to account for their actions and policies. One thing it is considered bad form to ask, however, is a question that would require a figure or set of figures as an answer, which the Cabinet Member could not reasonably be expected to know off the top of their head. For this kind of question we generally submit written questions to the Cabinet Members in advance. A written question is a useful opportunity to gain information about something, and at the council meeting we then have the chance to ask one supplementary verbal question per written question if we wish to, to clarify the written answer.

Here is a link to the latest set of written questions and answers - some interesting responses.

Electoral Insanity - Press Release from Cllr Jeremy Hilton

2011-09-13T10:34:00.000+01:00

Press Release 12^th September 2011

Boundary Commission are fools –

the city centre is in Gloucester not the Forest of Dean

Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr. Jeremy Hilton has condemned the proposal by the Boundary Commission to move Westgate ward into the Forest of Dean.

The Boundary Commission has said that the people of Westgate should vote for the Forest of Dean Member of Parliament at the next General Election.

Westgate ward (the city centre), which includes the cathedral should stay in the Gloucester Constituency says Jeremy Hilton who was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Gloucester at the 2010 General Election.

He described the Boundary Commission as fools and the proposal as utter madness.

Jeremy Hilton said: “The Boundary Commission must employ more fools than any other organisation in Britain. How can anyone suggest that the historic heart of the city of Gloucester is ripped out and moved for electoral purposes to the Forest of Dean?

“It is quite clear that whoever worked up this proposal for Gloucester doesn't understand its geography.

“Gloucester's city centre and heart is on the north-west frontier! It is Westgate ward.

“Unlike other towns and cities, Gloucester's centre is not central, because of the River Severn flood plain. It is on the edge of the city.

“Some fool at the Boundary Commission doesn’t understand that the Cathedral, the Roman gate streets, the HQ of both the city and county councils, the Docks, Gloucester Quays, city centre shops, Gloucester Park, most of Gloucester's historic buildings are all in Westgate Ward. They are not in the Forest of Dean.

“I urge everyone in Gloucester to write to the Boundary Commission and oppose this madness.”

Culture in Gloucester - going in the right direction

2011-08-20T13:04:00.004+01:00

As a musician and English Literature graduate, I am extremely interested in culture and how it can affect people's lives. I am privileged to be a member of Gloucester Cathedral Choir, to take part in the Three Choirs Festival every year, and to live in a city with such rich cultural associations as Gloucester. As a councillor and Lib Dem spokesperson for cultural matters I have challenged the council to do more to celebrate and promote culture in our city, and I have been able to make some things happen, such as the moving of the Ivor Gurney plaque. Recently a number of projects have been coming to fruition which will push culture up the agenda.

The first was the unveiling of the new sculpture at Kimbrose Square. Called St Kyneburgh's Tower, it celebrates Saint Kyneburgh, a major figure in Gloucester myth and history.

This sculpture complements the 'Candle' sculpture which is further down in the docks, and adds to the sense of these sculptures as 'waymarkers' on a route into Gloucester. The area has been enhanced by improvements to the road surfaces and street furniture, all of which improve the way into the city centre and will encourage people to walk from the docks on into town.

Another structure which is just about to open, but is both new and old, is the former Blackfriars Priory, which has been refurbished through a joint effort of the city council and English Heritage. This will be used as a lecture theatre and a concert hall - the Gloucester based Glevum Consort, with whom I have sung, will give the inaugural concert there on 10th September, to close the Gloucester History Week, a programme of talks, events, open days etc which will promote the city's history to the world.

The month of August also saw the newly refurbished City Museum open its doors. This is a major improvement to the old facility, with new, modern displays and an excellent cafe and shop, and I am sure that visitor numbers will increase significantly. The Folk Museum has also been improved to include a cafe, and further expansion is planned. The cafes at both museums are excellent value for money, and are already getting used by local workers for lunch or a good-value cup of coffee.

July saw the unveiling of the Ivor Gurney archive, at Gloucestershire Archives which is in my ward of Kingsholm. My friend Philip Lancaster has been doing amazing work these last few years, to bring order to chaos and catalogue all the Gurney papers held at the Archives. His work will ensure this amazing resource is much easier to consult in future, and one of the fruits of his labours will be a 3-volume Complete Poetry from OUP, in a couple of years' time.

So things are going in the right direction, but of course there is always more to do. I still see little or no work to promote literature in this city, which given our extraordinary literary heritage, really ought to be happening. There is a timidity in the current Conservative administration for doing anything at all literary in Gloucester, because we are overawed by the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Of course, we cannot hope to compete like-for-like with Cheltenham on these terms, but does that mean we should do nothing? Of course not. In the coming months and years I shall be pressing the council to do more in this area, as well as others. There has been a lot achieved, but there is still more to be done.

Gloucester Cultural Strategy doesn't go far enough

2011-06-24T14:08:00.003+01:00

The Citizen printed my article about culture yesterday, but did not put the article on their website, so below I have reprinted it for my blog readers. I've already had several enthusiastic responses from readers, including one very exciting piece of news which I will blog about in due course. Here's the article:

I read a tweet a couple of weeks ago which really struck a chord. It said:

“Why does Gloucester not explode with art and life? It could. There's space and opportunity. People need to raise their hopes for it.”

This sums up what I feel about the cultural offer in Gloucester. We live in a city rich with 2,000 years’ worth of history and heritage, and yet we don’t do nearly enough to celebrate that. As a Liberal Democrat city councillor I have argued in the chamber that we need to do more as a city to celebrate the great musicians, artists, writers and poets who have hailed from Gloucester.

On a personal level, I am very interested in the poet and musician Ivor Gurney, who as boy sang in the same stalls at the cathedral that I sing in every day as a Lay Clerk. Gurney’s reputation is going up, but I still feel we could do more, especially with the 100^th anniversary of the start of the First World War coming up – (Gurney fought in the trenches). We need a major exhibition on Gurney and his contemporaries. We have the locations – two recently refurbished museums – and we have the material – Gurney’s original manuscripts and notebooks are housed in the County Records Office in my ward of Kingsholm.

Recently the city council published its 6-monthly update of its 2007 Cultural Strategy. Whilst it’s good that we have a strategy, it does not go nearly far enough. The Tory administration have gone for the idea that ‘more is more’ – listing anything and everything that they can think of that might loosely be defined as culture, and trying to take credit for national events that would have happened anyway. The Cultural Strategy is well-meaning but timid, and could do a whole lot better – a bit like the Tory administration!

We ought to be capable of major cultural festivals, not just the Three Choirs Festival once every three years. There could be literary readings and signings at the Waterstone’s shop and elsewhere, but because Cheltenham has the literary festival we don’t try to encroach on their space.

And although the Guildhall is great for bands (I saw and really enjoyed Wild Beasts there recently) there is only the cathedral for classical music. I hope this will change with the refurbishment of Blackfriars.

We could have an art festival and exhibition, or an antiques festival down at the docks. The list is endless – all we lack is the will.

People might also say we lack the money – but we know from the amazing Crucible exhibition last year that if you stage an imaginative and bold exhibition, thousands of people will come to the city. Businesses will experience an increase in takings, as happened during the Crucible.

Art gets people talking, even if not everyone likes it. The St Kyneburgh’s tower at Southgate Street is going to be a conversation piece, and we ought to be encouraging more like it. It would have been far better to have an imaginative piece of public art at Gloucester Park, rather than the fake Victorian bandstand that the Tory administration wasted public money on. The Tories lack imagination, and a Liberal Democrat administration would do much more for culture in Gloucester.

Thank You Kingsholm and Wotton

2011-05-17T13:03:00.002+01:00

Well the dust has settled, I've (almost) recovered and it's time to take stock. I was re-elected as the Liberal Democrat City Councillor for Kingsholm & Wotton. The results were:

Sebastian Richard Seymour Field Liberal Democrat 785 40%
David Hitchings The Labour Party Candidate 487 25%
Matthew Mark Stevens The Conservative Party Candidate 481 25%
Jonathan Cecil Ingleby The Green Party Candidate 108 6%
Daryl Phillip Stanbury UK Independence Party 97 5%

I'm absolutely delighted to be re-elected, and grateful for the support of the 785 people who voted for me. The Tories have clearly now given up on Kingsholm & Wotton - their candidate only appeared at the very last minute, frantically stuffing leaflets through letterboxes on election day. Neither were residents impressed by the negative, personal attacks the Labour party made on me in their leaflets.

Clearly it was a bad night for the Lib Dems across the country, and a real case of 'welcome to government'. But those hoping to see the end of the party should think again - we have been here before and we will roll up our sleeves and bounce back. One thing we must do is assert our distinctiveness, and tell the story of all that we are doing in the government. A recent study showed that 75% of our manifesto is in the coalition agreement, compared with only 60% of the Conservatives'. I'm proud of the things we've achieved: increasing the tax allowance, the pupil premium, raising pensions and 'triple-locking' them, apprenticeships, the greenest government ever, the list goes on. We need to shout our achievements from the rooftops.

In Gloucester although we sadly lost Westgate and Barnwood to the Tories (Barnwood by a heartbreaking 27 votes) we caused the upset of the night by beating a Tory Cabinet Member in Quedgeley Severn Vale ward. Declan Wilson also held his seat in Hucclecote with a massive majority.

Labour did not make the breakthrough locally they might have been hoping for, not winning Quedgeley Fieldcourt (a top 100 target seat for the South West, according to this). They held their seats in Moreland and Matson & Robinswood, but lost the key Labour seat of Barton & Tredworth to the Tories.

Politically the make-up of Gloucester City Council is now: Conservative 19, Lib Dem 10, Labour 7, so the Tories now have overall control.

The Liberal Democrats are the largest opposition party, and we will be holding the administration to account on a number of issues: their poor financial management, the unpopular attempt to move Shopmobility, and the closure of the city centre toilets, to name but a few.

I have also just been elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Gloucester City Council, so I will be playing a key role in this. But I'm also looking forward to carrying on my work in Kingsholm & Wotton. I'm ready to get stuck into both tasks!

The Liberal Democrats - in Government, on your side

2011-05-03T09:29:00.003+01:00

I was interested to see this clip from The Politics Show, which talks about the possibility of renewing the Coalition agreement next year. The most striking point to come out of this programme was the statistic that the Liberal Democrats are getting 75% of their manifesto enacted in the government, compared with only 60% for the Conservatives. Clearly, as I've been saying on the doorstep for many months, the Liberal Democrats are having a disproportional influence on government policy, if sheer numbers of MPs were the only yardstick. As you can see from the clip, this drives some Conservatives mad, and long may it continue!

In government, some of the headline things we are doing are:

Income Tax:

Lifting nearly 900,000 of the lowest paid workers out of Income Tax altogether and giving a £200 tax cut to 23m people on low and middle incomes. This is straight from the front page of our manifesto to the pockets of millions of taxpayers.

Pensions:

Restoring the earnings link to pensions. A pensioner retiring today on a basic state pension will get £15,000 more over their retirement than they would have under Labour.

Pupil Premium:

We are investing £650m, rising to £2.5bn, aimed at the most disadvantaged children in schools.

Apprenticeships:

We are creating more apprenticeships than Britain has ever had before – an extra 250,000 over this Parliament.

You can also see the complete list of Lib Dem policies being enacted in the government at http://www.whatthehellhavethelibdemsdone.com

Not bad for a 'junior' partner! Just imagine all the things we could do if we had a majority.

Vote Liberal Democrat - Gloucester City Council Elections May 5th 2011

2011-05-01T22:38:00.001+01:00

AV will let you vote with your heart as well as your head.

2011-04-26T16:50:00.002+01:00

Here's my piece from the Citizen, arguing in favour of Alternative Vote (AV). It's obvious from this piece and from this blog generally that I'm a Liberal Democrat, and proud to be so, and that one of the reasons I would like AV is that the Lib Dems would do better under that electoral system. In 2010, under First Past the Post (FPTP), we had 23% of the vote, but only came out with 57 seats, or about 10% of the seats. This seems unfair to me.

But although I'm against FPTP because it is unfair to my party (and indeed other smaller parties such as the Greens), the main reason I dislike FPTP is tactical voting. In most seats in this country there are only two parties that could realistically win the seat. In elections for these seats, the two main challengers, be they Conservative, Labour or Lib Dem, will try to 'squeeze' the third party's vote by arguing that the third party 'cannot win in X city/town' so a vote for them is a wasted vote.

This means an awful lot of people have to make a rather distasteful choice - do I vote for the party I really want to win (in my case the Lib Dems) or do I vote for the party I dislike the least, of the two parties who could realistically win the seat? In Gloucester under First Past the Post, the seat has historically lurched back and forth from Tory to Labour, with the Liberals usually coming a solid, but unsuccesful, third. This despite having a large number of city and county councillors, a high, 2nd-placed vote in the local elections, and a strong track record of local action. Our vote always gets squeezed from the high second-place we get in the locals, to third place in the General Election.

I believe that under AV, if people have more than one choice at the election, it may well free people up to vote first for the party they really want to win. If people then want to express a second or third preference, they could use those preferences to 'block' the party they like least, if they want. You could vote with your heart for your first preference, and with your head for your second and subsequent preferences.

Elections would not be so easy to predict, and with people removed from the necessity of tactical voting, a number of seats would throw up surprises. For too long in this country, and in too many constituencies, people have felt obliged to vote for the lesser of two evils. If we get AV, it would free people up to vote with their heart as well as their head. That surely has to be a good thing.

Deep clean for your road

2011-04-25T22:39:00.002+01:00

Here's a video from our clean-up day in Oxford Road area last year:

One of the ways the council is getting more effective at street-cleaning is by organising 'deep-cleans' where residents are written to in advance and asked to park their cars elsewhere on the day. The road is then closed, and because there are (hopefully!) no cars parked it means the team can get to the road and gullies to sweep them more effectively. It also means the drains can be cleared, and basic highway maintenance can be carried out, so we work together with the county council's Highways department.

This last week we were out in Worcester Parade and Swan Road for a deep clean, and we will be organising many more such days in the weeks and months to come.

Change the Council - Vote Liberal Democrat

2011-04-13T21:25:00.004+01:00

Liberal Democrats are fielding candidates in every ward for the city council elections on May 5^th:

Abbey - Tom Partington
Barnwood - Verona Vidal
Barton & Tredworth - Abdul Pandor
Hucclecote - Declan Wilson
Kingsholm & Wotton - Sebastian Field
Longlevens - Diana Docksey
Matson & Robinswood - Mike Anderton
Moreland - Stephen Power
Quedgeley Fieldcourt - David Southgate
Quedgeley Severn Vale - Anna Mozol
Westgate - Kelsa Rowlands-Evans

The current Tory administration has failed the people of Gloucester - Liberal Democrats can do better. We will deliver:

a better city centre - we will open modern public toilets, sort out the mess that is Kings Square and ensure that Shopmobility has a permanent accessible home
a vibrant cultural and sporting life - we will have better festivals, a new all weather athletics track and we will support Gloucester City Football Club's return to Gloucester
manage the council's finances better - the Tories have been using interest from bank deposits to cover ongoing expenditure. Their poor financial management has resulted in bigger cuts and new service charges, than would otherwise be required
a decent home for all - we will work to build more affordable homes for rent in the city - to reduce Gloucester's housing waiting list
a green city - we will enhance our green open spaces, increase recycling rates, review charges for green waste collections and oppose the building of a massive waste incinerator near Quedgeley
listening to you - a Liberal Democrat council will work with community groups and the public to deliver a 21st century city - that is proud of its history and confident of its future

Gloucester cannot afford another Labour administration either. Many of us remember the days when the Labour-run council sold the Westgate car park for £1 that then cost £1 million to get it back. Change the council - vote Liberal Democrat!

Sebastian Field for Kingsholm and Wotton

2011-04-10T11:06:00.003+01:00

On May 5th I will be seeking re-election to Gloucester City Council. This will not be news to the many residents of Kingsholm and Wotton who I've spoken to already on the doorstep, or who have had one of our recent leaflets, but as a modern 'online' councillor I am trying to use youtube clips, blogs, Twitter and Facebook to reach even more people, hence this video.

I've really enjoyed serving the ward and would like the opportunity to carry on doing so. I'm proud of my record of local action from getting a railway bridge 'pigeon-proofed' to getting a problem alleyway cleared of rubbish and park benches restored, to taking stands on local issues and planning applications across the ward. I've enjoyed speaking up for the ward in the council chamber, and have tabled a number of written and verbal questions on Kingsholm and Wotton issues during my four years.

But there is always more to do, and if I am re-elected, I will get right back to work finding solutions to local problems. I'm part of a strong Lib Dem team, and we're fielding candidates in every ward of the city this year, fighting for Gloucester's future. The current Tory administration has failed the people of Gloucester - Liberal Democrats know we can do better. On May 5th, vote Liberal Democrat and change the council.

I'm proud to be a Liberal Democrat - proud of the work we are doing in the government.

In Gloucester alone, over the last seven days in Gloucester, thanks to Liberal Democrats:

* 54000 people are getting a £200 income tax cut - benefiting 23 million people across the country

* 1100 people have been lifted out of paying income tax altogether, with more to come

* £625million extra has gone to our schools, aimed at the most disadvantaged pupils - rising to £2.5billion a year by 2015
* 21200 pensioners have been given an extra £4.50 a week – and those retiring from today will be on average £15,000 better off over their retirement.

Yes this is a local election and every single one of our leaflets and our doorstep conversations features heavily the strong Lib Dem record of action in Kingsholm and Wotton, but I also believe that our party is making a real difference in the coalition government and we should shout this from the rooftops. In Gloucester, as in Westminster, Liberal Democrats are fighting for our principles of fairness, and people are responding to this.

On May 5th 2011, make sure you keep the strong Liberal Democrat team in place in Kingsholm and Wotton. Vote Sebastian Field, Liberal Democrat, and in return I promise to keep up the hard work you've come to expect from me.

Liberal Democrats in Government - delivering for Gloucester

2011-04-08T23:05:00.000+01:00

Labour's financial legacy has left Britain needing to borrow an extra £400million, every single day, just to get by. Labour also left us paying £120million in interest on our debt each and every day - for that we could build a new primary school every hour.

Gloucester’s share of the country’s debt now stands at a dangerous £4.18billion and something needs to be done.

But despite all this, Liberal Democrat policies coming into action this week are making a positive difference to people’s lives.

Over the last seven days in Gloucester, thanks to Liberal Democrats:

54000 people are getting a £200 income tax cut - benefiting 23 million people across the country
1100 people have been lifted out of paying income tax altogether, with more to come
£625million extra has gone to our schools, aimed at the most disadvantaged pupils - rising to £2.5billion a year by 2015
21200 pensioners have been given an extra £4.50 a week – and those retiring from today will be on average £15,000 better off over their retirement.

Liberal Democrats in government will not stop there.

This week also saw Pensions Minister Steve Webb announcing that the Government will be introducing a simple, flat-rate state pension of £140 to replace the current complicated, unfair and means-tested system.

Business Secretary Vince Cable is cutting regulation to promote small business and create jobs.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne revealed that Britain will be hosting the 2012 Clean Energy Summit - putting Britain at the heart of the Green Energy Revolution.

The Liberal Democrats have entered government at one of the most challenging times for the country. We did not choose the moment but we have not shrunk from our responsibility to act in the national interest. We will not miss the opportunity we have to build a greener, fairer and more liberal Britain.

How to Contact Me

2011-04-07T11:12:00.002+01:00

There are several ways to contact me if you need my help with anything.

You can write to me at

Gloucester City Council,
Herbert Warehouse,
The Docks,
Gloucester GL1 2EQ

or use the contact details on my council page to send me an email or phone me:

http://www.gloucesteractive.co.uk/committee/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=695&J=1

You can also report a problem via my Councillor Website.

If you want to contact the city council directly, you can write to the address above, telephone 01452 396396 or send an email to heretohelp@gloucester.gov.uk.

Kingsholm and Wotton Community Centre - Available for Hire!

2011-03-19T23:03:00.004Z

The former YMCA building on Sebert Street, which is now a community facility shared by the Kingsholm and Wotton Neighbourhood Partnership and Spartans Rugby club, is available for hire:

Kingsholm & Wotton Community Centre
Sebert Street
Kingsholm
Gloucester
GL1 3BS

Available For Hire
One large room suitable for
Meetings, Keep Fit Classes, Parties etc.
£20 per hour or a Weekly Rate available

Two small rooms hold 8 people each
£10 per hour or a Weekly Rate available

Facilities available: snack kitchen, lift, and car park.

Please telephone Shirley on 01452-545181 for more details

or email Shirley_kempson@hotmail.com

A fairer, more democratic, greener, liberal country

2011-03-17T19:16:00.000Z

Working around the ward

2011-03-14T23:20:00.007Z

My ward covers a large area, from Deans Walk and Deans Way with its poplar trees, to Tewkesbury Road towards the North of the ward, and Horton Road on the other side, with the hospital and nearby flats. Horton Road leads onto Wotton Pitch, where Denmark Road and London Road meet at the top. In the middle of the ward are road like Denmark Road with its High School for Girls, Lansdown Road which is green and leafy, and Sebert Street which leads on to Kingsholm Road, where the rugby stadium is located. Sebert Street Rec has just had a new play area opened, and in the above photo you can see me chatting with local mums about how great the facilities are.

I try to get round as much as I can, but of course how ever fast you walk (and I walk fast!) you can't hope to get round the whole ward in any given week. However I give it a good go, and at the moment because of the imminent election we are doing a lot of leaflet delivery and knocking on doors. Canvassing as it's known is not only a way to find out how you are doing as a councillor and electorally, but also to get residents' views on things. We ask lots of questions, not only about elections, but also about council tax, recycling, streetcleaning, parking, potholes, the coalition government, you name it. It's also a good way to pick up casework, as residents tell you aboutproblems they've spotted.

In the last few days I've reported this broken fence at Deans Walk

Trees that need cutting back to allow the street lamps to be seen in Oxford Road and Stamps Meadow

loose paving along Horton Road

as well as subsidences along Horton Road which are caused by heavy lorries passing along on their way to the stone yard nearby

Richard Kemp, a councillor in Liverpool, in his and his wife Erica's excellent little manual for 'frontline' councillors 'Cabinet Member for your Ward', writes that as a councillor you should be able to write a street letter to every street in your ward, and know what the issues would be for each street. Being active across the whole ward, not just in the streets that are nearest to you, is a challenge for all councillors.

Sebert Street Play Area

2011-02-26T19:48:00.003Z

I'm really pleased to announce that the play area on Sebert Street Rec is now open for business. It's been open a few days now, and local children and mums have been making use of the facilities.
Also if you buy the Citizen this weekend you might see two overgrown kids - Jeremy Hilton and me - on the swings! Sadly (or perhaps not) the photo is not included in the online version of the story, but here's me outside the play area a few days before it opened:

Libraries

2011-01-30T22:25:00.003Z

Here's a subject particularly dear to my heart: libraries. I love books, having studied English Literature at Bristol, and am a keen reader. I think public libraries are a wonderful thing, allowing people to borrow books for free (and what can you get for free these days?), access the internet, use computers, read newspapers and magazines and use the reference resources. They are also hubs of the community, where people can meet, or sit and enjoy some peace and quiet. In these difficult economic times, people will need their local library more and more, especially those without access to a computer or the internet at home.

Which is why I'm dismayed by Gloucestershire County Council's proposed cuts to the library service in Gloucestershire. Under the Tory-run Council's proposals, the library service is being asked to make savings of 43% of its budget. 11 libraries will be closed under these proposals, mobile libraries will be cut and 18 libraries will only provide a reduced service. The County Council has to make savings, because of their severely reduced grant from government, but these cuts go beyond the savings needed and verge on being more about ideology.

The Tories also invoke the 'Big Society' by suggesting that libraries can be run by volunteers - but realistically, who has the time to do this? Libraries are complicated operations which need to be run by professionals.

My colleague Jeremy Hilton has also pointed out that the Council is apparently putting an extra £1.2million into reserves - money which could be used to support a better library service than the one we'll be left with if these proposals go through.

So what can we do? A great place to start is the excellent Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries website. This contains lots of information and argument, and also links to their e-petition, and advice on who to write to.

I've signed the petition and sent letters in response to the proposals. Here's what I wrote to the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Libraries, Antonia Noble:

Dear Cllr Noble

I write in response to your consultation on the proposed cuts to the county’s library services.
I believe that these cuts are too fast and too drastic, and will severely affect services, particularly to the elderly, the unemployed and the vulnerable. As a local councillor I am of course aware of the need to make budget cuts, and to examine every line of spending. Real efficiency savings are certainly possible if services are remodelled and we think hard about what really matters. But libraries do matter, and although some at the county council may not share this view, I believe they are a frontline service.

As frequent library user myself, an English Literature graduate of Bristol University, and all-round bibliophile, I am of course interested in the books that libraries provide free of charge. But we all know that libraries offer a myriad of other services, such as computers and printing, internet access, photocopying, reference materials and newspapers. All these can be invaluable to people without access to computers, especially in these tough times when more people will be looking for work. If they cannot print off their job application or CV, what hope do they have of getting that job?

If spending is reduced on book-buying, and opening hours are cut, then fewer people will use the libraries. If book stock is not kept up and invested in, there will not be the choice and people will not use the service as frequently. Similarly if opening hours are reduced so much that people cannot get to the libraries when they would like to (after work for example for those who work office hours), then fewer people will visit the library. I suspect that this drop in usage will then be used to justify further cuts.

But lack of usage has not been a factor for some of the closures and cuts. Bishop’s Cleeve Library, for example, is I believe the third most used library in the county, yet it is having its service reduced to a Library Express under your proposals. Hucclecote Library is a vital resource for the predominantly elderly residents of Hucclecote, yet you are drastically reducing the service – and all to save a piddling £21,000 a year!

The library service accounts for just 1.45% of the council’s budget, and has already made budget cuts of 24% over the last two years. The service is already efficient. To make further budget reductions will go beyond efficiency savings and into the realms of damaging service cuts, and will only save the council 2.3% of the amount it needs to save.

I urge you strongly to reconsider these proposals.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Sebastian Field
City Councillor, Kingsholm and Wotton

Starting the year as I mean to go on

2011-01-14T16:19:00.003Z

A very happy new year to you all. 2010 was an interesting year for me. I helped on my first General Election campaign, helping my ward colleague Jeremy Hilton to increase the Liberal Democrat share of the vote in Gloucester, and also to retain his city council seat. 2011 is my turn for a re-election campaign, and I am going to give it all I've got. I won my seat in 2007, beating the Tory candidate by 350 votes. Since then I have worked really hard to give a good service to the residents of Kingsholm and Wotton. I'm proud of what I've achieved, but not complacent, as there's always more to do. I've started 2011 as I mean to go on, namely keeping busy with ward casework of various kinds, including some planning applications which I am objecting to.

In particular I am objecting to plans by developers to turn the old Welsh Harp pub on London Road into a Tesco Express. In my opinion this is an unnecessary development. We already have an excellent newsagent on London Road, and a SPAR convenience store on Kingsholm Road. Sainsbury’s on Northgate Street, and Asda are not too far away either. Opening another Tesco Express on London Road would take trade away from our excellent local shops, and in the present economic climate they do not need any more competition.

I believe the building would be much better as a pub, or a quality restaurant. When it was the Welsh Harp, the pub did a roaring trade. If it is well-managed it could do really well as a pub once more. Also there would be knock-on trade for other businesses such as the fish and chip shop. People would buy some fish and chips on their way home from the local pub and this would help the shop’s trade.

Kingsholm Liberal Democrats are concerned about this planning application because the building is in the London Road conservation area. We feel the proposed shop front would have a negative impact on the street scene and spoil this building, which once looked attractive before the windows were boarded up.

I have written to the Planning Department at the council with my objections, and I am told that the application will come to the February meeting of the Planning Committee.

Snow

2010-12-27T11:55:00.003Z

As you can see from the photographs, like a lot of the country, we've had some snow in Gloucester. The blanket of snow and ice has turned the cathedral and its surroundings into a picturesque scene, like something out of an M. R. James ghost story. It's even given the vulcan statue leftover from the Crucible exhibition a snowy costume.

The snow and ice present problems, of course, as some people, especially the elderly, feel too scared to leave their homes for fear of slipping on the ice. I also worry that the ice thawing will cause potholes as it did earlier this year, and the council have only just completed their list of potholes to be filled in from the last time.

There is also the problem of missed refuse collections, which is an especially pressing problem at this time of year with all the wrapping paper and food waste in people's bins or recycling boxes/caddies.

The collections were postponed last Monday and Tuesday because operatives were unable to safely make their way through the ice, but the council have told me that the team are working on the bank holidays to make up the backlog. If your normal collection day is today or tomorrow, you are advised to put out your refuse and recycling as normal.

I understand that the team are going to try to catch up with the backlog from last week as well, so if your collection was missed last week you could leave your recycling boxes out, or (probably a more realistic prospect) put them out on your normal collection day this week. If you are experiencing problems please get in touch with me on sebastian.field@gloucester.gov.uk, or on 01452 381617. The council's number is 01452 396396.

Council budget - have your say

2010-12-14T21:07:00.002Z

Last week I blogged about the council's online budget tool - You Choose. It's worth saying that this is only one method the council is using to gather feedback on the budget. There will be public meetings, roadshows, and other public events, so that people can have their say on where they feel the council should be spending more or less.

This week sees a public meeting at the North Warehouse, which the council have asked councillors to publicise if possible. Below are the details - do go along and have your say.

Tell us where we should be spending Your money!

Want more? Get involved with this year’s budget proposals for next year.

This is your last chance to have your say on how Gloucester City Council spends its budget next year.

Tell us where you feel public money should be spent and where we should be making savings

Public Meeting on Thursday 16th December 2010 in the Civic Suite, North Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester from 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm to present its 2010/11 budget proposals.

If you would like to attend please contact, Nicola Hanman, on 01452 396401 or email Nicola.hanman@gloucester.gov.uk

If you would rather have your say online visit www.gloucester.gov.uk and take part in our online budget consultation – you choose.

Horton Road Cemetery

2010-12-09T20:57:00.005Z

These photographs were taken in the cemetery off Horton Road, which is in the Wotton part of my ward. The cemetery has been overgrown for some time now, and we're hoping to get something done about this.

Jeremy Hilton and I recently went on a walkabout of the area with Jane Cox and Kelvin Paul of the city council's neighbourhood management team. One of the issues they found was that Horton Road cemetery was overgrown and in need of attention.

Jane Cox arranged for students from Gloucestershire College to come and take part in a clear-up day at the site, removing weeds and overgrown plants. The lads did a great job and I hope they will come back again as there is a lot to clear away. Jane Cox and I are now hoping that I hope the team will 'adopt' this area as a project for future months and years. Once it's a bit clearer the students can learn more about the environment and the history of this place.

Pictured are Jennie Gray (fourth from right), lecturer at Gloucestershire College and me (fifth from right), , together with students on the Introduction to Work Skills course, School of Foundation Studies, Gloucestershire College.

You Choose - Gloucester City Council Online Budget Consultation

2010-12-07T21:07:00.002Z

Gloucester City Council have recently launched a new tool as part of their budget consultation programme. The 'You Choose' programme lets you design your own budget for Gloucester City Council, by raising and lowering bars which represent the amounts spent on various service areas.

You decide how much to spend on each service area, such as Heritage and Leisure or Environment. You can also decide on staff pay levels, and where to raise income or make savings and efficiencies.

The object is to make the required amount of budget savings through efficiencies and income, and to keep the council tax rise at or below 5% (the programme will not let you complete if the tax level is higher than 5%) The council will be collating the responses and using them to inform their budget decision-making process. Use the link above to have a go at your own budget.

Congratulations Tim

2010-11-14T19:18:00.005Z

I'm absolutely delighted that Tim Farron has been elected Party President of the Liberal Democrats. Tim is a true Liberal, a brilliant campaigner (he turned a slim majority in 2005 into a thumping 12,000+ majority in 2010), and a fantastic speaker. He will ensure we don't lose our distinctiveness in government, and that the party communicates effectively with its members.

Here's Tim's victory speech after the count:

and here's his campaign video explaining why he wanted the job in the first place:

Wotton Walkabout

2010-10-24T10:25:00.009+01:00

Last week Jeremy Hilton and I went on a ward walkabout with council officers in Wotton, which is the area by the Gloucester Royal Hospital, in the south-east of the ward. Although the Kingsholm area of the ward is bigger, we certainly don't neglect the "&Wotton" part.

Walkabouts are a very good way to show officers what needs doing. It also helps us to pick up casework - phone calls from residents and conversations on the doorstep will only get you so far - sometimes you need to use your eyes.

We found a number of things to be getting on with, and the officers are working through the list.

Amongst the issues were:

A refuse and recycling facility in a housing block where some inconsiderate residents are abusing the facility

a playpark where the gate post is clogged with mud and won't close properly

Horton Road cemetery, where I am working with council officers to revive plans to improve the area

a pothole/subsidence in the road

a nice, cast iron bench the needs restoration

a hedge that needs cutting back

and whilst we were out I found some casework I had reported that had been completed - always satisfying -

plus these rather natty old bus signs, from the days when buses used to drop people off on Horton Road from Matson or Tredworth.

Deep Clean - Job Done!

2010-10-13T22:57:00.007+01:00

Before I start I would just like to note that this is my 100th blog post. Hooray!

Today I was in Kingsholm bright and early (well, early, anyway) to see the deep clean being carried out. It was really interesting to see the different teams at work, from the county council gulley clearing team making sure the drains were unblocked

to the streetsweeper cleaning up leaves and debris and the men clearing weeds from the pavements.

Some of the drains had not been cleared for a long time, because one of the problems in Kingsholm and Wotton is that it is adjacent to the city centre, and with very little off-street parking, people (both residents and workers/visitors) park their cars on the streets. This means that most of the time the streetcare team cannot get to the gutters to clean them.

But because the team had stopped cars parking in the road with signs, and asked residents to move their cars (which most happily did), there was an almost entirely clear road for the team to work on.

Many residents came out to look at the work being done, and we and the team received a lot of compliments.

I'd like to say thank you to all involved and I look forward to the next one.

Clean-up day in Kingsholm

2010-10-11T22:29:00.002+01:00

This Wednesday 13th October, the city council, together with its streetcare partner Enterprise and the county council, will be carrying out a 'deep clean' of some roads in Kingsholm. The clean-up will involve weed removal, street cleansing, highway repairs (eg pavements) and drain/gulley clearance.

The roads being cleaned are Oxford Street, Oxford Road, Henry Street, Henry Road and Honyatt Road. Residents who live in these streets have been asked to park elsewhere between 8.30am and 4pm, when the cleaning will take place.

This deep-clean has come about because of the regular contact the local Lib Dem councillors keep with the council's Neighbourhood Management team. It is hoped that, if succesful as I'm sure it will be, this will be the first of many such clean-up days. If you live in Kingsholm and Wotton and you know of a road that needs attention, please get in touch using one of the methods listed.

New City Council Website

2010-10-06T23:43:00.002+01:00

The city council have recently unveiled their new, improved website. The new site looks a lot better than the old, outdated one, but more importantly it works a lot better. Functionality has been vastly improved and it's easier to find what you're looking for.

The address for the site is www.gloucester.gov.uk/LGNL/Home.aspx

This page tells you what is new on the site.

However, the site is still only a 'trial' site while the council iron out any teething problems, so if you discover a problem or a page that doesn't work as it should, you can let the council know about it here.

Conference Report

2010-09-27T19:55:00.003+01:00

I'm very pleased that The Citizen have published my report from Lib Dem Conference as their 'Big Issue' column today. I obviously left a few things out to get the article down to the 500 words limit, but I'm pleased with the finished piece.

It's a shame that The Citizen keep using a file photo of me from a couple of years ago next to my words. In the picture I was pointing at some pigeon poo at the time so I look understandably glum!
I think it's time I sent them a new picture. Meanwhile here's another (bad) picture of me from conference, with Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

Here also is our latest youtube video, a video report from the Conference:

Brave New World

2010-09-25T00:15:00.005+01:00

I like to use technology in my work as a councillor. I'm already on Twitter (@sebfield - tweets are in a personal capacity ie not necessarily in my councillor role), I have a council-issue HTC Desire smartphone for emails and casework, and, of course, I have this blog, which is a supplement to, not a replacement for, the traditional means of communication such as newsletters and door-knocking.

One method of communication I haven't yet used is the youtube clip, so here is my first attempt. I'm talking about the new play facilities being constructed in Kingsholm - there's been a lot of hard work to get to this stage. Enjoy the clip.

Media Frenzy

2010-09-19T00:11:00.003+01:00

This weekend, the Citizen have published my piece on public art as their 'weekend comment'. I hope it gets some readers and some (ideally positive) comments. One of the perils of expressing an opinion in public, of course, is that you get people who disagree with you. I think my position in the article is one of positivity and optimism, but equally I welcome debate and disagreement. See what you think.

Yesterday I was at the BBC Radio Gloucestershire studios doing a radio interview with Lib Dem council colleagues. They wanted views on the coalition before the Liberal Democrat conference. I think they were somewhat surprised and disappointed that they didn't get any negativity from us. Of course, there are areas where we want to challenge the government to get it right, but often at the moment you get the sense of the media (and Labour to an extent) wanting to write a story that isn't really there, and that the facts don't support.

As with my piece on art, though, you can make up your own mind. The interview will be broadcast from breakfast time onwards, on Monday 20th Sept, on BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

Prime Minister's Questions

2010-09-09T15:24:00.002+01:00

Yesterday the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg filled in for the Prime Minister at PMQs, after Mr Cameron's father was taken ill. Sadly Mr Cameron's father later died, and I join other politicians in sending my condolences.

Nick Clegg gave a commanding performance. He batted away Jack Straw's questions with ease, and is appearing more Prime Ministerial each time he takes PMQs. He also dealt well with the awkward squad on the Tory backbenches. It was very satisfying to watch, and no bad thing for the public to hear the phrase 'Deputy Prime Minister' in relation to a Liberal Democrat.

I believe that over the life of this coalition, we will start to be seen as a party that can govern. Our poll ratings are recovering, and people are starting to see the good work we are doing to get Liberal policies onto the statute book.

If you didn't catch PMQs, you can view it here on the BBC iplayer. It's worth a look.

Working hard all year round

2010-09-06T21:03:00.003+01:00

I've just got back from a meeting, and it's clear from the darkness outside that the nights are now drawing in. I start back at choir this week, and teaching at the local school. I've been doing a bit of private singing teaching over the summer, and have had a few council meetings, but not as many as normal. I also managed to get away for a few days to my girlfriend's parents' caravan in Wales, which was very relaxing.

I've still been reporting casework issues in my ward, such as an area that needs a good clean-up (lots of graffiti and broken glass), a bin that's been knocked over

a bin that isn't there any more

as well as a bin that needs a new lid (my job isn't just about reporting broken bins, by the way!)

I've also been reporting issues such as broken bollards

and clogged drains (a flood risk)

There is also the work that I have requested over the summer, such as the potholes in Denmark Road which have been filled in, and the tree that I asked to be cut back (shown before and after):

I've also been looking at some anti-social behaviour problems in my ward, and some planning matters. I intend to book a meeting with our new MP to discuss problems in my ward, and my ward colleague and I are arranging monthly streetcare meetings with the city council's neighbourhood manager.

My casework has been sped up a great deal by my new piece of equipment - a council issue HTC Smartphone. This allows me to take a photo in my ward and email it in there and then - so I can quite easily report several items in the course of a walkabout.

So I'm back at it, working hard for Kingsholm and Wotton. As ever, if you have an issue you want me to take up for you, please get in touch. I'll be happy to help.

More Gurney

2010-08-29T18:48:00.002+01:00

As I wrote in my last post, there has recently been a tremendous amount of activity to promote and perform the works of Ivor Gurney. Much of it has been down to the efforts of the Gurney scholar Philip Lancaster, whom I sometimes jokingly refer to as Ivor Gurney's representative on earth, and you can read several blogposts over at his Ivor Gurney blog, which sum up nicely the activities of recent weeks.

I can also happily report that Philip is starting to put his catalogue of Gurney's work online. This is the culmination of several years' work, and when finished and online it will mean that all of Gurney's work, every stroke of the pen musical or poetical, will be catalogued under Philip's system. Philip is also working on another mammoth project, namely a complete edition of Gurney's poetry. This is under contract with OUP, and Philip is co-editing it with Professor Tim Kendall of the University of Exeter, whose War Poetry blog is the best of its kind.

All in all, some very fitting ways to celebrate the son of Gloucester whose birthday was yesterday (120 years to the day).

Gurney Resurgent

2010-08-12T11:00:00.004+01:00

The Three Choirs Festival is in Gloucester this year, and as a Gloucester Lay Clerk I have been taking part in the choral concerts and Three Cathedral Choirs performances (including the BBC broadcast of choral evensong yesterday - I can be heard solo from 0.39.30). It's been a wonderful festival so far with many highlights, but it's notable also because the work of local son Ivor Gurney features so heavily.

Works by Gurney are being performed throughout festival week, including his choral work The Trumpet (a setting of the Edward Thomas poem), a Gurney string quartet (or quartett as he spelt it, preferring the German spelling), a performance of his orchestral piece A Gloucestershire Rhapsody, orhcestrated by Gurney scholar Philip Lancaster, and even Gurney's psalm chant for psalm 23, which he wrote in the trenches.

In addition to the performances of Gurney's music, this week sees two long-term projects come to fruition. The 'candle' is a sculpture which is being installed at Gloucester Docks, and uses lines from two Gurney poems near its base. But the big news of this week is that, after three years' work, Philip Lancaster has finished his project to create an online catalogue of Gurney's papers. You can read more about this in the Gloucester Citizen here, and Professor Tim Kendall has provided a better summary than I of all these events at his War Poetry blog.

Excitingly, you can even view some original Gurney documents, including a manuscript splattered with trench mud, at the County Archive in Alvin Street, in my ward of Kingsholm. Gurney's reputation continues to grow, and he is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

The Candle

2010-08-04T21:58:00.003+01:00

I'm very pleased to hear the news that the long-awaited 'candle' sculpture is being erected at Gloucester docks on Sunday. This 21-foot high artwork will be a dramatic and striking presence on the skyline. It has fragments and lines of poetry by Ivor Gurney written on it, giving a link to this city's artistic heritage.

This is what the cultural offer in this city should be about - making something striking and modern, whilst drawing on the city's cultural heritage and history. This would be true if we decided to put on more classical concerts - I'd love to hear plainsong and renaissance polyphony performed at Blackfriars priory.

All great culture draws on the past and makes something new, and this was especially true of a piece of music that will be performed at the Three Choirs Festival next week, Ralph Vaughan-Williams's Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis. When Vaughan-Williams was asked to edit a hymnal (book of hymns and tunes), he came across a particularly haunting Elizabethan melody, by Thomas Tallis, which was to become the basis for his Fantasia. The piece teases out the melody, with soaring strings driving a crescendo which ideally suits the building for which it was written, Gloucester Cathedral. The piece was first performed in the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester in 1910, 100 years ago, and in the audience happened to be two young composers, Ivor Gurney and Herbert Howells. It's said that they were so amazed at Vaughan-Williams's piece that they walked the streets of Gloucester through the night, talking of how it had changed music forever.

Art can have that effect on people. I'm expecting a few experiences like that at the Festival next week (as a Gloucester Cathedral Lay Clerk I sing in many of the concerts). I think public art can really be a talking point - not everyone likes every piece, but they nearly always provoke discussion. Humour can be a part, or drama, or elegance, or subtlety, or all of the above. What we don't need are dull scupltures, and neither the candle nor the Kimbrose tower are dull.

Also very far from dull will be The Crucible exhibition of sculptures. This is billed as 'The Sculpture Exhibition of the Decade', and it's coming to Gloucester Cathedral. Here's the website for more details. I'll be blogging about it properly at some point, but in the meantime you can browse the website. It's truly an exciting time for culture in Gloucester.

Kimbrose Square

2010-07-28T12:04:00.004+01:00

Following on from an earlier post, here is another artists' impression of what the Kimbrose Square sculpture will look like.

Southgate Street is being pedestrianised to create more of a public square feel. This work is nearing completion, and soon work will start on the sculpture and 'art wall' behind. I think it will look great, in spite of those naysayers who think it looks like a giant cd rack!

We need more public art in Gloucester, especially when it's as good as this. We also, as was highlighted by a question at full council last week, need to celebrate Gloucester's women more. This sculpture is inspired by the story of St Kyneburgh. A scuplture of Aethelflaeda, who rebuilt Gloucester from its Roman ruins, and laid out its street plan, would be one possible option.

Websites of Interest

2010-07-20T12:39:00.002+01:00

I've been ill recently so can't quite manage a long blog post today, but I'll use this opportunity to alert you to some interesting websites about Gloucester which I've discovered recently.

The first is the fantastic City of Gloucester website, which features information and videos about our historic city.

Then there is the Gloucester Partnership website. The Partneship works to improve the area for the community. As usual, they are running summer events for children and young people, including some in my ward. The full programme can be downloaded here, or you can email me for details of the Kingsholm events.

I also have a very simple website, where you can contact me if you need to get in touch. It can be viewed here.

Happy browsing!

Round-up of the week

2010-07-16T23:19:00.003+01:00

As I'm now on holiday from school teaching and choir (at least until the Three Choirs Festival), I now have even more time to devote to my council duties!

It has been a busy week council-wise. I've been doing the usual casework emails, and also delivering several hundred copies of our latest ward newsletter, Spotlight. It's good for the councillors to deliver some of their own leaflets, as we meet people out-and-about, and I can spot problems that need reporting, or even work that I requested which has now been carried out, such as this filled-in pothole in Seabroke Road (named after Bishop Seabrok of Gloucester):

Thanks to my delivery helper for taking the photo!

Whilst we were out delivering there was even more excitement (more excitement than potholes even!) because I got to try out my new council-issue Smartphone (an HTC Desire, if you're curious). I took a photo of some weeds and was able to email it straight in to the council for action. I think the phone will save me time for the obvious reason that I don't have to wait until I get home before emailing in casework issues, and also it is one-click to attach a photo, unlike on the laptop.

I have also attended two meetings this week, Licensing and Enforcement on Tuesday night and a special meeting of Overview and Scrutiny on Wednesday night. Licensing dealt with a street trading appeal, and you can see the outcome here. The Scrutiny meeting was a 'Call-In' of the decision to close Glenville Parade toilets in Hucclecote. A call-in is when opposition councillors challenge a cabinet decision, and ask them to re-think. It is quite rare - we have not had one since 2007. The outcome of the meeting was reported here. The decision now has to go back to cabinet because, as our quick-witted chair spotted, the original decision was not in the council's forward plan, so does not constitute a valid decision. Still with me?

Finally, the Citizen ran a story about the new graffiti that has been appearing in Kingsholm. I sincerely hope that we can stop this. The graffiti is due to be cleaned up next week, so let's hope no more appears in the meantime.

Your Freedom

2010-07-14T10:44:00.004+01:00

On 1st July the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg launched Your Freedom, an exercise in which the public are asked three main questions:

1. Restoring Civil Liberties

Which current laws would you like to remove or change because they restrict your civil liberties?

2. Repealing Unnecessary Laws

Which offences do you think we should remove or change, and why?

3. Cutting Business and Third Sector Regulations

Which regulations do you think should be removed or changed to make running your business or organisation as simple as possible?

You can participate online at the HM Government website here. Your responses will help inform government policy, and it's all designed to restore your civil liberties, which were being eroded under the last government. As a liberal, I'm delighted that ID cards have been scrapped. They were a costly and unnecessary scheme, and I'm not convinced they would prevent crime or terrorism in the way Labour thought they would.

More graffiti

2010-07-13T18:00:00.004+01:00

I'm very annoyed at the moment, because since our walkabout a couple of weeks ago, someone has been adding to the graffiti in Kingsholm.

I spotted this on my travels this week:

as well as these new examples:

One is outside a funeral parlour and another is down this alleyway:

This one is on a bench in Sebert Street 'Rec':

Notice anything? That's right, they all have the same 'tag', OKM. I'm really annoyed by this because it costs the council money which could be better spent on other things. It's a difficult job to clean off graffiti, it's expensive, and if it's on a private building we need permission first.

I've done a photo op with the local paper today, and I'm calling for whoever this person is to please STOP. Kingsholm is a nice area and I want to keep it that way.

Casework - reporting back

2010-07-12T16:41:00.005+01:00

I've been having a busy couple of weeks. Last week I was away at the LGA (Local Government Association) Conference in Bournemouth. I hope to blog about this in the next few days so I won't go into detail now, but suffice to say it was very useful.

I've been doing ward casework, and now have some successes to report back on.

The weeds I reported on London Road have now been cleared

and the broken brickwork I reported on Sandhurst Road has now been fixed:

As ever, I've got a list of other things to fix, and if you want to add anything to that list, please email me on sebastian DOT field AT gloucester DOT gov DOT uk (not case sensitive).

Let's get Hyde Lane resurfaced

2010-06-29T13:41:00.000+01:00

Hyde Lane is a residential lane, partly privately owned, partly (60% or so) owned by the NHS Trust. It is a major pedestrian route to the hospital. It is currently in a bad state and I would like to see it adopted by the county council so it can be resurfaced and then maintained.

Jeremy Hilton and I have been pressing the council for action for a while. The NHS have previously said they would pay 60% of the cost of resurfacing (about £60K), so it would cost the county £24K.

Jeremy has recently asked about this road at the county council meeting, and we are trying to set up a meeting with the NHS Trust and county officers to progress this. It's been in a state for too long now and we must get it sorted.

Sandhurst Road

2010-06-28T13:29:00.003+01:00

One of what I like to call my mini-walkabouts took me down Sandhurst Road the other night. There I spotted several things that need to be dealt with.

The white lines on the road here mean that the broken surface has been marked up by the county council for patching at some stage, but as it has been like this for some weeks I wonder if they've forgotten about it, so I will be reminding them this week.

Because the road surface has broken up at the edges during the bad weather, it collects litter in the gutter very easily. I'll be asking for this to be cleaned.

Finally, we noticed on our walkabout that this brickwork was loose. It's now come apart completely, so this will need to be fixed.

Back to reality

2010-06-27T00:11:00.005+01:00

It's been a funny old week. After Tuesday's excitemen t, it's back to the casework, emails, and reading. The council have a list of jobs to be doing after our walkabout, but there are always things that get missed. I've been out and about in the ward, and I've noticed that a lot of the drains need cleaning out, as at the moment many are clogged with leaves:

I've reported several of these this week, and the clogged drains in Henry Road and Oxford Road have been cleaned:

Kingsholm is very 'leafy', in that it has a lot of trees which shed most of the year round. If the drains get clogged with leaves it increases the flood risk when it rains, so it is important to keep them clear.

Trees can cause other safety issues, such as this one which is causing a traffic 'blind spot' at the junction:

I've asked for the foliage to be cut back so drivers can see round the corner.

Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace

2010-06-23T11:02:00.004+01:00

Every once in a while as a councillor an opportunity comes along that would be too good to miss. Every year the Queen hosts several garden parties at Buckingham Palace, to which she invites politicians both local and national, community activists, voluntary sector workers etc. This year the Lib Dem group on Gloucester City Council were offered four places, so I got to go with my partner, along with another councillor and his wife.

It really was a great day. We were picked up in the civic car and driven down, stopping off for lunch en route. Then we queued at the Palace gates with our papers (we had to take tickets, passport and proof of address). We passed the famous guards in their bearskin hats and we walked through the Palace, emerging into the gardens.

We had a wander round, spotting some MPs and the novelist Sarah Waters and her partner. Then we had tea - tea, iced coffee, squash or juice to drink, rectangular sandwiches (cucumber, of course, and ham), bridge rolls and miniature pastries to eat. The food was as good as you can imagine.

The event finished about 6pm. We couldn't get close enough to see the Queen on her first progress through the crowds but did see her on her way back to the Palace. We also saw the Beefeaters, which was brilliant.

Today it's back to work with some casework emails and some papers to read, but I'll remember yesterday for the rest of my life.

Walkabout

2010-06-21T21:50:00.004+01:00

On Thursday we had our walkabout in Kingsholm and Wotton ward. My ward colleague was there, along with Kelvin Paul, Neighbourhood Manager for the area, and PC Steve Crown of the safer communities team.

We identified a number of issues which needed attention. Some were streetcare matters for the council, and some were Police matters, such as traffic, road safety and crime.

One was an issue for both agencies, because there was graffiti and vandalism in Sebert Street Rec. Not only that, but the graffiti was in several other locations across the ward, in the same blue colour spray paint and with the same tag 'O.K.M.'

The council are going to get this cleaned up, and the Police will monitor the situation with patrols, but it all costs money.

The story was reported in the local paper, complete with the glum councillor photo above (it was remarked by several people that, with my denim jacket and stubble, I looked like I was the vandal myself - I wasn't!)

I'm looking glum in this photo because someone has ripped a chunk out of the flooring in the children's play area. As with the graffiti above, this will cost money to fix. The playground is due for a £55k overhaul in August/September, but money spent fixing the existing play area might mean there is less to spend in the summer. Anyone with information about the graffiti or vandalism is advised to call the Police on 0845 090 1234 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

It was a successful walkabout though, and the council now have a stack of work to be doing. As always, if you want to report a problem to me, please call me on 01452 381617 or email me on Sebastian DOT Field AT Gloucester DOT gov DOT UK (not case sensitive).

Graffiti and vandalism

2010-06-17T14:48:00.005+01:00

I spotted this graffiti at Sebert Street Rec the other day, and when I went to check some other things a day ago, it had been added to. Today I will be out walking the ward with the council's Neighbourhood Manager and the local Police Constable. Hopefully we can do something to clean this up, but also to prevent anti-social behaviour in the future. There's nothing artistic about this graffiti.

I also discovered this damage to the playground at Sebert Street Rec:

Somebody has ripped out a chunk of flooring from the playground and thrown it onto the grass nearby. It's a real shame as the playground was already in a bad state.

However the good news is that the council is going to spend a significant sum on overhauling it later in the year. This was in response to a petition that Jeremy Hilton organised with the mums' group Kingsholm Kids at Play. Residents have been consulted about what they would like to see in the play area and work will start in late summer.

Denmark Road Casework

2010-06-16T12:47:00.006+01:00

The surface of Denmark Road is starting to break up, and there are some bad potholes outside the school:

I have reported these to the county council and asked when the road will be resurfaced. Part of the road was redone a year or two ago but before long the rest will need doing.

There are also some streetcare matters that residents have raised with me, and which I will be showing the council officer on our walkabout tomorrow. These include a hedge that badly needs cutting back, some benches which need a clean and varnish before they are pleasant to sit on

and an alleyway leading off the road, which needs weedspraying and a litter pick:

Tonight I'm helping one of the council officers with member training, and the topic is casework, what it is, how councillors deal with and manage it, and where it comes from.

To use the above issues as an example, some of them were reported to me this week by residents who were responding to the report of our upcoming walkabout in the local paper, and some were discovered on my weekly personal walkabout. So a mixture of residents' concerns, and things I have spotted through the good old fashioned method of walking about my ward.

Reporting back

2010-06-15T16:27:00.005+01:00

A few small pieces of casework to report back on this week. The weeds at the end of Worcester Parade have now been sprayed and removed, so that

becomes

The gap between the bollard and kerb on Worcester Street has also now been swept, and below are the before and after pictures.

I plan to ask the council why there is a gap there - I fear it will just get clogged up again next time the street is swept.

Walkabout

2010-06-14T13:43:00.002+01:00

This Thursday I will be going on a walkabout around my ward with Jeremy Hilton, officers from the council and the local police officer. If you live in Kingsholm and have any areas you would like us to take a look at, please email me on sebastian DOT field AT gloucester DOT gov DOT uk.

Oxford Street

2010-06-13T13:36:00.002+01:00

This week the county council have resurfaced Oxford Street. Doesn't it look good?

The city council will carry out a 'deep-clean' of the road and pavement in July, so it will look even sparklier.

World Cup Fever

2010-06-12T18:22:00.000+01:00

I'm not an avid football fan, but I do follow Wolves and Hereford, and I enjoy watching a game in the pub with the guys from the choir. But I always try to watch England, and I really enjoy the World Cup. Tonight I will be going to Gloucester Guildhall to watch the England game on their cinema screen.

Here are some households in my ward who are clearly getting into the spirit of the thing:

What I do - Part Two

2010-06-12T18:10:00.002+01:00

This morning I was giving a recital in Gloucester Cathedral chapter house. In my other life, I am a singer - I sing in Gloucester Cathedral Choir and teach locally. I also do a fair bit of professional solo and consort work, which is really starting to pick up.

This morning's recital was a joy for me - I was singing with the viol consort Drake's Viols. If you haven't heard a viol consort before, find a cd (I recommend Fretwork's disc 'Sit Fast') and enjoy. It's the most lovely sound. We performed songs by Dowland, Byrd, Campion and Parsons, with some instrumental numbers from the viols in between my songs to give me a rest.

The Citizen even mentioned the recital today, thanks to the press release I sent them this week. It was very gratifying to see so many friends in the audience.

For those of you who've never heard me sing, you can listen to some clips on my website here. Be warned - I sing countertenor, which is high (think Justin from The Darkness). My site also lists my forthcoming concerts.

Sandhurst Lane hedges

2010-06-09T23:26:00.002+01:00

The hedgerow along Sandhurst Lane has been cut back, making it safer to walk along the pavement without having to step into the road. It was very overgrown before.

Sandhurst Lane is at the very uppermost part of my ward, to the north of Gloucester, and in fact if you walk along it after a while you are in the Tewkesbury constituency.

I have been contacted a few times about litter in the hedge and road along Sandhurst Lane, so I am going to show officers this area when we go on our walkabout next week.

Graffiti

2010-06-08T23:34:00.000+01:00

I've spotted a couple of bits of graffiti in my ward recently. The piece above, on the side of a house, was reported last week and hopefully has now been removed.

The two bits above are down an alleyway which I will be showing council officers and the police on our walkabout next week. Hopefully we can get this cleaned up before too long.

More potholes

2010-06-08T11:58:00.002+01:00

After this post I'll try not to post about potholes for a while, but here are some recently filled in potholes in Sweetbriar Street. I do find this blog so useful for reporting some of the small bits of casework I do and which can't all fit in the Spotlight - I can't quite imagine a 'Pothole Special' issue of the Spotlight making for the most exciting reading!

Gloucester Guildhall

2010-06-07T11:42:00.004+01:00

I went to Gloucester Guildhall on Friday to see Field Music and their support band. I went with a councillor friend and her partner, and some new friends who I was meeting for the first time in real life, as up to now I've only known them on Twitter. So not only was this my first gig at Gloucester Guildhall, it was my first 'tweet-up'.

The music was excellent. I enjoyed the look (see below) and sound of Tom White and his band. Tom White seemed to be wearing a cape made of curtains, but his singing was good. He has a high range, and at one point was singing what sounded to me like top Fs and Gs (I am a singer in my other life, and I sing countertenor, so on this I know what I'm talking about!)

Then it was the turn of Field Music from Sunderland, whose set I enjoyed very much.

I had a great evening and intend to go again often. I'm always saying at council meetings that we don't do enough as a council to promote culture in this city, and although people assume that I'm only talking about classical music or literature, I actually mean everything. Gloucester's Guildhall is an under-used resource which we use or lose. I hope that those who have been going for years won't mind me jumping on the bandwagon and will welcome the support. I'll try to promote the city-council run Guildhall a bit more on these pages.

Gloucester City Homes

2010-06-04T13:40:00.003+01:00

I have recently been appointed by the council to the board of directors of Gloucester City Homes. To throw a couple of acronyms at you, GCH (Gloucester City Homes) is an ALMO, which stands for Arms-Length Management Organisation. In essence it is a company, set up by the council, to manage the city council's housing stock.

GCH was set up in 2005, and looks after 4,800 tenants in Gloucester. Decisions are made by the company executive, with the help of the board of directors, who meet once a month. The board comprises the executive management team, 5 tenant members, 5 independent members and 5 councillor members.

I had my first meeting on Wednesday and it was very interesting. Housing is something I find interesting, and I'm hoping that I will find out some information about council housing in my ward, such as Clapham Court (pictured above), which is a sheltered housing block of flats, named after the old area of Clapham in Kingsholm which was demolished last century.

I'm also going to sit on the GCH Partnering board, a sub-committee which looks at how GCH works with its partners, especially those who are helping to deliver the Decent Homes improvements. GCH secured 2* status after an inspection by the Audit Commission, which meant they could draw down nearly £40 million in government funding to improve their housing stock to Decent Homes standard. In Clapham Court, for example, they have been re-wiring properties, repainting the building, and installing new kitchens and bathrooms. The programme of Decent Homes improvements is now over 80% complete, and should be finished by March 2012.

Guinea Street update

2010-06-03T19:15:00.005+01:00

The pothole I reported in Guinea Street has now been filled in, along with some others further up the road:

Although there are now no major potholes, the road surface is still breaking up, as you can see here:

And further up the road there is some really uneven and broken surface.

Thankfully, Guinea Street is due to be resurface in the autumn.

All the little things

2010-06-01T19:31:00.008+01:00

I use Twitter as a means of reporting some of the smaller things I am doing, as its 140-character limit for tweets lends itself to the reporting of small things. You can report a small item of casework, such as a broken street-sign which you have flagged with the council for repair

and you can even add a picture to your tweet using the Twitpic function.

The above is probably an example of a piece of casework that is too small a story to go in our newsletter, 'Spotlight'. We produce 5 or 6 of these a year, and they cost a fair bit to print. Not every story can go in, so I'm glad of Twitter and my blog as extra ways of reporting things to my constituents.

The litter in the gutter next to this bollard, for example, will be reported this week, but will probably not make it in to the newsletter:

I might ask the county council, however, why the bollard it sited away from the pavement - it seems to me that that gap is asking to get filled with debris from the streetcleaning machine.

And here are a couple of other small things

A leaking waterpipe is causing this sludge:

And so this will be reported this week.

Also I need to find out why this postbox is missing its label. Several people have mentioned this to Jeremy Hilton and me - apparently though, despite the missing label, the post is still being collected.

Does anybody know to whom I should write about this?

The Scrutiny Cafe

2010-05-30T19:43:00.004+01:00

This week we had a training session for Scrutiny. This was aimed at new and existing members of the Scrutiny committee alike, as it was not in the usual training format, which could be characterised (perhaps unfairly) as members sitting in a room listening to a speaker.

This type of training, however, was innovative and interactive. It's called the 'Scrutiny Cafe', and it's a training model designed by the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS). The idea of the Scrutiny cafe is that members sit at tables with 'facilitators' (in our case me on one table, our Chair on another, and our Conservative Scrutiny lead on another), and the members share ideas. The object is to decide on, or decide ideas for, the year's Scrutiny work programme. There is food and drink, a lively debate, and then one of the group will present the 'fruits' of the discussion to the other tables.

What struck me was, even though we discussed last year's meetings at the start of the exercise, the new members were very willing to contribute, even though they had not been at the meetings. On our table we had some excellent discussions about how to make the Scrutiny Cabinet-member Question Time sessions more robust, how to ensure that the council's redesigned website supports and promotes the council's scrutiny function to the public, and how to interact more with the public and thus ensure that the Scrutiny work programme is not entirely member-driven, but reflects residents' concerns.

Towards the end of the discussions, when ideas were being sought for possible Scrutiny reviews, our table decided on a review of young people's services in the city as a possibility, and this was what we presented to the other tables, who thought it was a very good idea. I also mentioned this to a couple of people at the Gloucestershire Scrutiny Lead Members meeting I attended the next day, and they seemed to think this would make a good idea for a review.

As is often the case with Scrutiny, the task will be fitting it in amongst all the other work we have to do this year. But it was very heartening to see so many new members keen to get stuck in, and bubbling with ideas. I think it will be a very good year for the Scrutiny committee.

[Photo by Marfis75 on Flickr]

Yesterday's Meeting

2010-05-25T22:21:00.004+01:00

Yesterday we made the city's new Mayor and Sheriff at the annual council meeting, and we also formalised all the committee appointments of councillors, as well as who the leader and cabinet members would be (this is unchanged from last year, ie a Conservative minority administration with the same leader and cabinet members).

In our internal negotiations, and in our negotiations with other groups, it was agreed that the Lib Dem Scrutiny chair, Declan Wilson, would move to chair the Audit Committee, Labour's Kate Haigh would take over the chair of the Scrutiny Committee, leaving yours truly to become Vice-Chair of Scrutiny. I am really excited at this appointment, and will do my best in the role.

The picture of the magnifying glass is in honour of the scrutiny function, of holding the executive to account, and putting things under the magnifying glass.

[Photo by ChrisJohnBeckett on Flickr]

Annual Council

2010-05-24T15:53:00.004+01:00

Today is the annual meeting of the council, when we 'make' our new Mayor and Sheriff, and the previous year's Mayor and Sheriff step down. Our Mayor and Sheriff, Lib Dem Cllrs Chris Witts and David Brown, have done a terrific job, and it will be hard to fill their shoes. This year it's the turn of the Labour group to provide the 'civics'.

Also at annual council we decide who will sit on which committee, and who will chair them. As some councillors have stepped down and we have some new councillors, there will need to be some changes in who sits on which committee. The three political groups will all have met before the meeting to discuss who will do which committee, so it's (largely) decided in advance.

London Road works

2010-05-23T15:51:00.002+01:00

Here is an article from this week's Citizen, regarding the roadworks which are imminent on London Road, Kingsholm. They will make the road safer for pedestrians and motorists alike. My ward colleague Jeremy Hilton, who is quoted in the article, has been campaigning on this issue for a long time. It will be good when the improvements have been carried out.

Good for Gloucester

2010-05-22T15:45:00.002+01:00

Several stories over on the Citizen website this week, regarding some planning applications for derelict buildings in Gloucester, including two that are on the edge of my ward (the former Dunelm building and the former Courts showroom). It looks like they have both found developers willing to take them on and improve them, so this is great news.

There is also this story of how work has now begun to demolish Merchants Quay at Gloucester docks. It will be replaced by a complex of flats, with a shopping area on the ground floor. I think it will be a good thing - Merchants Quay has been derelict and an eyesore for far too long, and it has detracted from the otherwise excellent image that the docks now have with Gloucester residents and tourists.

Malvern Road potholes

2010-05-21T15:38:00.004+01:00

These potholes (shown above, before and after) were spotted during the campaign, when we were out canvassing. I took some pictures on my phone and emailed the council, and they have now been filled in. The County have spent millions of pounds filling in the potholes in Gloucestershire, and the roads are now starting to get back to normal. I was concerned, however, that some residential roads which are not main highways were getting left out. Happily they seem to be getting the attention they need.

Guinea Street

2010-05-20T15:32:00.002+01:00

Guinea Street is next to Kingsholm Primary School. For a while now the road surface has been quite bad, and it has been on the County Council's schedule of works for resurfacing. I reported this pothole and asked when the road would be resurfaced, and was told it will be done in September, which is good news.

Back in the saddle

2010-05-19T15:23:00.002+01:00

It's now been over a week since the elections, and life is returning to normal, despite the slightly unreal sight of Liberal Democrats in government!

I've got a stack of work for my ward: there are potholes that need to be reported, roads awaiting adoption by the county council, a walkabout with council officers to organise, streetcare issues, broken brickwork, broken pavements, the list goes on. I'm planning my own walkabout in the next few days to see if anything else requires my attention.

Then there are council projects to see through, such as the planned improvements to Sebert Street Rec (see picture), and Hillfield Gardens.

We now have a new MP for Gloucester, Richard Graham, and I will be writing to him with some concerns. He and Jeremy Hilton both campaigned on the issue of Post Office closures, and I will be asking Richard whether we can work together to make something happen for Kingsholm Post Office. It would be great to see it re-opened.

I'm looking forward to getting stuck in once more.

The results are in

2010-05-10T17:52:00.001+01:00

The votes have been counted and the results are in. We fought a good campaign for the parliamentary seat, increasing our vote share by nearly 6%.

We also did well in the city council elections, succesfully defending our council seats, though not gaining any this time unfortunately. My ward colleague Jeremy Hilton was re-elected for the Kingsholm & Wotton ward with a very healthy majority.

The council remains NOC, with 17 Conservative members, 11 Liberal Democrats and 8 Labour.

Good luck

2010-05-05T17:31:00.003+01:00

So it's nearly upon us. If you are a Liberal Democrat candidate, I wish you good luck, and if you are from another party, I wish you well. Remember, no matter who you vote for, make sure you vote!

We want our post office back

2010-05-01T23:35:00.001+01:00

More casework

2010-04-27T10:15:00.003+01:00

I've been out delivering leaflets and canvassing in my ward, and spotted some problems that needed fixing. The gutter on this road is full of litter and detritus, so I have asked for it to be swept, and these pavement surfaces need attention as they are breaking up. All in a day's work!

Recycling

2010-04-24T15:49:00.003+01:00

Here are our new food waste bins. Aren't they cute?

In Gloucester we've gone over to a new system. The council now collect more materials from the doorstep, including plastic bottles and cardboard. This will help to increase the recycling rate. They also now collect food waste, which we put into the small caddy, then transfer to the bigger brown bin when the caddy is full. The green recycling boxes and the brown food bins are collected weekly, but because we are (or should be) throwing less away into the black bins (for landfill), the black bins are only collected fortnightly.

The system has not been without its teething troubles, and residents in some parts of the city have complained. I've dealt with a few emails on the topic, but in general I think the scheme is working well. It makes us all, including me, more aware of what we throw away. There simply isn't the space in the bin to throw away lots of packaging, so more and more I find that when shopping I will look for foods that do not come with excessive packaging. This kind of subtle behaviour altering is fine by me. We must recycle more, if for no other reason than it costs the goverment (and thus councils, and thus residents) more money to keep using landfill, as the EU fines the government if they send too much to landfill. We all have to do our bit for the environment.

St George's Day

2010-04-23T14:41:00.004+01:00

And a happy St George's day to you. The picture above shows me outside the council offices, just before we processed to the annual civic service. This was at the Mariner's chapel in Gloucester, by the docks, where the poet and composer Ivor Gurney was once organist. It was the first time I had worn my councillor robes - usually the services which councillors attend 'in state' are in the cathedral, so I am singing. This wasn't at the cathedral and wasn't in term time, so you get to suffer the picture above!

I've been keeping on top of ward-work despite the election madness. The pictures below show some potholes that I reported a couple of weeks ago, which have now been filled in, and a broken bin which has now been replaced. I also took a tip from Cllr Daisy Benson, who I follow on twitter, to start tweeting about finished pieces of casework, so I tweeted these two successes, complete with twitpics.

I still agree with Nick

2010-04-23T10:44:00.004+01:00

Nick Clegg again did well in the leaders' debate last night. We'll see if we hold steady in the polls, or maybe even go up. I wore the badge my girlfriend made for me (see above, next to the badge she made as a birthday present for a friend who is a party member). The 'I agree with Nick' badge has been featured in a French article, on the subject of 'Cleggmania'.

My website

2010-04-22T16:12:00.002+01:00

I belong to the ALDC, which stand for Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors. One of the services we get as members is a personal website. I've just set mine up. It's pretty basic, but I'm hoping to add to the content as and when I am able.

You can view my new site here. Let me know what you think.

I agree with Nick

2010-04-22T14:33:00.002+01:00

Here's the badge my lovely girlfriend kindly made me to wear on the campaign trail. I shall wear it with pride. Do tune in tonight for the second leaders' debate - it should be a corker. 8.30pm, Sky News.

Potholes

2010-04-21T13:43:00.004+01:00

After the snow, there are still many potholes in the roads in my ward. The county council is spending millions on filling them in across the county. They have, quite rightly, concentrated on main carriageways, but I want to make sure that the suburban streets don't now get neglected.

I've reported several potholes for repair, and although many of them are in quiet suburban roads in my ward, these roads still get driven on and the potholes need to be repaired. Below are some photos - not the most exciting photos I've ever published but hey. The white marks around the potholes in one photo show that the council have marked them up for repair, and will (hopefully) be back soon to do the work.

Daleks!

2010-04-20T13:22:00.002+01:00

What with the redesign and the Radio Times cover last week, which depicted the Daleks in the red, yellow and blue of the three main political parties, it reminded me of a rumour I heard, which is that the chimneys on the top of Denmark Road High School for Girls, a school in my ward, were the inspiration for the Daleks. I took a picture (see above). What do you reckon?

Gloucester Lib Dems out campaigning in Eastgate Street

2010-04-19T16:02:00.002+01:00

On Saturday, a team of us were out in the centre of Gloucester, campaigning and meeting people. We got a great reception - lots of people had seen the debate, and were switching to the Lib Dems. Here's the youtube video we shot on the day:

Election fever

2010-04-19T12:52:00.004+01:00

What with all the cammpaigning I've been doing, and the rush of excitement over the weekend about the Lib Dems' lead in the polls, you might be forgiven for thinking that I'd been neglecting my job as councillor. Well, I certainly haven't!

One of the advantages of campaigning and canvassing is that you talk to a lot of people on the doorstep, and it's been really useful to find out what's on peoples' minds. I've reported many bits of casework as a result of doorstep conversations - from potholes and streetcare issues to trees that need pruning, a road that needs traffic calming measures, and, as ever, problems over parking.

Parking is always an issue in Kingsholm, as it has some very narrow Victorian streets, and in some roads there is hardly any off-street parking. There is also the problem of the rugby on Saturdays, when rather than drive into town and pay to park, some rugby fans try to save a few pounds by parking in Kingsholm.

The Tory-run county council is devising a match-day parking scheme to combat these problems, but we feel that the proposals are unnecessarily restrictive. We also feel that the county council charge to much for the residents' parking and visitor permits. We will be having a meeting with officers from the council after the election to resolve these problems.

Below are some photos of a few issues I've reported. As always, if you live in my ward and need help with a problem, please get in touch.

And we're off!

2010-04-08T11:17:00.002+01:00

So the general election will be on May 6th, the same day as the local government elections. Although we've already been campaigning here in Gloucester for several months, we will now be working even harder, right up until election day, to get as many Lib Dems as possible elected.

BBC Radio 4 came to Gloucester on Monday to interview the three main candidates for the Gloucester parliamentary seat, and they recorded me canvassing a voter in Kingsholm. You can listen to the programme here. The Gloucester segment starts at 31.00, and my (brief) moment happens at about 31.40. I'm telling the elector how we work really hard all year round, not just at election time, but of course they faded me out at that point! There then follow interviews with the three candidates. Jeremy Hilton made the point that voters deserting Labour, which is what we're finding on the doorstep, but not necessarily switching to the Tories - they're still open-minded. The message we're trying to get across is that maybe it's time, after 65 years of 'Labservative' rule, to give the Lib Dems a try.

I'm looking forward to a vigorous campaign.

Jeremy Hilton's vision for sport in Gloucester

2010-04-07T11:04:00.002+01:00

Last week Jeremy Hilton announced his plans to improve sports facilities in the city, if he is elected as Gloucester's next MP. The Citizen covered the story, and here is the link to their article.

I think these proposals are really good, and will cause a bit of a stir locally. What do you think?

Kimbrose Square public art

2010-04-06T10:53:00.002+01:00

Last week I went to a consultation meeting, where artist Tom Price outlined his plans for a public art installation at the new Kimbrose Square by the docks. Here is the link to the Citizen's story.

I thought the sculpture looked fantastic - elegant, dramatic, and a real addition to the eyeline in Southgate Street.

The artist explained that the sculpture will serve as a 'waymarker', as you will be able to see it as you approach the new square. Also, the ridged design means that as you move closer, the tower will give a 'ripple' effect to the eye.

The tower also incorporates references to the city's history. The artist explained how he was inspired by the story of St Kineburgh, the Anglo-Saxon princess from Gloucester who was killed by being thrown down a well. The tower, with it hollow structure, is meant to suggest a well, and Kineburgh's corporeal descent in one sense, but also her ascent to canonisation in another (complete with a circular 'halo' at the top).

All in all I thought it was rather marvellous, and great for Gloucester.

Make sure you vote!

2010-03-30T14:36:00.002+01:00

It's now only 6 weeks to the local elections on May 6th, and we're campaigning hard. If you are not already registered to vote, you can find information on how to register here. The General Election is likely to be on the same day, so people will have two votes.

I sometimes meet people on the doorstep who say that they don't vote because 'there's no point' or 'nothing changes' or 'all politicians are the same'. It's hard to counter that sort of talk, but I tend to say that voting is the only way to change things, or at the very least to register a protest. I'm a bit hardline on this one - I think that people died to give us the right to vote, and that it should therefore be compulsory (with an option to vote for 'none of the above').

Ask the Chancellors

2010-03-29T14:31:00.002+01:00

At 8pm tonight, Channel 4 will be screening the Ask the Chancellors Debate between Vince Cable, Alistair Darling and George Osborne.

The programme will be live on Channel 4 and you can also follow it on Twitter and Facebook.

You can find out more details on the Channel 4 website: www.channel4.com/microsites/A/askthechancellors/

From 7pm on the night, Channel 4 will be hosting a discussion of the debate. You can send questions and comment to chancellordebate@channel4.com and follow the debate and comment at http://www.channel4.com/microsites/A/askthechancellors/

You can also get involved on Twitter by "tagging" your Twitter messages "#askthechancellors".

Vince Cable is the Liberal Democrats' Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor and one of the most popular current politicians. A 22/23 March poll by YouGov showed more people thought he would make the best Chancellor than either Alistair Darling or George Osborne.

The Old Tannery

2010-03-22T22:44:00.001Z

Here's a story from last week's Citizen, about the old Tannery building on Worcester Street. It's an interesting building with a history (part of it is medieval), but in recent years it has fallen into disrepair and is now a bit of an eyesore.

I'd previously asked a written question about this site at full council, so I was pleased to see this story. In his answer to my written question, the Leader of the Council had stated that discussions had been going on regarding this site and that hopefully something would come of these discussions soon. After seeing this article, I wrote a letter to the Citizen, which they published, saying that I hope that now there will be some action to do something with this historic site.

Correspondence

2010-03-20T22:10:00.003Z

I'm responding to a few letters and surveys tonight. I'm making a list of the issues and problems, and will go and take a look at some next week. Surveys and letters are part of the communications we receive from our constituents. The majority of people will telephone, usually after we have put out a Spotlight newsletter, because it reminds them to give us a ring. We also get a few emails, and this is becoming more and more common as more people get the internet. The surveys we receive will have been sent to our office in Barton Street, through our Freepost address, and we will usually ask for a few ideas on how to make the area/city better, or what problems are on people's minds.

Some people, of course, prefer to write letters, and these can be very useful, as people can go into real detail. We don't tend to get that many as councillors - generally people prefer the quicker methods of communication as listed above. MPs are used to receiving lots of letters (my MP got one from me a couple of weeks ago, and I was impressed with his reply, both for its content and for the speed with which he got back to me).

You can get in touch with me using any of the methods listed on my council webpage - just follow the link on the left.

The Clapham Centre

2010-03-18T22:34:00.003Z

Last week I had a look round the Clapham Centre, the former YMCA building in Kingsholm which has been transformed with city council money into a community centre. The building looks really great. The ground floor comprises a bar area with tables and chairs and flat-screen TV, and a hall area. This floor is being used by the local Spartans rugby club as its base. Meanwhile, the upper floor features an office space, which will be the new meeting-room and office for the KWNP (Kingsholm and Wotton Neighbourhood Partnership).

The revitalised building will be a real asset to the community. Residents can remember how delapidated the derelict YMCA building was looking before the renovation work took place.

Here's a link to the story that the Citizen ran on the centre a few days ago.

Written Questions

2010-03-15T21:58:00.004Z

Well that week went quickly! I have neglected my blog of late, but this has been due to being busy, so this week I've got lots of topics to blog about. I'll report back on some of the casework I've been working on during the week, but today I want to write about written questions.

We've got Full Council on the 25th, and one of the features of this is 'Cabinet Member Question Time' (always sounds amusing to me, I don't know why!) and at this meeting we can ask the Cabinet Members questions about their portfolios and any aspect of council business. The two types of questions are good opportunities to bring up ward issues.

We have verbal questions, ie ones asked on the night 'off the cuff' (although we usually have some idea of what we might ask and how we might phrase it). We also have written questions, where we can ask the Cabinet Members pre-submitted written questions (in the mould of Parliamentary written questions). We receive a written answer in the council papers, and then we can ask one verbal supplementary question for each written question. This is the opportunity to ask a more searching question based on the answer received.

In general, the form is that the verbal questions are designed to be 'off the cuff' and you might be able to 'catch them out', whereas the written questions are more for information. It's generally considered bad form to ask as a verbal question something that the Member would have little chance of knowing, such as a figure. Sometimes though, with a carefully planned and crafted supplementary, you can really press the Cabinet Members.

This time I have submitted five written questions, three on general council matters, particularly the budget, and two on ward issues, including the old problem of the pigeons under Worcester Street railway bridge, which, although it has largely been solved with the netting, is still an issue because the pigeons are now sitting atop the pedestrian crossing button (see the photos).

I'll be interested to see the answers when they come.

A new week

2010-03-08T12:23:00.003Z

Last week was busy, both with council work and my other activities. I've been doing my usual thing of walking round the ward, looking for issues. I've reported a number of street signs that need cleaning up/repainting, as they're not clear at the moment. Also my broken glass detector (or should that read 'broken-glass detector'?) has been on overdrive at the moment - I hope this means that I am getting better at spotting it rather than there is an epidemic of glass-smashing going on in Kingsholm (which I don't think is the case). Yesterday, I was very impressed that the council's emergency out-of-hours number was answered so promptly, and my report of broken glass dealt with so efficiently, even on a Sunday.

Our walkabout with council officers has had to be postponed, so this gives me more time to prepare the list of 'grot-spots' for attention. Do you live in Kingsholm and Wotton? Do you know of a grot-spot? Tell me about it so I can show the council.

The pictures show a couple of follow-ups to issues reported earlier. The bin-lid has now been replaced. I am slightly concerned that the broken bollard I reported a couple of weeks ago has now been replaced with ... a filled-in hole. Hopefully this just means that a new bollard will be installed, but I will keep an eye on this one.

Canvassing

2010-03-02T08:57:00.003Z

We were out knocking on doors in Kingsholm yesterday. Canvassing is one of the necessary evils of a politician's life - it can occasionally be a dispiriting experience, with doors slammed in your face, or you always seem to have caught people at a bad time, whatever time you go! But there's no better way to talk to your electorate, and find out what matters to them.

We picked up some casework to look at, and also some new supporters. We are picking up support as a party both locally and nationally - everyone I spoke to thought Nick Clegg was doing a great job as leader, and that Vince Cable would make an excellent Chancellor. 'Vince' is one of the few politicians who doesn't seem to need a surname any more.

After canvassing I delivered a few leaflets and went to check on a few issues I'd reported earlier. I'm also busy compiling a mental list of sites to visit when we have a problem-spotting 'walkabout' with council officers later in the week. If you live in Kingsholm & Wotton, and you know of a grotspot - tell me about it! The pictures show some of the pieces of casework we picked up yesterday - I take a photo on my phone, email it to the council and they (hopefully!) will get onto it.

The Budget

2010-02-28T17:08:00.002Z

Thursday saw a meeting of the full council, to decide on the budget for the coming financial year. This meeting is usually eventful, because of the tensions which are in evidence. Every council administration wants to provide value for money - high quality services without increasing the council tax. In these tough economic times, with grants from the government lower than usual, some difficult choices have to be made, and the council must make all its services as efficient as possible. Our task as opposition councillors is to make sure that, if cuts have to be made, services are protected as far as possible.

The Conservative administration have come up with a budget which we felt we could support. They have made savings in a number of areas, and are hoping to bring in extra income through improvements to, for example, the city's crematorium and museums. The city council tax increase will be 2.5%, which, as a proportion of the whole tax a household will pay, is quite small (the majority of council tax goes to the county council, and the police authority).

The Labour group on the city council proposed an amendment to the budget of extra money to go towards solving the problem of dog fouling in the city. We supported this, and the Conservative administration accepted the amendment. They had earlier proposed an amendment to their own budget of an adjustment to the increase in council tax by a further half of one percent, to enable either additional investment in services, or a reduction in the budget savings target. This extra increase will allow the administration to pay for the Labour proposals.

Our group proposed savings to be made elsewhere in the budget, to prevent the council needing to charge for bulky waste collection in the future. Our amendment was also accepted. In the end it was quite a good-natured meeting, which is not always the case, and the meeting was over quickly. This does not mean that we didn't take our responsibilities seriously, but merely that we were able to reach agreement quickly. There seemed no need, in these straightened economic circumstances, to oppose what seemed a good budget. Now we need to make sure that the administration keeps it promises, and provides all the services and savings and revenue increases it said it would.

The photo shows the three sheets of paper that were circulated at the meeting, with the amendments proposed by the three political groups. I like the way they are colour-coded!

Election Night

2010-02-23T22:45:00.004Z

Tonight I had a meeting of the Electoral and Constitutional Working Party, which does what it says on the tin - looks into issues regarding elections in Gloucester, and the council's constitution. Tonight one of the items on the agenda was the arrangements for this year's local and general elections.

We are working on the assumption that the elections will be held on the same day, May 6th, although this is not yet definite, as the date of the general election has not yet been decided. The local elections, however, will be on May 6th, and the general election must be held by June 3rd. Most people are assuming that the Prime Minister will call the general election on the same day as the locals, but he may yet surprise us. I won't reveal my personal preference at this stage!

At the meeting we discussed the election count. It has yet to be decided whether or not to hold this on the night of the election, or the next day. I am prepared to reveal my opinion on this one - I believe in a count 'on the night', because of the excitement, and also my belief that the country needs to get a new government (whichever party that might be from) sooner rather than later.

Photo by pietroizzo at Flickr.

Online Councillor

2010-02-22T15:27:00.006Z

I'm not very well today, so rather than charge about delivering leaflets and looking for potholes, I am having a day of reading: books, newspapers, and the council budget papers for the budget meeting later in the week. Two of the pieces of reading matter I've been saving up for just such a day are, firstly, c'llr magazine, which is published by the Local Government Information Unit and sent to all councillors, and really is an interesting read (its subtitle 'Information and Inspiration for Councillors' tells you all you need to know), and the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors' (ALDC's) Campaigner magazine.

The latest issue of this magazine features an article interviewing Cllr Daisy Benson, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Reading Borough, about how she uses Twitter. Daisy is an 'online councillor' - she uses new technology, particularly the internet, as an additional resource for casework, campaigning, and communicating with the electorate. She has a blog, which you can read here.

In the article, Daisy argues that Twitter can be a useful campaign tool, and source of information. She gives lots of useful tips on how to use Twitter effectively.

I use Twitter myself, and if you want to follow me, my username is @CllrSebField. I haven't yet explored using it is as a campaign tool etc, but I am going to try out Daisy Benson's tips.

I will spend the rest of today reading some more, composing a press release, and trying to feel a bit more like the chap in the picture rather than the chap I can see in the mirror!

Little things

2010-02-20T16:32:00.002Z

The life of a councillor is sometimes a collection of little tasks. This week I have been organising a walkabout in my ward with the council's Neighbourhood Managers for the area. I also need to go into Kingsholm to check out a couple of issues that have been reported to me, and to check whether things I have reported have now been fixed. I also have some leaflets to deliver, and some to drop off to deliverers. Then there is copy to write for our newsletter, Spotlight, and perhaps a press release or two to write, about some local issues that we've just got fixed.

I've just come back from Hereford where I met up with a Lib Dem friend, who told me that Vince Cable was coming to Hereford to help the Lib Dem candidates campaign. Dr Cable is the Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, and one of our best-known MPs. I was delighted to meet him, although I was wearing my cherry and white Gloucester rugby shirt and he told me off for the beating Gloucester gave his local team Harlequins last week. He was only kidding, though, and he seemed a very nice man.

Never mind the bollards

2010-02-19T09:56:00.002Z

Confession time: I like bollards. Which is why I was thrilled to find this blog, celebrating the bollards of London. Have a read, it's fantastic, and suprisingly interesting. The study of bollards can reveal things about social history, culture, oh, all sorts.

And speaking of bollards, here's one in my ward that needs a bit of care and attention, poor thing. I've reported this to the county council for a repair.