Issue - meetings

An electronic petition has been received regarding regeneration plans for London road.  According to the Council’s petition scheme, if a petition with over 1000 signatures of people who live, work and study in Bath & North East Somerset is received and meets the criteria, it triggers a debate at Council.

An electronic petition had been received regarding London road regeneration and the effect on cyclists.  According to the Council’s petition scheme, if a petition with over 1000 qualifying signatures of people who live, work and study in Bath & North East Somerset is received, a debate is held at Council.

The following members of the public made statements at this item;

·  Polly Cassidy made a statement concerning her cycle route to work along London road and the difficulties she encountered.  She considered most of the scheme to be fine but it needed to be safe for cyclists.

·  Francesca Thompson made a statement as a resident of London road and Chair of the Gateway Steering group.  She outlined the work that had taken place thus far and the plans which were designed to benefit the whole community.

·  Alex Schlesinger made a statement in support of the Gateway project.  A copy of the statement has been placed on the Council’s Minute book and is attached electronically to the minutes.

·  Ian Parsons spoke as a local resident and mentioned the links Gateway had made with other organisations which had already attracted private investment. He urged the Council not to delay in enabling the project to go forward.

·  Katy Mallia made a statement in support of the Gateway proposals which had been amended to incorporate a positive response to concerns about cycling.  She stressed the need to consider the area as a neighbourhood, not just a route to pass through.  In response to a question from Councillor Bryan Chalker about whether a police presence would make a difference, Ms Mallia responded that it did make a real difference when a PCSO was present to check that cycle boxes and traffic lights were kept clear.

·  Susan Traill made a statement as a resident of London Road and a pedestrian and public transport user.  She commented on the congestion and conflicting uses of the pavement, which could not be considered for just one set of users in isolation. 

·  Michelle Farmer spoke as a resident of Walcot Terrace who was concerned about potential proposals to change the Walcot Terrace area which has wide pavements, a loading bay and a cycle lane, and set out her reasons why this would be detrimental.   In response to a question from Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones enquiring whether Ms Farmer was aware that B&NES had a road user hierarchy which placed pedestrians at the top, she responded that she was aware but still did not consider the area should be changed for the reasons she had outlined.

Bryn Jones, lead petitioner, spoke in support of the petition of 1150 signatures and on behalf of the community cycling groups.

Following contributions from Members, the Chairman announced that the comments would be fed into the ongoing consultation on the project.