Bristol LibDems' green image "in tatters"

Written by Pete Goodwin Friday, 01 September 2006

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The 'green' claims of Bristol's Lib-Dem executive were in tatters after last night's Cabinet meeting.

For immediate release

A succession of speakers pleaded with them to tone down plans for new road building and out-of-town housing developments. Cabinet members ignored them all and rubber-stamped their endorsement of new car-based estates linked by a dual carriageway ring-road around South Bristol.

Jerry Hicks MBE of the Bristol Civic Society led the challenge to the city's planned response to the draft 'Regional Spatial Strategy'. Other bids came from Green Party members, from senior Labour figures, and from transport group Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways.

They felt the city should challenge the massive new house building programme that the Strategy will impose on Bristol, far more than will be required by its present population. In a series of statements, they pointed out that the new development, along with the ring road, would be socially and environmentally destructive, in direct conflict with modern expectations of sustainability.

However, Cabinet Member Dennis Brown made it clear that they would not be making any changes to their position on new roads and greenbelt building.

Afterwards, one of the speakers, the Green Party's Peter Goodwin, said:

"This was profoundly disappointing. It was quite clearly a charade from the start, their minds were already made up and they'd be swayed by no-one.

"This cabinet's agenda is driven by a demand for economic growth so far beyond the city's own needs that we must build a new Bradley Stoke every couple of years to provide the new workers. This has nothing whatever to do with regeneration of the poorer areas of Bristol.

"Yet again, the LibDems are showing that their green claims are just electoral window dressing"

ENDS

Contact: Peter Goodwin at 01275 543280

Notes:

  1. Peter Goodwin of the Bristol South Green Party was speaking on his own behalf.
  2. Cllr Helen Holland, Labour group leader, (also on behalf of Dawn Primarolo MP) called for the replacement of the South Bristol Ring Road plan with 'making better use of existing infrastructure'.