Bristol Green Party - Letters - Our city planners are failing us

Bristol Green Party

Our city planners are failing us - Stephen Petter, 16 March 2006

To: Bristol Evening Post

Dear Sir/Madam

Bristol Council continue to permit commercial development in the "Temple" area - is it a Temple to Mammon? They recklessly refuse to allocate land near the railway station for a proper transport interchange. Do our highly paid planners plan, or do they just respond to the developers' demands? The Council claims that public transport is their second to top priroity but they do nothing effective about it. Not only failure to plan for our common good, but withdrawal of subsidies for commuter rail. The public anger will soon boil over. Even if one accepts that First Bus have no responsibility except to their shareholders, Bristol Council does not have that excuse. We don't only need clearways for buses, we need an efficient, safe, convenient place where we can change from one bus to another or to other modes. This is standard practice in better-planned cities. Currently Southampton with very similar conditions to Bristol's are doing it. (Also they have enabled real competition between bus companies with excellent results for passengers.)

The South West Regional Development Council, an un-elected QUANGO, insist on building the arena in the same area, attracting more congestion. They claim they will provide 'an integrated transport hub' but so far all we see is plans for a turning circle for Park and Ride buses.

The public deserves better from those who have taken or been given power over us and our futures. We are fed up with our requests to be consulted being fobbed off. We are sick of crass decisions like that over Frenchay Hospital and craven subservience to commercial developers as over Broadmead.

Yours

Stephen Petter
Bristol Green Party