Bristol Green Party

Labour Lies (I) - Charlie Bolton, 13 March 2007

To: Bristol Evening Post

Dear Sir/Madam

I have obtained a copy of the latest Labour Party leaflet going around Southville.

In it, they call on us (the Green Party) to apologise to flat owners for describing them as not caring about their community or some such. As usual with the local Labour Party, this was factually incorrect. What we actually said - in an article raising concerns about the numbers of developments in our area - was that ‘most of these flats are for single people or couples to rent, which will bring in highly mobile people with little commitment to the area’. Highly mobile people necessarily have little commitment to an area. Otherwise they would not be highly mobile.

They also describe us as snobs, and link us to Margaret Thatcher. My immediate response was to publish something in our next newsletter saying they think homeowners who are concerned at all the flat developments are all snobs.

But of course it would be as cheap a jibe as theirs.

So my challenge to the Southville Labour Party is this.

The building of flats across Southville and Bedminster is causing concern to increasing numbers of people across the area. People are moving out. People are fed up. People want to move out. They are having their quality of life seriously affected by the disruption. They are deeply concerned about the parking implications. They are horrified at the scale of developments (seemingly the maximum developers can get away with). They are concerned about the change to the character of the area. They are concerned about the loss of privacy, and light. They are concerned at the lack of amenity. They are concerned at the lack of democracy in a planning system which only allows the right of appeal to developers. They are concerned that the current planning system only allows for the tinkering at the edges of planning applications (ie cutting down from 5 to 4 story, removing a flat here, a flat there), and only considers a narrow range of objections.

Power in our planning system seems to lie almost entirely with the developer. And yet we seem to be carrying out a vast experiment in both Southville and Bedminster (and probably in many other areas of the city). We seem to be developing to maximise profit and taking a free market approach to the future of the community I was elected to serve.

I recognise the drivers for building developments in inner city areas - I do not necessarily agree with them. I accept that at the end of the day, turning 'Southville' into 'Flatville' may be the only answer. But I ask you - rather than to indulge in cheap politicking - to debate this issue in an adult and grown up fashion. Debate the issue. Stop trying to score cheap points.

So - Sean Beynon, Linda Salter - or whoever it is who writes your newsletters - are you up for it?

Yours

Charlie Bolton
Bristol Green Party

Page last updated April 10, 2007