Monday 29 September 2008

Mystery of the Blackdowns phantom bus shelter 'artist'

I HAVE been investigating the mystery of a phantom ‘artist’ who appears to be making some kind of statement about rubbish on the Blackdown Hills.
A couple of weeks ago, I received a report from Otterford Parish Council that rubbish was being fly-tipped in the bus shelter at Culmhead Crossroads, making it impossible for bus passengers to use the shelter when the weather was poor.
Naturally, I alerted the Deane council’s environmental health team to the problem and asked them to clear it up and also look for evidence of who might be responsible so that we could prosecute and/or recover the cost of the clean-up.
Then, I went to have a look at the bus shelter for myself and, strangely, I found that the rubbish had been cleared and the shelter was lined with silver foil.
A clothes rail had been put up - as you would find in a wardrobe - and a variety of items of clothing hung from it.
There was a sign on the outside reading ‘The Changing Room’, a roadside crossroads sign was stuck on the top of the entrance, and inside was a notice which read something like: “I am a million different people today and the next day...”
I am told since that I have not remembered the quote properly, as it seems to be a line from a song by The Verve which actually reads: “But I’m a million different people from one day to the next...”
The Deane council staff quickly cleared the bus shelter but could find no trace of who had put the clothing there.
I wondered if perhaps it was something to do with Somerset Arts Weeks - now renamed Somerset Art Works (SAW) - as it appeared to be some kind of artistic statement, although a little bizarre out in the middle of nowhere.
However, I spoke to somebody at SAW and they had absolutely no knowledge of it.
At this point, the bus shelter was clean and tidy and fit for use again, so I left it at that.
Then, a few days later, I discovered that the phantom ‘artist’ had returned – and so had the rubbish.
The bus shelter was strewn with black bin bags and carrier bags containing items such as empty cans of lager and cardboard and plastic bottles.
On the outside were posted three signs on white boards reading ‘rubbish….’, ‘art ….’, and ‘rubbish…’.
The signs are in exactly the same style as ‘The Changing Room’ signs, which makes me think that it is the same person.
I do not mind admitting that I am ‘culturally challenged’, and therefore whatever artistic statement they may be making goes over my head.
It is all rather bizarre, and I would like to know why this is happening.
I am sure that whoever the artist is, they were not responsible for the rubbish in the first place and it may be that they actually cleaned it up before embarking on ‘The Changing Room’ project.
To add to the mystery, somebody has also painted in big white letters on the road opposite the bus shelter “SAW No 42”.
I assume again that this is a reference to Somerset Art Weeks, and I was told that No 42 apparently refers to an artist who lives in Watchet.
I will continue to try to get to the bottom of this.
  • The photograph above shows me examining the rubbish which has reappeared in the Culmhead Crossroads bus shelter along with signs indicating it is some kind of artistic statement.

Monday 22 September 2008

Exmouth - now in the foothills of the Blackdowns

ON what seemed like a summer's day - almost unheard of this year - I attended the Celebrating the Blackdowns event held at Churchinford on Saturday.
The public attendance exceeded everybody's expectations with several hundred people visiting during the day.
It was an opportunity to see where some of the £1.9 million LEADER+ funding from Europe has gone during the past six years.
The Blackdowns AONB Partnership, on which I represent Taunton Deane Borough Council, has used the cash to support a wide range of activities and events during that time, and now the fund is coming to a close this year.
It is being replaced with a £2.4 million 'Make it Local' fund over the next three years, of which more details were promised at the Celebrating event.
I was a little disappointed, then, to find that we have not actually, definitely, been given the money.
Despite the recent public announcements of the success of the Partnership bid, it seems we still have to jump through some hoops before we know for sure that the money is ours.
From what I have seen so far of the way the Partnership is funded, we are going to need that money if we are to continue supporting the community of the Blackdowns.
One snag, though, is that in order to get the money, we are having to extend the 'Blackdowns' borders as far as the edges of Exmouth and Seaton so that we can say we have a large enough population base which will benefit from the fund.
Assuming we get the money, then the grant scheme will start next year.
Applications will especially be welcomed if they concern culture, tourism, recreation, using sustainable natural resources, or network building/bringing people together.
There was lots to see at the cricket ground just outside Churchinford, and everything there had received funding from the LEADER+ programme.
It was nice to see lots of children with their parents, and the kids seemed to like having a go at making punkie night lanterns or doing some wood carving, while inside the Camera Obscura they were able to 'spy' on what their parents were doing elsewhere in the field.
I discovered when I had a look at the Camera Obscura that they had been 'spying' on my son George, who had taken his bicycle along and was whizzing around the field on it.
I think George will soon be competent enough for the stabilisers to be taken off, and then he will be whizzing around even faster.
I was looking forward to having a burger from one of Nick Strange's barbecues, which always seem to be at these events, but instead the Partnership had laid on a hog roast, because the equipment was funded through the programme.
I would not have minded, except that by the time I arrived, the hog had all been eaten and there was nothing left.
Some of the other activities to see were hedgelaying skills and apple juicing, while I found Nick Strange inside the marquee with his meat produce stall, along with items such as alpaca wool socks, a BHaam (Blackdown Hills Artists and Makers) display, and much more.
Incidentally, I learned that the Camera Obscura is looking for a permanent site, which needs to be secure and enjoy good views. I believe Culmstock School has been suggested, but if anybody has any other ideas, they will be welcomed.
  • The photos above show (in descending order) me having a look at some of the punkie night lanterns; a display of alpaca wool socks, and the BHaam stand.

Friday 19 September 2008

'Ring and book' bus service coming to the Blackdowns

I AM delighted to learn that some of the gaps in bus services covering villages in Taunton Deane are going to be plugged thanks to an initiative led by my Conservative colleague Councillor John Meikle.
‘Demand responsive’ buses are being introduced and Blagdon Hill will be on one of the routes.
The route will also serve Staplehay and will link the two communities with Taunton.
The initiative has come out of a council task and finish group on sustainable transport which has been chaired by Councillor Meikle - whose, son, of course, is the Duncan Meikle who has helped to pioneer the new community hall plans for Pitminster parish.
A ‘demand responsive’ bus is one which runs on a regular route but which people can ring up and book a seat in advance if they live nearby and the bus will then detour and pick them up.
The proviso is that it will only be during certain times of the day, and also passengers have to be within a reasonable distance and the roads need to be wide enough for the bus to be able to reach them.
I am not quite sure how this is different from the Slinky Bus that Somerset County Council has been supporting, but I am sure it will be a welcome initiative.
At this stage, I am still waiting to be told just when the service will start, and who will be operating it.
The project is a partnership between Taunton Deane Borough Council and the county council.
The Deane council is putting £25,000 towards the set-up costs of scheme, which will run for three years.
Other communities which will benefit from the service include West Monkton, West Hatch, Hestercombe, and Curry Mallet.
Councillor Meikle told me: “We are beginning to infill the bus service gaps in Taunton Deane.
“This compliments a similar ‘ring and book’ magnificent voluntary community transport which Wiveliscombe have been running for some years covering 26 parish areas to the west of Taunton.
“All this positive thinking and action helps the quality of life for everybody.”
Councillor Ross Henley, who is the leader of the Deane council, told me: “I am very pleased to be able to implement the recommendation of this task and finish review.”

Saturday 6 September 2008

Free swimming 'con' attempt by the Lib Dems

HERE we go again. More untruths from the Lib Dem SatWav pioneers.
This time, they are peddling untruths in an effort to con votes out of people in Ruishton and Creech St Michael.
You may know that there is going to be a by-election in the ward on October 2, due to the death of one of my Conservative colleagues, Councillor Gwyneth Leighton.
Obviously, the Lib Dems have made themselves very unpopular locally with their callous decisions to close sports centre crèches, axe discounts for pensioners using leisure services, and demolish the only two proper pay-as-play public squash courts in the county town.
Decisions which, I am sure I do not need to remind you, they took in secret and without any consultation with the public or those who use our leisure services.
So, in a blatant bid to try to redeem themselves in the eyes of the public, their leader, ‘Reckless’ Ross Henley, has told the voters of Ruishton and Creech St Michael that ‘his’ council is going to give free swimming for everybody under-16 and everybody over-60 as from next year.
This crass claim has been shown by the council’s chief executive to be an untruth.
So, ‘Reckless’ Ross has been humiliatingly forced to put a retraction in their next leaflet telling people that in fact all the Lib Dems want to do is take up Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s previously-announced policy of free swimming for young people and the elderly as part of the UK’ build up to the London 2012 Olympics.
The Lib Dems have not yet even got as far as putting a proposal on the subject to the Deane council, where it will be properly debated before any decisions can be taken.
Of course, Conservatives support the idea of free swimming in principle.
But, unlike ‘Reckless’ Ross, we are not prepared to sign a blank cheque drawn on council taxpayers money.
As yet, nobody has any idea of the costs of meeting the free swimming promise, as we do not know how much take-up their would be, nor the impact on other paid-for swimming sessions, nor how much Gordon Brown is actually going to give us to help pay for it.
These are all things which ‘Reckless’ Ross should have been looking into before rushing headlong into print with false promises.
I hear that he is apparently blaming his agent for getting it wrong in the leaflet – funny that, as he was previously quoted as saying virtually the same thing in the Somerset County Gazette and Wellington Weekly News, and I am pretty sure his agent does not edit either of those publications.
Incidentally, it will not be ‘free’ swimming, it will be swimming that is paid for by people aged between 16 and 59 years.

Thursday 26 June 2008

'Local veto' stops phone box closures - for now

I AM pleased to hear that the Deane council is formally objecting to the proposed closure by BT of many public telephone boxes in the area.
BT wants to remove four call boxes from the Blackdown ward which I represent, and two more in Ford Street, Wellington, and Sampford Moor, an area in which I am campaigning to become the county councillor next year.
I am pleased the council has taken up my suggestion of using what is known as ‘The Local Veto’ to object to BT’s plans, although I was a little surprised the council did not know about this power until I pointed it out.
All six of the above proposed closures are being formally opposed, and this effectively means BT cannot remove these public call boxes.
There is a protracted appeals process which BT could pursue, but their only argument is that they are losing money on these phone boxes - and that is not actually any grounds for closure.
When the regulating body, Ofcom, last reviewed BT’s ‘universal service obligation’ under which BT has to maintain public call boxes, it decided that the cost of doing so was not overly onerous.
Therefore, for BT to argue it is not making money out of the call boxes on the Blackdown Hills and the rural area around Wellington is simply not a good reason for taking them away.
When I asked BT for the actual financial figures in relation to these particular phone boxes, they refused to provide them.
As many people will discover when they visit the Blackdowns, it is very difficult to obtain a mobile phone signal, and if there was an emergency they would have to rely on finding a call box.
I have also asked the council to go one step further and look at making formal requests for BT to instead begin replacing phone boxes which have previously been removed, or to introduce new ones.
Bishopswood, for instance, does not have a public phone box anywhere in the community nor nearby.
I think that every community should have at least one public call box available for people to use if there was any kind of emergency or breakdown in the residential phone network.
  • The photograph shows me at the public phone box in Stapley, which is on BT’s closure list.

Saturday 7 June 2008

Accident blackspot junction needs improving as matter of priority

IMPROVEMENTS are needed to Culmhead Crossroads, which is considered to be one of the worst accident blackspots on the Blackdown Hills.
I have had a close look at the junction after concern was expressed by local resident Robin Morris, who has frequently experienced cars crashing into, and sometimes through, his garden hedge, and who has also narrowly avoided being knocked down.
Matters came to a head for Mr Morris with a recent crash at the junction between two Audi cars in which some of the occupants suffered serious injuries.
Now, I am asking highways officials to improve the warning signs and rumble strips on the approaches to the junction, and I also want to see changes to the white lining which would make it safer for vehicles crossing the junction.
I have looked into the accident statistics for this junction going back over 10 years and there have been 17 people injured in that time, not including the recent crash involving the Audis.
On top of these, there have been many more minor accidents where, fortunately, people have escaped injury.
So, it is quite clear that there is a problem which needs to be addressed at this junction and I have therefore made some suggestions which I hope will improve safety.
If this was a more major road, then I am sure its accident statistics would have seen something done about the situation long ago.
I think people living and working on the Blackdown Hills deserve to see the county council putting just as much effort into making their roads safer as they do in the urban areas.
  • The photograph shows me (left) at Culmhead crossroads with resident Robin Morris and some of the wreckage left from the recent double-Audi car crash at the junction.

Tuesday 3 June 2008

Speak up now to help save Blagdon Hill School from closure

THE governors of Blagdon Hill Primary School continue to have my full support in their fight to save the village school from closure under Somerset County Council spending cuts.
I visited the school again yesterday with Mark Formosa, who is the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Taunton Deane and who is passionate about the need to maintain small schools.
We are urgently calling for everybody in the local community to send their comments to the county council before the public consultation process ends on Friday, June 6.
Interestingly, Mark discovered by coincidence that as a youngster he went to the same school in Cornwall as Blagdon’s chairman of governors, Jonathan Langdon.
The county council say they are talking about the quality of education in small rural schools - but we all know they are really interested in cutting money from a budget they have mismanaged despite doubling our Council Tax in 10 years.
Now, rural residents are being threatened with paying the price of the county’s blundering through the closure of village schools not just here on the Blackdowns, but across many areas of Somerset.
Blagdon Hill provides quality education for the children who attend it, and the small class sizes mean pupils can receive a high ratio of one-to-one attention from their teachers.
Pupils receive excellent sports tuition, every child goes swimming every week of every term, every child plays a musical instrument, there is a computer in class for every two pupils rather than a once-a-week session in an IT suite, and children with special needs are able to make huge progress in such an environment.
All this is reflected in Ofsted inspection reports which rate the school and its teaching environment as good, good, good.
Yet, the county council are contemplating closing Blagdon Hill School and they are already putting off potential pupils by not telling parents moving to the area that the school is there.
I was extremely impressed by the strength of local feelings which came out of the recent open meeting and drop-in sessions, which I think rather took the county council by surprise.
They were gravely mistaken if they thought Blagdon Hill residents would be a soft touch, and I hope that if enough people put sufficiently robust arguments to them before the close of consultation on Friday, then we may have a chance of stopping this closure.
It does not make sense to be closing any school at a time when schools in Taunton are already over-subscribed and we face thousands more homes being built in the town with a huge influx of new residents and their children.
  • The photograph outside Blagdon Hill Primary School shows (left to right) acting head teacher David Hawkins, chairman of governors Jonathan Langdon, Mark Formosa, parent-governor Jayne Simpson, and Blackdown ward Deane Councillor John Thorne.

Friday 23 May 2008

Red phone boxes under threat from cost-cutting BT

BT has just announced it wants to remove the last remaining red telephone boxes in many of the Blackdown Hills communities.
Four call boxes would be lost from the Blackdown ward which I represent on Taunton Deane Borough Council, and many more in the wider area around Wellington, where I am campaigning to become the county councillor next year.
As a businessman and a homeowner who gave BT the boot many months ago because of its appalling customer service and billing incompetence, I perhaps ought to declare an interest here.
That said, I am absolutely appalled that BT has suggested these phone boxes should be removed.
In nearly every case, it will leave whole communities without any access at all to a public telephone.
When I challenged BT, they were not even able to tell me how much use is made of these call boxes because they said they did not keep proper records.
They tell us they want to close them because they are losing money, but BT has a public service obligation and I am demanding they honour that obligation.
I do not just want to see this closure programme stopped, I want to see BT restoring many of the call boxes they have already removed.
I believe every community should have at least one public call box which people can use in the event of an emergency.
BT claim that most people have a mobile phone, but my phone does not have a signal in many parts of the Blackdowns, and if my car broke down, for example, I would have to find the nearest phone box to call the AA.
I have pointed out to our Deane council leader, Ross Henley, that we have the ability to make it very difficult for BT to close the phone boxes.
As a council, we can formally object and take BT through a pretty lengthy appeals process where every proposed phone box closure would be examined very carefully.
There is no question in my mind that we should do everything possible to resist these iniquitous phone box closures.
BT is presently consulting on the proposed closures and I shall be putting the case as strongly as possible against this move.
  • The photographs show (TOP) me outside the phone box in Ford Street, just outside Wellington, which is on BT’s closure list, (MIDDLE) the under-threat phone box in Blagdon Hill, and (BOTTOM) the cobwebs which show the Stapley phone box has not been used in a very long time.