Our pavements are officially the worst in the Westcountry

PAVEMENTS in Somerset are the worst in the Westcountry - and that is official.
My Conservative colleagues at County Hall have reacted with shock after seeing the latest performance figures showing that Lib Dem Somerset’s pavements are the worst of any council in the South West.
A report from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) collated data from the Audit Commission which showed the condition of Somerset’s pavements is almost twice as bad as the national average.
Somerset was also placed bottom of the list for South West local authorities.
CSP figures show that 42 per cent of pavements in Somerset are in need of repair, almost twice the average for the whole country.
The situation nationally has only marginally improved since last year, when the CSP called on local authorities to urgently address the problem of broken pavements, which can increase the risk of falls, especially for older people.
No wonder my county Conservative colleagues were so dismayed by the news of Somerset’s failings.
The CSP report showed that almost half of all footways in the county are in need of repair.
The practical reality of the situation is that every day, thousands of Somerset residents have to take their lives into their own hands just by walking down the street.
This needs action before any more residents injure themselves.
We must take action as a matter of urgency to put this right.
If we leave it, then it will only end up costing the county council - that means us council taxpayers - more in the long-run.
There will be more injuries, more claims against the council, and more misery for local people.
We deserve better.
The CSP wants councils such as Somerset to make 2009 the year for carrying out repairs to broken and uneven pavements, which will improve safety and help to protect people from unnecessary falls.
Lynn Sutcliffe, a spokeswoman for CSP and vice-chairman of AGILE (Chartered Physiotherapists working with Older People), said: “Once an older person has fallen, it can seriously affect their physical and emotional wellbeing.
“It can make them anxious and limit their enjoyment of activities they previously enjoyed.
“Walking on uneven ground requires older people to be fit and strong, and able to withstand disturbances to their balance.
“If local authorities act sooner rather than later to fix the pavements that need repair, many unnecessary falls could be avoided.”
The subject of broken pavements was the theme of National Falls Awareness Day 2008, run by Help the Aged.
The charity carried out research showing that 2,300 older people fall on broken pavements every day and nearly 80,000 of those who have fallen each year are subsequently afraid to leave the house.
Pamela Holmes, Help the Aged healthy ageing manager, said: “These new figures released by the CSP show that broken and damaged pavements still represent a significant problem for older people with mobility problems.
“Our own research suggested that councils are caught in a vicious circle.
“On the one hand they are required to sit on large sums of money to cover legal fees and compensation, and on the other they are cash-strapped when it comes to repairing pavements that may cause falls in the first place.
“It is vital that councils invest more money in keeping public walkways safe, as falls are a leading cause of death for over-75s and at the very least, one fall can shatter an older person’s physical and mental well-being.”
Mark Formosa, who is the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Taunton Deane, has already helped to collect a large petition in Taunton which complains about the state of some pavements in the county town.
Mark has presented the petition to the county council because it is responsible for maintaining the footways.

• The photographs show the state of some pavements in Taunton, and also Mark Formosa with two residents with whom he worked to collect a petition protesting at how the county council was failing to properly maintain the pavements.

Ridealong gives first hand experience of front line policing on the Blackdowns

I HAVE just spent a bitterly cold night shift on duty with the Blackdowns beat officer PC Maria Jennings.
It was part of a Ridealong scheme the police are operating for local councillors to experience front line policing at first hand, and I was pleased to be one of the first councillors to take part.
However, sub-zero temperatures straight after the New Year celebrations ensured it was an exceptionally quiet night as most people seemed to have stayed at home in the warm.
The ‘lack of action’, which I am assured is extremely unusual as Friday nights generally see a lot going on, means I will repeat the exercise later in the year when there is warmer weather.
It was still a very interesting experience and one which gave an insight into the workings of the police and how they tackle crime and the potential for crime.
I learned quite a bit about what to look out for in terms of suspicious behaviour, and how criminals tend to act.
The big lesson was the realisation that although I frequently hear people complain that they ‘never see a police officer’ any more, there are, in fact, always police on duty at any time of day or night somewhere close at hand.
Our patrol covered an area stretching from Bishopswood and Churchstanton to Burrowbridge and Stoke St Gregory, and going into central Taunton as well.
I also met the three PCSOs who work with PC Jennings to provide police cover in the area.
It quickly became apparent that while people may be asleep in their beds at home, there was always a police presence out and about somewhere nearby and ready to respond to any incident.
We started the evening by attending a reported ‘firearms incident’ which immediately brought to mind images of armed response police officers surrounding a hostage situation, but actually turned out to be a case where PC Jennings simply needed to talk to some neighbours about the law which covers the use of a shotgun.
Over the radio, we picked up reports of a missing teenager, and then, later, another missing person even younger, as well as the ‘usual’ incidents of fights and public disturbance.
But they were all being dealt with elsewhere and we were not required, again illustrating how many police must actually be on duty even though it was now late at night.
We checked on isolated properties where there had either been previous attempted break-ins or the owners were away and had notified the police that there should be nobody about.
A group of lads climbing out of a roadside hedge just outside one village raised suspicions, but it was quickly clear they were just out for a midnight walk for ‘something to do’.
The other big lesson I took from this Ridealong evening was how the people of the Blackdowns are in good hands with PC Jennings as their beat officer.
She has 20 years’ experience behind her, all of it in front line policing, including many years in the Metropolitan Police.
She has a wealth of experience and I think the residents of the Blackdowns are very fortunate to have such a high-quality officer looking after them.
All in all, the Ridealong was a tremendously interesting experience and one which I look forward to repeating some time in the summer.

• The photograph shows Councillor John Thorne with PC Maria Jennings and her Land Rover police car.