If you're SAD and you know it clap your hands

Greetings once more, reader(s), after a prolonged absence from the blogosphere. I trust 2010 is treating you well so far, wintry weather notwithstanding.

I must say I find the first couple of months of any new year really hard going (I just want to hibernate) - I know TS Eliot claimed that "April is the cruellest month", but my money's on February every time. [*SAD face*] Roll on Spring.

So - where have I been and what have I been up to? Well...

• The early part of December was utterly consumed by working on amendments to (and negotiations around) the Core Strategy - which resulted in WIN and (hopefully) a more creative, visionary and sustainable future for the built environment in Brighton & Hove.

• Then I went to Girona with Mr K for a week. This was the first proper holiday we'd been able to take together for a very long time, and it was lovely, despite the sub-zero temperatures - to say we were phased watching the Spanish news and seeing Madrid under six inches of snow is an understatement - but it was good mental prep for the "snow and ice chaos" (© The Argus) which greeted us on our return to Blighty.

• It was also a good job I can't speak Spanish (other than the basic niceties) as we were away the week of the Copenhagen Summit, and if I'd been able to follow what was - or perhaps wasn't - going on, it would have cast a cloud over our holibobs proceedings to say the least. I actually shed a tear when I finally got my hands on a Guardian Europe edition the Saturday we were heading back. World Leaders - you fail it. China - you fail hardest. What an epic disappointment and an unbelievable waste of time. I have never felt the call to direct action (and away from electoral politics) more keenly. I will no doubt have more to say on this later on...

• The Christmas and New Year period was mainly spent Up North, before returning to the fray and a shed-load of complaints from residents who were confused and frustrated by the perceived lack of response from the Council to the snow and ice. Things were particularly bad in the hilly parts of the city, which led my Hanover & Elm Grove colleague and Green Group Convenor Cllr Bill Randall to put in a request for urgent scrutiny into the local authority's Winter Plan.

• As a result of Bill's request, there'll now be a public panel hearing about this sometime in March - residents can express their interest in attending by emailing scrutiny@brighton-hove.gov.uk or calling (01273) 291038.

• Since returning from my Yule break, I've been engaged with a wide variety of issues in Preston Park ward, including schools admissions appeals, road safety, planning enforcement, and introducing more recycling facilities at blocks of flats.

• I've also enjoyed continuing to work with the Phoenix Arts Association in progressing their plans to redevelop their building (another very good meeting earlier today, with reps from the Regency Society). And there's LOTS of industry stuff to report back on - it's a bit TL:DR for this post, but in the first instance suffice to say props once more to B&H Planners on their RTPI National award for One Brighton! Excellent work.

• And I've called for a scrutiny report into the city's Open Spaces Strategy, following last year's devastating Planning Appeal decisions which will see unwelcome development on greenfield sites in Preston Park and St Peter's & North Laine wards - I hope to hear whether this will be accepted in the next few weeks.

Last but not least - we are now less than 90 days away from the General Election. A recent ICM poll puts Caroline Lucas in the lead with 35% in Brighton Pavilion. We are on the verge of making the breakthrough to Westminster, but not without Herculean doorstepping efforts in the days and weeks to come.

So if I'm a bit quiet between now and May, you'll forgive me, won't you?

PS Re Baking (sorry BPB) - during B&H SNOWMAGEDDON every corner shop within a half-mile sliding radius was completely sold out of bread. So I decided to make some soda bread (using WWII-rations-alike vinegar 'n' milk as a substitute for buttermilk). Regrettably, I (erm) forgot to add the bicarbonate of soda (I was distracted by the telephone and a gin & tonic). It came out rock-hard and utterly inedible. Moral: don't chat/drink and bake.

In The Meantime...

Sooooo... it's four weeks since I last posted on this blog. Four weeks since our epic victory in Goldsmid, three weeks since Pride, two weeks since I "went on holiday" (aka got bustled around Cheshire by my Ma / sis / cuz in the pursuit of friends & family), one week since I came back (to an exploding Inbox).

Happy Summer Holidays! Whoever it was that said "honestly, nothing happens during August" with reference to council duties was clearly not a member of the Planning Committee and/or dealing with a lot of angry constituents who feel duped by the recent London Rd Station CPZ consultation, or frustrated residents in the Old Shoreham Rd area whose refuse and recycling collections have been non-existent in recent weeks. It's been a busy old time, all in all.

So apologies as always, dear reader, for being a less than faithful correspondent in recent days. Out of all the stuff that's been happening, Pride deserves a post all to itself, but in the meantime here's a couple of snaps of Brighton & Hove Green Party's contribution to this year's Pride Beside The Seaside:





L-R:

Captain Amy Kennedy

Dr. Caroline Lucas MEP, Admiral of the Fleet

Commander Phelim Mac Cafferty












OMG have you ever seen anyone look so happy to be this close to recycling bins? (my Mum worries my activism is "unhygenic")









More posting on all this and other stuff to follow, but my absolute favourite Argus 'Silly Season' story from this week has got to be the funky sandwiches piece: regular readers (and those who know and love me) will be familiar with my interest in Bento and Food Art, so to see such skill and expertise emanating from Littlehampton more or less made my week :D



"If I was a sculptor... but then again - no..."
(Mark Northeast, Littlehampton 2009)

[note to self: did E.John ever stay in Littlehampton? CHECK.]







My favourite ever Bento: Sardine & Red Pepper Heels.











Nom nom nom :D And ta-ra for now.

Glastonbury Festival: a lesson in town planning?

Oh boy, what a busy week it's been - lots of committee and ward work which I'll try and do an update on in the next few days, as well as local party meetings and campaigning in Goldsmid for the by-election (all pretty punishing in this heat to be honest *wilts*).

My Inbox has been exploding as usual (the London Rd station CPZ is clearly a matter of great concern to residents, and again, more to come on that soon).

As well as receiving emails from residents and council officers, I'm also signed up for daily updates from trade and industry media, and this story from the Planning Blog really caught my eye:

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GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL: A LESSON IN PLANNING

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Mark Wilding

The Glastonbury festival has been and gone. With just a few weeks preparation, the festival site is transformed from bare fields to a veritable metropolis. For the space of a weekend, once bare fields become the site of a large town.

Can you see where I’m going with this?

Assuming the majority of tents are occupied by two people, that’s 75,000 dwellings springing up over the course of a few days. In other words, almost 75 percent of the affordable homes Gordon Brown has pledged to deliver in the next two years. And you don’t get much more affordable than a tent.

All this is achieved without a regional spatial strategy, a core strategy, or any other strategy than making a shed load of money by charging people to live in a field for a weekend.

The most amazing aspect of this phenomenon is that the festival seems to work. Throughout the course of the weekend nobody died, everyone on television appeared to be having fun and if there were any major disasters then they slipped well under the radar.

Infrastructure provision copes, there’s mixed-tenure (see the contrast between the hospitality field and the man who pitched up next to the toilets) and plenty of green energy provision. The perimeter fence means there’s no chance of any urban sprawl.

Having said that, the flood risk planning policy might need a bit of work…

Is it possible that planners have got it all wrong? Maybe people should just be left to get on with it?

Then again, creating a town for three days then leaving while someone else cleans up the mess isn’t exactly ‘sustainable development’…

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This article really struck a chord with me. My colleagues will attest to the fact that I am a bit of a broken record when it comes to holding up the Glastonbury Festival model of a sustainable community as a beacon which local authorities can learn from (particularly when it comes to dealing with waste and recycling).

The general Planning arguments outlined above are very thought-provoking, but one thing's for sure: Glastonbury regularly achieves recycling rates of 50% plus, something which councils in the UK can currently only dream about.

I have been progressing recycling and waste management at events in Brighton & Hove since I was first elected, and the local authority is now seeking to achieve the new British Standard BS8901 (guidelines surrounding sustainability at large-scale events) thanks to Green calls for action on this, but we could learn from the Glasto model for our household and commercial operations too...

Sweet words for The Big Lemon

There was a lovely letter in today's Argus praising my friend Tom, MD of The Big Lemon, and all-round good chap:

ON behalf of Bevendean Primary School, I would like to say a big thank you to Tom Druitt of The Big Lemon Bus Company.

Our Playground Buddies had a date at the Race Hill, to celebrate the work they do in caring for other children in the school.

There was no funding for transport but Mr Druitt, who had been ferrying our children to the lagoon and back, offered to take us for free.

He greeted every child individually, which, though he didn’t know it, is part of the ethos of our school. He drove considerately and carefully, and as we disembarked, again individually wished every child a lovely time.

He was a fine example of the way we teach our children to behave. It was an integral part of the lovely afternoon that the children, and we staff, enjoyed.

Once again, thank you, Mr Druitt and The Big Lemon Bus Company. Long may you continue. Penny Hajduk, Manton Road, Brighton

Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I had a bit of a lump in my throat as I read this; I could just imagine how nice Tom obviously was with the kids, and I actually found it very moving that their teacher had written a public letter of thanks to him.

Tom is such a lovely man, unflappable and optimistic, and he's worked very hard in making a success of The Big Lemon, which is a community interest company.

I'm proud to be a Big Lemon shareholder and supporter, and I hope the next few days' journeys forth and back to Glastonbury go well for his fleet of yellow chip-fat-fuelled buses. Keep up the good work Tom!

Weekending

Apart from a spot of leafleting in Goldsmid earlier this evening, I am taking it easy this weekend after a rather epic week. The predominant theme was trying to catch up on council work following the Euros. Here's a bit of a round-up:

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On Monday, I had a meeting at the Phoenix with fellow Trustees and senior council officers to discuss plans to refurbish the building.

I've got a soft spot for this modernist landmark, but it's urgently in need of an upgrade and a makeover, not least because there are real problems with solar gain in parts of the building.

RH Partnership are the architects for the project, and they've done an excellent job with the initial design concept:

The design's moved on somewhat since the image above was produced, but this should give you a flavour of the proposals. It's all very exciting, not least because Phoenix are aiming to self-fund the project. I'm hoping pre-application discussions with the Planning officers will happen over the next couple of months.

On Monday evening we had a Group meeting, which included a presentation by CityClean officers regarding the new Waste Strategy for Brighton & Hove. Obviously Greens are always going to be hard to satisfy when it comes to the way in which the city currently manages its refuse and recycling, but there are some surprisingly good proposals in the emerging document.

Sadly nothing as yet regarding taking action on the plastic containers and cutlery used by food retailers on the seafront and throughout the city, but I'm going to keep pushing on this. If we can introduce compulsory biodegradable / compostable vessels and cutlery at events in Brighton & Hove, it will be easier to make the case to local businesses I hope.

And the Supermarket Summit is back on! Apparently.

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Tuesday was devoted to ploughing through my groaning Inbox and dealing with emails, and on Wednesday I had a Planning Committee meeting, preceded by a meeting (wearing my Deputy Convenor hat) with Cllr Brian Oxley in which he outlined his aims as Chair of the Governance Committee over the next municipal year, and asked for feedback from the Green Group on his proposals (guys, if you're reading this, I'll be typing up the notes on Monday).

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On Thursday morning I met with a senior CityParks officer to discuss a request from residents on Preston Park Avenue for an access ramp into the park at the northern-most end of the street. This is an ongoing campaign, and I'll be posting more about this soon.

I had a cultural lunchtime, and then went up to the local party office to stuff envelopes for the Goldsmid campaign with Ben and our friend Alison. After a quick dash home to eat and see Mr K, it was back out for a local party bash at Moksha, to celebrate our success in the Euros.

Dr Caroline Lucas MEP & Cllr Keith Taylor

The lovely Moksha people had made us little cupcakes with green icing :) and a jolly good time was had by all.

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I had meetings throughout Friday morning, with Tourism officers, and then with Planning & Enforcement officers regarding sites adjacent to London Road station. Again, the latter concerns an ongoing campaign, and I'll have more to say on this over coming weeks.

After lunch and a whizz through some emails, it was back to the local party office for yet more envelope stuffing with Jason, Phelim and local party Chair Simon. Four thousand envelopes later, we were finished by 10pm - and retired to the pub.

*phew*

Dirty Beach

Gorgeous day today. Mr K & I headed for the seafront, taking in Chloe Hanks & Lou McCurdy's Dirty Beach exhibition on the way.

I first got to know Chloe and Lou when I called on the Council to take action on single-use plastic bags in Brighton & Hove way back in October '07: Chloe is the founder of Plastic Bag Free Brighton, and Lou was then working on her More Plastic Than Plankton project.

Although the Tories have reneged on their supposed commitment to [*ahem*] "eliminate" the free issue of plastic bags in the city (not appropriate in the "current economic climate", apparently - hmm), it's great to see that Lou and Chloe are still pressing the point that disposable plastic and other litter is damaging our environment, and making thought-provoking art in getting this message across.


The exhibition was excellent, and has attracted rave reviews from the Times (amongst others) during the recent Festival. Lou's textural panels (made from the plastic flotsam she gleans from local beaches) contrast wonderfully with graphic designer Chloe's (100% bio-degradable!) eco-graffiti. Here are some highlights:


















Chloe takes advantage of the snow!

Anyone for tennis?

Hanksy at large


Well done Lou & Chloe, and thank you for a wonderful free exhibition - keep up the good work.

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From one Dirty Beach to another: Mr K & I continued our peregrinations down to the seafront, with our sights set on a tasty smoked fish sandwich from The Brighton Smokehouse for lunch. As we waited in the queue, I admired their sign:



































Look! The fish is smoking! :0


While it was great to see traders doing so well today on the seafront, sadly our hunger got the better of us, and after 10 minutes' queuing we decided to head over to the Kemptown side of the beach (where it's generally quieter) in search of lunch, finally hitting upon the fish & chips joint near the Crazy Golf.

"Do you think this fish is from sustainable stocks?" asked Mr K wryly. I guessed not, as I eyed up the plastic debris eddying round the cafe tables:


































Two things:

1. What is wrong with people? There are bins every ten yards or so on the beach. For pity's sake, please pick up your litter and bin it, you lazy idiots. As they say in Suffolk, don't be a tosser.

2. If Glastonbury Festival can stipulate that all food traders use biodegradable / compostable / recyclable plates & cutlery etc, what is stopping Brighton & Hove City Council from working with traders to introduce similar measures on the seafront?

More on this soon I hope, in conjunction with work I've been doing on sustainability at events in the city...