tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238621612011-11-15T21:37:49.332ZThis is a blog from David Spender, one of the two Liberal Democrat Winchester City Councillors for the wonderfully named Oliver's Battery and Badger Farm Ward. It will cover local and district issues as seen from our perspectives.David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.comBlogger1201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-81873015679491744742010-07-30T13:55:00.002Z2010-07-30T13:59:20.642Z

As the County Council prepares to take on the running of the National Concessionary Travel Scheme from the eleven district and borough councils in Hampshire, it is asking residents how they use their entitlement to a free bus pass.The transfer of concessionary fares from district authorities to county authorities was announced at the very end of the last Government. The transfer will take effect

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-41496870570371105772010-07-28T12:37:00.002Z2010-07-28T12:44:27.961Z

Liberal Democrat run Winchester City Council has cheered up local parents with the announcement that under 16s will be able to swim for free at River Park Leisure Centre this August.As part of the government's spending cuts the scheme allowing over 60s and under 16s to swim for free has been axed. However Lib Dem Winchester has worked with DC Leisure and the Toynbee School Sports partnership to

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-65535317006829092572010-05-09T08:34:00.005Z2010-05-09T08:51:56.952Z

Thursday's local elections saw Winchester Liberal Democrats gain 5 seats on the City Council, putting the party back in control after 4 years. Here in Oliver's Battery and Badger Farm Brian Collin did not seek re-election but his Lib Dem replacement, Lynda Banister, scored a stunning victory:BANISTER Lynda Liberal Democrat 1615Conservative 943Labour 126Turn out - 82.43% Liberal Democrat HoldI

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-50651324703984195282010-04-06T19:16:00.002Z2010-04-06T19:20:06.123Z

Survey re Oliver’s Battery Recreation GroundReport to Oliver’s Battery Parish Council, 6th April 2010Following the last Parish Council meeting and the subsequent special meeting called at the request of six residents, I was asked to conduct a survey of opinion within the Parish on future options for the Recreation Ground.1,318 survey forms were printed and distributed to every individual on the

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-60338607097489878742010-03-21T12:53:00.007Z2010-03-21T13:17:13.923Z

Oliver’s Battery Parish Council has recently received planning permission for new sports facilities at the Recreation Ground. These comprise a hard-surfaced and partially fenced “multi-use games area” and an attached, fully fenced, tennis court. The multi-use games area would include a basketball hoop and would be partly separated from the tennis court by a practice wall. The wall would be

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-3326156405926323992009-11-23T21:56:00.003Z2009-12-09T15:01:53.508Z

The railway bridge on St Cross Road, next to the Bushfield roundabout, will be closed to traffic from 4 January until 31 March 2010. Signs will divert cars and lorries up Badger Farm Road and then into Winchester via Romsey Road. Be prepared for a lot of additional traffic on Badger Farm Road for these three months.The closure has been caused by Network Rail needing to replace the bridge. This is

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-89461465992070510242009-10-15T12:53:00.002Z2009-10-15T13:08:00.094Z

Winchester City Council's cabinet decided yesterday not to release the local reserve sites for development, at least not yet. This is a welcome decision. As I said in my previous post, I am far from convinced by the arguments that Winchester is falling short of development land. Certainly the proposals that went to cabinet yesterday appeared to contradict the advice members received earlier this

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-24468987227573029202009-10-14T07:50:00.003Z2009-10-14T08:40:26.045Z

Residents and local Councillors were surprised, and a little bit shocked, to be invited recently to an exhibition by a property developer setting out development plans for Pitt Manor. We'd understood from a City Council report back in March that the site had been put on the back-burner.The Pitt Manor site, in the south-west corner of Kilham Lane and Romsey Road is held in reserve in case there

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-81175674336660122402009-08-15T09:23:00.001Z2009-08-15T09:24:23.626Z

David Spender writes:-The summer is a relatively quiet time for city council business with only the Planning Development Control Committee meeting during August. Not that the weather has provided much opportunity to enjoy the time off!One thing that does continue all through the year is ward work, attempting to deal with issues, problems and questions raised by residents. So I thought I’d use

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-57736737739973286512009-06-15T09:45:00.000Z2009-06-15T09:47:04.492Z

For the past year or so there has been a "Greening Campaign" running in Oliver's Battery, see http://www.greening-ob.org.uk/ for more information. This is one of a network of such campaigns running in villages and towns across the south of England. This is how the Greening Campaign describes itself:The Greening Campaign was set up in response to the threat of global warming. Itis an innovative

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-67639791470746304492009-04-23T09:20:00.003Z2009-04-23T09:54:47.948Z

Last night, in a 6 hour meeting ending at 1 a.m., Winchester City Council agreed the Core Strategy Preferred Options paper for the Local Development Framework (LDF). This now goes to "Pre-Submission Consultation" (a curious stage at which consultations have to be carried out but, apparently, no substantive changes can be made to the document). The current plan calls for the LDF to be submitted to

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-72702049780688059132009-03-26T17:17:00.002Z2009-03-26T17:20:21.259Z

Some issues that come up regularly are the speed of traffic on Meadow Way and Ridgeway and parking at the BF Road end of Ridgeway.I guess most of us saw the electronic 30 sign in use in Meadow Way for a couple of weeks last year. The City Council has one of these, on a kind of loan from the County Highways Department. This sign has been "on tour" around the district, targetting areas where

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-71259996623252257032009-02-25T13:36:00.000Z2009-02-25T13:37:13.898Z

I’ve been asked a few times about garden waste bags and what residents can do if their bags have worn out, blown away or somehow disappeared. The good news is that the City Council will replace these bags free of charge and on request. All you need to do is call the Customer Service Centre on Winchester 840222 and tell them that you need a replacement bag.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-90362422620750908042009-02-10T13:23:00.003Z2009-02-10T14:04:33.615Z

Many people I speak to mention that the 2.5% cut in the rate of VAT will not matter much; that we won't notice it the scheme of things. I counter that if we spend about £1,000 in a month on "stuff generally", even in the supermarket, getting on for half will carry VAT, so at the end of the month, we will have something like £15 left to spend on more things or, just leave in the bank. In any

Brian Collinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-16970100952304374512008-12-16T11:12:00.002Z2008-12-16T11:21:07.730Z

Another rant about language. We have to say what things mean. Diverted giving actually means anti-begging boxes Let's not disguise it with a doomed attempt at pc language.About 16 years ago, I was commuting to London. Begging was not uncommon then (and might it become less uncommon now). I remember passing a poster in Waterloo Station which said "There are professional beggars operating in

Brian Collinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1998864723576216702008-12-08T16:35:00.002Z2008-12-08T17:06:35.577Z

City Council's cabinet meets on Wednesday to discuss, amongst other things, the Housing Revenue Account. Fascinating paper for the aficionado and one of the aspects that is truly fascinating is the "through the looking glass" reasoning by HMG.For all the time that I've been a councillor, governments of all persuasion have dedicated (part of) themselves to trying to ensure that everyone has a

Brian Collinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-6060543768110839542008-12-01T09:36:00.003Z2008-12-04T14:48:57.824Z

Winchester City Council has at last put in place some serious investigations into why this car park keeps on flooding. At the last Council meeting a fellow councillor Lucille Thompson put in a question asking whether the council could stop the ingress of water. The portfolio holder replied that the drains had been cleared and the water was coming in through the roof and via the sides as the fins

Brian Collinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-53604079775291954842008-11-30T16:24:00.001Z2008-11-30T16:26:54.271Z

We’ve had a busy few months in Oliver’s Battery and Badger Farm. I’ll just try to summarise a few of the things that, together with my colleagues Charlotte Bailey and Brian Collin, I’ve been involved in.The “Greening Oliver’s Battery” campaign has been going from strength to strength, proving that as a community we can unite to make a difference even on ‘big issues’ like global warming. The

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-14214534288736796272008-10-28T18:30:00.002Z2008-10-28T18:47:09.583Z

That was an easy conclusion after the farce of this morning's Ridgeway mobile phone mast decision in Badger Farm. Two dozen local residents gathered to voice their objections to an unwanted Vodafone mast a few metres from their homes. An assortment of Winchester Planning Development Control Committee members, under the guise of the Telecoms Planning Sub Committee, listened to residents (and to me

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-89701209478543123862008-10-10T13:31:00.003Z2008-10-10T13:41:08.301Z

Saturday 11 October 2008, sees the public launch of the Oliver's Battery Greening Campaign in the presence of the Deputy Mayor of Winchester. Come along to Oliver's Battery School at 2pm for entertainment, music, information and a free greening bag.Find us on FaceBook too!

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-47393462681445297952008-10-09T15:10:00.003Z2008-10-09T21:33:27.629Z

Not quite as racy as it sounds, but today a group of City Councillors met staff from Winchester's Theatre Royal for a "speed dating" session.The Theatre holds annual meetings with city councillors to update us on how it spends it grant money and the services it provide to the local community. This year's format meant that we met a whole range of theatre staff, from board members to front of house

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-66655133639995988632008-10-09T15:04:00.002Z2008-10-09T15:09:40.985Z

An interesting piece in today's Hampshire Chronicle has the Head of Planning & Development for the Church Commissioners, owners of Bushfield, calling for development on the old army camp site. Of course, it's no secret that the Church Commissioners have been wanting to sell off this land for housing for many years. I've always favoured leisure and recreation use of the site, with sports

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-14675827726866817512008-09-25T23:41:00.004Z2008-09-26T08:14:32.500Z

For the last few weeks along with many colleagues I've been working to ensure a Liberal Democrat victory in the Winchester City Council byelection in Colden Common & Twyford. We had an excellent candidate in Daryl Henry but a very strong challenge from the Conservatives. The byelection was today and this was the result:Liberal Democrat (Daryl Henry) 1180 54.1%Conservative 935 43%Labour 64 2.9%LD

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-35003756942493540572008-09-21T20:39:00.002Z2008-09-21T20:49:47.362Z

A long gap since my last blog, for which the only excuse is the summer holidays and party conference. The family trip to Italy was great, taking in Milan and Verona as well as Lakes Como and Garda. Conference was an enjoyable few days in Bournemouth where I heard interesting debates and speeches and attended some useful fringe meetings.When I got back the big news was that Vodafone have slapped

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-51352734131288883042008-07-27T23:37:00.003Z2008-07-27T23:43:42.673Z

Changes in the rules mean that key decisions on Winchester’s future will be taken later than expected, a council committee was told on 15th July.The Local Development Framework Core Strategy sets out the objectives for Winchester over the next 20 years and is intended to show how the government’s requirements for 12,240 new homes in the District will be met.Councillors have been told that the

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-4032694964246894732008-06-23T08:06:00.003Z2008-06-23T08:22:01.489Z

A good turn out from local residents marked a successful Open Day for Badger Farm Community Centre yesterday. I was pleased that the Mayor of Winchester was able to attend and offically open the event. The jazz band was going strong in the garden, while the hall saw displays of Tae Kwon Do, Latin American dancing, "Legs, Bums & Tums" exercise and much more. Stalls in the other rooms were staffed

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-12056976141642276032008-05-18T18:10:00.003Z2008-05-18T18:17:06.650Z

MayFest is the name for Winchester's annual folk, roots and blues festival. Despite the grey skies yesterday it was good to see the streets of the city full of colour and dancers of many varieties. A great day for an old folkie like me to wander around with my camera. The resulting pics can be found here.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-86205623187792594012008-05-02T01:29:00.003Z2008-05-02T01:47:13.156Z

Just a late night/early morning note on yesterday's election result. Here in Oliver's Battery & Badger Farm the votes were:Liberal Democrat (David Spender) 1251Conservative 497Green 59Labour 34This result has left me completely stunned. Last time we had an election here, in 2006, the result was a Lib Dem victory by just 8 votes. I feel immensely grateful to my friends and neighbours who have

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-51219803251223464482008-04-27T19:48:00.003Z2008-04-27T21:05:46.205Z

A Conservative activist in Whiteley Ward of Winchester City Council has been charged with a number of offences related to false proxy voting. The Daily Echo has the story. Meon Valley Lib Dem ppc Liz Leffman has more.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-49564842868741404612008-04-02T07:40:00.002Z2008-04-02T07:44:47.328Z

The Greening Oliver's Battery campaign has now launched a website.The other big news for the campaign is that a date and venue have been fixed for the first public meeting: 3 pm on Saturday 10th May at Oliver's Battery Primary School. If you're in the area come along and hear all about the Greening Campaign and how you can help make a difference.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-73885842404276019732008-03-29T13:37:00.003Z2008-03-29T13:54:59.986Z

Winchester's Tory-run City Council has decided that weekly collection of food waste is too expensive. That's what they tell us whenever a Lib Dem has the temerity to raise the subject in Council and that's what they've been saying in their leaflets too. Strangely, we don't agree. Next door Lib Dem-run Eastleigh are in the process of rolling out weekly food waste collection following a successful

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-31520968133322675182008-03-22T09:02:00.003Z2008-03-22T09:15:36.459Z

The Passion happened last night (Good Friday) and brought thousands of people onto the streets of Winchester to see this dramatic re-telling of the Easter story. Apart from a sudden downpour during the early stages at Oram's Arbour, the weather was cold but dry. We visited all three main locations but spent most of the time in front of the cathedral where we were able to watch the action

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-496218764927427472008-03-17T11:10:00.003Z2008-03-17T11:17:17.995Z

Come along to a truly amazing event on Good Friday 21st March 2008 from 6 p.m. Invite your friends and relatives from far and wide to see the dramatic re-enactment of the death and resurrection of Jesus on the streets of Winchester, with a cast of hundreds. The production will mix modern and classic styles and will include some spectacular effects. It all starts at Oram's Arbour with a

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-56685067930526838442008-03-12T15:47:00.003Z2008-03-12T16:04:18.017Z

Last Thursday I attended the inaugural meeting of a group of individuals who were interested in setting up a "Greening Oliver's Battery" campaign. This would be a local community initiative as part of the wider "Greening Campaign" which aims to "Green the country, community by community".The Greening Campaign was set up in response to the threat of global warming. It is an innovative idea to

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-37270718474488040212008-02-19T13:32:00.002Z2008-02-19T13:50:39.059Z

Here in Oliver's Battery we can claim a direct link to the time of the Civil War. Current historical opinion seems to take the view that the iron age earthwork, now known as Oliver's Battery, was used as a camp by Cromwell's forces during the siege of Winchester in 1645.Last Sunday a group of re-enactors from Tillier's Regiment of Foote, part of the Sealed Knot, put on displays at the Westgate.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-64831738820206562702008-02-18T17:51:00.000Z2008-02-18T17:52:34.363Z

The big news in Winchester as I write this is the Local Development Framework. This is the new version of the Council's Local Plan which will, over a period of time, replace the existing plan and show where new housing and commercial development will be allowed. Hopefully most people will by now have seen the City Council's Issues and Options paper, or at least the short version of it in the "

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-61069243239547349312008-01-19T19:03:00.000Z2008-01-19T19:23:18.833Z

After the usual Christmas and New Year chaos I suddenly realised that I haven't blogged for a whole month! It's not been that quiet either.Across Winchester people are beginning to realise, and hopefully think about, the implications of the first stage of the Local Development Framework. I first wrote about this back in November and we are now in the middle of the public consultation period that

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-87541745980279317892007-12-18T15:38:00.000Z2007-12-18T15:45:09.043Z

Yes, I voted for Nick. I'm delighted he won but not delighted that Chris Huhne lost. That may sound strange, but Keith House from Eastleigh summed it up very well on TV a few minutes ago when he said that the Party is a family. We delight in the success of one member and equally commiserate with another.I voted for Nick because I believe he has the ambition and character to take the Party forward

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-76995061789968852222007-12-07T20:46:00.000Z2007-12-08T10:02:09.344Z

Tory County Council Leader Ken Thornber today decided to hand Winchester's much loved Tower Arts Centre over to the neighbouring school. Read about the decision here.Grants have been reduced, the excellent Tower management team will be lost and the decision makes clear that what financial support remains is for "cultural provision and programming at the Tower Arts Centre and other venues in

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-59400155839318494002007-12-02T20:34:00.000Z2007-12-02T21:26:07.967Z

Great excitement today as Lib Dem leadership candidates Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne visited Winchester for an "informal" hustings. The candidates (pictured here with Lib Dem Euro candidate Catherine Bearder) addressed a packed meeting at the Conservative County Council-threatened Tower Arts Centre. This Friday (7 December) is County Council Leader Ken Thornber's "Decision Day" for The Tower.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-55993666286535099612007-11-30T16:24:00.000Z2007-11-30T16:50:11.585Z

Winchester City Council has just launched the consultation process for the Core Strategy document which will, eventually, form part of the District's Local Development Framework. The document published this week is the Draft Issues and Options Paper from which the Council will need to develop its own Preferred Options Paper by summer 2008. This will in turn go to public examination and a binding

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-13271533655308097992007-11-22T23:47:00.000Z2007-11-23T09:29:47.921Z

There was a by-election today for the Winchester City Council seat in Wickham. Wickham is part of Winchester's southern parishes and is in the new Meon Valley parliamentary constituency. The by-election was caused by the sad and unexpected death of Liberal Democrat councillor Sue Fitzgerald, who had only been elected for the first time in May this year.Here is the result:Liberal Democrat (Angela

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-8649383776956770112007-11-07T08:54:00.000Z2007-11-07T08:56:43.426Z

That’s all we seem to be hearing about at the moment.First the County Council cut its subsidy to the evening and Sunday services of the No 5 bus. The new timetable with reduced services has been in effect since 1st November. Hampshire County Council has a problem with overspend on the Adult Services budget and the Environment Department had to find its share of savings – it was told to save

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-25874806535078247602007-10-31T08:47:00.000Z2007-10-31T08:56:00.947Z

This coming Thursday is the big public meeting to discuss the Tower's future. The draft consultant's report on the future of the Tower Arts Centre has already been published at http://www.towerarts.co.uk/docs/tower1.pdf - the main conclusions will be presented at the meeting - so it's not essential to read it advance. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. It's essential that as

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-90551928740453537402007-10-19T08:14:00.000Z2007-10-19T08:27:09.172Z

An excellent result for our next door neighbours in Whitchurch yesterday. This was a by-election for Basingstoke and Deane District Council caused by the death of one of Whitchurch's Liberal Democrat councillors.The result:LD - 52.8%, -5.6%Con - 43.6%, +2.0%Lab 3.6%, +3.6%The Tories threw everything they had at this. Lots of rip-off Focus-style leaflets. Lots of heavy duty canvassing - I saw

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-12574517092057183392007-10-11T10:25:00.000Z2007-10-11T11:27:09.464Z

My colleague Karen Barratt, councillor for St Paul Ward, Winchester, has been direct in her opposition to the County Council's cuts in bus subsidy. Her open letter to County Council, Ken Thornber, seems well worth sharing:Dear Councillor Thornber,Thank you for your detailed reply to my letter of 28 August but I am still not convinced by your defence of cuts to the bus subsidy. I do not accept

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-88923447608056436312007-10-06T20:12:00.000Z2007-10-06T20:18:09.604Z

Yes, probably.So Gordon has backed off and suddenly October looks a less hectic prospect. The focus shifts from national policies back to local, from 4p off income tax to vandalism at the Badger Farm central kickabout area. The election we're thinking about moves from November 1 to May 1. We could be in for an interesting winter.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-16666486571761193522007-09-18T08:00:00.000Z2007-09-18T08:08:56.629Z

Some idle musings from the Liberal Democrat Party Conference.It's good to be back! This is my first party conference for 23 years, in fact my first Liberal Democrat one, the last one was a Liberal Party Assembly. Everything is bigger and shinier now. Better organised, more professional. Speakers appear on a giant video screen. There are so many fringe meetings it would take 6 months to attend

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-56900611002692797602007-09-10T12:41:00.000Z2007-09-10T13:14:42.556Z

We made history in Winchester this morning. The City Council's Licensing Sub-Committee heard the very first application anywhere in the country to licence a new betting shop under the Gambling Act 2005.The first, because the Act only came into effect on 1st September and, boy, does this Act stink!The Labour government loves gambling, hopefully less now under Gordon Brown, but it certainly loves

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-75712372551508103022007-08-23T23:31:00.000Z2007-08-23T23:32:47.456Z

A few local issues to mention. First of all, I went on a inspection tour of the public areas in Badger Farm with a couple of City Council officers during July. It was a useful opportunity to look at some of the most overgrown areas and to agree action to get them sorted. Most of the planted areas in Badger Farm are owned by the County Council and are "looked after" by the County's Highways

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-8822168523267594692007-07-25T21:46:00.001Z2007-07-25T21:56:17.274Z

Well, they did it. The Conservatives have withdrawn subsidy from a number of important evening bus services right across Winchester, including the No 5 which serves Badger Farm and Oliver's Battery. Two weekday evening services and everything after 6 pm on a Sunday will be lost.My Lib Dem colleague Jackie Porter, county councillor for Itchen Valley attended and spoke at the meeting. This is her

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-83827825530338390712007-07-23T10:39:00.000Z2007-07-23T10:43:51.497Z

Brian Collin and I have now distributed an emergency Focus across the ward about the proposed cuts to the number 5 bus service.Time is incredibly short. The County Council decision is on Tuesday morning (tomorrow!).If you would like to show your opposition, we've set up an online petition.You can also contact the decision-maker, Mel Kendal - and our local County Councillor, Charlotte Bailey, who

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-48948651382007573412007-07-20T09:24:00.000Z2007-07-20T22:56:57.292Z

A local production company has made a video of the latest demonstration against the closure of Winchester's Tower Arts Centre.Good news is that the County's decision on the future of the Tower has been postponed until September - so there is still time to campaign and still time to sign the online petition, now with nearly a thousand names on it.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-26046220340175862882007-07-19T08:01:00.000Z2007-07-19T08:12:49.133Z

I'm angry about news of the County Council's proposed cuts in evening services on the 1 and 5 buses in Winchester. Both form part of the so called "Quality Bus Partnership", with the 5 service being the main bus route to Badger Farm and (during evenings) Oliver's Battery. The 6A service to Abbotts Barton will lose its subsidy too.Tory proposals will cut the 5 service on Sunday evenings, with no

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-85547357239648667892007-07-18T21:11:00.000Z2007-07-18T21:23:18.538Z

A few pics of this morning's "Save Tower Arts" demo outside the Hampshire County CouncilOffices:Love the costumes in the last pic!

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-27411852339849059802007-07-07T22:59:00.000Z2007-07-07T23:23:58.664Z

Well the decision has been made. Conservative County Cllr Margaret Snaith has agreed to hand the management of our local Tower Arts Centre over to Kings School. You can read the HCC press release here.Now the school will no doubt get some good use out of the Centre, but the SaveTowerArts blog makes some very important points:The proposal is to transfer the management of the Arts Centre from the

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-85906521061199050932007-07-07T09:48:00.000Z2007-07-07T10:17:58.524Z

Took a carload from Winchester up to the Southall by-election yesterday. As usual at by-elections we were all impressed by the organisation and high level of activity. We delivered leaflets at the Ealing end of the constituency and were stopped by passersby telling us they were planning to vote Lib Dem and, in one case, by an Irish builder who "wasn't ever going to vote ******* Labour again and

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-31167903130427143912007-06-22T20:39:00.000Z2007-06-25T08:07:32.057Z

Just back from the "Save the Tower Arts Centre" demo. A good turnout with 50+ people despite the threatening weather. Mark and Belinda Oaten were both there as promised, along with several Winchester City Councillors and two Lib Dem County Councillors.Lynda & Miles Banister from Oliver's Battery, who organised tonight's demo, have also set up an online petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-34985331378437050582007-06-21T10:06:00.000Z2007-06-21T10:17:40.637Z

Winchester MP Mark Oaten and his wife Belinda have joined forces with local Lib Dem councillors in the campaign to save the Tower Arts Centre. Tory controlled Hants County Council is negotiating with the centre's neighbouring King's School over a possible transfer of the popular Winchester venue, but its future is uncertain. HCC believe the Tower will become redundant as the new Discovery Centre

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-66491009457880246082007-06-11T15:42:00.000Z2007-06-11T15:45:29.585Z

Just before Easter I was walking along Oliver’s Battery Road South when I was surrounded by a group of teenage lads. “Why haven’t we got anywhere to play football?” they said. “You’re on the council or something, aren’t you?”We talked for a few minutes and next day I received a well argued e-mail from one of the boys making the case for extra football goals on the Recreation Ground. I presented

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-81353286328406051132007-05-22T14:40:00.000Z2007-05-22T14:50:09.093Z

Oliver's Battery Parish Council has decided to re-surface the section of Compton Way between Oliver's Battery Gardens and and Priors Way. This is the very rough stretch leading down to the Recreation Ground and is technically not a road at all but a bridleway. Work is expected to start in June and take a couple of weeks.Here is the road closure notice from Hampshire County Council:---------------

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-3959689219479381642007-05-20T00:28:00.000Z2007-05-20T00:33:19.260Z

Winchester Mayfest took place on Saturday. A new (I think) name for Winchester's annual Folk Festival. Great fun and the city was really buzzing all day. Here are a few more pics for anyone who missed it.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-83432043747604114502007-05-04T13:04:00.000Z2007-05-04T13:12:09.801Z

Liberal Democrats gained 1 from Conservatives (Compton & Otterbourne) and 2 from Labour (St Luke and St John).Conservatives gained 1 from Liberal Democrats (Owslebury & Curdridge).New council: C 29, LD 23, Ind 4, Lab 1So the Tories retain overall control by one seat, having scraped home in Whiteley by 19 votes. From a Lib Dem perspective a great improvement on last year and a firm base for next

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-23502427976996005362007-05-04T08:57:00.000Z2007-05-04T09:00:02.388Z

The Winchester local election count is taking place this morning and the council will be updating the results live on their website. Look here for the latest news.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-54705996952402405722007-04-28T21:06:00.000Z2007-04-28T21:10:52.166Z

With the local elections only a few days away, I thought I'd take the opportunity to mention the nine key pledges Liberal Democrats are making to the people of Winchester this year:GreenerWe will recycle more - taking kitchen waste out of your bins We will improve the energy efficiency of offices and homes We will protect our town and village green edgesSaferWe will modernise and expand the

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-74329412751239012902007-04-23T14:11:00.000Z2007-04-23T14:19:13.277Z

Back in January I reported on a case of "extreme gardening" in Falcon View, Badger Farm. Readers with long memories will recall that Hampshire County Council contractors turned up unannounced and removed a planted bed in this quiet residential close. With the help of County Councillor Charlotte Bailey, we were just able to prevent them from laying tarmac over the site.Anyway, restitution has now

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-91886027825246557292007-04-16T10:10:00.000Z2007-04-16T10:20:30.945Z

No blog entries for a while - sorry! I've been up to my ears with "real" work and the local election campaign.Today at 12.30 local librarians are staging a read in, which they're calling a "Read Out" in central Winchester by the Buttercross. As one third of professional librarian jobs in Hampshire are being scrapped by the Tory county council it's a great opportunity to show support for these

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-62824976229189327402007-03-23T20:59:00.000Z2007-04-30T23:26:27.188Z

Down to Winchester railway station yesterday (why do people all seem to say "train station" nowadays?) to distribute leaflets about the latest fares hike from South West Trains. This time they've decided to punish people using off-peak travel by a 20% increase in fares from May.The increase is going to apply to anyone travelling into London and arriving between 10 am and noon. Absolutely

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-63918407890052088002007-03-16T21:35:00.000Z2007-03-16T21:45:59.884Z

The "Silver Hill Renaissance" is the most significant development plan to go before Winchester's Planning Development Control Committee during my short time on the City Council. It involves the re-design and re-building of a substantial and, currently, unprepossessing area of the city centre, including both the Friarsgate Multi-storey car park and the Bus Station.As there is much public interest

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-61157353539744876352007-03-02T10:14:00.000Z2007-03-02T10:22:34.258Z

At Wednesday's budget meeting, the Conservatives voted through parking proposals which threaten to increase congestion, increase CO2 emissions and decrease air quality in the city centre. They've combined a big hike in parking charges at the Park & Ride - dramatically reducing the saving that this represents vs. city centre parking - with the reintroduction of 'first half hour free' for on

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-31188203966962306762007-02-22T09:06:00.000Z2007-02-22T09:10:23.629Z

My piece for the next issue of BFOBRCA Community News. Exclusive! Read it here first!January's gales certainly caused some problems locally. I had to replace a fence panel, but Oliver's Battery is a windy place and I've lost count of the number I've had to replace over the years. Badger Farm was hit harder this time with the collapse of the first floor wall of part of the May Tree Close garages (

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-60282917364188162642007-02-06T20:36:00.000Z2007-02-06T20:38:08.517Z

Just today we have seen Cabinet papers relating to parking charges in Winchester. The success of the Park & Ride, together with the loss of parking at Sussex Street and last summer’s temporary closure of River Park has resulted in a hole in the City Council’s parking budget. To fill this, the Conservative Cabinet will be looking at proposals which include significant increases in short term

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-78748619095968208952007-01-26T19:25:00.000Z2007-01-26T19:58:18.789Z

The story so far: Thursday last week, residents of Falcon View, Badger Farm were surprised to see a JCB turn up and start demolishing a raised bed of shrubs and a tree at the corner of their close. I was phoned by a concerned resident and went down to take a look. A quick chat with the JCB driver established that he was demolishing the planter because the retaining wall surrounding it had some

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-51783495008361441002007-01-19T20:58:00.000Z2007-01-19T21:32:01.316Z

Two pictures taken today in May Tree Close, Badger Farm that show the after effects of yesterday's gales.The damaged building is a 2 storey garage block. Most of the wall on one side of the upper storey was blown over at about 3.00 on Thursday afternoon. Fortunately no one was in the garages or passing by at the time. Sorting out the damage could pose a few problems as each of the garages is

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-15286070269124886162007-01-14T16:54:00.000Z2007-01-14T17:12:34.698Z

It was a marathon City Council meeting on Wednesday night, not finishing until 11.30 pm. One of the reasons was the long debate on a new proposal from Winchester's Tory administration. In a nutshell they wanted to give the Portfolio Holder for Housing the right to sell off up to 10 vacant council houses every year if it would cost more than £8000 to bring such a house up to lettable standard.We

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-85710295638668849012007-01-03T16:39:00.000Z2007-01-03T16:49:23.760Z

As always at this time of year one hopes that the new year will prove better than the old one.2006 was a pretty awful year all told. Nationally we saw our country get more and more deeply embroiled in an illegal, unpopular war. Politically my party faced the resignation of its leader, difficulties for our local MP and, in May, the loss of control of the City Council.2007 can and, hopefully, will

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-13744655561307497752006-12-13T09:33:00.000Z2006-12-13T09:46:11.729Z

With all the excitement of selecting a new PPC and the launch of the Trip to the Shops Campaign, it's important not to overlook the continuing hard work of our local MP Mark Oaten. Mark regularly updates his website with both Westminster and Winchester news and his latest newsletter can be found here. Mark's site also contains some excellent ideas on the new Silver Hill development:Following

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1165828731939838352006-12-11T09:13:00.000Z2006-12-11T09:18:51.950Z

Collecting signatures on Saturday for our "Trip to the Shops" campaign about the poor state of some of Winchester's pavements. There's still time to click on the link and sign our petition!

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1165311213284073792006-12-05T09:17:00.000Z2006-12-05T09:33:33.320Z

Winchester's pavements are a disgrace and the fault lies clearly with the local Highways Authority, Hampshire County Council. In ten years of Conservative control of the county we've seen matters get worse and worse.In the picture I'm pointing out one of many tarmac patches in Winchester's High Street. Tarmac patches scattered among stone paving slabs. Tarmac patches that sink and trip unwary

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1165140052049608882006-12-03T09:54:00.000Z2006-12-04T14:29:12.576Z

A packed meeting of Winchester Liberal Democrats yesterday chose Martin Tod as their prospective parliamentary candidate. Martin, a well known internet campaigner and former candidate for North West Hampshire, will succeed Mark Oaten MP who is standing down at the next general election.Martin Tod was selected from a strong shortlist of five potential candidates in a democratic ballot of all

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1164358539350121782006-11-24T08:29:00.000Z2006-11-30T20:21:33.446Z

Earlier this month I mentioned the threat to local library services. Yesterday's Hampshire Chronicle confirmed these fears. According to the Chronicle's front page story, the Conservative-run county council is looking at cutting around one-third of 80 professional librarian posts in branches and the Library Service HQ in North Walls, Winchester. As if that was not enough, the book fund could also

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1163590928794049832006-11-15T11:35:00.000Z2006-11-15T11:42:08.803Z

Hampshire County Council has just announced that the new southern Park & Ride will be built on the "Tarmac" site alongside the M3. This is a complete change from their previous recommendation that it should be built off of the Bushfield roundabout. Strong views expressed by local residents during the consultation process seem to have tipped the balance. I welcome this decision and now look

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1162846747242683642006-11-06T20:54:00.000Z2006-12-11T09:52:20.340Z

Respected public library campaigner and blogger Tim Coates has reported on the Hampshire Library Service in his "Good Library Blog". It doesn't make happy reading.When Winchester's new Discovery Centre opens next year to replace our old public library, will we see as many books on the shelves as before? I hope so, but I fear not.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1162572740396403512006-11-03T16:49:00.000Z2006-11-03T16:52:20.413Z

Before I forget, here's a link to the piece about Winchester on Channel4 last week. Yes, it is the best place to live in Britain, and Oliver's Battery and Badger Farm are the best places to live in Winchester! OK, Channel4 didn't say the last bit, but we all know it's true.

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1162552357879919302006-11-03T10:57:00.000Z2006-11-03T14:54:00.340Z

Oh the sheer variety of a City Councillor's life!Wednesday evening saw a short, only 2 hours, but interesting full Council meeting. I spoke a couple of times. First to ask a question about the move of the City's Museum Service from the Hyde Historic Resources Centre, I'm really concerned about how this will work, it's a subject I'll return to in a future blog entry. Second, to speak in the

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1161262110957631392006-10-19T12:37:00.000Z2006-10-26T15:18:03.673Z

I'm writing this entry from Budapest where I'm spending a few days on business. Politically, Hungary has been going through some crazy times this year. The admission by the prime minister that he lied in order to win the general election seems to have had a mixed reaction. There is now a permanent demonstration by the opposition outside the Parliament building. My Hungarian colleagues on the

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1160041696123811782006-10-05T09:40:00.000Z2006-10-06T08:43:07.193Z

Loath as I am to link to an article in the Telegraph, this one is too good to miss. Winchester's refuse collection is contracted out to Serco, who are supposed to collect from 7.00 am. They've been getting earlier and earlier in this patch and waking lots of people up in the process. Last Friday an Oliver's Battery resident took matters into his own hands. He used his car to trap the lorry in a

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1159525790308257782006-09-29T10:07:00.000Z2006-09-29T10:31:05.360Z

12 months ago today I was rushing around frenetically. It was the day of the Oliver's Battery & Badger Farm by-election and I was busy doing all the election day stuff. At the end of an exhausting day it was all worth while because I'd been elected with a substantial majority!One year on and I've been trying to reflect on my first 12 months as a Winchester City Councillor.Bad things first:Losing

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1158500912791627232006-09-17T13:38:00.000Z2006-09-17T13:48:32.800Z

Planning is one of the most important functions of district councils like Winchester City Council. Although I'm not a member of the Planning Development Control Committee, I take a great interest in their work and, consequently, found myself on Friday on the annual planning tour.This is a coach trip around the district looking at development sites, a real chance to form our own opinions on what

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1157975336105019512006-09-11T11:45:00.000Z2006-09-11T11:48:56.120Z

What a fantastic, community weekend! Congratulations to Mark and the rest of the team who put together the events of the last few days. The Jubilee Fete had good weather and good attendance from an enthusiastic crowd. The Barn Dance was a sell-out and my legs still ache!

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1157453771900737502006-09-05T10:45:00.000Z2006-09-10T16:20:37.880Z

I had a really interesting afternoon on Sunday. It was the official opening of the Oliver's Battery Conservation Area, followed by a guided walk to Butterfly Conservation's nature reserve on top of Yew Hill. The work done by the Oliver's Battery Countryside Group (http://www.bfobrca.com/OBPC/activities/countryside.htm) and the Parish Council in setting up the Conservation Area is truly impressive

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1156077643176319092006-08-20T12:38:00.000Z2006-08-20T12:49:52.336Z

Brian Collin writes:As I write this, we're in the middle of enjoying the Olivers Battery 50 celebrations. Maggie and I have composed the Treasure Hunt clues and we've started collecting egg shells for the "Golden Egg" stall at the fair in September. We're looking forward to hearing all about the archaeology project. The organisers have worked very hard and it all looks very impressive,

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1155990952546093172006-08-19T12:31:00.000Z2006-08-19T12:35:52.556Z

The Spenders have returned from two weeks in Galicia and northern Portugal; and returned, it seems, to a traditional English summer! Anyway, time to pick up the blog again with a few thoughts on City and Ward issues.............I was pleased that Winchester's Tourist Information Centre recently received a national award for its excellent service. Tourism and culture are very important parts of

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1153907579227599592006-07-26T09:41:00.000Z2006-08-30T17:51:34.883Z

It's difficult to find the right words in this situation. Mark has been a friend and a central part of Liberal Democrat campaigning in this constituency for many years. He's been called "the best MP Winchester's ever had" with some justification. I'm pleased that Mark will continue to serve the people of Winchester for the remainder of this Parliament and I feel, in the circumstances, he has made

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1153575242743506382006-07-22T13:18:00.000Z2006-07-22T13:34:03.470Z

Last Wednesday's Council Meeting ended up being remarkably non-controversial. This was despite two potentially difficult items on the agenda.The first concerned the County Council's proposal to build a new Primary School on the playing fields next to the Meadowside Recreation Centre in Whiteley. The previous Lib Dem administration had refused to release this land because:It would have involved

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1153128698645230262006-07-17T09:10:00.000Z2006-07-17T09:31:38.656Z

Having just had all the Sports Aid events, it's timely to talk running tracks. First the good news, it looks like Bar End will get the 8 lane, all weather track and pitch that we've wanted for years. Everyone seems to welcome this, across all parties on the Council. It's finally happening because the University of Winchester has got involved and, among other things, has offered to meet the

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1152975276690373512006-07-15T14:51:00.000Z2006-07-15T14:54:36.703Z

A few bits of local news:Phone BoxesFollowing reports from a resident, I investigated the state of the PayPhone in Meadow Way. It was not operational, due to vandalism, and I have reported this to BT and requested action. I also reported that the other local PayPhone (outside Olivers Battery shops) was not accepting cash. BT have got back to me and confirmed that the OllieB phone box has now been

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1152120259016653922006-07-05T17:21:00.000Z2006-07-05T17:24:19.040Z

My thanks to the Hampshire Liberal Democrats website for the following:Conservative Councillors in Hampshire are set to close five older people's homes as part of a package of cuts that will hit the elderly and most vulnerable hardest.Charges for care services are to be hiked massively. If someone can't pay the full cost of care they will be left with just £1 per week to spend on 'luxuries' for

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1151247162388993302006-06-25T14:32:00.000Z2006-06-25T14:52:42.403Z

It was an interesting experience to sit in the sunshine on the footpath on Whiteshute Ridge last Sunday, armed with clipboard, bottled water and floppy hat. Badger Farm Parish Council was one of many in Hampshire involved in footpath surveys on 18th June.Hats (floppy or otherwise) off to those Parish Councillors who carried the bulk of the burden for the day. I was glad that I was able to help

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23862161.post-1150537752567905622006-06-17T09:44:00.000Z2006-06-17T18:41:45.833Z

Thanks to Rich from OllieB for the following mention in his blog (http://howtogetlost.wordpress.com/):But for the mean time here's the fascinating news that my young, hip and uber-cool local Lib Dem councillor keeps a blog! Keep checking back with him for the latest exciting news from the Winchester hanging basket controversy and so on! Isn't local politics just riviting!I've been called many

David Spenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197146973999120422noreply@blogger.com1