Kilian Bourke

…was a great success. It is only four years old, but already it has established itself as a fixture on the calendar. This year’s fair was particularly notable for its laidback, leisurely atmosphere, as compared to last year’s slightly more frenetic high-wire act.

I divided my time between cycling my rickshaw for a local charity - Lifecraft, on Gwydir Street - and working at the Lib Dem stand in Ditchburn Gardens. Unfortunately it is difficult to be cycling one’s pedicab and discussing local politics at the same time, so I was a little bit all over the place. But I enjoyed myself, and ate four different kinds of sausage from Andrew Northrop’s. I also spent an hour cycling the mayor and his retinue along the length of Mill Road, so he could judge the shopfront competition. I tried to bias his decision with an under-the-table bribe, but he was having none of it: a truly mayoral mayor.

We had a lot of feedback on our questionnaires about “What Next for Mill Road?” The consensus seems to be that some form of traffic-calming and pedestrianisation would be a positive thing, as well as an enforced 20mph speed limit. (Although when I say “pedestrianisation” I mean making the place a little more cycle and pedestrian friendly, and diminishing through-traffic, not totally closing it to traffic.) Thankfully people seem to have got the message that the crazy “bollard on the bridge” scheme was never going to happen, and was a newspaper fabrication. Nichola Harrison (of Petersfield) and I have had discussions with the County on this, and a public consultation will be taking place next Spring, to discuss what is best for Mill Road.

We are also planning to spend next year campaigning at Shire Hall to have the road closed off for the Fair next time round. That would enable the organisers to do a lot more, and hugely increase capacity. Fingers crossed.

I was very pleased to learn this week that the Planning Inspectorate decided to reject Tesco’s appeal for an extension.

It is a rare victory for local democracy, and a lesson to those - notably Conservative City Councillor Chris Howell - who are of the opinion that planning decisions should be taken by officers alone, without any democratic involvement in the process. If this had been the case Tesco would have set up shop a year ago.

The grounds for the Inspectorate’s decision were exclusively transport related, focusing on the inadequacy of the existing infrastructure to any of Tesco’s proposed delivery systems, explaining that these would “pose unacceptable risks to highway safety”. I made this point repeatedly at the appeal, as did numerous other campaigners, including Nichola Harrison of Petersfield, so I am not surprised at the decision.

It is a relief that Mill Road’s traffic problems are not going to be worsened, and small independent retailers can breathe a sigh of relief too. I am already working hard on a plan that would not only conserve but enhance the independent nature of Mill Road’s shops.

Rumours that Mill Road is going to be closed are unfounded.  (See article below.) The really important news is that the County tried this week to scrap Mill Road’s funding for an accident reduction scheme, or at the very least to postpone it indefinitely. 

We agreed with officers that the Watchman speed cameras would be expensive and ineffective, but were furious to discover that no other alternatives were being considered.  Nichola Harrison and I expressed our extreme disappointment about this at the AJC, and orchestrated a vote to reinstate action on Mill Road as an urgent priority.  After all, it has the third highest road-traffic accident frequency in the entire county.  To remove it from this list would be absurd.

We are now launching a petition to have Mill Road restored to the priority list for funding.

Our petition statement reads:

We want Mill Road to become a civilised and safe public space for everyone.

We, the undersigned, call for the County Council not to drop its commitment to reducing accidents on Mill Road and to make urgent progress with consulting the public on what is needed.

We are collecting signatures on weekends and weekday evenings.  You can also sign our petition online, by clicking on this link.

For further details of our plans for the area click on this link to The Mill Road Masterplan.

Some of you may have read in the papers this week comments about closing access to Mill Road using bollards on the railway bridge.  Only public transport would have access.  I want to make it clear that this idea has no political endorsement whatever. 

Moreover, if such a proposal were to be put forward I would have serious reservations about it, including: its impact on the shops in Romsey (city shoppers would only have direct access to Petersfield), the way in which it would reinforce existing social divisions between Romsey and Petersfield, and the fact that taxis and buses would actually be able to travel much more quickly, making the area  more dangerous for pedestrians. 

I am a keen cyclist, I do not drive or even have a license, and am all in favour of radical changes to Mill Road; indeed, they are urgently needed.  However, it is extremely disappointing that having failed to deliver us any alternatives to the cameras, the Councils should start spreading controversial rumours instead of engaging in the serious business of consultation. 

Above all what I want to see happen in Romsey is for the Council to allocate us our October List accident-reduction money, and for it to consider a range of different possibilities - which the public should be allowed to comment on - as a matter of urgency.  This is what our petition is intended to achieve.

I would also urge readers to look at the the Mill Road Masterplan we are working on which offers a positive and realistic way forward.  This program promises to integrate three key requirements:

1/ Promoting Mill Road’s independent shops.
2/ Making the area safer for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists.
3/ Making environmental improvements.

Kilian

Kilian recently visited Brighton to learn more about Shared Space, which is one of the schemes being considered as part of the Mill Road Masterplan.

“New Road in Brighton is one of the only fully implemented shared spaces in the country, and it has been a great success” said Cllr Bourke.  “I wanted to see exactly how it worked, and how it might map on to Mill Road.”

He met with Liberal Democrat Councillor Paul Elgood, who explained how shared space functions and what the benefits are.

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Tesco’s appeal against the East Area Committee’s decision to reject their applications for planning permission recently took place at the Guild Hall.

Councillor Bourke spoke against both applications.

 He explained “my principal objection to a Tesco on Mill Road is that it is totally unsuited to the existing infrastructure; Mill Road is not capable of absorbing the impact it would have without causing problems for the community.”

He expressed concern about two particular aspects of Tesco’s proposal: the consequences of their delivery system, and the impact on parking in the area. “A large number of spaces would be lost from the site and its surroundings, in a ward whose parking facilities are already being placed under severe strain, because of a high-ratio of car ownership as well as Mill Road’s proximity to the train station.”

He also expressed concern about the proposal that Tesco delivery lorries simply park on Mill Road for up to forty minutes while unloading: “This would result in the current, chronic congestion problems being replaced with a sheer, immobile chaos.”

Councillor Bourke then travelled cross-country to look at the Shared Space on New Road, Brighton which is one possible option being looked into as part of the Mill Road Masterplan. This plan would not only preserve but enhance the independent character of Mill Road’s shops.

After months of hard campaigning Cllr Bourke has finally convinced the County Council to make improvements to a dangerous stretch of pavement at the junction of Hemingford Road and St. Philip’s Road.

“The slope of the pavement is particularly steep at this intersection,” explained Cllr Bourke, “and there is a slippery drain which protrudes from the pavement as well. This has caused problems for elderly residents, two of whom have incurred serious injuries as a consequence.”

Following Councillor Bourke’s intervention the council agreed to lower the drain to the level of the pavement and re-coat it with a non-slip surface.

“These days one has to fight tooth and nail to get money for highways maintenance,” added Cllr Bourke, “because the Tories who run the County are refusing to finance the department properly.”

“It is not acceptable to be ferreting away surplus revenue when basic services are decaying like this, making our environment dangerous for the elderly.”

He added “I am glad they have seen the light of day on this occasion.”

Kilian recently submitted an application to the City Council for a “Suburbs and Approaches Character Study” to be made of Mill Road.

A large number of gateways to the city are on the shortlist and the Petersfield part of Mill Road is already a Conservation Area. Consequently it would be very strange if the other half of Mill Road were not strongly considered for this status.

Unfortunately the present boundaries of the Conservation Area are socially divisive, especially when they are reinforced by the fact that the city-centre officially ends at the railway bridge as well. The submission explains: “The railway bridge should be seen as a link between communities with shared interests and a shared focus on Mill Road, which runs as a spine through the area, not the opposite. The murals on the bridge are a sign of this link.”

Other reasons for this part of Mill Road’s designation as a Conservation Area include its importance as a gateway to the city, which will only increase with the Marshall’s development; its historic interest as the first major expansion of the city after the medieval period; its unique social character in the city; and its planted landscape, which includes many ginko trees.

Kilian would like to thank Allan Brigham for helping to put together a strong submission for Mill Road.

The County Council has secured £57m in Government funding for a Private Finance Initiative scheme to replace and improve 44,000 existing street lights across Cambridgeshire which have reached the end of their design life.

This means that, if the County Council proceeds to accept the Government’s offer, all streetlights over 25 years old will be replaced.  As the vast majority of those in Romsey and on Mill Road (Romsey) meet this criteria,  they stand to be replaced - at last!  Your councillors have been campaigning for new lights on the Broadway for over ten years now.

In addition, the Liberal Democrats are pressing for the new streetlighting to be done in the most energy efficient way.

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This letter was printed in CEN on August 13, 2008:

John Hodgson in his letter concerning the Tesco planning application (”It’s the councillors’ job”, 8 August) makes the very salient point that of the 12 councillors who were in a position to cast a vote, only two voted against it, and the rest either didn’t turn up or abstained. This is correct.

However, he then proceeds to lament “the performance of the Mill Road councillors”.

This is not entirely fair. Of the four Liberal Democrat councillors for Romsey, Cllr Raj Shah was not permitted to participate or vote because of “a prejudicial interest”, and Cllr Ellis-Miller had booked her family holiday long before she learned the application would come before the committee on this date.

Meanwhile, not only was Cllr Smart one of only two councillors who voted against the application, but it is thanks to her calling in the planning decision in the first place that the public have had a chance to express their feelings. And although I, as a county councillor, am not entitled to vote on planning decisions, I was allowed to speak and took this opportunity to give a sustained critical account of Tesco’s shambolic acoustic report and the unworkable delivery system being proposed.

I hope this clarifies any confusion about the Liberal Democrats’ participation in this process.

Kilian Bourke
County Councillor for Romsey