They paved paradise, put up a parking lot

Making & Baking for Polling Day

2010-05-01T00:22:00.005+01:00

Hello reader(s). Despite all my best intentions, over recent weeks this blog has become teh interwebs equivalent of the no.56 bus: you wait three weeks for one, and then two turn up all at once (sorry Roger - in the words of my former, much-missed, Political Assistant, your bus services are in general "formidable" - but even you'd have to admit the 56 is super-sketchy. No disrespect.).

Sooooo... Polling Day is now only 5 days away - and I just wanted to check in before it all starts to get (even more) hectic. I am now dreaming about Thursday 6th May and the Preston Park Committee Room every night. In a kinda cold-sweat way :(

[The last time I had night-terrors like this was in the weeks before our wedding. And that turned out OK actually :)]

Anyway - you can imagine how busy things have been for me lately, not just on the campaign trail: as I've observed before, POLITICS NEVER SLEEPS, and nor do constituents, regardless of the imminent general election. So recent weeks have seen an epic juggling act between campaign and council activities.

As referred to in my post of the 4th April, my council duties are so wide and varied that I wanted to do a bit of a blow-by-blow account of some of my day-to-day activities over the past few weeks, mainly because I genuinely believe that many people don't understand what councillors do all day; and so I started to compose the following:

"When I was little, one of my favourite books was Richard Scarry's 'What Do People Do All Day?'. I loved the characters, and it made the world of work seem exciting and something to look forward to.

"Yes, you can laugh hollowly at that latter statement, but I truly believe there's joy to be had from doing a job you love and are good at. Earning enough money to live comfortably is obviously good too.

"I've been thinking about things like job satisfaction and remuneration a lot recently..."

and then I a) started trying to justify paying councillors MOAR [*deeply unpopular face*] and b) went into such minute detail about what I'd been up to that I even started to bore my own self (and it was my own activities I was relating! zzzzzzzz & fail). All of which was clearly bad skillz.

So sorry reader(s), but you'll have to make do with the following:

1. Making History - Caroline Lucas MP
Some friends have asked why I haven't really posted much about our epic campaign to elect Caroline Lucas as Westminster's first Green MP for Brighton Pavilion. The truth is a) I'm superstitious, and b) personally I LOVE the electoral geekery side of things, but honestly - who else can really be arsed to listen to endless tales of canvassing, processing data, strategising, and, erm, doing the on-the-ground-donkey-work?

Suffice to say, we have more Green posters and boards up than any other party. We are winning on the ground and we are winning in confidence. Brighton Pavilion voters realise that the only credible Left/Progressive vote is for the Greens. If you live in Pavilion and you don't want a Tory MP, vote for Caroline Lucas on May 6th.

2. Baking
Well, I did make my freestyle simnel cake, and very good it was too:

I used this recipe but just made a whole cake instead of many wee ones. Hence the freestyle: also, this recipe is lighter and doesn't use dark sugar, plus I have to say that Sainsburys *value* dried fruit makes this cake not only tasty but cheap :)

[Being broke has made me an expert on 'VALUE'/own brand stuff - don't get me started on cat litter]

For Polling Day, I think I'll make freestyle simnel cake (slight return & Mike likes it), plus a vegan carrot cake and...

YOU DECIDE!!!111!!11!

a) double ginger cake
b) coffee & walnut cake
c) orange & chocolate cake

All of these cakes are very good - but which one is best?

There's only one way to find out...

"I want this election to be about reform + the economy, not bashing immigrants. Do you?"

2010-04-30T20:45:00.004+01:00

Last night I retweeted this salient comment by @Niaccurshi because it struck a real chord with me. This week's events have actually made me feel really sorry for Gordon Brown, and it makes me very angry that the public's fears and ignorance surrounding migration have been exploited to the hilt by the loathsome, despicable right-wing press since the PM's off-guard comment.

Sure, the emergence of @bigotedwoman on Twitter in about a nano-second after Brown's gaffe came to light was pretty funny, as was the associated hashtag #suesfault, but in general the whole incident and subsequent response was just very depressing.

So I was thrilled this evening to read Spencer FitzGibbon's contribution on behalf of the Green Party of England & Wales to the New Left Project's roundtable discussion on immigration, which I reproduce here in full:

The current debate around immigration only serves to highlight even further the reality that Labour, Tories and Lib Dems are essentially offering voters more of the same - and that the Green Party are the only real alternative for anyone interested in a more progressive society.

All the other parties are making free with the word ‘fair’ during their general election campaigns, yet using immigration as a litmus test highlights just how superficial the commitment is to any kind of coherent social justice agenda.

Just as on public service cuts, they jostle to see who can most impress the right-wing media by promising to keep people out of Britain, rather than genuinely addressing the reasons why people migrate and the migratory role played by our foreign and trade policies, for example.

More than half the world’s population live on two dollars a day. To paraphrase Gary Young who put it so eloquently earlier this week in a Guardian piece, if you build a 10 foot fence and put food on one side, the hungry will build an eleven foot ladder.

Nowhere in the immigration debate do we see proper recognition of the fact that it is economic inequality that drives the vast majority of migration - except from the Green Party.

I want to debunk once and for all the myth that people cannot access decent housing, for example, because of high levels of immigration. There is not enough high quality social housing because the government has failed to invest sufficiently - and it is cowardly to use the immigration debate as a way of masking this fact. The same principle applies when it comes to jobs.

This is not to deny the experiences of the many people living in Britain today without work or a decent home. But we fail them just as much as we fail the immigrant communities that contribute so much to our culture and our economy by refusing to face up to the underlying problems.

The far-right is taking advantage of the lack of a proper honest debate on immigration. By failing to live up to their promises on fairness, the big 3 political parties are letting it happen.

The Greens want a very different approach - a system that is fair and consistent, does not break up families, upholds the right to sanctuary and judges each case on its merits. A system that does not detain children and protects the large numbers of people living in the UK whose status is not defined.

And above all we want immigration policies that are set in a context of tackling the poverty and inequality that prompt people to take the huge and daunting step of leaving their homes and families to come to Britain.

I feel very proud to be a member of the Green Party this evening - well done Spencer :)

Show Me The Bunny

2010-04-04T21:07:00.010+01:00

Happy Easter readers! Hope you're enjoying the break (if you're getting one). Last week was ridiculously hectic for me (in a good but knackering way), and it's been so nice to have a couple of days of not doing much apart from pottering about the house and making gentle excursions into town.

I'm in the process of drafting a series of longer pieces about last week's happenings and activities which I'll be posting soon, but in the meantime I just wanted to check in and give a nod to some (mainly) non-work-related things which have made me smile and/or think over recent days:

1. I've signed up to 10:10's Lighter Later campaign

Regular readers of this blog will know just how much, as a (*ahem*) seasoned sufferer of SAD, the long, dark nights and gloomy days of winter are very much a Bad Thing as far as I'm concerned.

Hence my eagerness to sign up this week the 10:10's Lighter Later campaign, which is calling for the UK to adopt GMT+1 in winter and GMT+2 in summer, giving us all more light in the evenings when most of us need it, and craftily cutting carbon emissions in the process.

Rumour has it that both Labour and the Tories will be making an election manifesto pledge to honour this call - well done 10:10! I can't put into words just what a massive difference this would make for me personally in terms of improved life-quality, and an estimated half a million other SADsters too.

Of course Scotland and Northern Ireland aren't so enamoured by this proposition - but hey, they've got devolved parliaments - why not have devolved time zones too? Even the farmers agree - hurrah!

2. My Mum is on Google Streetview
OMG. There she is, strimming away merrily. Sod the chip-carrying seagull - this is truly uncanny for me and mine. It certainly beats seeing the back of my mate Tony's head in the window of the Evening Star.

(RL friends - email me if you want Madge's postcode so you can see her in all her horticultural glory :0)

3. Caroline Lucas is asking questions about Twinings job losses
Wearing her MEP hat, Caroline has raised the issue of the relocation of over a hundred jobs from the Twinings Tea factory in Andover to Poland via the European Commission.

I was grimly pleased to hear this - I have to confess to being pretty much addicted to T winings Earl Grey, the price of which has rocketed in the past 12 months (now weighing in at nearly £4 per 100 bags or 250g) thanks to poor tea harvests in recent years and, one can only surmise, greedy shareholders.

So the news that Twinings were relocating part of their operations to Poland, where labour is cheaper and operation costs are lower, was basically adding insult to injury. Good for Caroline for bringing this up for scrutiny.

[And yes, before you say anything, I know there are cheaper own-brand alternatives available. But you don't know how much I love tea, and none of these inferior bags taste anywhere near as good as Twinin gs. Good grief, it's like having a crack habit :( ]

4. Precious: Art & Craft at Hove Museum & Art Gallery

Spring is very late this year. Traditionally, Mr.K and I see in Easter by going for a bracing walk - what's known as an "out" in family-speak. Today was cold and rainy though, so instead we decided on an "in-out" to Hove Museum & Art Gallery, to take a look at the current craft exhibition.

Precious: Reclaiming Art & Craft is a commissioned exhibition which invites the visitor to "be dazzled by the beauty in the overlooked and discarded".

All 20 of the unique pieces in this exhibition have had a previous life, from discarded packaging to decommissioned soldiers' uniforms. Mr.K and I particularly enjoyed Andrew Mockett's cardboard animals, and the tiny model of a guillotine carved by French prisoners of the Napoleonic War residing in Lewes Gaol. Made out of mutton bones.

5. NW3GREENS on Twitter
I am really enjoying Twitter. Soon it will be a year since I started this blog, and in celebration I plan to do a proper post about social media, and its efficacy (or otherwise) in both my public and private life.

In the meantime, I was slightly phased on, erm, Thursday 1st April to receive this @GreenAmyK message from @NW3GREENS: "your a pretty ting still. inbox us your number". LOL wut?

All I can say is that the lulz which ensued over the next 24 hours pretty much made my week. NW3GREENS ricocheted from HOLLA-ing AT ENVIRONMENT ("INSULATE YOUR YARD" "REAL TALK VOTE GREEN ON ELECTION DAY OR 10 MAN WILL RUSH POLLING STATION. SUPPORT REAL POLICIES" "AFFORDABLE HOUSING. BANG" "RECYCLE OR U WILL GET RUSHED") to incisive political commentary: "if we see Nigel Farage its a problem".

Where NW3GREENS fell foul was in trying too hard with the Ladies: "@CarolineLu cas you look sexy today. inbox us your number babes", "@sianberry r u WIFEY material tings? yes/no", "@widdecombepp PM us your digits babe. Safe" etc.

And so the NW3GREENS massive was banned for a while in the immediate aftermath of April Fool's Day. Happily, they seem to be back - for now ("GLOBAL WARMING IS A LONG TING").

That's it for now - my plans for tomorrow include baking a free-style simnel cake. Wishing you a happy Easter, and over and out.

I'm in love: what's that song?*

2010-03-24T21:57:00.010Z

Last weekend heralded the Vernal Equinox, when the days begin to get longer and lighter. The Wheel of the Year is on the turn, and Spring is starting to show its face. There are daffodils emerging outside St Peter's, and some beautiful crocuses in the city's lawns and squares (the pic to the left was taken outside Kings House last week - good work, CityParks!).

Anyway, I'd hoped that I'd be feeling more energetic and perky this week after one of the most epic bouts of SAD in living memory, but typically I've been laid low for the past few days with a malaise which (wit being in slightly short supply this evening, following a ve ry disappointing tea) I can only refer to as Grandaditis.

Symptoms: after working all morning and having lunch, I am overcome by the most unusual urge to "just close my eyes while I listen to the Archers". Fast forward to 3.15pm and I awake, spluttering and jonesing for a nice cup of tea, to the sound of the You & Yours Budget Special (or something similar), having kipped all the way through the Afternoon Play [*hmm face*]. Good grief. I sincerely hope this is temporary as it's severely hampering my ability to, erm, do stuff in the afternoons. And it's making me feel ooooold.

Anyway, mindful of my recent vow to be a more regular correspondent, I just wanted to check in (before I pass out to the sound of the Shipping Forecast) for a quick round-up of musings and happenings since my last post:

1. Full Council last Thursday
This was a pretty depressing meeting, all in all, although we managed to pass our Notices of Motion on Maternity Services, and Letting Agents. Cllr Jason Kitcat has neatly summed things up here if you want the painful details.

Suffice to say that the unholy alliance between the Tories and Labour in voting together to: a) defer the debate on councillors' allowances until after the General Election, and b) to force through changes to the Council constitution which will curtail debate in the chamber, put me in mind of nothing so much as the end of Orwel l's Animal Farm when "the creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." More evidence (as if any were needed) that Greens are the only real opposition in Brighton & Hove.

13 Greens Good: page 2 photo in the Argus - one for Glum Councillors, surely? ;)
13 Greens Bad: Tweeting from Full Council is now apparently under review (bah - and I've only just started doing the wretched Twitter thing)

2. Alex Chilton: December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010
RIP Alex. I've had a hard time conveying who you were and just why the Box Tops and Big Star were so ace when I've commented on your untimely passing to other people, but your music will always remind me of being thirteen.*

3. Phoenix
After a period of thorough and well-executed consultation, Phoenix will be submitting planning applications for the redevelopment of their building by the end of March. Last week I had the pleasure of accompanying both Caroline Lucas and our new council Chief Exec to view the plans and meet some of the artists who work in the building.

Both my guests were extremely enthusiastic about the plans, and I felt very proud to be able to show Phoenix off to them. There are so many wonderful artists and makers working from the building, and I've got everything crossed that the applications will be successful, as the redevelopment is essential if Phoenix is to continue to provide affordable workspace, and to consolidate its work within the wider community. Not to mention making the building energy efficient. Or continuing to contribute to the city's economy [*administration priorities face*]. Watch this space...

4. Caroline was ace on Question Time
As Thursday night was Full Council and I was in the Chamber till gone 10pm, I couldn't indulge my habitual TV politics fix, so I did what any self-respecting geek would do and watched it again on iPlayer on Friday night. Believe me when I say that this was a pure treat. Well done that woman.

5. Social Media Tory Bashing
Ah, this and this is probably very old but both sites have been making me laugh a lot [*waves bye-bye to Phil Collins. Again.*]

6. Neil Harding is back! Back! BACK!
So the least I can do is to make more effort with this blog. Nice to have you back Mr Harding. You have been missed.

7. So is Ben Duncan
Cllr Duncan's official Kemptown PPC blog is finally launched :D Hurrah!

8. Ward stuff
Good meetings tonight with residents. The first concerned planning enforcement issues over a scaffolding site which is owned by the same developer to whom we lost an appeal to build on former railway allotments last year, and was kindly attended by the council's new Enforcement Manager, who comes with a formidable track record in securing the UK's highest ever enforcement fine (£150k, suckas). We'll know more in a month's time about whether we need to up the game in terms of the council considering taking legal action on this.

The second meeting was convened to discuss ongoing issues surrounding the introduction of a new residents' parking scheme in the streets immediately south of the railway tracks at London Road station. I'll be speaking to this at tomorrow's Environment Cabinet Member Meeting. And I'll say no more at this point, because there's been some deeply regrettable political fail occurring over this in the ward of late, and actually it's all just a little bit sad and unedifying. Suffice to say, it's a cowardly and cynical politician, local or otherwise, who refuses to engage with controversial or difficult matters merely for the fear of losing votes. And - as someone once said - I'm not like that.

A bientot.

*An unexpected side-effect of Alex Chilton's passing has been having the Replacements' eponymous paean to the great man permanently stuck on my internal jukebox for the past week. What a tune. A boyfriend put it on a mix tape for me when I was 15, and it still sounds as exuberant and fresh as it did when I first heard it 22 years ago. My eyes and throat have been aching with nostalgia and a yearning for times and things long past.

The Last Thing I Said To You Is Don't Leave Me Here*

2010-03-14T22:31:00.003Z

Just wanted to check in before the rigours of next week commence - it's going to be epic, what with Planning site visits on Tuesday, the Planning Committee itself on Wednesday, and Full Council on Thursday. Tomorrow I'm accompanying the Chief Exec on a visit to P hoenix, and on Friday I've got a meeting with residents to discuss concerns about access issues in the ward.

I am really busy with ward work at the moment, and clearly all of this deserves a better post than a few lines penned late on a Sunday evening, so you'll forgive me if I stick to a brief summary of the weekend's (mainly non-work-related) activities here. It's not all work work work you know... (at least, not this weekend - I suspect this may not be the case again until after the general). Anyway...

Saturday morning
I was up and out early to help with the Pavilion Action Day, greeting volunteers at our local party office with other colleagues and providing support to the Campaign Team. It was a sterling turnout, and great to see so many enthusiastic people turning up to add their efforts to our historic bid to elect Ca roline Lucas as Westminster's first Green MP.

It was a particular pleasure to meet the Plural Progressive in the flesh (who is also an excellent Tweeter - let's try and go for a pint sometime soon Luke, eh?).

Saturday afternoon
JOY!!! My lovely sister and brother-in-law and darling nephew landed in Brighton for their first visit in quite a while. We had such a nice afternoon together tootling around the North Laine, culminating in Cream Tea at the Museum & Art Gallery Cafe (v.child-friendly, which was fab).

Sis, BIL & nephew have just relocated back to the house where she kept an allotment for years, and naturally (given last week's fun at the Harvest Demo Garden in Preston Park), my first question was "have you got your allotment back?". To which the disappointing answer was "no - there are 115 people on the waiting list."

Blimey. When my sister first moved in (a decade ago), the allotment manager couldn't give the plots away. He was halving them (against what was then considered best practice) in an attempt to try and make the whole allotment-keeping experience more manageable, and to attract new plot-holders. My sister was the only female allotment-keeper on the site, which was half-empty. It's amazing how much local food growing has taken off in the past few years - absolutely brilliant (although clearly not for my sis unfortunately...).

Sunday morning
A much-needed lie-in, punctuated only by having to feed the cats [*still asleep face*]

Sunday afternoon
BIL managed to score a last-minute deal for a room at the Metropole, so we convened in the bar before heading out onto the seafront. It's a beautiful building, designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse, who - resonantly enough - also designed Town Halls for Manchester and Hove (not to mention Strangeways).

We wended our way in an easterly fashion towards the Pier, where we tucked into fish & chips for lunch (nom!) before taking a walk around the Lanes. After heading back to our respective bases to sort ourselves out (sis & BIL: nap; changing & feeding baby - me & Mr K: laundry; ironing; conking out in the case of Mr K), we went to Due South for supper, which was absolutely excellent as always - amazing food and friendly and attentive service.

Sunday evening
Got back home in time to tune into the Mark Lawson interview with Tracey Emin on BBC4. For me, this was the cherry on the cake of an already brilliant weekend. I don't care what other people say or think, I love Tracey and am always moved and impressed whenever I hear her being interviewed (threats re "non-domming" herself notwithstanding...).

In my experience, men don't generally "get" Emin's work: they call her amateurish, and (yikes!) a feminist (oh NOES), or say she should paint more, or draw more, or belittle the fact that she often chooses to work in textiles (a traditionally "female" medium).

But her work chimes with me in the way that real art should. I will never forget seeing 'Why I Never Became A Dancer' almost by accident in 1997 late one night on Channel 4. I was moved beyond words, and I have loved her ever since. The Lawson interview was excellent. This is why I pay my license fee.

And so, now, to bed.

*The Last Thing I Said To You Is Don't Leave Me Here - Tracey Emin, 2000

Playing Farm Town In Real Life

2010-03-10T22:47:00.005Z

Those of you who may have had occasion to check out my Crackbook profile will know that "I only joined so I could play Farm Town". This is true. While Crackbook may be the vehicle of choice for cyber-stalking by jealous ex-lovers, and competitive sadding by the hysterical masses, I genuinely only joined so, erm, I could play Farm Town. Why? Well, I've been on the Allotments Waiting List in Brighton & Hove for nearly six years now, and (as Diana Ross once said) I'm still waiting.

I first got the allotment bug a decade ago when my sister kept a plot just around the corner from her home in the South Manchester Muesli Belt. Her set up was ideal - a utopian exemplar of benevolent Victorian town planning, with a series of terraced cul-de-sacs abutting a field of allotments literally a minute or two's walk away. We spent lots of happy times there together, digging, mulching, planting things, and eventually pulling up tasty veg (not to mention enjoying a glass of wine in the evening sun after our labours). I was hooked*.

Anyway, when I moved back to Brighton in 2004, I immediately put my name down on the waiting list for a plot on a site about five minutes' walk away from home. There are only ten plots on this site, and the list subsequently closed in 2006.

Even though the Council has now taken the sensible decision to halve plots as they become available (thus doubling capacity and making plots more manageable), such is the shortage of allotments in my immediate vicinity (ie walkable within twenty minutes) and the demand for allotments city-wide, I suspect I will have moved house before I get anywhere near the top of the waiting list.

And although I probably could join a shorter waiting list for a site which is not within reasonable walking distance, I'm not interested if it means having to drive to get there - to me, this pretty much defeats the object, and would definitely diminish the pleasure of having my own plot in terms of hassle.

So I'm really not kidding when I say I only signed up to Crackbook** so I could play Farm Town - I know it's a bit donkey eyes***, but I had resigned myself to the fact that being a cyber-food-grower was the closest I was going to get to having my own patch of land for a long time.

With this in mind, you can imagine how ridiculously chuffed and excited I was when I heard late last year that a pilot food-growing garden was going to be set up in my ward, in Preston Park itself. The pilot is one of a number of initiatives set up by Harvest Brighton & Hove, as a joint project being delivered by the B&H Food Partnership and Food Matters, along with several other groups across the city.

Local food growing is a cornerstone Green Party policy, and since 2007 Greens on the Council have been pushing this. Cllr Paul Steedman in particular has done some excellent work via the City Sustainability Partnership, and with reference to Harvest, I was delighted to sponsor BHFP's original (successful!) £0.5m Lottery Food Fund bid, which is now providing funding for the Harvest portfolio of projects that focus on growing, cooking and eating more local food.

The official ground-breaking for the Preston Park demo garden took place yesterday afternoon >>>>>

It was excellent to meet the Harvest team in the flesh (after lots of emails), and I'm really looking forward to checking the work rota tomorrow to see when I can next go along to help out. The plot's been marked out, and now the hard work starts - building raised beds and sorting the fencing out first (sadly security measures will need to be in place to deter vandalism), then the fun bit of prepping the soil and planting the seeds and bulbs.

The beauty and the whole point of the demo garden is that (hopefully) it will show people how easy it is to grow your own food in a very small space - Mr K had speculated that it would be like an allotment in a park, but it's much smaller than that (4msq?), which reflects the fact that many people in B&H have titchy patios or balconies, and it's all about making the best use of the space you've got.

What's also particularly sweet is the evident whole-hearted support of the Tory administration (two of whom were in evidence at the demo garden launch yesterday - wonder where the Preston Park Labour councillors were?): we've come a long way since Greens submitted our response to the Core Strategy in August 2008, when Paul and I were told point blank that local food-growing wasn't a priority for the administration.

Maybe it's a cynical vote-grabbing exercise, maybe it's the zeitgeist - I don't really care as long as we keep making progress on this.

A massive well done to the Harvest team - can't wait to get my hands dirty ;)

* Despite the surfeit of Rainbow Chard one year [*blech*]

** Speaking of Crackbook - this is quality and pure lulz

*** Family expression for something which makes one feel ineffably sad

IWD: I Got All My Sisters With Me

2010-03-08T21:01:00.007Z

Today was International Women's Day. It's 100 years since the second International Conference of Working Women agreed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the 8th March to promote suffrage and equality for women.

As someone who's proud to call herself a feminist, I *heart* IWD. And as the deadline for submissions to March meeting of Full Coun cil generally falls on or around the 8th, it's always a good opportunity to try and get [*ahem*] "something for the ladies"* onto the Council agenda.

Last year Greens successfully passed a Notice of Motion calling for Brighton & H o v e City Council to sign up to the Fawcett Charter, which seeks to end the objectification of women in the workplace.

This was passed on a vote of 28 opposition councillors and our sole independent member (thanks Jayne!) versus 26 Tories.

Those of you with too much time on your hands can check out the proceedings here and here (the second clip is funny in a kind of dark way - you can see me getting radgier and radgier as I'm trying to speak over the barracking of certain male Tory members crying "OMG you're saying our officers go to lap dancing clubs!!!1!11!" - no, chaps, that wasn't what I was saying at all).

However... under the new and totally undemocratic arrangements at BHCC, the Motion was passed to the (all-Tory) Cabinet who unsurprisingly kicked it int o the long grass. Very disappointing, especially when one considers that Millicent Garrett Fawcett (pioneering feminist and suffragette from whom the Fawcett Society takes its name) had strong connections to Brighton, and made an acclaimed speech calling for votes for women at the Town Hall in 1870.

(I also called for a blue plaque for Millicent to be placed on the Town Hall, but needless to say that hasn't happened either.)

Anway, this year (possibly slightly less controversially) we're calling for more funding for maternity and post-natal services in Brighton & Hove, based on recent findings by the local PCT, and in support of the NCT's Reclaiming Birth campaign. The Motion will be heard by Full Council on the 18th March, so watch this space.

On the whole, IWD tends to be somewhat ignored by the mainstream media, so it was excellent to see a bit of a flurry of activity from the sector this year; in particular, the following:

T he Politics Show South Eas t: all-female slate for Pavilion

Annoyingly enough, most people in Brighton Pavilion actually receive regional TV and news services from BBC South, so a lot of us had to go online to watch this, but it was well worth it - it's here for the next 6 days for your viewi ng delight. Millicent got props too - nicely tied together I thought. Caroline Lucas was excellent as always, but it's a bit depressing to think that the Pavilion all-women slate is a first in UK politics, 90-odd years after we first became enfranchised...

The Independent on Sunday's Top 100 British Women

I was also thrilled and very proud to see Caroline named in the Sindie's Top 100 Wo men of the last century. The overall list is an interesting mix - the Sindie obviously strived hard to achieve a balance between the arts, science, politics, industry and sport, but personally I would have liked to see fewer theatrical types, and more proper musicians.

I mean, obviously it was ace to see Dusty in there, but where was Kate Bush? Or the mighty Polly Jean Harvey? Or Christine McVie - a women responsible for writing global hit s and a member of one of the world's biggest bands ever...?

And what - no Mo Mowlam? The woman brokered peace in Northern Ireland, fgs! (Incidentally, if you ever find yourself near Trafalgar Square with 20 minutes to kill, do go and have a look at John Keane's wonderful painting of Mo in the National Portrait Gallery - very moving and inspiring).

I guess these sorts of lists are never going to please everyone though, and on the whole it's been really encouraging to see the increased media attention on IWD this year. It all bodes well for next year, which will be the official centenary of International Women's Day. You can bet we'll try and do something big here in Brighton & Hove - ideas and suggestions on a postcard please!

Happy International Women's Day to you all.

*I am allowed to say this because I am a *post modern* feminist with a sense of humour.

This whole Experiment of Green*

2010-03-06T23:00:00.009Z

Spring is nearly here. It can't come soon enough for me. This has been the longest, coldest, grottiest winter for thirty years, and I will be *so* glad to see the back of it.

But the days are getting that little bit longer, and the sun was shining this week. In a fortnight's time it will be the Vernal Equinox, and then a week later we'll be Springing Forward, and something approaching normal service will resume...

Mea culpa dear reader(s) - I've been pretty bad at keeping this blog up to date of late. Mainly because I've had zero energy and a severe shortage of time. But following a rather poignant plea from the Brighton Politics Blogger (shucks BPB, I never knew you cared), I'm going to try and correspond more regularly over coming weeks.

Time is an issue, as I'm (still) looking for some other gainful employment to sit alongside my Council duties, so job applications have to take priority if I find myself staring aimlessly at the laptop screen with a relatively empty Council inbox (ha ha ha - you can imagine how often this is the case). But I'll do my best.

Anyway, suffice to say things are mad busy here and hotting up to molten levels as we enter the final furlong before the general election. There are less than nine weeks to go now.

Plenty of other people have been blogging about our prospects of returning Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion as Westminster's first ever Green MP - there's still an epic amount of work to do, but the lighter evenings herald a major stepping up of a pace which has been fairly relentless even through the black nights of winter (massive props must go to Cllr Alex Phillips for her legendary efforts on the doorsteps in Withdean throughout the 'Snow Chaos' in January, and the general gloominess and chill of February).

So not wanting to repeat that which has been more than ably expressed elsewhere over the last few weeks, here are some other things which have been on my radar:

1. Very busy with Council work
Will post separately about this next week in order to do it full justice. Highlights: Phoenix will be putting in their planning application by the end of the month, and next Tuesday sees the launch of a new demonstration food growing garden in Preston Park. Lowlights: the recent Budget.

2. The Green Party slot on Channel Four was excellent

My inestimable mother phoned me to say how good she thought it was, so there you go. In fact she even offered to come down and help with the campaign (this is the woman who delivered around a thousand leaflets during my bid for election in 2007), but after some deliberation she has decided to assist instead in the Trafford marginals. Thanks anyway Mum!

3. Blogs I have been liking

The Plural Progressive - I like your skillz and styles Luke - keep up the good work.
Odd Cog - anyone who titles a post 'Political Apathy: Epic Fail' has got to be OK.
Glum Councillors - this is just ace. Spot the B&H Green in the archives... ;) Speaking of which...

4. Jason Kitcat's Graphs
Every politics geek will enjoy this.

5. Blogging - I am still doing it wrong (probably)
Here's a handy Guide to Blogging & Facebook for Councillors - in fairness it's pretty sensible stuff. Good pointers for any elected bloggers out there.

6. Twitter
May the goddess forgive me, but I have finally bitten the bullet and joined Twitter. You can 'follow' me here [*messianic face* + lol]. I'm not promising I'll be any better at "tweeting" than I am at blogging as it is clearly extra cyber-mither, but at least I'll get to check out the #hash tags# now [eyes #mobmonday curiously...]

Happy Spring readers! Will check in again shortly - it's nice to be back :)

*After Emily Dickinson - A little madness in the Spring

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

2010-02-10T23:00:00.011Z

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.

Stop Me If You Think That You've Heard This One Before

2009-11-27T23:19:00.004Z

Mr K is right (as usual) when he says I need to add the following to the sweepstake:

6. The New York Dolls
7. Roxy Music

No [*ahem*] Raymonde one hopes - a band so dire that even the mighty Google does not compute a link (lucky readers...)

ETA - rank outsiders - they're good but they're not right:

8. Linder
9. Jobriath

More Industry Props for Brighton & Hove Planners

2009-11-27T22:49:00.004Z

For once, I was delighted to read a Tory press release today:

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Urban study the best in south east

A city-wide study that has analysed the special character of 32 neighbourhoods has been voted the best planning strategy in south east England.

Brighton & Hove’s Urban Characterisation Study was given the regional award by the Royal Town Planning Institute.

The study provides a wealth of information about how various neighbourhoods within the city have developed, including a description and analysis of those qualities that will guide planning decisions on future developments.

Planners will use the study to decide what types of development will best improve and fit in with different areas of the city. The study makes it easier to see the impact a proposed development would have on the individual neighbourhood, as well as the city as a whole. It also provides guidance to developers.

Brighton & Hove’s Urban Characterisation Study has analysed the special character of 32 neighbourhoods, from historic downland settlements and Victorian suburbs to the late 20th century Marina development.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald [who he?], Brighton & Hove’s cabinet member for environment, said: “Other planning authorities have shown a keen interest in our study. Our staff have put in a lot of time and effort and have produced an easy to understand guide describing the make up of the city and the past influences on its development and identity.

“The study highlights areas that could be improved and these will be taken forward through the Local Development Framework which sets out planning policy for future years.”

The study has been written, illustrated and produced in-house by the Design and Conservation Team of City Planning. The methodology has been taken up by other planning authorities, particularly London boroughs and Southampton City Council, as a model for their own studies.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

The Urban Characterisation Study is an excellent and inspiring piece of work, and I'm thrilled that those who've worked on it have received due acclaim. Well done to you all :)

November Spawned a Mozza*

2009-11-27T21:41:00.003Z

Morrissey is on Desert Island Discs on Sunday. I am unbelievably excited - every trailer on Radio 4 has me all a-quiver with delicious anticipation. He is one of my heroes and I have loved him since I was 12 years old.

I think I last heard Morrissey (who has consistently viewed the media with suspicion throughout his career) on the radio in June 1986 when he made a rare-as-rockinghorse-s*** appearance to preview The Queen is Dead on Tony "the Greek" Michaelides' *alternative show* on Piccadilly Radio, a much-missed independent Manchester station where Chris Evans began his career as Timmy Mallett's sidekick (not to mention OOH Gary Davies...).

I can remember so vividly sitting in my bedroom, hoping my tape deck was working, hanging on Mozza's every word, transported by the new songs I was hearing, counting the minutes down till I could buy my very own copy (on vinyl, natch). Ah, happy days**.

So roll on 11.15am on Sunday morning! I predict we will hear at least one if not all of the following:

1. Elvis
2. Twinkle
3. Cilla Black
4. Sandie Shaw
5. The Smiths ;)

Happy listening, readers!

PS OMG! Tony the Greek is a blogger! And he's thinking about making a radio comeback! Do it Tony, DO IT!

*I can claim no credit for this witticism - it's the name of a Brighton club night devoted to all things Smiths & Moz-related. Still, as Oscar Wilde (a Mozza idol) is reputed to have said - talent borrows, genius steals ;)

** when I wasn't busy being, erm, miserable lol ;)

Recent Interesting* Industry Stuff

2009-11-25T22:28:00.007Z

And so to the Planning Committee once more this afternoon, its inexorable three-week cycle trundling on like some sort of built-environment-based menses.

I actually find this frequency and regularity very reassuring - sod the summer break (when everything at the Council more or less shuts down for a couple of weeks), never mind Christmas and Easter (ditto), nothing short of a nuclear war would prevent this vital piece of local democracy in action from occurring - which is a very good thing, given the fact that the Planning Committee is pretty much the only truly democratic voting forum for elected members remaining under the new arrangements at Brighton & Hove City Council. Hats off (pink, hard or otherwise - no laughing at the back there) to the officers for keeping the show on the road, and to such a punishing schedule.

Anyway, it was a mixed bag this week as usual - no major applications, but a plethora of minors which had been brought before the Committee thanks to calls from ward councillors and residents. The most frustrating application concerned a retrospective permission for Primark on Western Road (which Cllr Jason Kitcat has blogged about as ward cllr in his efforts to support residents in their objections) - not least because Primark's representative from mega property consultants Savills was clearly very inexperienced, very nervous, and, erm, couldn't actually answer any of the Committee's questions properly. Super. Very useful. To my mind this was indicative of Primark's generally dismissive attitude towards residents and the council, and to their responsibilities towards their neighbours as a whole. Sadly my arguments suggesting tougher conditions on deliveries and the service area didn't hold sway.

Still, I always enjoy my time at the Planning Committee even if I don't always agree with the decisions made in the meetings, because I *heart* the built environment (when it's designed properly); and with this in mind I thought I'd share some recent industry stories which have caught my eye:

Birmingham Library denied Listed status (thanks to an entirely politically motivated decision by the (*ahem*) Culture Minister - see my earlier arguments re Technocracy)

Tory councils 'less likely to grant planning permission' (o rly?)

Biodiversity loss is Earth's 'immense and hidden' tragedy (yes - and I am so glad Prof Wilson is sticking his head over the parapet to say this at a time when the economic and climate crises have diverted global attention far, far away from protecting and conserving our natural environment)

But happily... the TEEB Report calls for more ecosystem markets (a pioneering approach which has resonance with the tireless efforts of our City Ecologist in developing the recent draft SPD on Nature Conservation & Development, due for adoption next year)

Three London councils win Housing funding freedoms (let's hope B&H are next)

Taskforce to turn churches over to communities launched (good - *secular face*)

CABE launches green infrastructure campaign (can somebody tell Cllr Geoffrey Theobald?)

Brighton planners get industry props for winning Amex office changes (great coverage for officers in amidst recent local media controversies - well done all concerned)

Woman ranked as one of UK's top Builders (excellent news :D)

and finally... [*Trevor McDonald face*]

Architecture for Pets (I have not shown this to the guys in case they get jealous and start to form ideas above their station)

By the way, in my quest to locate the pink hard hat pic above, I was simultaneously amazed, amused and astonished (not to mention a little appalled) to discover that there is an entire website devoted to Lady Builders' Tools, Equipment and Accessories. OMG. Anyone for a cerise utility belt? If I ever find gainful employment within the industry again, you can bet I'm going to kit myself *RIGHT* out ;)

* interesting to planning, built environment & design spods, that is... I can hear my sister's voice saying "BARRING" lol

Zeitgeist Face

2009-11-18T00:22:00.012Z

From: A Fan [mailto:a.fan@thefourthestate.co.uk]
Sent: 12 November 2009 13:26
To: Amy Kennedy
Subject: What does a zeitgeist face look like?

-----Original Message-----
From: Amy Kennedy
Sent: 12 November 2009 13:32
To: A Fan [mailto:a.fan@thefourthestate.co.uk]
Subject: RE: What does a zeitgeist face look like?

See attached ;)

-----Original Message-----

From: A Fan [mailto:a.fan@thefourthestate.co.uk]

Sent: 12 November 2009 13:37

To: Amy Kennedy

Subject: Re: What does a zeitgeist face look like?

> See attached ;)

Love it.

Actually, this IS serious

2009-11-12T22:36:00.003Z

Having been variously damned with faint praise and savaged by a dead sheep in recent days over the lack of *proper politix* on this blog of late, I vowed yesterday to devote some time to blogging about serious matters in coming days.

But I didn't expect things to become quite so serious quite so quickly.

This afternoon I got a call from The Argus. There has been a stabbing incident at Hove Park School today.

I have been campaigning with Prestonville parents over the last few months over many issues at Hove Park - poor GCSE results, an inadequate school bus service, discipline problems - but this is a terrible new low.

Thankfully the child on the receiving end isn't seriously injured, but nevertheless this is still an extremely serious and distressing incident. I have demanded and expect to get some answers from the LEA over the next day or so regarding an urgent plan of action on this.

Very, very sad and shocking news.

Blogging, Biscuits & Bonfires

2009-11-11T22:36:00.006Z

The Brighton Politics Blogger was in fine form last week, posting a handy guide to local political blogs - a snappy round-up which quite rightly mourned the recent radio-silence from eminent local blogger Neil Harding (Neil, I miss you too and I hope things are OK at your end).

Eagle-eyed readers will perhaps spot an omission from the BPB's original Blogroll: but never fear, the BPB is a true lady/gentleman, and was quick to rectify this: although I can't help feeling that her/his précis of my blog makes me sound rather like the Pam Ayres of the Green blogosphere [*dons dowdy tabard in penance*]...

Meanwhile, Dan Wilson whinges that Brighton & Hove Green bloggers have been strangely silent on the ongoing pay dispute between refuse workers and the local authority, which resulted in industrial action and overflowing bins this week.

PROTIP: Dan, surely you have the wit to understand that speculative blogging about the delicate, high-level and confidential negotiations which have been taking place between the unions and the council in recent days might have been unhelpful, to say the least? Just something for you to ponder there.

Anyway, to those of you who think this blog has gone a bit soft of late, I promise there'll be fewer biscuits, less baking and more, erm, tough political opinion in coming weeks. But in the meantime...

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Regular readers will recall that I like a good bonfire, and that I was sorry that a recent bid by the Sussex Bonfire Societies to secure UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage st atus for the county-wide tradition failed.

So I was pleased to read that this year's Lewes Bonfire was an overwhel ming success, with fewer crowds and only five arrests. Predictably, effigies of Fat Cats and Politicians were burnt on the pyres - they're nothing if not topical, those Lewes Bonfire Societies [*zeitgeist face*].

However, just over the border in Edenbridge, Kent, revellers were treated to the sight of this hideous and rather terrifying effigy going up in flames. Good grief - mine eyes! I'm starting to realise why UNESCO went cold on the idea...

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

OK, I must retire to my garret to begin to ponder some serious blogging. A final thought though: is it just me, or do any other Bloggers find the tag suggestions for new posts ("scooters, holidays, autumn") exquisitely poignant?
[*looks around*]
[*SAD face*]
Ah, just me then...

Carving for Samhain (or, my talented husband)

2009-10-30T20:50:00.010Z

Tomorrow is Samhain - or Hallowe'en if you prefer [*Christian appropriation of Pagan festivals face*].

I'll be spending tomorrow afternoon visiting households in the vicinity of Springfield Road to speak with residents about a couple of live issues in the area: the proposals to introduce a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in the streets immediately to the south of London Road station; and the recent deeply regrettable decision by the Planning Inspectorate to allow development on a green site close by. And, or course, anything else that comes up.

The two issues outlined above raise high feelings amongst residents, understandably enough. As a councillor for Preston Park ward, I want to hear people's concerns and objections so I can represent their views at the Environment Cabinet Member Meeting next week.

Once darkness falls at, erm, 5pm [*SAD face*], I'll be joining local party friends and activists at the Open House for nibbles and refreshments (a bit of a social, in other words).

I thought it would be nice to carve a pumpkin lantern to take along with me for the social tomorrow, but finding myself elbow-deep in Equal Pay biscuit dough yesterday evening, I had to try and action Plan H (ie enlisting Help from Husband):

Me: [brandishing printed-off GPEW logo] D'you think I'm having a laugh trying to carve the GPEW logo into this pumpkin?

Mr K: No. Easy.

Me: [waving floury hands] Sweet. But, erm, my hands are floury right now.

[pause]

Me: You're so much better at this kind of thing than I am [*winsome face*].

Me: Mate.

Me: Mate.

Mr K: [*rolls eyes*] Well, I'll have a go then...

Me: [*beaming*] Thanks babe! :D

[fast forward...]

Me: OMG that's awesome sweetie. Thank you so much! [*appreciation face*]

Mr K is an artist and a craftsman :))) I knew he'd do a better job on the carving than I would have. Thank you sweetheart x

Happy Samhain one and all.

Baking for Equal Pay Day

2009-10-30T19:33:00.012Z

Today was Equal Pay Day.

Women working full-time earn on average 17% less per hour than men working full-time. For ethnic minority women, the gap is even higher at 20%. For women working part-time compared to men working full-time the gap is 36% per hour – rising to 45% in London.

Today, working women effectively received their last pay cheque of the year. This is because the 17% full-time gender pay gap is equivalent to men being paid all year round while women work for free after the 31st October.

The excellent Fawcett Society works hard every year to highlight this important issue by co-ordinating a series of events across the country to raise awareness, and to put pressure on the Government to reform legislation so that this disgraceful inequality in pay is outlawed and brought to an end.

So this morning Brighton & Hove Greens converged on Brighton station, to collect signatures for Fawcett's petition on Equal Pay, and to give out free biscuits to commuters with low blood sugar - with a 17% chunk missing to give them food for thought as well.

I baked my contribution last night (above).

I used this recipe, and these handy icing pens for (*ahem*) the Propaganda, and they were very tasty biscuits indeed.

But sadly not quite sweet enough to replace the bitter taste in my mouth whenever I think about the facts of pay inequality in the UK.

We got an average of three signatures per minute :) I love proper campaigning :D

Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?

2009-10-29T23:51:00.007Z

Just as I was about to switch the crackberry off on Wednesday night, I got an email from the Planning Inspectorate informing me that a recent appeal by a developer seeking to build on former allotment land adjacent to London Road station had been allowed.

I can't begin to say how gutted I am about this. This site has history - as does the developer.

I was approached by the Friends of London Road Allotments (FLORA) in autumn '07, when a previous application to build nine poky flats on this previously undeveloped site (which is an urban haven for wildlife including slow worms) was the subject of a planning appeal by informal hearing. We defended this appeal successfully, and residents and councillors alike started to brace themselves for the next application.

This latest application was for four three-bedroom dwellings. When this was again refused by Local Planning Authority officers, the developer decided to take it all the way to a Public Inquiry - no doubt flushed by the success earlier this year of the Highcroft Villas PI (a site which was also former railway allotments and owned by the same developer [hmm]). He even used the same barrister - one of the top Planning barristers in England & Wales.

All that money. For four tiny houses. At the expense of not only the public purse (the council did their absolute best to defend the refusal and hired an equally top-flight Planning barrister), but also at the expense of the considerable mental, physical and emotional energies of the residents involved with FLORA, and of course to the detriment (to the point of annihilation) of the wildlife on the site, and the fact that this is a much-loved patch of urban greenery in the midst of the city.

This bitterly disappointing decision comes after years of campaigning by FLORA, residents and councillors.

Despite the fact that FLORA amassed a huge body of evidence to demonstrate that the site had been used as allotments and had never been built on, the Planning Inspector still chose to allow the appeal by Kingsbury Estates Ltd.

The Council fought hard against this, but sadly all our efforts weren’t enough to protect this site. Now this urban oasis, which is a haven for slow worms and other wildlife, will be lost forever, and I have profound concerns for the preservation of other cherished open spaces in our city.

The Inspector cited the Highcroft Villas PI and the recent granting of permission for development on a greenfield site at Princes Road as precedents for allowing the London Road station appeal.

This decision comes as Local Planning Authority officers are hard at work on the new Local Development Framework (LDF), which will replace the current Local Plan in 2010. The LDF contains an Open Spaces Study which seeks to protect urban green spaces, whether publically accessible or not.

But now I'm genuinely fearful that the Open Spaces Study will be severely weakened by this latest decision from the Planning Inspectorate, and that it will become virtually impossible for the Council to fight development proposals affecting inner-city green land.

It is deeply depressing to think that all the hard work that officers have put in to developing robust policies to protect urban open spaces has been totally undermined by the Planning Inspectorate. As a city, we are hemmed in by the sea and the South Downs, and these valuable pockets of wildlife habitat are quite rightly much-loved by the residents who live nearby.

Sadly it may now become impossible for us to protect these sites, despite the best efforts of officers, councillors and residents alike. This is a grim day for the Planning system in Brighton & Hove.

I've just heard the first firework of the Bonfire Season

2009-09-25T21:21:00.002+01:00

Do I get a prize?

But seriously (*Phil Collins face*) I was disappointed to read this week that the Sussex Bonfire Societies failed to secure UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status for the county-wide tradition of having massive bonfires (replete with age-old and more topical effigies) and, erm, being a bit dangerous in the process.

For once I can say with a straight face "it's health and safety gone mad" :( I hope the Bonfire Societies persist. As the old saying goes: "Sussex won't be druv".

What I Did On My Holidays Part II

2009-09-25T20:26:00.006+01:00

2. I visited Another Place

On Crosby Sands

I can connect

Nothing with nothing.

With apologies to TS Eliot.

Green Party Conference: Day 1

2009-09-03T23:52:00.003+01:00

The Green Party Autumn Conference is in Hove again this year. We last hosted a National Conference in September 2006, and the intervening three years have seen the local party more than double its numbers on the Council, from 6 members to 13, making us the joint second largest political group in the city, tying with Labour.

Not to mention the fact that we're increasingly set to elect Caroline Lucas MEP as the first ever Green MP to sit in Westminster on the back of our rock-solid vote in Brighton Pavilion. Exciting times indeed, and it's great to have Conference back in Brighton & Hove when the local party is riding the crest of our epic win in Goldsmid, and is brimming with enthusiasm for the forthcoming General Election contest.

However, regular readers will know by now that politics is not all about "the glamma", as is amply demonstrated by the pic below:

Cllr Sven Rufus & Cllr Amy Kennedy on Conference Stewarding Duty this afternoon

Don't get me wrong, my Stewarding stint today was ace: it was brilliant to be *meeting & greeting* people - especially as I finally got to meet JimJay (Green BlogFather) in the flesh [*shy face*]- and to see so many excellent colleagues and people I'm fond of as they arrived. I really enjoyed myself and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's stint.

But... crikey, those tabards :( If I ever get any time to dig my sewing machine out in the next few months, I may have a crack at designing something less, erm, *utilitarian*. God knows I'm not a vain woman (I wouldn't have let this pic anywhere near the light of day if I was), but there's got to be some sort of acceptable solution to this ;)

Anyway, roll on Day 2 of Conference - looking forward very much to Caroline's keynote speech tomorrow morning.

What I Did On My Holidays Part I

2009-09-03T23:25:00.002+01:00

1. Baking

I made a delicious Annabel Karmel Chocolate Orange Marble Cake from a recipe I dug out from a pile of printed-off online receipts. Weirdly enough, this is no longer available online, but Mainly Baking kindly reproduces it here. I jazzed it up with a bit of orange drizzle made by cribbing MarsLady's epic Lemon Drizzle syrup mix. It was FIT.

In The Meantime...

2009-08-20T23:03:00.013+01:00

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.

GOLDSMID: EPIC GREEN WIN

2009-07-24T21:55:00.005+01:00

GRN 1,456 - 38.5% (+17.6%)
GRN GAIN FROM CON

CON 1,104 - 29.2% (-0.9%)

LAB 816 - 21.5% (-6.8%)

LD 280 - 7.4% (-7.32%)

UKIP 129 - 3.4% N/A (others 6% last time)

After an energetic and hard-fought campaign, Alex Phillips emerged victorious in the Goldsmid by-election last night, with an emphatic majority of 350 over the Tory candidate. Labour limped in at third place, with a pitiful 800-odd votes.

WHAT AN AWESOME RESULT! Sorry for shouting, but my God, if there was ever a result to utterly disprove Labour's tired lies that "voting Green lets the Tories in", this is it.

Our first ever seat in Hove.
Our first ever win from the Tories.
Thirteen Green councillors in thirteen years.

Alex deserves this success more than I can say - she worked bloody hard (tirelessly canvassing across the entire ward and ultimately encountering nearly 60% of the electorate - politics geeks will appreciate just how awesome this is) and she fought a clean fight: not for Alex the petty personal attacks that other parties sought to wage.

Alex - you go girl! As Deputy Convenor, I am thrilled to have another woman in our group, and I am so proud of Alex. Goldsmid people, thank you for putting your faith in this exceptional young woman: you now have an elected representative who has proven just how hard she will work for you, and will be an honest and fair representative for you all.

And as for the speculation as to What This Might Mean, watch this space... Suffice to say, Ben, Neil and The BPB are covering all bases at the moment ;)

Oh, sweet!

Goldsmid: final few days

2009-07-21T17:44:00.002+01:00

Well, I've not been doing very well at keeping this blog updated over the past few weeks, and for this I apologise - just too much on at the moment, mea culpa gentle reader.

But we're now into the final furlong for the Goldsmid by-election, and the past few days have seen a couple of astonishing developments:

1. Ex-Labour councillor tells Brighton voters - Vote Green

The Labour exodus shows no sign of stopping - now former councillor Vince Meegan (who lost his place on Brighton & Hove City Council in May 2007 by just 30 votes) has publicly voiced his support for Alex Phillips.

Vince said, "As a former Labour councillor for the area, I urge all Labour and Liberal Democrat voters to back her, too. Labour can't win here now, the Greens can.

“Swing your support behind Alex and help defeat the Tories."

2. "Labour wants anything but a Green win in Goldsmid by-election"...

...according to the Brighton Politics Blogger. As Ben says, the mind truly boggles!

Good luck to Alex for the last few days of the campaign - it's clearly a two-horse race between Greens and the Tories, and I hope she gets the victory she's worked so hard to achieve over the past few weeks.

As for me - I'll be posting the result as soon as it comes in on Thursday night / Friday morning. Next week will hopefully see more time for blogging, but then again, I've got to get a job!* Which is an entire post in itself...

*eyes mounting pile of applications and tries to suppress the hideous memory of yesterday's trip to the Job Centre (the first in approximately 15 years). It smelt of wee! :0 I shan't be going there again.

Baking for Hanover Day

2009-07-08T22:27:00.010+01:00

I love baking, and I don't get nearly enough time to indulge this passion. So when I found myself scheduled to help with the local party stall at this year's Hanover Day last Sunday, I knew there was only one way to spend Saturday night...*

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As Hanover Day didn't happen last year owing to funding problems, I felt it was only appropriate to salute the return of this much-loved community event (and to sustain my Hanover & Elm Grove colleagues and the revelling crowds) with something beyond my usual scope of Delia's victoria sponge buns. I decided to make (*drumroll*) chocolate and vanilla marble cupcakes.

Inspired by this recipe from bakebakebake, and this recipe from bakingbites, I prepared one batch of chocolate mixture, and one of vanilla (tinged with a verdant hue for fun).

Two things occurred to me as I regarded my bowlfuls of beaten batter: one, how runny it was (American baking recipes tend to use a lot of liquid compared to UK ones), and two, just how much of the ruddy stuff there was.

Undeterred, I prepared my cake cases and poured out my first batch, trying hard to create visible swirls between the two mixtures which would translate into beautiful patterns once baked:

Well, as you can see from the above pix, the intention didn't quite work: the mixture was too liquidy, so the colours merged somewhat, becoming indistinct and, erm, not very marble-like.

So I decided to scrap Plan A and plough on with making batches of single-flavour cakes. These looked a lot better both before they went in and once they were out of the oven:

Sixty (yes, sixty) of the little fellas later, I put them to cool in a safe place away from curious eyes and noses (ie Mr K & the pussycats), ready to be iced the following morning:

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Hanover Day was excellent as always (the weather was fab, the people were jolly, and as well as the Morris Men, I managed to see those Masters of Rock the Brown Stripes twice, which is a feat in itself), and I'm pleased to say that my cakes went down a treat on the stall.

Although in retrospect, I should have realised the pitfalls of scaling Muesli Mountain proffering cakes iced in an eye-poppingly vivid shade of green; hence the following exchange:

Child: Daddy, can I have a cake? Look, they're free!

Daddy: Free cakes, darling? Oh how lovely.

[Daddy looks at cakes. Then looks at me.]

Daddy: The icing's very, erm, green. What's in it?

[I look at cakes. I realise I cannot tell Daddy a lie.]

Me [sotto voce]: It's green food colouring.

Daddy: Sorry, what?

Me: It's green food colouring. But [positive voice] all the other ingredients are organic! I made them myself.

[Daddy looks at me, then back at cakes.]

Child: Daddeeee... can I have one?

[Daddy weighs up the evils of E Numbers ~vs~ the goodness of organic home-baking.]

Child: Daddeeee... pleeeeeease... they're freeeeee!

Daddy [giving up]: Oh, go on then. But don't tell Mummy.

Me: Here you go sweetheart! [hands child cake]

Me [optimistic voice]: Would you like a manifesto to go with the cake sir?

[Daddy backs away with cake-guzzling child, shaking head slowly and smiling...]

Me: Happy Hanover Day!

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Later on, as I related this tale, a friend said "Couldn't you have said it was spinach or seaweed extract or something?" Sadly no - nothing in nature is that green, apart from, erm, radioactive waste. Memo to self: do not try to have "fun" with jazzy-coloured baking next year ;)

But fun it was. Well done to the Hanover Community Association and all the publicans, traders, businesses, musicians and artists who made it happen once more this year. Here's a pic of Cllr Vicky Wakefield-Jarrett and me (plus cakes) on the Brighton & Hove Green Party stall, in the sunshine:

* Yes, I know, rock 'n' roll or what? (or "bake 'n' roll", if you will). C'mon guys, give me a break - I'm 36 fgs.

So much to blog about, so little time...

2009-07-08T21:59:00.003+01:00

Hello readers! Sorry to be a bit on the quiet side over the past few days.

I'd love to be able to say that my recent radio-silence has been due to a (much-needed) holiday, but the truth is I've just been up to my eyeballs what with one thing and another (Goldsmid, campaigns, committee work, ward case work, meetings etc etc).

The problem with being so busy Doing Stuff is finding the time to blog about it... but now I'm back! Back! BACK! (as Smash Hits used to say). For this evening and tomorrow morning at least. More to follow shortly (in bite-size chunks - no-one wants to be accused of being TL:DR).

Glastonbury Festival: a lesson in town planning?

2009-07-02T23:33:00.003+01:00

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...

Tory Tosh & Labour Lies

2009-06-30T19:50:00.007+01:00

"Tory Tosh & Labour Lies" was the title of a classic Regency by-election leaflet, published back in November 2007 when we were fighting to keep our seat in the ward and get Jason Kitcat elected (which we did - with a massive 41.6% of the vote). The title still makes me chuckle even now :)

Anyway, recent days have seen an epic breakout of both Tory Tosh and Labour Lies across Brighton & Hove, at both national and local level electorally:

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SO, FAREWELL THEN DAVID BULL

News broke on Friday that David Bull, a former doctor and TV presenter, was standing down as the Tories' Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Pavilion in order to head up a Conservative policy review on sexual health with Anne Milton, the shadow health minister.

This didn't come as a surprise to us - Brighton & Hove Greens had noticed that he'd stopped updating his campaign website months ago.

But why the (not-so-sudden) exit from the contest for a Westminster seat which the Tories had seemed to consider a relatively winnable gain from Labour? Surely not the prospect of losing to Caroline Lucas, or the lure of other, safer, seats which will inevitably become available in the wake of the expenses scandal?

Who can say? One thing's for sure, some Tory activists are pulling [hmm] faces (check out these comments - my favourite one is "this policy review smells like a fig leaf" lol), but Dr Bull is denying everything, especially a big fall-out with the local Conservative Association.

We await the announcement of their replacement candidate with interest (please, God, NOT David Van Day again. Please.*).

*Ben's blog about this nightmarish scenario is very funny.

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LEAFLETS: YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG

Labour, on the other hand, just seem to be getting more and more desperate if not downright barking when it comes to the forthcoming Goldsmid by-election, and their accompanying campaign material.

First, their candidate tried to pretend that, erm, she wasn't really a Labour candidate (honest!), whilst simultaneously adopting Green policies.

Then she took up a whole photo in her next leaflet to prove just how Green she really is ("Look kids! THE PLANET IS IN MY HANDS!" - here's a protip love, it's not the kids you should be trying to educate about Climate Change, it's your colleagues in Government).

But to top it all, the most recent Goldsmid Labour by-election communication was little more than a catalogue of lies; a laughable fiction aimed solely at undermining Alex Phillips, the Green candidate for this contest (well, it would be laughable if it weren't breaking the law).

Now, I could take some time here to dissect Labour's feeble effort of a leaflet line-by-line, but to be honest it's so crap and so tired that I really can't be arsed. It's just bobbins.

Plus Ben has already blogged about this (as has Neil Harding - the Brighton Politics Blogger is also keeping a watchful eye, and continuing to urge for a tactical Green vote in Goldmid). And anyway, I understand that the local constabulary are now involved, so probably best not to speculate further on matters which may already be under investigation.

Instead, 'cause I'm feeling generous this evening, here's another tip for Labour's (*ahem*) 'publications gurus': attack other parties' policies in your leaflets, not their people.

Trying to discredit your opponents on a personal level generally goes down like a cup of cold sick with the electorate, and smacks of pure desperation. People just aren't that stupid (unfortunately for you).

Labour, you FAIL IT. Roll on July 23rd.

There's only so much dog poo readers can take

2009-06-29T19:55:00.004+01:00

Readers may recall that last week I was angsting about doing it wrong in this blog. But lo, the Blogosphere has spoken! And it was good.

In response to my plea for feedback, I received four (yes FOUR) replies:

1. A Buddhist chant from casa da poesia (I took this to be encouraging);

2. "Do not be a Politics Robot. Please!!!" - this kind comment came from rekindled, along with an equally kind offer to have a look at my crappy coding for me (mate, you're going to be sorry you offered! - and thanks!);

3. A very encouraging comment from fellow Green Cllr Sue Luxton, who has been blogging a lot longer than I have, and therefore knows of which she speaks: "I have this dilemma too, but think you're striking a good balance so far. There's only so much info about rubbish collections, CPZs and dog poo that readers can take (ooh, how glamorous the life of a cllr can be!)";

4. An email from a regular reader who shall remain nameless, but the gist was (in the timeless words of Billy Joel) "don't go changing".

So there we have it - a 100% positive steer for me to keep blogging about incidental day-to-day happenings as well as the Big Stuff (or 75% if that Buddhist chant is a special one for hopeless cases - still not bad I think).

Thanks to everyone for their encouragement and kind words! And sorry to the Politics Geeks, but there'll be more to come on baking, pussycats, and street art, as well as elections and policies. All work and no play makes for a very dull girl, don't you think?

PS As always, the ever-hilarious Encyclopedia Dramatica's entry on the different types of "blogging" had me in stitches:

Politics
- Author Profile: Intense, angry, probably a virgin
- Typical Talking Point: The government sucks!!!
- Representative Public Reply: OMG!!! Noes u suck!

Flaming June

2009-06-27T21:45:00.013+01:00

Our puss yc ats stayed at the RSPCA kennels in Patcham last weekend while we were Up North seeing my folks.

We collected them on Tuesday afternoon, and as we were driving home via the Ditchling Road, my eyes were dazzled by an amazing display of scarlet fields to the east near Falmer.

"Blimey," I remarked to Mr K. "That's a sight for sore eyes." Being a responsible driver, Mr K was unable to share this with me at the time, but a photo in yesterday's Argus of the same poppy fields prompted us to venture forth this afternoon to see if we could take a closer look.

We headed to the Brighton University Falmer campus, and lo and behold, the land adjacent to the Falmer Stadium site and the fields beyond were awash with crimson:

Oh man, what an amazing sight: I don't think I've ever seen anything like this in England before. I was transported and awestruck by the sheer beauty of the vast, unfolding spread of poppies covering acres of fields around us. So beautiful. Elysian fields.

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The other thing which made my day today was watching Spinal Tap at Glastonbury on the telly. 'This Is Spinal Tap' is my favourite ever film ("rockumentary, if you will") and I was just pmsl at their performance this afternoon.

I nearly fainted with glee when they struck up the opening chords to 'Stonehenge' (the plaintive observation that "nobody knows who they were - or what they were doing" is an oft-repeated phrase in the Kennedy household, mainly uttered when gazing at Avebury and the like).

And they had a teeny-tiny inflatable lintel, replete with People of Restricted Growth. And someone right at the front was waving a Green Party flag :D

It doesn't get much better than this. Oh, I sooooo wish I was there!

Keep On Rocking In The Free World

2009-06-27T00:04:00.004+01:00

Neil Young is a genius. I'm not at Glastonbury this year* (although Cllr Paul Steedman is**), but I'm participating from my armchair via BBC2, and having just watched Young's set, I am kicking myself that I didn't try and get tix.

Not content with delivering a blistering version of 'Keep On Rocking...' (as politically relevant as ever), Neil Young has just effortlessly trumped all the overblown and fantastic (in the truest sense of the word) eulogies which have been and will be pouring in regarding the very sad, untimely, demise of Michael Jackson with a version of the Beatles' 'Day In The Life': "I read the news today - oh, boy..." (moar lyrics here)

I *heart* Neil Young. And I feel truly sad about MJ - what a shame, what a ruined life, what a waste of astonishing talent. But others have blogged better about this. So I'll say no more.

* [*2005/07 flood trauma face*]
** I hope you're keeping warm & dry Paul! [*Mum face*]

Prime-time Drama

2009-06-26T17:38:00.007+01:00

I have to confess I've never watched Midsomer Murders. It certainly has its fans (albeit some rather ironically), but it's never appealed to me - too twee, too slow, too - well - middle England (which I gather is its fundamental appeal). When it comes to detective dramas, if it ain't Rebus I ain't interested.

So it's doubly annoying that I've spent most of today in a state of PURE RAGE over this piss-poor excuse for a prime-time television programme.

Word reached me late this morning that there was some drama occurring in King's House over a Midsomer Murders script which had been received by officers with a request to film in Brighton. I won't go into the tedious and convoluted details of the (*ahem*) "storyline", but suffice to say the denouement hinged on bent Green Planning Committee members.

I can't begin to describe how angry I was when I heard this. SO. ANGRY. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.

As the local Green spokesperson for Planning, and our lead member on the Planning Committee, I was virtually exploding with rage at the thought of anyone daring to suggest that Green Brighton & Hove City Councillors could behave corruptly, especially some Soho scriptwriting chump who probably thinks Climate Change is what happens when you turn the aircon on.

Oh boy, was I LIVID. I steamed over to King's House to find out what the f*** was going on. To cut a long story short, I eventually found myself on the phone to one of our lawyers, who told me he'd read the offending script and had promptly sent a very stern email to the Midsomer Murders producers suggesting they cut all mention of Greens from the story.

"I don't think they realise the situation down here", said the lawyer apologetically. "I have now explained to them that the Green Party has a nationally renowned historic association with Brighton & Hove.

"I have also advised them that you're one of the biggest Green Groups on any local authority in the country, and that we have a Green MEP who may well be elected to Westminster next year.

"It could all just be an innocent mistake", the lawyer continued hopefully. "Anyway, I'll let you know what they say on Monday."

Well I'm sorry, but I pulled a big [hmm] face at this. It could be a case of genuine ignorance - after all, prime-time TV drama scriptwriters are probably too busy blowing the froth off their cappuccinos and agonising over which Gucci loafers to wear to pay much attention to provincial local politics. Who can blame them for not knowing that nearly a quarter of Brighton & Hove City Council is made up of Greens?

But the conspiracy theorist in me can't help pondering on the serried mass of luvvies and associate types entrenched within the heart of the New Labour machine...

And I started wondering: are Labour really bricking it that much at the prospect of losing their Brighton Pavilion parliamentary seat to Caroline Lucas that they'd resort to shoehorning a not-very-subtle "GREENS ARE BAD" message into the televisual equivalent of the Daily Mail?

This is a mystery worthy of investigation by DCI Tom Barnaby himself. As it is, I'll have to wait until Monday when I'll hear more from the lawyers before deciding whether or not to really kick off about this (*fumes*).

Blog Assessment; Bee Amazement; Bong Amusement

2009-06-25T22:22:00.026+01:00

Blog Assessment

I'm now almost five weeks into starting this blog (yes, I know it feels like longer ;)), and this evening I started to worry slightly that I've been doing it wrong.

Yes, I've been making some punchy political points about both local and national govern ment policy issues, and yes, I've tried to give my, erm, dozens of readers a flavour of the work I carry out on a day-to-day basis on behalf of the residents of Preston Park ward. I've also blogged at length about the recent European elections, and the current local by-election in Goldsmid.

But equally I've also been wittering on about things I like (art, architectu re, food, horticulture etc) and things that amuse me (smoking fish, Morrissey heads), which aren't necessarily directly connected to my work as an elected Green, or to my efforts as an activist (although to me, the personal is always political).

It feels like a dilemma: should I scale back on the fripperies and observational stuff to concentrate only on being a Politics Robot? Or should I leave out the campaig ns and the elections, and just content myself with musings about urban meadows and street art (etc)?

Ideally, I'd like to keep on doing both, but I don't want to appear inconsistent and/or (*ahem*) 'random'.

This ISN'T an official Green Party of England & Wales blog, but I am a Green councillor, and I'm very mindful of the potential for tension in including both my personal musings and my political mutterings in the same blog (*eyes P&P imprint to right*).

Answers on a postcard please (or via the 'post a comment' button), but in the meantime, here's a bit of both:

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Bee Amazement

(Charlie Brandts, a White House carpenter as well as beekeeper, collects the first batch of honey from the beehives on the South Lawn of the White House, June 10, 2009. Official White House Photographer: Lawrence Jackson)

So we all love Obama (yes, we do!). But this week I started to love him even more when I learnt that he's keeping bees at the White House. I am so thrilled by this! - it's amazing, visionary, and totally leading by example.

I have, erm, a bee in my bonnet about bees: some readers may be aware that the escalating demise of the honey bee is a serious cause for concern, and potentially a ca ta strophe for agriculture and ergo humankind.

Bees are also a symbol of industry, and the symbol of my hometown (see right for a snap of the beautiful mosaic floor in Manchester Town Hall): I love the little fellas, and I'm hoping to do some work on (or even with) them soon (now fuelled by Obama-spiration).

Here are a couple of pix of some apian chums closer to home (well, Bowdon, last weekend) to be going on with:

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Bong Amusement

Last Sunday my family and I went for a walk at Lymm Dam - an area of rural fringe land abutting the M56 which has been beautifully restored in recent years by a regional agency and community partnership project.

Pastoral beauty and tranquillity notwithstanding (and somewhat regrettably, given the fact that we're now both in our thirties), it doesn't take much to reduce me and my brother into Beavis & Butthead-like fits of the giggles:
Lol etc ;) (Etymologists might like to know that "bongs" is derived from the mediaeval (old French) word "bancs", meaning "wooded banks".)

After a lovely walk (during which we saw chaffinches and goldfinches), we ate some delicious cakes provided by the Lymm Brownies. At 30p for a big fat slice, it seemed churlish not to. Ah, Mysterious Cheshire!

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So there you go - tit and tat. Like I say, answers on a postcard or via 'comments' please... I enjoy blogging about the incidentals as much as I enjoy blogging about hardcore politics/industry stuff. Maybe I need two seperate blogs (*brain melts at prospect of moar difficult coding*). All advice and constructive criticism much appreciated.

The Rubble Club

2009-06-25T17:36:00.003+01:00

Another story which caught my eye this week was the news that architects who suffer the ignominy of seeing one of their buildings demolished in their own lifetime can now seek solace in a new online support group: The Rubble Club.

To qualify for Rubble Club membership, architects must be alive and not party to the destruction of the building in question. The building must have been intended as a permanent structure and its destruction must have been deliberate.

This struck a small and sad chord with me. As a lowly trainee architect who was working in practice at the same time as studying, one of the few things I ever designed at work which actually got built was the toilets at Fleet Services McDonalds on the M3 (yes, I know, you can add having to do work for McDonalds to the list of reasons Why I Never Became an Architect).

Picture the scene: it's June 2003, Mr K & I are in the first flush of romance, and we're merrily heading down the M3 en route to Glastonbury. The sign for Fleet Services hoves into sight, and excitedly I squeal "ooh, stop, stop! I can show you something I designed which got built!" (note at this stage I didn't tell him exactly what this, erm, splendid thing actually was).

So we pulled into the services, and I led Mr K to the services building, giddy at the prospect of sharing an admittedly small and not very glamorous achievement with my beloved: they may only have been toilets, and they may well have been located in the world's most reviled fast-food outlet, but I'd designed them and they were mine.

We came to an abrupt halt in the entrance hall. Confused, I scanned the garish fascias of the various kiosks and shops. I couldn't see McDonalds. What I could see was a new-fangled "healthy eating" salad joint in the space where McDonalds had been.

I was gutted. All trace of my toilets had been obliterated, thanks to McDonalds dramatically scaling back their UK operations in the face of the 'Fast Food Nation' backlash and a hostile media. "What is it I'm supposed to be looking at?" asked Mr K? "Nothing," I said sadly. "I'll tell you about it when we get in the car".

So we returned, much subdued, to the car, and I said a silent goodbye to my impermanent monument to human ablutions.

What makes this even worse is that, since reinventing themselves slightly, bloody McDonalds have now re-opened their outlet in Fleet Services! Pah.

So in my own tiny way, I really feel for the members of the Rubble Club. I wonder if they'd let me join?

Building Regs FAIL

2009-06-25T16:29:00.005+01:00

There have been a few big stories this week in the built environment world.

Top of the list is the universal disappointment and anger expressed by industry professionals (from architects to contractors) at the Government's decision to scrap the proposed ‘consequential improvements’ clause in Part L2A of the Building Regulations, which would have forced homeowners building extensions to improve the energy efficiency of the rest of their property.

Quoted in Building magazine, David Strong (chief executive of sustainability consultants Inbuilt) said:

“To not even consult on this beggars belief. On the one hand you've got Ed Miliband committing the government to reducing carbon emissions by 80% together with the recent consultation on the existing stock saying how important it is to reduce emissions from existing buildings if the government is going to hit its targets.

"Yet they have decided not to consult on the single most important measure that could help them to do this”.

He added: “I think the reason they have dropped it is we are leading up to an election and the question is would it pass the Daily Mail test.” (I couldn't have put it better myself.)

Ironically enough, the launch of the Part L consultation document came on the same day that the government outlined its five-point plan on how the UK can reduce carbon emissions.

Pathetic and short-sighted doesn't even begin to cover it. This Labour Government doesn't care about Construction, and it doesn't care about cutting carbon emissions.

Sweet words for The Big Lemon

2009-06-23T22:28:00.004+01:00

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!

Last week I was mostly...

2009-06-22T17:42:00.006+01:00

I've just returned from a long weekend Up North seeing my folks, which was lovely. I've been without broadband for a few days (insert your own joke about Northerners here), so I thought I'd do a quick round-up of last week's happenings before getting on with this week's work.

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London Road CPZ

The majority of correspondence I received from residents last week concerned controversial proposals to introduce a new Controlled Parking Zone in the area around London Road station.

Residents in the affected streets have now received consultation packs - whether they're for or against, people need to make their voices heard, so I hope the response rate is good.

I think my fellow ward councillor Cllr Kevin Allen is trying to set up a meeting with Highways officers about the proposed scheme - hopefully I'll hear more in the next few days.

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From Bra Wars to Bosom Buddies

The Bra Recycling photocall finally went ahead on Tuesday morning!

Dramatis personæ from l-r in first pic: Cllr Dee Simson, Leonie Petrarca of The Pink Dolphin Appeal, Cllr Jayne Bennett, Cllr David Watkins, me, and Cllr Gill Mitchell with the first batch of bras to be donated to the collection point at The Level (Pictures: Hannah Brackenbury 16/06/09)

I'll leave it to readers to come up with their own captions...

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Prestonville Town Square?

On Tuesday I also met with Marek from the Prestonville Community Association to discuss an idea floated by residents for a 'Town Square' for the Prestonville community.

We met outside the Chimney House, and were joined by Lee Davies of Conr an & Partners and Ben Meekings of Project Cent re, a highway design consultancy and landscape architecture practice who have worked on a number of award-winning street schemes.

Marek has blogged about this, but the basic idea is along the lines of the Home Zone model, where cars are still allowed to use the road, but don't have priority over pedestrians or cyclists.

This is a really exciting idea. As you'll see from the pix below, there's loads of space where Upper Hamilton Road meets Buxton Road, so there'd be no need to lose any parking, and hopefully better siting of the bicycle racks too.

This is still very much an embryonic idea at the moment, but it was an excellent meeting - thanks so much to Lee and Ben for giving up their time to come and discuss it with us.

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Green New Deal at the UNISON Fringe

Also on Tuesday (it was a bit of an epic day), I took part in a panel on the Green New Deal at the UNISON Conference Fringe, organised by David Arnold (UNISON National Policy Officer for Green Issues).

My fellow panellists were Paddy Tipping MP, Lucy Pearce (Stop Climate Chaos coalition), Caroline Fife (UNISON South East Business & Environment officer), and Sarah Pearce (TUC Green Workplaces Project).

I was really pleased to be invited to take part, and enjoyed the Fringe session immensely. The other members of the panel spoke very passionately about the work they're doing in their respective fields in trying to advance some of the ideas contained within the Green New Deal, and the audience asked some excellent questions. It was also really heartening to hear just how much work the Trade Union movement is doing in engaging members with promoting sustainability in the workplace.

The hour passed very quickly, and I would have really liked more time for the questions, especially from the Planners present. I hope I get asked back next year!

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Preston Park Access

On Thursday I met with Preston Park Avenue residents to discuss their continuing campaign for a pedestrian access ramp into Preston Park at the northern end of the street.

Last October I presented a petition about this to the council (signed by over 300 residents), but little progress has been made since then, partly due to the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of plans for a parking scheme and associated landscaping works (which were due to include the access ramp) within the park itself.

I'm now trying to get to bottom of this, and will be putting a question to the Cabinet Member for the Environment at Full Council on July 16th.

The bottom line is that, with two Nursing Homes at the northern end of Preston Park Avenue, an access ramp is sorely needed . The photo above shows the nearest ramp, opposite no. 20 - about halfway up a very long road, and hundreds of yards away from the Nursing Homes.

Are residents going to have to wait another summer before access into the park is improved?

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This week is set to be a bit quieter, but having been away for a few days I've got some catching up to do (*eyes exploding Inbox*). And I am now going out for this evening's Green Group meeting.

A Good Year for the Roses

2009-06-18T19:00:00.009+01:00

What a difference it's made having some decent late-Spring / early-Summer weather so far this year (unlike the last two years' washouts). I've noticed that roses in particular have been doing exceptionally well.

I love roses, and so I was pleased that my peregrinations today took me past two of the city's premier spots for enjoying these beautiful flowers:

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PRESTON PARK ROSE GARDEN

(apologies for the slightly dodgy composite - and for Anston House in the background...)

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THE ROSE WALK ON THE LEVEL

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Hats off to the CityParks gardeners for nuturing and tending these spectacular displays for everyone's enjoyment.

PS An unexpected, erm, "bonus" side-effect of my rose-related ramblings today is that I've had the theme from Prisoner Cell Block H stuck on my internal jukebox all evening (hmm).

Woodcuts & Trees

2009-06-18T12:31:00.001+01:00

This time last week Mr K & I took a lunch break together, and went along to Brighton University on Grand Parade for some tucker and to view the last day of the end of year degree shows for the Faculty of Arts & Architect ure.

Lunch in the canteen was a total bargain at around £2.50 each - I had ricotta tortellini and it was lovely. Highly recommended for cheapness and tastiness, plus ambience - there was a jazz quartet playing in the marquee in the courtyard :)

The shows were great as always - I feel so proud to live in a city with such an amazing art college. Here are a few tasters, from architecture to ceramics:

The textiles were as wonderful as always (sadly no pix as visitors are understandably forbidden from taking photos), but my favourite this year was these wood cuts:

I just love the jolly pussycats' faces :)

Well done and thank you to all the students whose work I enjoyed - sorry I can't credit you (I will try and remember to make a note of people's names next year - it was all a bit whistle-stop this time unfortunately).

The quality and abundance of all this beautiful work made me realise how important it is to keep campaigning for more affordable creative workspace in Brighton & Hove, especially for young artists and makers who are just starting their careers.

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Afterwards, en route to the local party office to stuff some envelopes for the Goldsmid by-election, I passed through the 'Walking Woods', a temporary 700-tree mini-forest in Victoria Gardens, just outside the Sallis Benney building.

Ben Duncan wrote an excellent post about this installation, which was designed by architecture student Lucy Palmer, and partly funded by SEEDA as part of the 'Places from Spaces' project.

‘Places from Spaces’ aims to encourage new design thinking for urban public spaces. By working with students from local universities to create temporary landscaping installatons, the theory is that communities can "test" creative schemes for transforming public spaces, asking "what if?" – what might be possible in reinvigorating our shared places?

What a pleasure for the senses. I was sorry I didn't have more time to just hang out in this wonderful temporary arboretum and enjoy it - but it started to rain and duty was calling.

As I left the Gardens and began to make my way up North Road, I couldn't help pondering the vast ideological chasm between SEEDA's laudable intentions and the local Tories' plans (or lack of) for Victoria Gardens, and the green spaces to the south and north of the site (known collectively as Valley Gardens).

Praise where it's deserved: under the last Labour administration, officers had begun work on radical plans to transform Valley Gardens, reducing car traffic and making pedestrianisation a priority. The car-obsessed Tories have now dropped this like a ton of hot bricks.

More recently, in our response to the Core Strategy for the emerging Local Development Framework, Greens criticised the lack of provision for local food growing within the inner-city, and suggested that parts of Valley Gardens could be used for communi ty food projects. Again, this went down like a cup of cold sick with our Conservative chums.

I wonder if David Cameron knows how short-sighted and blinkered his colleagues are in Brighton & Hove? Vote Blue Get Green my derrière.

Thanks nevertheless to Lucy for a beautiful if temporary glimpse of what the future might hold. What if, indeed?

PS The brown grass in the forefront of this picture is not part of the installation. It's the annual post-Ladyboys of Bangkok witherment... (hmm)

Votivation

2009-06-17T17:30:00.003+01:00

Under the Local Government Public Involvement in Health Act (2007), local authorities and their elected councillors now have a duty to involve and engage with residents on matters of local importance.

The statutory “Duty to Involve” is one of several government initiatives designed to empower and involve local people. These initiatives aim to:

- involve local people in decision and policy making; and

- make councils and other public services more transparent and accountable to the electorate and tax payers.

In a bid to employ technology in the pursuit of better engagement with the community, I've signed up to the Votivation website. I must admit I'm still getting my head around how to use it properly, but participants can set up online polls and petitions, and submit (*ahem*) 'opinions'.

And Votivation called this afternoon to say they're upgrading my account as I'm an "early adopter" - woo-hoo!* You can view my Votivation page here.

*what this actually means, I couldn't say. I hope they call me back soon to talk me through it.

Goldsmid: the tactical vote is a Green vote

2009-06-16T21:55:00.002+01:00

A very interesting post from the Brighton Politics Blogger regarding voting tactically in the Goldsmid by-election to bring an end to Tory misrule in Brighton & Hove:

Tactical Voting Needed to Beat the Tories

In this blog on Wednesday I said that Mary Mears was hanging on to power following the resignation of Paul Lainchbury resulting in a by-election to be held on July 23 in the Goldsmit [sic] ward.

A victory by the Greens (possible) or Labour (increasingly unlikely) would deny the Conservatives control which they currently have on the casting vote of the Mayor.

The Argus has now picked up on this and is reporting that Labour, the Greens and Lib Dems might cooperate to oust Councillor Mears as leader of the council. This would mean that the Tories could no longer form a cabinet and all parties would have to cooperate to run the Council.

Tactical voting is what is needed, and both Labour and Lib Dem supporters should really consider voting for the Green candidate, Alexandra Phillips.

Happy Sussex Day

2009-06-16T14:42:00.004+01:00

Today is Sussex Day. It's celebrated on June 16th as it's the saint day of St. Richard, patron saint of Sussex and a Bishop of Chichester.

Sussex Day was dreamed up by West Sussex County Council in 2007 as an opportunity to "celebrate the rich heritage of the county of Sussex". We don't seem to do much here in Brighton & Hove, although the Leader of Brighton & City Hove Council has apparently pledged her support this year:

Cllr Mary Mears urged residents to celebrate living in 'the country's best county', by enjoying our surroundings and supporting local shops and services on the county day.

Sussex Day, a kind of localised version of St George’s Day, is held on St Richard's Day, the patron saint of Sussex, on June 16th. The day has been widely celebrated in West Sussex but Cllr Mears said that, as the largest city the county Brighton & Hove should also recognise the event.

Cllr Mears said: “Living in Brighton & Hove, right in the heart of the country's best county, means we can truly enjoy the benefits of coast and countryside.

“With the economic slowdown, there has never been a better time to support the county by getting out into the great outdoors and enjoying some local produce and generally celebrate the county."

For once, Cllr Mears and I are in agreement: I love my adopted county, and the beautiful countryside and yummy local food are just two of the things that make this such a great place to live.

I also love the fact that the Sussex motto is "We Won't Be Druv" (ie no-one can tell us what to do), and the fact that it was the last county in England to be converted to Christianity.

I'm going to celebrate with a bun from the fine Sussex institution that is Forfars the Bakers: if I had the funds I'd be raising a glass of local fizz (so good even the French are jealous).

Happy Sussex Day!

PS I love the way the Tories manage to bring everything back to the *current economic climate*, even bloody Sussex Day.

Reasons To Be Cheerful: 1, 2, 3 (or, When Community Campaigning Works)

2009-06-15T19:59:00.026+01:00

The past couple of weeks have seen some very encouraging results for community groups who have been campaigning on planning-related matters in Brighton & Hove.

This is cheerful news worth spreading, and a veritable feast of Davids "tekking" Goliaths (as my Yorkshire cousins might say):

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1. ANOTHER LONDON ROAD ~vs~ TESCO

Another London Road (ALR) is a community campaign group originally set up in response to Tesco's proposals to build a megastore with a 950-space car park next to Preston Circus, following a concerted effort by Tesco's (then) property partners St. James Investments to buy up as much land as possible in the London Road area.

Within weeks ALR had built up a Facebook following in its hundreds, swiftly followed up by a petition (signed by over 1,000 people) and a deputation to the Council, objecting to the fait accompli which was seemingly being presented to the community: you want an improved London Road? Only Tesco can deliver (hmm).

Happily, cracks began to show in the long-standing cosy relationship between Tesco and SJI in March this year (no doubt exacerbated by the *current economic climate*), and earlier this month The Argus reported that the London Road deal was off, citing the community opposition voiced by the ALR campaign as a deciding factor in the Tesco pull-out.

ALR are now busying themselves with preparing a response to the Council's draft London Road Masterplan, which is currently out for public consultation, and are set to continue the excellent work they've begun in encouraging the community to take an active part in deciding the future of the area's built environment.

Well done ALR!

And many thanks to Est her Springett for the above image from her 'Myth of London Road' community art project, which recently took place (appropriately enough) in the empty Co-Op department store (photo snapped by me at last week's Brighton Uni Degree Shows).

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2. THE MONTPELIER & CLIFTON HILL ASSOCIATION ~vs~ TAYLOR WIMPEY

When Taylor Wimpey acquired the old Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital site for several million pounds in 2006, the neighbouring community feared the worst - and they were soon proved right.

Far from working to preserve and incorporate the better parts of a greatly altered but nevertheless much-loved local landmark (predominantly designed by local Victorian architect Thomas Lainson), it became increasingly clear that TW were determined to raze the existing buildings to the ground in order to cram as many sub-standard flats onto the site as possible, thereby maximising their profit on a steep investment made at the height of the recent property boom.

The first application was recommended for refusal by Planning officers; the second (barely-altered) submission was not. The Planning Committee (of which I'm a member) voted on both occasions to refuse TW's underwhelming/overcrowding schemes, latterly against the officers' recommendations, which led to a recent appeal from TW by Public Inquiry.

Back in the day, Taylor Wimpey were a leviathan of house-building, beating opponents into submission with the sheer might of their financial resources, and getting crap schemes passed everywhere as a result.

But again, the *current economic climate* has seen TW experience severe financial difficulties in recent months: and in any case, I don't think they were remotely prepared for the robust, expertly-executed case put by representatives of the Montpelier & Clifton Hill Association, who represented residents at the hearing.

The MCHA's defense submissions were commended by Planning Inspector John Papworth, who happily found against the appeal.

[The council also did a grand job in the defence of this, and many thanks must go to Cllr Lynda Hyde (Planning Committee Chairman) for her indefatigable determination in securing the resources to fight this case and win it.]

The Inspector quite rightly noted the "strong affection for the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital as an institution and the values that it stood for", and expressed a clear wish that future proposals might see "some retention of the south façade,as being the part most in the public view, which contributes the most to the area and which [the Inspector] consider[s] could be seen as epitomising the children’s hospital".

Whether Taylor Wimpey choose to take this on board or not is up to them: what's clear is that, unlike the Highcroft Villas decision, Inspector John Papworth really has taken the views of the community on board in throwing this out.

Well done MCHA! Round 3 next.

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3. LEWES ROAD COMMUNITY GARDENERS ~vs~ THE MAN

Hot off the wires - from occupation to negotiation:

Cllr Keith Taylor has worked with the Lewes Road Community Gardeners to secure a temporary memorandum of understanding with the landlords, brokering a deal to protect a community garden set up on derelict space on Lewes Road in Brighton.

Keith, a Green Party councillor for the area, negotiated with owners of the land Alburn Retail Ltd [aka The Man. Ed.], who have agreed the garden can stay until the land is needed for development.

Keith said: “This is a brilliant use of redundant space being converted into a real community asset. Hats off to the Guerrilla Gardeners!

“I am very pleased to have brokered an agreement with the owners of the site Alburn Retail Ltd to enable the garden to continue until the land is needed for development.

“Seeing the results here makes one ask ‘how many other sites are there in the city that could benefit from this treatment?’'"

Fingers crossed that this excellent campaign can continue afoot, and more power to the Lewes Road Community Garden project's collective elbow - well done to all for getting this far, and well done to Keith for his skills in the negotiations with the current landowners!

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Onwards & upwards.

Art & About

2009-06-15T13:56:00.013+01:00

Mr K & I took a stroll along the seafront yesterday. The AQUA studios on Madeira Drive were open, and the piece on the right caught my eye, warming the cockles of my heart :)

There was a companion piece stating "I Hate My Husband", but I didn't take a photo of that one because, erm, I don't.

Walking back along George Street, I spotted this collage in someone's window. This just about made my afternoon, and I'd like to salute the artistic genius who created this splendid array of Morrissey heads.

I thought the juxtaposition of the orthopaedic crutch was a nice touch too.

Weekending

2009-06-13T22:31:00.037+01:00

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 Ph oeni x with fellow Trustees and senior council officers to discuss p lans 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 cutl ery 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*

Urban Meadow

2009-06-13T21:45:00.005+01:00

I was out leafleting for the Goldsmid by-election this evening, and I spotted this urban meadow in the front garden of one of the houses in Hove Park Villas:

Brilliant! I don't know if this was the result of accident or design, but it's really beautiful and no doubt wonderful for wildlife. Lots of birdsong in the evening air too. All very good for the soul.

Communication Boob

2009-06-12T16:16:00.005+01:00

Hurrah! The Bra Recycling photocall is back on. It seems that there was an error in communication between Cllr Elgood and the officers, and he did not in fact object to the photocall event going ahead.

It turns out Paul actually requested balance in terms of future publicity opportunities to promote awareness about male cancers - a request which it would seem was misinterpreted.

I'm happy to set the record straight: the Lib Dems may have their knockers, but credit where credit's due to Paul for clarifying the situation.

So drama over: Bra Wars has narrowly escaped becoming the next Cakegate. I'll keep you abreast of any developments, but I think it's all been a bit of a storm in a D-Cup.

[That's enough. Ed]

This is not a surprise to me

2009-06-12T14:58:00.004+01:00

Architecture is the most socially exclusive profession in the UK, ahead of law, medicine and accountancy, according to research by the Cabinet Office.

And, as Building Design notes sadly, "it costs more to qualify than in any other sector (and the salary is rubbish)".

RIBA president Sunand Prasad identified student debt as a serious problem, and added that more needed to be done to improve access for older students.

As someone who started their Part I at the grand old age of 28, studying part-time on day release one day a week, I completely endorse Prasad's comments: my practice were pretty supportive, but I was still working a 40+ hour week (compressed into four days), on four-fifths of my rather meagre salary, drowning in course-work and model-making in the evenings and at weekends.

I had absolutely no life or leisure time apart from one evening a week of band practice, and sadly I just couldn't sustain the colossal effort required to complete my degree. Which is one of the reasons Why I Never Became an Architect. I still feel sad about this sometimes.

One of the readers' comments on the BD story caught my eye though. 'muhammad badr' argues for a change in the law, making the need to employ an architect a statutory requirement for RIBA stages A to D, but he notes:

"This only makes sense if a well designed built environment is important to society/government. For this to be the case, the built environment has to be held as more of a resource for all. At the moment it is (and has been) a cash cow."

His comments are spot on: architecture and the built environment are about so much more than proft margins on flats and offices. A truly visionary government would recognise this and embrace the industry's potential. But as I've said before, this Labour Government doesn't care about Construction.

Bra Wars

2009-06-11T18:35:00.009+01:00

From: AN Officer [mailto:an.officer@brighton-hove.gov.uk]
Sent: 11 June 2009 16:31
To: Dee Simson; Amy Kennedy; Gill Mitchell; Jayne Bennett
Subject: Bra recycling picture - CANCELLED

Dear Cllrs,

A short while ago [AN Officer's colleague] informed you about a cross-party photo call the council press office was trying to organise in support of breast cancer awareness and fundraising.

Unfortunately, we will not now be able to use councillors in the photo call as Cllr Elgood has objected to it going ahead on the grounds that it would contravene purdah regulations on party political publicity in the run-up to local authority elections.

As you know, we believed the cross-party nature of the picture would circumvent any party politics. However, Cllr Elgood rightly points out that because there are no female Liberal Democrat councillors – and because he would not want male Liberal Democrat councillors to be in such a picture – it is not truly a ‘cross-party’ media initiative.

The photo call is now likely to go ahead with officers as it cannot be postponed due to the fact that the bra recycling bins are already in place and, as such, are the subject of public discussion.

I realise you will be disappointed but I hope I have clearly explained the reasons for this development. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions.

AN
AN Officer
Brighton & Hove City Council

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From: Amy Kennedy

Sent: 11 June 2009 18:11
To: AN Officer; Dee Simson; Gill Mitchell; Jayne Bennett
Subject: RE: Bra recycling picture - CANCELLED

Dear AN

Thank you for letting us know that the Bra Recycling photocall has been cancelled.

I have to say I am extremely disappointed about this, and feel that Cllr Elgood might have waived his objections given the charitable nature of the project.

After all, it is hardly the fault of female Green, Conservative, Labour, or Independent councillors that the Liberal Democrats have no women representatives on Brighton & Hove City Council.

Nevertheless, I understand why you feel compelled to take this course of action under the circumstances, and I thank you again for advising us regarding the cancellation of the photocall.

With best wishes

Amy

Amy Kennedy
Green City Councillor for Preston Park Ward
Brighton & Hove City Council

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What a miserable response from the Liberal Democrats to an extremely worthwhile initiative.

Female readers in Brighton & Hove may like to know that the "bra banks" are now situated with the other recycling containers at the South Side of the Level.

New Construction Minister Appointed

2009-06-11T12:33:00.003+01:00

Ian Lucas (MP for Wrexham) has been confirmed as the new Construction Minister.

He is the ninth person to hold this position in eight years, which should give you some indication of how little the Labour Government cares about the well-being of the industry.

Building Magazine makes the following comment:

Lucas is bit of a newcomer in government circles, having only been assistant whip since October 2008.

Construction is not one of his avowed interests, although as MP for Wrexham he did meet bosses at JCB in January after they sacked 58 workers in his constituency.

He has a distinctly green streak, having asked several questions in parliament about low-carbon buildings and requested that all buildings in the Olympic Park be self-sufficient in energy use.

Photovoltaics are a particular interest – maybe because Sharp’s PV plant in Wrexham employs 600 of his constituents. Although he was relatively unscathed by the expenses scandal, Lucas claimed £1,388 to furnish his London flat. He said: “I regard a bed as an essential item.”

Maybe Ian Lucas will be able to get the industry moving again by pushing for growth in green technologies, but I'm not holding my breath.

I think there's a real case to be made for pursuing a technocratic approach when it comes to appointing ministers for Trade and Industry. Those who've worked in the industry care passionately about getting Construction back on its feet: those who haven't, erm, don't.

Blog Panic (or, Why I Never Became A Coder)

2009-06-10T22:33:00.010+01:00

As with any recently acquired interest, this blog is often in my thoughts at the moment. I had a spare five minutes between meetings while I was in our office at King's House earlier today, and so I thought I'd log in to Blogger just to check on things (like you do).

Having spent a good few hours last weekend tweaking the layout and fiddling around with it until I was actually really quite pleased with how things were looking, you can imagine my dismay when I was confronted with a screen resembling the monstrosity below (only much worse):

Quelle horreur! What had happened to my beautiful blog in the time since I'd left the house and arrived at the council offices?

Then I realised: all the council PCs use Internet Explorer as the default web browser. Now, I've been using Firefox for all my interweb activities for years, and because I am not remotely l33t (aka Good At The Internet) it had never occurred to me to test my new blog layout in IE.

But clearly, this was a problem. Much as I find it hard to believe that anyone uses Internet Explorer any more when there are so many better browsers to be downloaded, I suspect that IE is still the browser of choice for the vast majority of web users.

So I started panicking that, erm, literally dozens of readers were not only being denied the opportunity to enjoy my blog in all its technicolour floral glory, they were also unable to even read the actual posts. Which entirely defeats the blog's fundamental purpose. And then I had to go into a Planning Committee meeting.

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I resumed panicking on the bus on the way home. All my poor readers having to squint at an inky screen with undecipherable posts! And even worse - how on earth was I going to rectify the layout situation? The current one had taken me ages to get to its present state (via some haphazard cutting and pasting, and a whole load of trial and error and F5-ing and guesswork) and I had absolutely no idea where to look in the lines and lines of coding in order to identify the problem. Or what to do even if I did locate the glitch.

Stuck in the rush hour rain and traffic on North Street, I did a bit of desperate Googling on my crackberry for '[layout name] blogger "internet explorer" fix', and bingo - the search returned the following phrase: Internet Explorer 6 and below cannot display PNG transparencies correctly.

"Aha!" I thought. "God only knows what 'PNG' means, but that rings a bell from all those wretched lines of XML (or whatever it is) burnt into my eyeballs after the weekend's tweaking."

So feeling a bit perkier, and before I finally resigned myself to having to go back to 'Thisaway (Green)' or some other unexciting standard template, I decided to give it one last go in IE when I got indoors.

Et voilà! It all works just fine in Internet Explorer 7 (the council PCs are evidently limping on with an older version than the one I've got at home). But I've posted a caveat over there > > > > > > at the top of the page, just in case anyone operating an inferior browser chances on my blog and is put off by its apparent illegibility.

And I still think you should all be using Firefox.

PS The IE6 situation clearly isn't down to my crappy coding (*phew!*), but there are still x-amount of bad things about the code for my blog layout (eg why no blog title on the 'Older Posts' page or on individual post pages?), so if there are any kind-hearted techies out there who'd like to assist me in my quest for layout functionality, please get in touch!

Goldsmid in Private Eye (again)

2009-06-10T20:43:00.005+01:00

Goldsmid is featured yet again in the latest edition of Private Eye's 'Rotten Boroughs' column - the third item in the past eight weeks.

It could be argued that the Eye is entirely responsible for forcing this by-election: the 'Paul Lainchbury Situation' was an open secret in the council for months before the Tories were forced to confront it, and to do the decent thing by voters in the ward.

But just how decent was the Tories' timing when it came to setting the date for Polling Day?

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Private Eye, 12th June 2009 - 'Rotten Boroughs'

CURSE OF GNOME [*lol]

SO, FAREWELL then Paul Lainchbury, Skidrow-on-Sea's absentee Tory councillor (Eyes passim), who resigned on the day of last week's local and Euro elections.

After Lainchbury, who had missed every Brighton & Hove council committee meeting and community/resident group for a year, was exposed in the Eye, Tory council leader Mary Mears insisted he stay on long enough for Skidrow Tories - who now lose their overall majority [**] - to select the new mayor and cabinet unopposed last month.

This meant the ensuing by-election could not be held on the same day as the Euros, prompting a special poll in Goldsmid ward costing an extra £10,000 - £20,000. Trebles all round!

* I love the 'Curse of Gnome'. Previous victims have included Robert Maxwell and Mohammad Al Fayed.

** The Tories don't, in fact, have an overall majority - they rely on the vote of Independent (former Tory) Cllr Jayne Bennett and the Mayor's casting vote to win in the Council Chamber.

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Are these the same Tories that are forever pontificating about better use of public money?

In February I put forward an amendment to the council budget calling for £20,000 to produce an integrated campus-wide Schools Travel Plan for the Varndean campus (in order to start to tackle the traffic mayhem and serious road safety concerns in Surrenden and Balfour Roads), which the Tories rejected.

Clearly they would rather spend Brighton & Hove tax-payers' money on a needlessly delayed by-election (caused by the inability of one of their members to do the job properly) than road safety for thousands of the city's children and young people.

Goldsmid By-Election: Thursday 23rd July

2009-06-10T11:21:00.003+01:00

The Goldsmid by-election will be held on Thursday 23rd July - just as the school holidays are beginning. I think postal voters will be targeted hard by all the parties in this contest as a consequence.

Clearly buoyed by their success in the Euros, UKIP have declared that they'll be putting a candidate forward too - a charming fellow who has previous form in Brighton & Hove as a Tory councillor.

This just gets more and more interesting...

This, however, really cheered me up

2009-06-09T17:50:00.003+01:00

No platform for fascists.

Serpents in the Garden

2009-06-09T15:22:00.005+01:00

Some shady "Security" firm visited the Lewes Road Community Garden in the early hours of this morning, padlocking it in an attempt to keep residents out of the beautiful green space they have created on this derelict petrol station site.

Happily, residents have now gained access again, and my fellow Green councillors in St Peter's & North Laine ward are working with the group to try and negotiate an agreement with the landowners while the future of the site is decided.

The Community Garden group have also set up a petition, seeking support for the continuation of this excellent project:

"On Tuesday 9th June a security agency locked up the garden and declared the site protected. We plead and ask for your support to keep our garden open to the community, who have taken care of the space, keeping it safe, secure and creating an example of what the community can do when we pull together.

"We have repaired the fence, beautified the site and created a space that people use to come together in a way we have never done before; learning from one another, sharing experiences and forming friendships with our neighbours.

"A derelict site for years, has now been transformed by the local community voluntarily and positively to create a free space that we can all enjoy.

"Please sign our petition to keep the garden actively alive!"

I hope this project continues unmolested - this is a wonderful use of an empty site, and even after only 6 weeks the benefits to the community have been tangible. Good luck to the residents in their negotiations with the landlords.

I should be singing from the rooftops

2009-06-08T17:09:00.016+01:00

The European election results have now been fully announced. We held both our European seats; nationally, we increased our vote by 44% - an awesome gain.

In Brighton & Hove, the Greens came first across the whole city with 31.3%, beating the Tories by 6,000 votes and taking more than twice as many as Labour.

We also topped the poll in Oxford and Norwich, putting us well on track for electoral success in the General Election in our target constituencies.

And I am really pleased about all of this, honestly I am.

But I can't help feeling very disappointed that we missed out so narrowly on a second seat in the South East, and also that (despite a huge amount of hard work) we fell short in other parts of the UK by a very small margin.

So after all that effort, and despite a massively increased voteshare, we still have only 2 Green MEPs - fewer per votes cast than any other party.*

Yes, the proportional representation system used in the Euro ballot is fairer than the wretched first past the post system we endure for Westminster, but the d'Hondt method still favours larger parties; which is perhaps why it was chosen in the first place.

Ben Duncan, Jim Jay, and plenty of other people have blogged very eloquently about our results in recent hours, so I'll end my contribution here...

...with a final thought that perhaps the main reason why I don't feel like singing from the rooftops today is because I am utterly, utterly ashamed to be Northern right now.

*Votes cast per MEP elected in England and Wales in the 2009 European Elections:
Plaid Cymru 126,702
Con 167,191
UKIP 187,726
Lib Dem 195,358
Lab 195,628
BNP 458,212
Green 611,652

Gutted

2009-06-08T02:06:00.001+01:00

BNP gain the North West :(

South East Euro Results - Greens hold seat

2009-06-08T01:23:00.004+01:00

Well, we won overall in Brighton & Hove, and Caroline Lucas held her seat, beating Labour into a miserable 5th place in the South East.

Many congratulations to Caroline, and many commiserations to our Euro No. 2 Cllr Keith Taylor, both of whom fought a hard campaign for the Green Euro vote in South East England.

Above all many thanks to all the candidates, and activists in Brighton & Hove and the South East (and friends from beyond), for putting in such a massive amount of graft over the past few months on the Euro trail - the results speak for themselves, and we're now in an unprecedented position to win Brighton Pavilion and elect Caroline Lucas as Westminster's first Green MP.

Well done all!

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Commiserations too to Cllr Rupert Read (Eastern Region), and Cllr Ricky Knight (South West Region) for narrow misses. Am waiting on tenterhooks now for Peter Cranie's result in the North West...

London result in - Greens hold seat

2009-06-08T00:37:00.006+01:00

Jean came 4th, beating UKIP into 5th place.

Voteshare 11%, up 3% :D

Joy!

But sadly...

2009-06-07T23:34:00.002+01:00

...the BNP have won their first Euro seat, thanks to the good folk of the Yorkshire & Humber region :(

B&H Euro Results just in - Greens top the poll!

2009-06-07T23:25:00.004+01:00

Voteshare:

Green 19,727
Conservative 13,891
Labour 9,113
UKIP 7,570
Lib Dem 6,410

What an amazing result! Brighton Pavilion here we come!

And now for a by-election

2009-06-06T16:16:00.005+01:00

Talk about picking a day to bury bad news - after months of speculation, Cllr Paul Lainchbury finally announced his resignation on Thursday afternoon. This inevitably means a by-election in Goldsmid ward, where Greens fell just 222 votes short of a seat in the May 2007 local elections.

Ben Duncan has been blogging about the events leadin g up to Cllr Lainchbury's resignation, and Brighton Blogger Neil Harding has calculated a relatively small 3.5% swing needed if Greens are to win this seat.

We selected local resident Alex Phillips as our candidate for a Goldsmid by-election some weeks ago:

Alex is an excellent candidate, and will make a hard-working, dedicated councillor for Goldsmid ward should she be elected.

The question is, when will the Tories call the by-election? They won't want polling day to fall within the school holidays, so my guess is we'll hear something next week - and then it will be back into the fray.

A Green win in Goldsmid would put us on an equal footing with Labour, with 13 seats apiece, and the Tories would no longer have a workable majority at the council, even with the support of the one independent (former Tory) councillor.

As Ben says, interesting times...

Polling has closed...

2009-06-04T22:30:00.032+01:00

Preston Park, 8.30pm

...and now we wait for the results. Having told (telled? - been a teller) at the portacabin polling station in the park for the local elections in May 2007, I can report that the turnout was unusually high here, for the 6-10pm evening period especially.

What this means overall, I couldn't say. Certainly the council officers staffing the station (from 6.45am 'til 10.15pm with a 20 minute break - hmm) were surprised, especially as the Euros have a low turnout traditionally.

So roll on Sunday/Monday, when the waiting will be over. As somebody once said, "I can handle the despair - it's the hope that's killing me". I've got everything crossed for Caroline, Keith, Jean, Peter, and all our candidates in target constituencies.

Thank you if you voted Green today.

Thank you if you even bothered to vote!*

*(but not for the BNP obv.)

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Eagle-eyed readers will spot what is wrong with the above picture (OK, no clever answers here please ;))... the polling portacabin was powered by a stinky diesel generator. There were complaints from tellers, polling station officers, and voters alike, particularly those who found themselves downwind of the fumes. Yuk :(

A few lightbulbs and sockets don't need much power; why can't we use portable micro-renewables for future temporary polling stations, instead of noxious fossil fuel guzzlers?

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My best ever Telling Story is from last May when I went up to Lewisham to help out with their local/AM elections on a dank and damp Spring afternoon.

I was stationed at an infant school near Sue Luxton's house, nervously eyeing up the clouds and the fact that there was no shelter in the playground should it start to rain.

Well, of course, the heavens opened, and there was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide - the school porch was off-limits thanks to campaigning rules, and as I scanned the playground in panic, I spotted a very small wendy house...

Yes reader, in desperation I ended up cowering in that teeny-tiny wendy house, rolling a [soggy] fag with my knees up to my chin, and the rain pummelling my temporary accommodation, thinking "yes, all my life and all my career I've been working up to this. Oh, the GLAMOUR."

WRONG doesn't even begin to cover it...

Still undecided? Think again before you vote tomorrow

2009-06-03T17:19:00.006+01:00

A good deed shines in a naughty world

2009-06-02T23:30:00.014+01:00

I've been out and about in the ward over recent days doing some last-minute leafleting for the European Elections this coming Thursday, 4th June.

Plenty of other people have blogged at length about our prospects for this ballot, so I'm not going to jam up any more bandwidth with my hopes and fears for Thursday, but suffice to say I've never met so many people on the doorstep and in the street who say they're voting Green for the first time.

It's incredibly heartening and very exciting - people really do seem hungry for change, and the progressive vote seems to be going our way, not least because our Green MEPs have a track record in making their expenditure transparent, and in speaking out against the "Euro Gravytrain".

Sunday seems like a long time to have to wait for the results... I've got everything crossed, obviously for all our candidates, but particularly for our existing MEPs Caroline Lucas & Jean Lambert, and also for my friend and colleague Cllr Keith Taylor, and for Peter Cranie in my motherland of the North West.

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However, for all the good Green deeds afoot in Brighton and beyond today, the naughty light below was shining in the avenue next to Preston Park at 2.15pm this afternoon, on the hottest and sunniest day we've had so far this year:

You can bet I'll be reporting this, but to whom? Unless I'm reading it wrong, the council website seems to be saying that it's all EDF's fault, but, erm, they won't be doing anything about it:

Why is my street light on during the day?

Modern streetlights are switched on and off by a sensor that knows when it is getting dark. Older lights were switched on and off by area using a network of cables that are owned by the Electricity Utility EDF. These cables are very old and are beginning to fail. EDF when they discover a fault do not have to repair this switching facility and make the cable permanently live or on. This results in day burning columns.

So that's OK then, is it? (hmm) One to add to the list of things to do tomorrow.

The ongoing saga of Anston House

2009-06-01T14:57:00.015+01:00

In a few weeks' time it will be two years since developers bulldozed protected trees on the notorious Anston House site, sparking local outrage.

In October 2007, I presented a petition to the council signed by hundreds of residents, which resulted in the eventual prosecution and fining of the developer earlier this year - the first time Brighton & Hove City Council has taken legal action on the illegal felling of trees covered by Tree Protection Orders.

Conveniently enough, the developer declared himself bankrupt a few days before the case came to the Crown Court (hmm), thus escaping the maximum fine of £20,000 per tree. And now council officers are having difficulty in tracking him down in order to re-serve a Section 215 notice requiring him to tidy the land...

Several residents have contacted me over recent months asking when action is going to be taken to clear the site, and I met with Planning Enforcement officers last week for an update. It seems the s215 notice they served earlier in the year was not officially registered as having been received, so unfortunately the only option is to re-serve it, by hand to the registered company offices.

Once the s215 has been re-served, the landowner will have 8 weeks to clear the site, removing all the rubble, building materials, parked up vehicles etc. If no action is taken by the landowner by the end of this period, the council will employ contractors to clear the site, placing a charge on the land.

I'm disappointed that it's taking so long to get somewhere with this: the site is in a truly shocking state. I'll be asking for an update from officers later in the week to get confirmation of the revised timescales for action on this.

In the current economic climate, in my opinion it's highly unlikely that anything will be built on the site anytime soon... Perhaps we should take a leaf out of the Lewes Road community gardeners' book once the land has been cleared?

From Petrol to Petunias

2009-05-31T22:55:00.024+01:00

Another beautiful day today. This afternoon I wandered over to the Lewes Road Community Garden, where a group of local horticulturalists have transformed a derelict petrol station site into a blossoming green space for the enjoyment of all.

I know this site well, having spent two happy years living around the corner on Caledonian Road in my students days. Needless to say my housemates and I were frequent late-night shoppers at the old Esso garage, which closed several years ago.

Since then, the plot has remained undeveloped; so I was thrilled when I learnt that neighbouring residents had come together to beautify the land, and to create a community garden.

In a city hemmed-in by the sea and the South Downs, and where more than 50% of residents live in flats (as opposed to houses with gardens), I find my thoughts turn increasingly to common land and open space, and so I decided to check it out for myself.

Although the site is still fenced in, the gates were wide open this afternoon, and quite a few people were either working or relaxing in the garden.

My sincere thanks go to Anoushka, who warmly welcomed me to the garden, and told me a little bit about its journey from Fossil Fuel Dereliction to Community Resource.

The site has been empty for five years, so I was unsurprised to hear that the managing agents acquiesced when residents made their initial approach to take on the land on an ad-hoc basis. While this is very positive, on the flip-side the gardeners have also had to defuse local criticism that they're "hippies" and/or (*ahem*) "gypsies" who want to "steal" the land (hmm).

Happily, many of the original objectors are now actively supporting the Lewes Road Community Garden, and even bringing cuttings and seedlings to the site - because, according to Anoushka, "we just went and spoke to them, and they realised we were alright".

As a former petrol station, the site is classed as contaminated land, so there are stringent regulations regarding its development; the longer it "lies fallow", the fewer the groundworks and excavation required in order to make the site conditions acceptable for new development.

So it's pretty much a win-win situation: the landlords can point to responsible community engagement and a cleaner site for prospective developers, and in the meantime, local residents can enjoy a beautiful garden, made by the community for the community.

From a Green point of view, there's a wonderful sense of natural justice in seeing a former fossil fuel site transformed into an urban oasis :)

Great stuff from the Lewes Road residents. Is this something we could adapt for the Anston House site?

Argus Headline Generator

2009-05-31T19:39:00.003+01:00

Ha ha, this is brilliant: your very own Argus headline generator.

No more need to spend endless hours slaving over a hot Photoshop!