The Social Media Experiment

This week I thought I'd let you in on a day in the life of a Southampton City Councillor; or more precisely, exactly what I got up to last Wednesday.

This is my life in 24 tweets...

I was up early for my first meeting of the day. Yes, that's right. My first meeting began at half six in the morning.

Went on a tour of the city centre and in particular Carlton Crescent (so I could have a look at the Conservation Zone) and Bellevue Road (due to some casework raised by Councillors).

This was me leaving the depot on my return just after 8:15am.

Not before I went and had a quick look at some of the work put in place for Marchwood Road. Much tidier! Well done officers! Whilst having a quick walk about, came up with some good ideas on change for the bottom of Foundry Lane to complement the new bin I've had placed there.

On the way back home for brekkie and a quick change of clothes, I spotted this soon to be extinct creature...

Drove into the Civic Centre to have a quick briefing with Officers before joining up with the Leader, Councillor Richard Williams and Norman Baker MP (also a Junior Transport Minister for the Government and a man who has given our Council a fair few pounds recently). Took him to see one of our projects to get young people back into training and jobs with the aid of a new bus pass scheme.

 

 

Time for a quick interview on Sustainable Travel, whilst the minister unveils the official opening of Real Time Information across the city on our bus stops.

 

 

It would've been remiss of me not to use the free-wifi to post a message!

 

Don't think this post needs any commentary really...

 



Using the free wifi on the bus, we were able to demonstrate a number of our new systems including the aforementioned Real Time Information and our new www.myjourneysouthampton.com website.

After we said goodbye to the minister, it was back to the Civic for more preparation.

Something new for this year was the ability for Councillors to be able to use their phones whilst the debates were going on. Although you have to pick appropriate times in the Chamber, you can do some good whilst the politics swirls around you.

Some people just don't have a sense of humour.

We had two breaks during this meeting which is unusual, but this was because one Councillor had just come out of hospital.

They really didn't like me doing that...

A number of Councillors were invited to a meeting in Maybush to discuss the relocation of Police Staff - but it clashed with Full Council. Didn't think we'd make it out in time.

 

That was the third evening out of four in the week in which I was out doing politics.

It wasn't quite over. Quick discussion based on the city's art collection. You can only flog them once remember!

Quick chat after council. And no I didn't get Man of the Match this meeting!

 

A mere 15 hours after leaving for my first meeting of the day, I walked back in through my front door.

Have a good week. I know I can't wait for a long weekend!

Busy, Busy, Busy

The start to the week was something of a relative damp squib; or rather a snowy squib. The predicted 15 cms of Artic Conditions failed to materialise in Southampton as did the "traffic chaos". The works on the M27 passed of with little to mention other than to thank the motorists for their patience, and to thank all those who worked throughout the weekend to deliver a new safer surface for users of the motorway. Being able to knock out these improvements in a little over a day versus diversions for months seemed like a bold yet practical solution. I for one would want to see more bold decisions taken in this manner and worked out between all of the agencies involved.

Monday presented me with a chance to catch up on emails after a number of meetings were cancelled. Although I still caught up on some of our city centre conservation developments. Opposition from a local school in being included within the scheme, and not wanting to tie their hands in terms of development meant I favoured allowing them to remain outside of the conservation zone. The bigger prize to the scheme was for inclusion of one residential road, which would hopefully avoid changing its character; satellite dishes, poor quality double glazing etc to be prohibited. The community have spoken and this is what they wanted.

Tuesday saw me become embroiled in a yellow line issue on the Coxford Road; where it meets Southampton City Golf Course. For years we've had considerable fly tipping in the area and so it was common sense to put a gate across and stop us having to spend £4k a year on cleaning up the area. However, as these things are never as simple as they should be, if you have a gate, you need to protect access. Yellow lines. The original plans were overzealous (20 meters of lines in both directions) and the consultation challengeable. Suffice to say that the revisions were appropriate (now only effecting half of one property) and that officers from Balfour Beatty personally hand delivered letters to residents in the area. All good fun.

Wednesday saw the release of information from Helius that they were planning to submit an application in the Summer. Looks as though they are still trying to raise money, although I note that they recently sold 10% of their shares for a few million. However, we as a Council received no prior warning of any change and the Daily Echo are yet to contact me on this issue. And…beware of any plans which start quoting seasons for their start date. This one will continue to rumble on for some time yet.

The afternoon saw me play a very unfunny game called "Is my meeting cancelled or not..?". Eventually it was which meant that I got to spend much more time at City Depot, based in the best ward of the city; that's right, in Millbrook. Some good news regarding the take up of the new Green Waste Service, reduction of sickness rates and the introduction of a new GPS based software package - the power to direct our vehicles now puts us in a better position than some emergency services!

Up to the second, GPS driven, massive touch screen!

Thursday saw me have a very fruitful meeting with the Ops Manager at Bluestar. I now have negotiated a very good deal for the city, but due to the commercial nature I can't reveal it...YET. Members of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel will be pleased to note that this included a discusssion on bus routes around the General Hospital.

Also did some prep work for the Norman Baker visit next Wednesday; see if we can't use some more funding from one Government Department to aid a bid from another Department. Robbing Peter to pay Paul always feels much better when it’s a Coalition Government.

Friday saw updates on casework, HMO licensing and another meeting with Highfield Residents Association.

A sneaky shot taken at our Awayday...Shhh!

So to the weekend; a few days off. Unlikely. Saturday saw us gather as a group to discuss the past, present and future. It was an invigourating session and a good use of five hours of a saturday. So less time spent with the family this weekend, but more carried out on your behalf. Next week will see four evening meetings in a row and responses going out from the Council to residents in the Regents Park Road area.

So if you thought this week was busy, wait until next weeks update!

No rest for the political

Morning friends,

In the syle of Jessie from The Fast Show, "This week I have mostly been..."

: The week started by attending a parliamentary reception discussing our city's approach to sustainable transport, namely that well delivered transport solutions will drive forward our city's economy which will grow our way out of recession. It was useful as I managed to pin hole both the Chair of Trustees and the Chief Executive of Sustrans, who were hosting the event. We should be looking forward to visits from the national team and the Big Lottery Fund in the future. It was interesting to see how the other half live; with champagne, delicate cakes and dainty sandwiches...the best we can look forward to at Council is luke warm tea from a flask!

Not too shabby a picture if I say so myself.

: Tuesday saw me record back to back interviews with Radio stations across the city; Jack, Breeze, Wave and Solent. It was a bit weird as I managed to catch myself on three different radio stations on the drive into work on Friday. The subject matter was the Highways Agency’s closure of the M27 over the weekend. Their decision, their cost; but strangely everyone wanted to talk to me and not them…and obviously obligatory local media hysteria. I am starting to wonder if they're sponsored by a company called Chaos - because they seem to use it in their headlines on every other page!

: Discussions with Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, Business Solent and Sustrans over the City Centre Masterplan; and teasing out a greater level of responsibility for business in the city. Namely, we'll agree with you on certain aspects of planning and design, but you have to step up in terms of what you're doing.

 : Hurt my back when picking Lucy out of the bath. Birthday night spent lying on the floor. Absolutely no sympathy from anyone. You see I hadn't bent my knees. It seems I am getting older like everyone else!

: Batting back some of the ridiculous misinformation propagated by our red top newspaper friends; the saga of three bins and our green waste collection service. Some truths…very few people have complained to me that this is now a chargeable service. The service is OPT IN; no one is forced to take it. People can choose to have two sizes of bins OR bags. Alternatively those people quoted in the articles (all in Millbrook ward and also the road I live) could take their green waste the maximum one mile it is to the Household Waste Recycling Centre. And there will not be three bins on the street; I have always driven for an alternate collection i.e. blue top bins one week, brown top bins the next week. But why let the truth get in the way of a front page story.

: Met Dave for lunch before his regional meeting on inland water fisheries. And I thought I only attended the exciting meetings!

: Wrote to 300 residents in and around Regents Park Road to let them know of my dismay at the quality of the works (the road works which caused the delays on the Millbrook Road last month). The site was left untidy; damage to the public realm; and an exceptionally dangerous design flaw - lorries are now cutting across the pavements, at speed. All it would take is a pedestrian to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So after receiving poor responses from Balfours, I went nuclear. There is no way we should be held hostage to a poor job from contractors - better to be on the front foot and publicly challenge officers and partners. Perhaps this is a story the Daily Echo would rather cover?

This state of dirt from local developments is unacceptable

: I was due to round off the week with a visit to First Bus Depot to talk hardball about bus subsidies. However, due to the motorway closure, it was a case of more media interviews. Fingers crossed that it all passes off ok.

Happy Mothers Day to all Mum's out there. The presents wrapped, but the cards yet to be written. Some quality family time to be had after we've put out two rounds of leaflets this morning. No rest for the political.

Belated Happy St David's Day!

Firstly, a belated Happy Saint David's day for all of my Welsh friends, family and readers. The daffs weren't out yet, but at least it wasn't raining. It was good to see the Welsh Dragon flying high above the Civic on Friday as well. A long standing joke amongst my friends was that I wrote a flag policy during my time at Newham Council. Actually I think its important for community co-hesion and to be honest, I do like a good flag!

Good use of flags.

It's not been just about flags this week:

Itchen toll bridge went fully automated for the first time in the lifespan of the structure. There was a lot of scare mongering. There was a lot of media pressure. On the day itself there were some delays as people struggled to remember that today was the day. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Ensuring this bridge functions effectively moving forward and that we can save £100,000 in it's running each and every year is vital.


Launched the new green waste service. It's now up to you if you want a service from your door to collect your twigs, branches and grass cuttings. Yes it is now a paid service, but it will be collected and the bags won't rot. If you want an early bird discount get along to www.southampton.gov.uk/garden . This is another saving which your council is making due to the budget cuts. The decision which I took saves over half a million pounds a year. I believe that it will be a better service than was offered previously.

Other activites this week have included media interviews for Jack FM, the BBC and the Daily Echo; Discussing how we might improve the council's website; Plans for energy generation projects across the city; Updates on our major roadworks across the city; Set out a clear direction for how I want the Environment & Transport Portfolio to move forward with its electronic communications.

Signing off now as I have a daughter to read some books too, before heading out to a constituent visit with Councillor Furnell. And we should get some leafleting done before starting the days chores properly. Roll on monday for a rest!

Cael wythnos dda. Cymerwch ofal.