Keep Money for Public Transport and Social Services, say Greens
Green Party councillors have welcomed news that the ruling Conservative Cabinet at County Hall has dropped proposals to withdraw funding for local voluntary groups and for bus passes for sixth form college students. However, the Greens are unhappy that the Cabinet's budget proposals still include cuts to subsidies for 23 bus routes, cuts to funding for library books and cuts to money for care homes.
 Andrew Boswell, Green Party County Councillor, said: "We received many letters from concerned residents about the proposed cuts to college students' bus passes and to voluntary organisations. I am pleased that these proposed cuts have been dropped, but the Green Party Group thinks the council should not be cutting any money from public transport and social services."
"The County Council is still planning a Northern Distributor Road (NDR), at the cost of around £100m, with £1.2m of consultation fees allocated for it in next year’s budget alone. This road may never be built and yet public money is being spent on it each year. If the council dropped its NDR plans now, it could avoid any cuts to public transport and social services and fund more road safety measures."
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Campaign Against Mass Tree Pollarding
Green councillors have been supporting residents in their campaign against plans by the City Council to radically pollard 32 mature trees in Lime Tree Road. An independent arboricultural consultant has published a report arguing that there are more appropriate and less drastic ways of tackling safety problems with the trees than pollarding (which involves cutting a tree back to just a trunk). The alternative measures are crown reduction and removal of weak limbs.
Green Party Councillor Adrian Ramsay said: "Radical pollarding would destroy the appearance of these trees, the local environment and wildlife habitat. The council says it intends to pollard thousands of trees in Norwich. The Green Party and Friends of the Earth are concerned that the work on Lime Tree Road could mark the start of a programme of pollarding trees across the city."
If you wish to support the campaign against the mass pollarding of trees in Norwich, please send your views to Anna Graves, Director of Development, Norwich City Council, City Hall, St. Peter Street, Norwich, NR2 1NH or e-mail annagraves@norwich.gov.uk
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Steven Altman Selected
 Steven Altman has been selected as your Green Party candidate for Mancroft ward in the May City Council elections. Steven is a postgraduate student in History at UEA and is Chair of UEA Green Party. He has an active role in the local Green Party in supporting the Green councillors and visiting residents to talk to them about our campaigns. Steven has already met hundreds of Mancroft residents on the doorstep.
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25 Bus: Campaign Update
 Steven Altman writes...
Several residents have asked us how First bus responded to our petition for the 25 bus service to the hospital to be reinstated. The petition was submitted in December and, sadly, we have still not received a response from First. We will report it in this newsletter as soon as we do. 988 residents signed the petition. We believe that the lack of a timely response from First illustrates the need for the councils to have some power over bus services through a Quality Bus Contract.
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Green Energy Campaign
Green councillor Adrian Holmes writes...
The Green Party has launched a campaign for much higher levels of Government investment in energy conservation measures and renewable energy. Responding to the launch of the Government's consultation on energy, we argue that energy conservation and the use of renewable energy are the only environmentally-friendly ways of addressing energy shortages. Nuclear power is often put forward as an alternative to fossil fuels but it already costs UK taxpayers billions of pounds each year and causes carbon dioxide emissions through the mining of uranium. You can respond to the Government consultation online at tinyurl.com/a7ama.
The green energy website is at: www.greenenergyworks.org.uk. Amongst other things it contains information on how to:
- Conserve energy in your home.
- Obtain current grants for energy conservation.
- Sign up to a renewable energy supplier at no extra cost!
- Complete the ‘green’ energy consultation.
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Battery Recycling
Steven Altman writes...
The Green Councillors are frequently asked where in Norwich people can recycle household batteries. Dixons and PC World stores both have boxes where people can leave batteries for recycling on a counter near the door. If you know of any other shops that provide such a facility please inform us. Rechargeable batteries remain the better environmental option but it is useful that battery recycling facilities exist.
Household batteries can also be recycled at the Swanton Road Recycling Centre, as can vehicle batteries. Charities often ask for old mobile phone batteries for recycling.
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Tesco Delivery Lorries on Pottergate
 Residents on Pottergate have raised with the Green councillors their concerns about Tesco delivery lorries using the road. The residents have reported several instances of buildings on Pottergate being damaged by the lorries. The lorries also cause vibration in Pottergate buildings. The Green Party councillors have asked the Head of Transport at City Hall to investigate the possible solutions to this problem.
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The Norwich Lanes
 Owners of independent businesses in the Upper Goat Lane area have launched a website to promote the shops in this part of the city centre. The traders formed 'The Norwich Lanes' in the autumn, following the opening of the Chapelfield shopping mall, to try to ensure that the local businesses did not lose out to the national chain stores. Green Party councillors have successfully lobbied for the City Council to help promote The Norwich Lanes. The new website can be viewed at www.norwichlanes.co.uk.
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Reviews of Late Licences
Several Mancroft residents have asked the Green councillors for information on how to request the City Council to review late licences it has granted. Any resident is entitled to ask the council to hold a hearing to consider revising the licensing hours for a pub or club if they can show that they are directly affected by the establishment. Residents will then be asked to submit information to the hearing on how they have been affected and why they believe the licensing hours should be shortened. The council advises residents to keep a log of any problems that occur with the pub. Under national legislation, the council can only account for factors relating to the four licensing objectives: prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; prevention of public nuisance; protection of children from harm. To request a review of a licence residents should write to: Licensing Department, City Hall, St. Peter Street, Norwich, NR2 1NH or email licensing@norwich.gov.uk.
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Recycling Not Incineration, say Greens
 At the end of this month Norwich City Council will be adopting its budget for the 2006/07 financial year. Green councillors are arguing that improvements to recycling facilities should be a top spending priority.
Green campaigner Steven Altman said: "Because the Green councillors hold the balance of power at City Hall, they have been able to secure some improvements to local recycling facilities. However, Norwich is still a very long way from having a truly comprehensive recycling scheme. For example, we need far more plastic bottle banks and we urgently need better recycling facilities for residents of flats. Residents from several blocks of flats in Mancroft have raised this issue with me – in, for example, Oak Street, Throckmorton Yard, Douro Place, West Pottergate and Dolphin Grove."
Councillor Adrian Ramsay added: "The recycling rate in Norwich is just 16% of the waste produced. In other parts of Norfolk it is 40%, while some areas in the country are up to 60%. With investment in improved local recycling facilities Norwich could massively improve its recycling rate. This would mean sending less waste to landfill and would help undermine the County Council's arguments for building an incinerator at Costessey. There are numerous environmental arguments against incineration, including concerns about emissions from incinerators and about the toxic ash that is left after burning waste. We were therefore disappointed that LibDem and Labour councillors would not join us in opposing the incinerator plans at the last City Council meeting."
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Peter Tatchell: Why I've Joined the Green Party
 Human Rights Campaigner to Visit Norwich
Norwich residents will have the opportunity to put questions to human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell when he visits the city on 1st March. During his visit, Peter will take part in two public meetings where he will tell people why he has joined the Green Party and take questions from members of the audience. The public meetings will take place as follows:
Wednesday 1st March
1pm in room 1.28 of Union House at UEA
7:30pm at St. Thomas’ Church Hall, Earlham Road (by Edinburgh Road junction; on 26 and 27 bus routes).
For more details please contact Councillor Bob Gledhill on 621980.
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