In this issue

Please vote Green in the City Council elections
Manifesto and election video
Did you know…
Making good use of allotments
Recycling for flats
Next Safer Neighbourhoods meeting
Tree felling on The Avenues
Council to engage with young people
Council must focus on fighting Tesco Appeal, say Greens
Save the Vauxhall Street Post Office!
New OAP bus passes
News in brief

Please vote Green in the City Council elections

Bob Gledhill (pictured left) is your Green Party Candidate for Nelson Ward in the City Council elections on Thursday 1st May. Bob, who lives in the ward on Sandringham Road, has been one of the local Green Councillors for the last four years. Bob and the other Nelson Councillors take up a range of local issues for residents every week; current campaigns include saving the Vauxhall Street Post Office, stopping the proposals for a Tesco on Unthank Road and fighting for regular maintenance of trees and replacement of those trees that are lost.

Help build a Greener Norwich: please re-elect Bob Gledhill on Thursday 1st May.

Back to top

Manifesto and election video

Norwich Green Party's full Manifesto for the 1st May City Council elections is now available online. If you would like a paper copy please call us on (01603) 611909. We will provide a summary in our next leaflet.

Or… watch our election video here!

Back to top

Did you know…

The Green Party holds all three City Council seats for your area (Nelson Ward). The ten Green Councillors provide a constructive opposition to the Labour administration at City Hall. Thursday 1st May is your opportunity to re-elect Bob Gledhill as your Green representative for a strong Green team at City Hall.

Number of Green Councillors in Norwich since 2001
(now 10 City Councillors and two County Councillors):

Back to top

Making good use of allotments

The City Council has adopted a Green Party motion to make better use of the city's allotments. The motion highlighted that many plots are overgrown or unused and that there are long waiting lists for city allotments.

The Council agreed that:

• there should be greater use of allotments by schools and community groups;
• potential new allotment holders should be offered a plot suitable to their needs and given support from experienced allotment holders.

The Council's Scrutiny Committee will investigate the issue later in the year to see what impact this new approach is having and what further changes are needed.

Green Councillors believe that allotments bring many benefits, from local food production to education and exercise, and would like more people to benefit from them.

Back to top

Recycling for flats

Residents living in flats in various parts of Nelson Ward have been asking when they will be given local recycling facilities. The Green Councillors have consistently argued that flats must not be forgotten as the new recycling facilities are rolled out across the city. Some flats in Norwich have already received communal bins for recycling paper, tins, plastic bottles and glass. The City Council has now produced a programme for more flats to be provided with facilities in the next year. However, the Green Councillors believe that all flats need to be given these facilities as soon as possible.

In the longer term the Green Councillors would also like to see local recycling collections for food waste, batteries, different types of plastic and tetrapaks in addition to the materials listed above.

Back to top

Next Safer Neighbourhoods meeting

The next meeting of the Central West Safer Neighbourhood Action Panel (which covers the Nelson Ward) is on Monday 12th May, 7pm at the City Church on Nelson Street. Residents can come along and make suggestions on community policing priorities for the area.

Back to top

Tree felling on The Avenues

Several local residents have contacted the Green Councillors to express anger at ten mature chestnut trees on The Avenues having been felled last month. In a letter to residents on The Avenues Council officers explained that the trees were being felled for safety reasons after a large portion of one of the trees had fallen into the road in January.

Councillor Claire Stephenson said: "The Green Councillors did not authorise the felling of these trees. As ward councillors, we were informed (at short notice) that the trees were going to be felled but we were not consulted. We did not have the power to stop it. The safety of the public is extremely important, but we would have liked the opportunity to have tested the claims as felling trees should always be a last resort."

The Green Party would like to see Area Committees established so important matters such as this can be reported to ward councillors for discussion in open meetings where residents are able to speak. Council officers have promised that the lost trees on The Avenues will be replaced over the next two planting seasons.

Back to top

Council to engage with young people

Norwich City Council is to improve the way that it consults and engages with younger people in the city, following a successful Green Party motion to last month's full Council meeting. The Council's Scrutiny Committee will talk to young people from different parts of the city about how it can best give them a say in the Council's work. Options to be discussed include setting up a Youth Council.

This proposal is part of the Green Party's campaign for Norwich City Council to be more open, democratic and inclusive in the way it operates and the way it consults residents. For more information on Green Party policies for an Open Council please see the party's Manifesto.

Back to top

Council must focus on fighting Tesco Appeal, say Greens

Photo: Green Councillors Chris Hull (left) and Adrian Ramsay outside the Unthank Road side where Tesco wants to build a store.

The Green Party has welcomed the news that the City Council will be actively fighting the appeal by Tesco over its application for a store on Unthank Road. A report to City Councillors last month suggested that Council officers should consider whether to invite a new application from Tesco, not contest the appeal or to fight the appeal. The Council's Head of Planning has now confirmed that Council officers are now preparing for a legal representative to fight the appeal when it is formally lodged.

The City Council Planning Committee has rejected Tesco applications for this site four times and given clear reasons, primarily relating to the impact of a new store and associated delivery lorries on the local traffic situation. Tesco said in February that it would be appealing against the decision to reject its latest application but at the time of writing this appeal has not yet been formally lodged.

Back to top

Save the Vauxhall Street Post Office!

Councillor Bob Gledhill outside the Vauxhall Street Post Office.

The Green Party is campaigning against the proposed closure of Vauxhall Street Post Office. The National Post Office is currently conducting a consultation on its proposals to close 51 of Norfolk's 316 Post Office branches, including three in the City Council area. One of these three is the Vauxhall Street branch.

Your Green Councillors asked the Postmaster how we could best help the campaign to keep the branch open. He said we should encourage people to respond to the consultation to let the national Post Office know their views. In responding, it is helpful for residents to highlight that: many of the Post Office users are elderly and would find it difficult to travel to another branch; the branch is located in an area with a dense and growing population; there are excellent disabled facilities; car parking is available outside; the Post Office and its cash machine are crucial to the parade of local shops.

Bob Gledhill, Green Party Councillor for Nelson Ward, said: "The Government's proposed large-scale closure of local Post Offices is totally unacceptable. Local branches like Vauxhall Street are at the heart of their communities and a crucial service for thousands of people."

Branches in and near Nelson which are not recommended for closure are Earlham House, Dereham Road Co-op, Castle Mall and UEA.

Back to top

New OAP bus passes

The new England-wide bus passes for free bus travel for the over 60s came into effect on 1st April. However, as reported in the local press, many residents are still without their passes.

Council officers are emphasising that residents can continue to use their old passes for free bus travel within Norfolk, while they wait for their new ones for free travel within the rest of England.

Back to top

News in brief

The long-awaited new Skateboard and BMX park is to be built in Eaton Park this summer. Keen Norwich skateboarders have been waiting for this for years. Green Councillors are disappointed by the delay but pleased that this important recreational facility will soon be available.

Plans for improving and re-opening the Memorial Gardens between the market and City Hall are now a step closer. The long-awaited planning application is set to be submitted this summer, with the work to take place between 2009 and 2011.

The Green Party and many local retailers supported the recent plastic bag free day in Norwich. The day was an opportunity to highlight the importance of re-using plastic bags, or using alternatives. This is because of the environmental problems caused by plastic bags relating to litter, landfill and harm to wildlife. Green Councillors are now pressing for more long-lasting action on the issue.

Back to top

Published by Tom Dylan, 123 St Leonard's Road, Norwich, NR1 4JN
on behalf of Bob Gledhill, 4 Sandringham Road, Norwich, NR2 3RY