COLAS WEEKLY WORKS PROGRAMME FOR HILSEA WEEK COMMENCING: 30th May 2011

	Location	Type of works (or works order number for minor works)
Streetlighting Capital Works
	None
Highways Capital Works
	London Road	LCR Path
Highways Routine Maintenance
	Whitework:
	Copnor Road	1/60363
	Copnor Road	1/60388
	Gladys Avenue	1/60480
	Madeira Road	1/60439
	Meredith Road	1/55570
	Northern Parade	1/60479
	Shadwell Road	1/55528
	Twyford Avenue	1/60467
	Blackwork:
	London Road	1/60477
Brenchley
	Amberley Road	1/60187
	Copnor Road	1/55501
	Feltons Place	1/60565
	Inhurst Road	1/54707
	Little Coburg Street	1/60310
	London Road	1/55536
	London Road	1/60489
	London Road	1/60371
	London Road	1/60372
	Madeira Road	1/60086
	Madeira Road	1/60079
	Marsden Road	1/60327
	Mayfield Road	1/54738
	Merrivale Road	1/60102
	Merrivale Road	1/60100
	Northern Parade	1/55641
	Randolph Road	1/60054
	Randolph Road	1/60053
	Torrington Road	1/60123
Gristwood & Toms - Tree works
	Gatcombe Drive
	Gatcombe Gardens
	Horsea Road
	London Road
	Merrivale Road
	Torrington Road
Cyclical Gulley Cleaning:
	Beechwood Road
	Doyle Avenue
	Eastwood Road
	Elmwood Road
	Fawley Road
	Kipling Road
	London Road access road r/o 415 & 1-33 Doyle Ct
	Meredith Road footpaths s/o 24, 48 & r/o 2-68
	Northern Parade access roads r/o 160 & 118
	Northern Parade footpaths s/o 125, 160, 172, 272
	Northwood Road
	Oakwood Road
	Phoenix Square
	Portswood Road
	Southwood Road
	Westwood Road
	Wyllie Road
Deep Cleanse
	Tuesday 31st May - Gladys Avenue, North End Avenue to Northern Parade (odd nos)
NOTE:  This programme covers all planned works for the following week.  However, this may be subject to changes due to adverse weather conditions, unforeseen ground conditions and/or emergency works. DEEP CLEANSE:  Clearance of all vehicles is required in order to enable a thorough sweeping of the carriageway and footways plus gully cleansing. Notices will be posted prior to the date of the operation.  The Deep Cleanse will be completed by midday, as will a Clean Sweep.

What now for the Lib Dems?

The local elections and AV referendum have delivered a hammer blow to the Lib Dems.  Losing over 700 council seats and the holy grail of Lib Dem ideology voting reform has been incredibly difficult for the party to swallow. For a party and a leader so feted before the General Election there is only one real question on everyone’s lips: what happens now?

There are those who are predicting the demise of the coalition, but I think this is highly unlikely. Unlikely because it is simply not in the interest of either parties to cut and run.

Nick Clegg can’t risk Cameron going to the country as it would mean a wipe out for Lib Dem MPs and David Cameron can’t afford to run the country as a minority government with the risk of a vote of no confidence hanging over his head, or go to the country asking for a new mandate.

Mr Cameron and his team will have already done the calculations and have concluded that although Labour’s current poll ratings are far from secure and would almost certainly go backwards during a campaign, to win a majority he needs to be at least eight points ahead in the polls and there has not been a turnaround of this magnitude during an election in the last 100 years.

Mr Cameron’s calculations are then further complicated, because although the Scottish elections suggest that Labour is flat on its back north of the border, the reality is that the results were in part a reflection of Labour’s B-team in Holyrood and a lacklustre campaign. These poor results are unlikely at a general election as the focus switches to Westminster and Labour’s A-team.

No, Mr Cameron cannot afford to call time on the Coalition until the new parliamentary boundaries come into force in 2013 and even out the inequalities in the electoral map.      

So the moment of maximum danger may well have passed for the Coalition, but there is still considerable danger for Mr Clegg and the Lib Dems, who are at a crossroad. Listening to commentators and political
insiders, one thing is clear, absolutely nothing.

At the next election we are likely to see a return to two party politics and while both the Conservatives and Labour are ideally placed as the dominant forces of the right and the left, the Lib Dems have lost their identity.

Traditionally seen as in the left of centre block, coalition with the Conservatives means that Lib Dem supporters increasingly do not know what their party stands for.

And the risk here is if Clegg remains close to Cameron - sending a message they want to be on the right - recovery in the north of the country, where they need Labour voters to back them will be impossible. If they are seen to lurch left then their voters in the South may well desert them and return to the Conservative fold. Either of these scenarios do not look good for the Lib Dems.

The second thing for Mr Clegg to worry about is that unlike the Conservatives and Labour, the Lib Dem grassroots members can trigger a leadership contest. Whilst there is no evidence of this happening there are plenty of disgruntled party members who simply loathe the current tie up with the Conservatives.

Then there are the pretenders to Nick Clegg’s crown, but the clear front runner Chris Huhne has had a couple of difficult weeks, not least the allegations in Sunday’s papers and his intimate closeness to the Yes to AV Campaign, which turned a 20 point lead in the early polls into a resounding rejection of the proposed changes.

Tim Farron, the popular and increasingly outspoken President of the Party is certainly another leader aspirant, but he is still seen by many as inexperienced and untested.

Then there is the speculation about the Lib Dems splitting, a move that rolls back the clock to the 1980s and would violate that golden rule in politics, Ronald Reagan’s so called eleventh commandant of not fighting with your own party. Because as we saw in the 1990s, voters hate a divided and split party and are happy to punish them at the ballot box. 

And finally there is the remote possibility of the Conservatives Party gobbling up the ‘Orange Bookers’ and letting the rest of the party, under a new leader, drift off into political obscurity, joining that group of parties usually denoted in the polls by that disparaging term ‘Other’.

While this is certainly the most fantastical of all the options, it is not without historical precedent as in 1912 the Conservative Party swallowed up the Liberal Unionists.

But what should the Deputy Prime Minister do?

The most sensible course of action for Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems may well be to do nothing and simply cling on to the hope that the economy will come good and the rising tide of prosperity will lift them from the rocks, but the US and world economy looks sluggish and is unlikely to deliver any significant boost to their support in the next couple of years. So this, the most likely course action, is not without risk and without visible signs of action from the Mr Clegg, this will only hasten a leadership challenge.

Originally posted 12th May 2011

Portsmouth and Britain rejects AV

Plans to ditch the way Britain elects its MPs have been overwhelmingly rejected by voters.

More than two thirds of people in Portsmouth and across the country voted to keep the first-past-the-post system in what was the first UK-wide referendum since 1975.

The result was seen as a major coup for Conservative Party Leader David Cameron who campaigned hard against AV alongside many senior Conservative and Labour figures including Caroline Flint, David Blunket, David Davis and George Osborne.

The scale of the defeat was seen as another blow for Nick Clegg who suffered a bad set of local election results losing over 700 council seats.

The referendum was held as part of the Coalition Agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. 

Liberal Democrats suffer heavy losses in local elections, but not in Portsmouth

The Local Elections results were pretty much as predicted. The party suffered heavy losses across most of the UK loosing over 700 councillors.

But in Portsmouth the Liberal Democrats lost just one seat in Copnor, where Conservative Robert New won with a convincing majority of over 300. Here in Hilsea Councillor Alistair Thompson retained his seat taking over 55 per cent of the vote.


Elsewhere in the City the picture was mixed. Conservatives narrowly missed out on taking St Thomas Ward in the south, while Nelson Ward saw a genuine three way fight between the Lib Dems, Labour and Conservatives. The eventual winner being veteran councillor Leo Madden (Lib Dem).


Following the election, Alistair Thompson said, “I wish to thank all the residents who voted for me and have been so supportive over the past few years. There are many challenges that face both Hilsea and Portsmouth and I will do my best to work with all residents, councillors and officials to find solutions to them. I would also like to thank my family and friends who delivered leaflets, stuffed envelopes and have always supported me.”


National commentators were quick to say that the election had been a disaster for the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
No sooner had the elections finished then Mr Clegg was facing calls from some of the party's local government chiefs to step down as leader.
Gary Long, ousted party leader on Nottingham City Council, said he must quit immediately, while Ken Ball, party leader on Chorley council, said he had "let the party down".


More than 9,500 seats in 279 elections were contested.


PARTY COUNCILS +/- COUNCILLORS +/-
CON 157 +4 5108 +85
LAB 57 +26 2459 +857
LD 10 -9 1099 -747
OTH 55 -21 793 -209

Portsmouth City Council election results 2011

The results of the Portsmouth City Council elections have been declared following a count at the Guildhall, which finished in the early hours of the morning (Friday, 6 May 2011).

A third of the council, one seat in each of the council's 14 wards, was contested in the elections which were held on Thursday 5 May.

The composition of the council is now:
Liberal Democrat 23
Conservative 17 (gained Copnor ward from Liberal Democrat)
Labour 2

The composition of the council before the election was:
Liberal Democrat 24
Conservative 16
Labour 2

Planning Applications 27th April 2011

THE FOLLOWING APPLICATION FOR PLANNING PERMISSION HAS BEEN MADE TO PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL

The applications, plans and other documents may be inspected at the Ground Floor Reception, Civic Offices, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth between 8:30am and 5pm on Monday to Thursday, and 8:30am and 4pm on Friday. You can also view and comment on these and other applications online at www.portsmouth.gov.uk

Comments on the applications are welcomed - Representations must be made in writing by 16th May 2011 to the above address or by fax (023 9283 4660) or e-mail (planningreps@portsmouthcc.gov.uk). The Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 enables any representations to be seen by other members of the public.

Deputations -The City Council allows members of the public to speak directly to the Planning Committee when they consider an application at a committee meeting. If you wish to speak at the Committee you must contact Julie Watson by the date shown above. The postal/e-mail address and fax number are as above. The direct telephone line is 023 9283 4339 and an answerphone is available outside office hours. You should also telephone this number if you require more information about the deputation scheme. 

Application No.:	Ward:	Location:	Proposal:	Case Officer
11/00353/FUL	Hilsea	176 London Road Portsmouth PO2 9DL	Construction of part 3-/4-/5- storey building to form 38, 1 & 2 bed flats with associated parking & bin & cycle stores ( after demolition of existing offices)	Mr Simon Barnett
For more information visit www.portsmouthcc.gov.uk