ANTICIPATING A PREFECT STORM

On Friday evening, the much anticipated 6 Nations rugby internationals kick off, with Wales v England. Rugby fans are bracing themselves for the ordeal of a Friday night international match, with an 8pm kick-off and the logistical perfect storm that awaits them. Rugby aside simply getting to (and from) Cardiff on a Friday evening, with the lack of late trains may more than try fans patience.

If it’s going to be grim for Welsh Rugby fans, trying to come south or east from North and West Wales to get to Cardiff before kick-off then it’s going to be even grimmer afterwards when they try to get home. Bitter experience relayed by rugby fan have told me that the franchise holders will run short trains, by the time these trains reach Abergavenny, Pontypool, Cwmbran, Chepstow, Caldicot, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport (not to mention Hereford, Lydney and Gloucester) they will be so full of people that passengers cannot board them.

Spare a thought for England fans, as the last London train leaves Cardiff before the game actually ends. Now much of the blame must lie with the 6 Nations organisers who once again have put profit before the interests of the fans and the game. Simply telling fans to go early, on a working day, on an evening (after work) with in some case little prospect of getting home at a sensible hour just won’t do. I seem to recall that Friday night games were only an experiment – clearly one that brings rich rewards to the Rugby authorities and immense inconvenience to the fans.

The usual old lame excuses are no doubt being rolled out by the franchise holders as to why there was no space, travel why the trains were short, etc. The real reason for the shoddy service is that it’s about profits, extra trains and extra carriages have to be rented and this hits profits and dividends.  The day that the rail franchise (in Wales and the marches) is run as a not for dividend profit franchise cannot come soon enough. 

PREPARATION, ANTICIPATION, FRUSTRATION…

With another round of eagerly anticipated autumn rugby internationals set to run through November (aside from a collective fingers crossed) across much of the former county Gwent (and no doubt elsewhere) rugby fans and rail users will be preparing themselves for the ordeal of trying to get into Cardiff on overcrowded (or full) trains). I have no doubt that the franchise holder will run short trains, which by the time they reach the stations (e.g. Abergavenny, Pontypool, Cwmbran, Chepstow, Caldicot, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport) in the green and pleasant old county of Gwent, will be so full of people that passengers cannot board. Every year in recent years it has been the same with the same old lame excuses being rolled out by the franchise holders to why there was no space, why the trains were short, etc. The real reason for the shoddy service is about profits, extra trains and extra carriages have to be rented and this hits profits and dividends.  The day that the rail franchise (in Wales and the marches) is run as a not for dividend profit franchise cannot come soon enough. 

WHAT PRICE REDEVELOPMENT?

The peaceful good humoured protests in Taksim Square (in Istanbul) ended amid violent scenes as riot police cleared the square with a combination of tear gas, water cannon and brute force. What began as initially a demonstration by environmentalists in protest at the development (a planned shopping mall) of Gezi Park has turned into something far larger and more significant a fight by a coalition of pretty disparate groups for greater freedom in Turkey and a preservation of the country's secular order.

The protestors see an authoritarian a government with neo-Islamist agenda with the highest number of journalists in the world in prison, restrictions on alcohol sales, and massive construction projects which have prioritised over human rights and environmental concerns. The protests show no sign of fading away yet, as demonstrators have regrouped in nearby Gezi Park, the proposed redevelopment of which sparked peaceful protests which have widened into nationwide anti-government unrest.

Taskin Square and Gezi Park

The unrest began back on May 28th as a protest about the plan to demolish of one of Istanbul's few remaining green spaces took place. Gezi Park is part of Taksim Square, which sits in the heart of the modern city. It has long been  a place of hugely symbolic value to many Istanbul residents and those Turks with more secular leanings. The proposed development aims to build a replica Ottoman-era barracks and a mosque on the square, in a city which critics say is pretty well-served by Islamic houses of prayer.

The Ottoman-era military barracks will be rebuilt near the site, and the historic Ataturk Cultural Centre will be demolished. Turkish critics say the decision to go ahead with the redevelopment was made too fast and without proper public and media debate. They also have questions relating to the choice of developer, in this case the Kalyon Group, a company who have close ties with the governing Justice and Development (AK) Party.

The proposed reconstruction of the barracks may have some other symbolic significance as some suggest that it was at these barracks that a failed mutiny by Islamic-minded soldiers with the intention of bringing in Sharia law took place in 1909. The barracks were demolished back in 1940, and the attempt to rebuild them are seen by opponents to have the ring of Islamism. Tempers were already high after police stopped leftist marchers holding a May Day rally on the square this year.

So for the best part of two weeks, the central square in Turkey's biggest city was under the authority of a growing protest movement. The Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament (on Tuesday) that the protest movement was an international conspiracy against Turkey to destabilise its economy. He has lashed out at the foreign press for launching attacks on the country and warned protesters that they were pawns in a wider game – something that will go down well with his supporters rather than being remotely close to the truth.

Turkey is a democracy and while the protest movement has grabbed the headlines around the world, Mr Erdogan's support base is conservative, more religious and better organised than the democratic opposition which is deeply divided. The Turkish PM has won three general elections, he has hugely increased Turkey's international prestige, opened the country's EU accession talks and launched a peace process with the Kurdish minority.

The demonstrators accuse (and not necessarily inaccurately) the Prime Minister of becoming increasingly authoritarian and trying to impose conservative Islamic values on a secular state. Whatever happens from here on in there is a sizeable percentage of the population who feel deeply alienated from the current Turkish  government (something that won’t be helped by the volatile threats being made by the Turkish PM) and they won’t be put off from protesting by clouds of tear gas and baton rounds.

In Turkey and elsewhere in the world the questioned of democracy, planning and balanced development remains a contested issue. Whether we are talking building on a park, increasing the size of proposed housing developments, on shore wind farm development or building on agricultural land (Wales effectively has no green belt) the question remains just exactly who is it for? who will benefit? And how does the local community in Caernarfon, Cardiff, Carmarthen or Cwmbran or Istanbul actually benefit?

BATTERED AND BLUE?

No one at work should run the risk of being assaulted - yet judging by the amount of working days lost due to assault related injury our Police officers run that risk pretty regularly. Research by BBC Wales has revealed that 1,735 working days were lost over three years at three of the four Welsh Police forces as a result of assaults on officers, suggest that our police officers are well and truly in the firing line. 

The BBC figures show that as result of assaults on Police some  494 days were lost in Dyfed-Powys over three years, 568 days in Gwent and 673 days in the South Wales force. Along with the temporary loss of officers who were unavailable for duty there was a knock-on financial cost, which the BBC has estimated to be around £189,800.

This is not good news, as our Welsh Police forces are also under continuing pressure to reduce costs, as part of Con Dem Westminster government's public spending review (which began in 2010) which include an intention to reduce or cut central police funding by 20% by 2015. What this means more locally is that collectively the Welsh Police forces will have to make total savings of £ 96 million – which will mean a loss of jobs (amongst both Police officers and support staff) and a reduction in the service offered to the public.  

At least as far as the law is concerned attacking or assaulting a police officer is still seen as an aggravated offence in the eyes of the law, and could carry a custodial sentence of up to six months. Speaking as an ex journalist, who in a previous life spent more than enough time covering Pontypool and Cwmbran magistrates court in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, that was not the case then, and I suspect that it is mostly certainly not the case now.

Now I am not and have never been one of the hang them and flog them brigade (I leave that sort of posturing to lightweight Tories), I and no doubt many people consider it unacceptable when public servants (whether Police Officers, Ambulance service staff and Doctors and Nurses in casualty) are attacked or assaulted while doing their job. What’s needed is a balance be achieved between deterrence and the consequences of an assault and restorative justice?

That said the news that some 10,160 incidents of serious violence were informally dealt with last year (that is almost 12 times the figure from five years ago) has raised more than a few eyebrows. This is apparently contrary to existing Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) guidelines, which recommend that such resolutions should only be used for low-level crime.

The Police it reveals regularly use "community resolutions", which may include an apology or compensation to the victim, instead of prosecutions and cautions, despite ACPO guidelines. Now there are times when for lower level offences the use of "community resolutions" is entirely justified and entirely good sense. What this may suggest is that the criminal justice system is creaking and that any crime statistics produced should be looked at with more than a serious degree of caution if not a serious dose of incredulity.

Now I have had my suspicions about crime statistics (whether UK wide or more local) for a while, I am aware that there is a level of anecdotal dissatisfaction particularly with the police response to what they may perceive as lower level anti social behaviour related crime. The perception rightly or wrongly is that while this type of crime may be less important to our hard pressed police officers it remains important to the residents of various parts of Gwent (and no doubt elsewhere). More than a few times it has been related to me personally that when called they (the Police) just don’t come.

I think that taken as whole our creaking criminal justice system may be reaching the point where it is failing to function, it is nether providing restorative justice or dealing with cranial behaviour, let along providing an adequate degree of protection to public servants going about their work. I think that the sooner criminal justice and policing are devolved to Wales the better, that way we can at least try to ensure that our communities are properly protected and the interests of justice are served.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING?

At a meeting last night, in Torfaen, the ruling Labour group (naturally bereft of any fresh ideas), voted to include the land between Sebastopol and Cwmbran in the new Torfaen Unitary Development Plan (UDP). The area has now been earmarked for Housing development, in the new Local Development Plan (LDP), the new UDP itself will run until 2021.

Back in February 2012, Torfaen councillors removed the land from the Local Deposit Plan and reduced the number of proposed new houses in Torfaen to 600. A National Assembly planning inspector objected and the site has now been reinstated to the LDP and earmarked for housing. One big unanswered question related to house building in Wales is who exactly are they being built for?

Across the south east, particularly along the coastal belt around Newport and in and around Torfaen, over the last twenty years has seen a spectacular growth in the amount of housing, a significant percentage of which has never been aimed at fulfilling local housing needs. The infrastructure along the coastal belt between Chepstow, Caldicot, Rogiet and Magor is struggling to cope with existing developments and this is well before the projected expansion of housing on and around the former Llanwern site.

The north of Newport has now effectively been linked to the south Cwmbran - something that has brought little material benefit to either urban area. Similarly lining Cwmbran with Sebastopol will bring little benefit to local residents. Even if eventually housing is built on the land just exactly how much of it will be affordable to local residents?

We need to take the long view and to create Welsh Green belt land with the legal and planning protections then, we might go some way to calming things down when it comes to development planning. This would also enable us to introduce a longer term element into the process by which our elected officials (and council officers) plan and view development and redevelopment within and around our urban and not so urban communities.

This is something that could be accomplished by creating Welsh Green belt land, as part of the process we also need an urgent and open debate into the planning process in Wales - something that has been long overdue. It is worth noting that Wales only has one notional green belt, and that lies between Cardiff and Newport, Scotland has seven and Northern Ireland has 30 - each of which has its own policy guidance. It is important to note that once the Green belt or Green wedge is gone it is gone for good.

The Westminster government (in England) aims to get planning officers "off people's backs" with a relaxation of current rules. In true Spiv fashion ‘for a limited period, people will be able to build larger extensions on houses (up to eight metres for detached homes and six for others). Shops and offices will also be able grow to the edges of their premises as Plan A (harsh Public Sector Cuts) fails and a note of desperation creeps in Westminster ministers seek to boost the economy.

These sounds good; it seems reasonable, save for the fact that somewhere amongst the smoke and mirrors the plan to reduce developer’s obligations to build proportional amounts of affordable housing. Not that long ago, a matter of a few months, the Westminster government rewrote the entire planning framework (for England) despite some fierce resistance from countryside campaigners. Now Westminster ministers want further changes to planning rules (in England) in an attempt to boost house-building and revive the economy.

Not wanting to be left out, the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff is also considering major changes to planning rules in Wales aiming to ‘tilt the balance in favour of economic growth over the environment and social factors’. This decision may be aimed quite specifically at overturning those few occasions of late when our Local Authorities have rejected some developments (often at the behest of local residents) rather than putting economic needs ahead of economic and environmental benefits.

South Sebastopol

This is bad news for those residents of Torfaen, who have been fighting the plan and the good citizens of Abergavenny who have been fighting to retain the livestock market. Not to mention the concerned residents of Carmarthen who are worried about the impact of over large housing developments or the concerned residents of Holyhead who are opposed to new marina development. In Wales we have over the years been ill-served by the planning system, by our local authorities and by our own Government in Cardiff...

FIGHTING THE PLAN!

The news that the the South Sebastopol plan, which has faced strong local opposition, with concern over traffic, wildlife and the loss of green space has been rejected is to be welcomed. Torfaen Councillors voted to refuse the plans at an extraordinary and somewhat heated meeting on Thursday. Torfaen council had originally agreed to grant planning permission in 2004, subject to a legal agreement on environmental safeguards.

The vote to refuse the development will hopefully be duly ratified by a meeting of the full council in September. The desire to build on the last remaining 'green space' between Cwmbran and Pontypool is not new,  original proposals to build the large housing estate provoked significant outcry when originally unveiled in the mid 1990s.

The pressure group “Fight the Plan” was formed in 1996 with the aim of stopping the development. No doubt the council officers will be unhappy, no doubt the developer will appeal, but lets hope that Torfaen council actually supports the decision to throw out this planning application.

In the south east, along the coastal belt around Newport and in and around Torfaen, the last twenty years has seen a spectacular growth in the amount of housing, a significant percentage of which has never been aimed at fulfilling local housing needs.

As a result the infrastructure along the coastal belt between Chepstow, Caldicot, Rogiet and Magor is struggling to cope with existing developments and this is well before the projected expansion of housing on and around the former Llanwern site. The north of Newport has now been linked effectively to the south Cwmbran - something that has brought little material benefit to either urban area.

As I have said before, we need to take the long view and to create Welsh Green belt land with the legal and planning protections then, we might go some way to calming things down when it comes to development planning. This would also enable us to introduce a more longer term element into the process by which our elected officials (and council officers) plan and view development and redevelopment within and around our urban and not so urban communities.

This is something that could be accomplished by creating Welsh Green belt land, as part of the process we also need an urgent and open debate into the planning process in Wales - something that has been long overdue. It is worth noting that Wales only has one notional green belt, and that lies between Cardiff and Newport, Scotland has seven and Northern Ireland has 30 - each has its own policy guidance. it is important to note that once the Green belt or Green wedge is gone it is gone for ever, we cannot restore it.

HERE WE GO AGAIN...

Torfaen Friends of the Earth is holding two public meetings for residents to have their say over plans for a controversial resident development in Sebastopol. Torfaen council initially gave approval for the scheme on land to the west of Cwmbran Drive, South Sebastopol, in 2005, but the developers did not complete a legal agreement within the specified time and so the scheme did not go ahead

A development consortium, led by Asbri Planning Ltd, is submitting 'refreshed' plans for the site, which were displayed at public exhibitions in November. Torfaen Friends of the Earth is holding two further public exhibitions next week for people to have their say on the plans. The plans involve 1,200 house on the site, including a village centre adjacent to the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, play areas and a formal sports fields.

Original proposals to build the large housing estate on the last remaining green land between Pontypool and Cwmbran provoked significant outcry when they were originally unveiled in the mid 1990s. Pressure group “Fight the Plan” was formed in 1996 with the aim of stopping the development.

Campaigners who have raised serious concerns over environmental impact of the development, fought successfully to delay it for nine years, but the group lost a a judicial review in 2005. The public exhibitions will take place at West Pontnewydd Community Hall, off Maendy Way, Cwmbran on March 28, and St Oswald's Church, Wern Road, Sebastopol on March 29. Both run from 7pm until 9pm.

We need to take the long view and to create Welsh Green belt land with the legal and planning protections then, we might go some way to calming things down when it comes to development planning. This would also enable us to introduce a more long term element into the process by which our elected officials (and council officers) plan and view development and redevelopment within and around our urban and not so urban communities. This is something that could be accomplished by creating Welsh Green belt land, as part of the process we also need an urgent and open debate into the planning process in Wales - something that has been long overdue.

MAKE YOUR MIND UP TIME?

The City Council in Newport, has brought in limited free parking at selected locations around the city to encourage people to come and shop in Newport in an effort to boost trade within the town. This is a sensible idea in the run up to Christmas. Cwmbran already has a significant permanent amount of free parking in and around the town centre, something that does seem to attract people to shop in the town.

Elsewhere in the former County of Gwent, the abolition of free parking is firmly on the agenda in parts of Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) where a report to MCC's Economy and Development Select Committee has recommended a new charging system for all of the county's council-owned car parks. The committee is to consider revising charges on all of the authority's existing paid-for car parks, and introducing charges in car parks which are currently free in Chepstow, Monmouth, Abergavenny, Usk and Caldicot. No doubt the debate on abolishing free parking will concentrate minds in Monmouthshire...

Incidentally Cash strapped MCC is owed more than £4 million in unpaid debts for charges including meals on wheels, car parking fines and house repairs. MCC's Audit Committee (27th November) was told that Monmouthshire was owed £4.3 million in sundry debts at the end of October 2010. This figure did not include the amount owed to the authority in unpaid council tax. The total cumulative amount of council tax debt owed to the authority at the end of the last financial year was £3.6 million.