Local News
B&NES Conservatives declare death of free speech following “draconian” council vote
Conservatives welcome action to improve safety on Keynsham High Street
Entry Hill bike park plan is ‘nice idea, wrong location’, say B&NES Conservatives
Conservatives delighted to see Keynsham food waste plant firmly rejected
‘Keynsham deserves better’ – councillors say Lib Dems have failed the town
Final plea for council to ditch Midsomer Norton parking charges plan
Conservatives urge Lib Dems to ditch Midsomer Norton parking charges plans
‘Sham’ Liveable Neighbourhoods consultation should be scrapped and restarted
‘Hapless and embarrassing’ – councillors rate B&NES Lib Dems’ 2021 performance
B&NES Conservatives pledge support to local disability campaigners on UNESCO awareness day
Conservatives call on Council to ditch Ring of Steel plans ahead of UNESCO disability day
Response from Conservative Group to Cllr Rigby’s Ring of Steel ‘fake news’ jibe
Conservatives outline plans to ease Bath’s traffic problems
Conservatives call for free parking in B&NES over Christmas
Lib Dems must learn from Ealing Council’s LTN blunder
Conservatives demand answers over cancellation of Bath Christmas Market 2021
B&NES Conservatives appeal to Government minister to stop ‘unfair’ Ring of Steel plans
Keynsham councillors call for roundabout at busy junction
Parties unite to ensure safety of women and girls in B&NES is top priority
Conservatives slam “reckless” Cabinet decision to restrict access to Bath city centre
Midsomer Norton councillor welcomes decision to refuse controversial mast application
Conservatives call for memorial to honour COVID victims in B&NES
Councillors team up with activists to oppose waste processor plans
Lib Dems’ failings on waste issues show ‘staggering ineptitude’
Traffic plans show Lib Dems are asleep at the wheel
Council must ensure waste and recycling backlog is cleared quickly
Cabinet urged to rethink ‘harmful’ traffic schemes
New leader elected for B&NES Conservative Group
Local councillors welcome Keynsham & Midsomer Norton High Streets funding
Conservatives call on Council to scrap Bath ‘ring of steel’
Cllr Paul Myers stands down as Leader of the B&NES Conservative Group
Conservative Group withholds support for new council leader
Councillors stand up for residents over Keynsham waste processor plans
New Council leader must rethink priorities for B&NES
Council urged to act to help improve children’s wellbeing post-COVID
Council urged to resist including private cars in clean air zone charges
Proposed changes to parking rules will hit motorists hard
Budget proposals reveal Lib Dems’ ‘skewed priorities’ for B&NES
Council should rethink ‘draconian’ anti-motoring plans following reduction in terror threat level
Lib Dems make ‘catastrophic mistake’ by selling public building at knock-down price
Liveable Neighbourhoods plan will leave parts of Bath unliveable, Tories claim
Lib Dems accused of using terrorism threat to further anti-motoring agenda
Labour ‘scaremongering’ over free school meals
Work to reopen Batheaston river path
Lib Dems accused of trying to conceal plans for bigger Council Tax rise
Lib Dems and Labour offer ‘no solutions’ to Council’s budget challenge – only higher taxes on residents
Councillors back new funding formula that will see B&NES schools gain £3.7 million
Next steps for Modern Libraries programme – Scrutiny panel endorses Bath Library plans, Cabinet to consider response to Community Libraries
Lib Dems slated over ‘financial illiteracy’
B&NES to consider Council Tax discounts for foster carers
Lib Dems slammed for ‘reckless and irresponsible’ Bath Library stance
New Cabinet Member sets out transport vision for Bath
‘No blanket CPOs at Foxhill’ – Council Leader pledges
Council responds to residents’ concerns over Somerdale site access
Lib Dems and Labour offer ‘no solutions’ to Council’s budget challenge
Conservative leadership respond to call-in of East of Bath Park & Ride decision
Council calls for greater funding to cover lost Council Tax from student accommodation
Lizzie Gladwyn elected as new councillor for Abbey Ward
Council agrees action against FGM and modern slavery
Conservatives call for action to end FGM and modern slavery
Upper Bristol Road student flats turned down
Extended free parking to be introduced at Bath’s Royal Victoria Park
Lib Dems risk £1 billion investment in West of England
Campaign success as new defibrillator installed in Keynsham
Keynsham Councillors hail £7 million Leisure Centre revamp
Councillors hail major investment in A37 improvements
Councillors call on government to drop mayor requirement from devolution deal
75 new residents’ parking spaces to be created in central Bath
Council to consider additional controls on student accommodation
Conservatives welcome overwhelming ‘no’ vote in B&NES Mayoral referendum
Councillor welcomes new ‘Foxhill Charter’
Additional funds allocated to welfare support scheme
B&NES approves budget to increase efficiency and protect front-line services
B&NES awarded transitional relief funding by Government
Major investment secured for Riverside Youth Hub
Fresh calls for south Keynsham relief road
Petition launched against student accommodation plans
Councillors calls for considerate parking
B&NES mayor would be ‘more costly and less accountable’
Councillors hail new Somer Valley Enterprise Zone
Evening parking charges to be reduced in Bath
Council acts to secure access to Duke of Edinburgh Award
Council votes to back East of Bath Park & Ride
Conservatives to propose cross-party review of eastern Park & Ride sites
Councillor sent to Jail! – but all for charity
Councillor backs calls to look again at Radstock one-way system
Council to take ‘fresh look’ at A367 Odd Down bus lane
Council sets to work on Gull Strategy
Firs Field set to be awarded official ‘Centenary Field’ designation
B&NES rules-out reintroduction of Dorchester Street Bus Gate
B&NES launches East of Bath Park & Ride consultation – local Councillors comment
Success as layby secured following four-year long campaign
B&NES votes to back ‘British Bill of Rights’
New ‘City Forum’ proposed for Bath
Keynsham Councillors welcome town’s new Transport Strategy
The £38 million challenge – Conservatives launch ‘Comprehensive Review’ of all Council spending
Conservatives to press ahead with consultation on new Bath Park & Ride
Work starts on protecting historic stone bridge in Keynsham
Cllr Tim Warren pays tribute to former Councillor David Bellotti
Conservatives launch major External Review of the way B&NES manages major projects
‘Putting residents first’ – Conservatives spell out priorities for new administration on B&NES Council
B&NES backs down over Keynsham town centre traffic proposals
Bath traveller site costs – Conservative comment
Conservatives welcome reintroduction of free admission to Bath’s Victoria Art Gallery
Victory as bus services saved in Somer Valley
Conservatives propose solution to RUH parking problems
Conservatives secure funding for transport strategies
Conservatives call for release of £3 million Affordable Housing fund
B&NES under fire over £1.7 million ‘black hole’ in budget plans
Anger over badly-painted pavement markings
B&NES blasted over £41 million of delayed projects
B&NES Council set for £1.7 million budget surplus
‘Getting B&NES Moving’ – Conservatives publish far-reaching Transport Manifesto for B&NES
Conservatives welcome new and improved bus services
Concerns mount over town centre road safety
Councillors back calls for St Saviour’s Pedestrian crossing
B&NES rejects cheaper parking pleas
‘Mixed reaction’ to town centre pedestrian crossing plans
New handrails to be installed at Keynsham Civic Centre steps
Concerns raised over lack of Sunday pharmacy provision in Keynsham

Fresh confusion over ‘Park & Rail’ viability 15 homes to be built at station site
Concerns raised over pedestrian safety in Temple Street
Outcry over plans to axe two Saturday bus services
Keynsham Councillor voices concerns over town centre pedestrian safety
MetroWest project takes step forward
Fears over loss of car parking spaces
Bath Transport Strategy – ‘Council needs to deliver’
‘Five more months of misery’ as transport projects fall behind schedule
Councillors to review Business Rates for student accommodation
B&NES recycling rates fall – ‘Council must do better’ say Conservatives
Bath Transport Strategy – ‘Disappointing lack of detail but step in right direction’
Funding secured for Weston Christmas lights
B&NES Council to purchase Keynsham’s Abbots Wood
Tunley Fork junction improvements start
Urgent answers sought over roadworks stoppage
Traffic fears over A4 roadworks
Keynsham Transport Strategy – ‘Lack of detail means more work needed’
Petition demands reinstatement of School Crossing Patrol
Questions raised over Council’s £0.5 million loan to Solar Farm
No Eastern Park & Ride ‘for at least another year’
Appeal for Weston Christmas lights funding
Councillors back review of public toilet cutbacks
Conservatives demand rethink on toilet cutbacks
Hundreds sign Weston toilets petition
Toilet cuts protest hailed ‘great success’
Repairs success for ancient bridge
Dismay as Keynsham town centre name concerns dismissed
Petition launched against Saltford toilet cuts
£1 million budget black-hole as B&NES abandons ‘Tourism Levy’ for Bath
Keynsham development street naming call-in upheld
Petition demands reopening of Weston toilets
Councillors’ delight at green-light for Silver Street pedestrian crossing
Councillor ‘fuming’ as Council ‘powerless’ to stop early-morning lorries to K2 development
Anger as B&NES pushes ahead with Keynsham park toilet cuts
Anger at ‘sudden’ toilet closures
Councillors call for cut in parking charges
Council ‘won’t keep rent’ from traveller site B&NES confirms £2.55m price tag
‘Damning report’ pours scorn on Lib Dem ‘Park & Rail’ idea
B&NES urged to ‘go further’ in protecting Greenbelt sites in housing plan
Action taken on early-morning construction lorries in Keynsham
‘More questions’ over cost of Bath traveller site
Anger at Council’s rejection of temporary road for Kelston
Calls for cross-party committee on transport
Hundreds sign petition against Keynsham public toilet reduction
Conservatives demand answers over Kelston Road delays
Terry Gazzard elected for Bathavon North
B&NES ‘open minded’ about return of Dorchester Bus Gate
Conservatives demand consultation over public toilet changes
Conservatives back low-price ‘flat fare’ for Bath buses
Council launches review into strengthening Civic Governance in Bath
Dorchester Street Bus Gate – Conservatives call for clarity over its future
‘Big gaps and huge questions’ remain over Bath Transport Strategy
Councillors launch petition against Keynsham pubic toilet changes
Dorchester Street Bus Gate farce latest – Conservatives welcome latest Council U-turn
‘Halt trial and cancel fines’ – Conservatives call for end to Dorchester Street Bus Gate farce
Kelston Road closure – solution needed ‘by start of May’
Success as historic Keynsham stone wall restored
Tributes paid to Cllr Gabriel Batt
B&NES urged to bid for pothole cash
Victory for Keynsham residents as new street lights installed
‘Partial victory’ as B&NES climbs down on Victoria Park parking charges
Second Greenbelt victory for North East Somerset as Whitchurch housing plans rejected
Victory as Manor Road housing plans rejected
Conservatives demand answers over delay to Bath Transport Strategy
‘Shock and anger’ at attempt to derail plans to bring carnival to Midsomer Norton
Lib Dem and Independent councillors block funding to tackle gull menace
B&NES agrees extra £100,000 for bus services
Conservatives secure protection for children and vulnerable in B&NES budget
Traveller site cost escalates to £2.5 million
Conservatives to press for extra support for local bus services
‘Belated’ roads investment welcomed
Anger over delay to review of Victoria Park parking charges
Conservatives set out budget priorities
Date set for Saltford station consultation
Residents asked to name favourite part of the Chew Valley
Dorchester Street bus gate trial slated as ‘farce’
B&NES announces climb-down on CAB cuts
B&NES Council expecting £1.9 million surplus Conservatives seek residents’ views on budget windfall
Councillors vote for 6-month limit on Dorchester Street bus gate
Conservatives secure further protection for Children’s Centres
Recent Posts
B&NES Conservatives declare death of free speech following “draconian” council vote
Free speech is dead in Bath and North East Somerset after the council voted to impose “draconian” rules on members of the public, Conservative councillors say.
At tonight’s B&NES Council meeting, Liberal Democrat councillors voted to bar members of the public from attending council meetings if they fail to send the full text of their speech to council officers beforehand.
Opposition Conservative councillors furiously opposed the proposals, along with members of the Labour Group and other minority political groups, on the grounds that they will severely erode the democratic rights of B&NES residents.
Under the current rules, all residents are entitled to speak at council meetings on any topic they wish. In order to do so, they are asked to alert council officers at least 48 hours before the day of the meeting, and provide a short description of what they wish to talk about.
But under the new proposals, residents must send the full text of their speech to the council in advance or be completely barred from speaking.
This unnecessary rule, which is contrary to the council’s own constitution, has already resulted in members of the public being alienated from the democratic process.
At a recent Cabinet meeting, for example, one resident was barred from speaking because he was unable to send in his full speech beforehand. In the days before the meeting, he had been in Ukraine helping victims of the current war and was shocked to discover that he was still expected to write a speech while in a warzone.
When he was unable to find time to do it, he was refused permission to speak.
The Conservatives also fear that people who are unable to write very well or who prefer to speak from the heart rather than rigidly follow a pre-agreed script will be completely cut off from participating in local democracy.
Cllr Vic Pritchard, Leader of the Conservative Group on Bath and North East Somerset Council, said: “The Conservative Group has persistently opposed this new rule ever since it was first tabled by the Liberal Democrats.
“It’s a draconian imposition that will disadvantage residents who have every right to hold their elected officials to account.
“There is no provision in the council’s own constitution to justify this move and if the Conservative Group wins power at next year’s local elections, we will commit to reversing it and ensuring every resident has fair access to democracy.”
In recent months, the Liberal Democrat administration has faced a number of tough questions from the public over a questionable transfer of land at Bathampton Meadows, the massively overrun Cleveland Bridge works, attempts to restrict access to the city centre and the cancellation of the world-famous Bath Christmas Markets.
The Conservative Group believes this new move to restrict access to local democracy is an attempt by the administration to evade criticism and hide from scrutiny.
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