LibDems Still Peddling Their Deception

This is the latest opinion poll for how Eastleigh intends to vote in the next general election.  UKIP  have a very clear lead; and bear in mind that it is for a General Election.

This suggests that we have a very good chance of winning next year and of securing a respectable number of Borough Council seats on May 22nd this year.  The LibDems, however, are using rhe results of the last Borough elections 2 years ago when UKIP were not yet a force to be reckoned with.  These 2 year-old figures are in their latest Focus, which also accuses UKIP of "opposing improvements to local schools and wanting to axe support for the police"

NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.

• In fact UKIP say there aren't enough school places!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The LibDems seized on the fact that ONE UKIP county councillor - out of the 10 on the county council - voted with the Conservatives in one motion not to spend money on schools.  The other 9 voted AGAINST
• With regard to "wanting to axe support for the police, again the opposite is true.  This is what UKIP say:

NO, UKIP just want to save Eastleigh :Police Station.  Keith House, LibDem leader, claims police officers only use it to sit drinking tea. What an insult to the police! However, on the streets a shopkeeper is murdered  a man is robbed at knifepoint and homes are burgled.  LibDes want to close the police station and use the "savings" to recruit more PCSOs.  So, in LibDem speak, "UKIP saving the police station" means ""scrapping PCSOs."  Unlike Keith House, UKIP values both the police station and PCSOs.

Fryern Funtasia - a Great Way to Spend a May Bank Holiday!

We were able to spend a very pleasant afternoon on Fryern Recreation Ground at the Fryern Funtasia, which has now become a tradition for the May Day bank holiday in Chandler's Ford.

This programme shows what was on and, as ever, it was well attended.  We visited many stalls and particularly enjoyed the Spanish churros.

Entertainment - above and below

And this beautiful AC Cobra

I must mention Cllr Mike Hughes (Con), together with Clive French, who worked very hard from 7am in order to make sure that the Funtasia was such a success.  It was a wonderful day but I find it rather sad that a large number of people just dumped their litter on the grass, with the result that Cllr Hughes had to spend such a long time going round behind them and picking it up.  

Cllr Hughes will never take credit for all the work he does quietly and efficiently, so I feel that we owe him a very special thank you for all that he does.  He was the one who worked tirelessly to improve Fryern Pavilion - although others have tried to take the credit.

Road Safety

The Liberal Democrats have launched a School Crossing Patrol Campaign for St Swithun Wells School in Hillcrest Avenue, Chandler's Ford.  Not long ago they tried to have a PERMANENT 20mph speed limit outside Fryern Junior and Infants School.  They also want to reduce the speed limit to 50mph on the M3 between Junction 12 and the M27, supposedly to make the motorway safer and to reduce noise.

Not surprisingly, Hampshire County Council turned both the school requests down as there is a much better way. A 50mph speed limit at the M3/M27 junction isn't the answer either. I am prospective UKIP candidate for the Chandler's Ford East ward in the borough elections in May, and I am particularly concerned about road safety, being a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

Let's deal with Hillcrest Avenue first.
The problem is actually parking at the beginning and end of the school day - and the  Borough Council operates a county wide Parkwise scheme:
http://www.eastleigh.gov.uk/pdf/Parkwise260509.pdf
and this is what it says:

Eastleigh Borough Council Parking 
Enforcement Team
Since October 2004 Eastleigh Borough Council has been responsible for the enforcement of 
certain on-street parking restrictions in the borough. Civil Enforcement Officers do regular 
morning and afternoon checks at schools in the borough and will issue Penalty Charge 
Notices (PCN’s) for:
• Stopping on school zig zags
• Parking on double yellow lines
• Parking in residents and disabled parking 
bays where a valid badge is not displayed
• Parking in taxi ranks
• Parking outside marked bays
• Staying too long in time limited waiting areas
• Failing to pay and display a valid parking 
ticket where there is a parking charge 

Hillcrest Avenue is not particularly busy so School Crossing Patrols are better employed where the traffic can be heavy, such as at Fryern School in Oakmount Road.  

As far as I am aware parents are generally satisfied with safety in Hillcrest Avenue and feel no need for a school crossing patrol, although parking does give rise to concern. If elected, I shall endeavour to make sure that parking restrictions at the schools are enforced. and that the schools will continue to work with the parents to make sure that they observe the rules noted above and also - and in particular - that cars are not parked so that they block residents' driveways.

What would be particularly helpful in Oakmount Road is a temporary 20mph speed limit outside both Fryern and Toynbee Schools at the beginning and end of the school day.  At the top of this blog is a photo of a scheme in place in Bembridge, Isle of Wight. I have blogged about this before and Ukip, with 10 county councillors, is in a position to push for this where appropriate.

Motorway Speed Limits

Left-wingers always want to impose unnecessary restrictions rather than assessing what the best action would actually be.  And this applies particularly to our motorways.  Jackie Porter and Pam Holden-Brown are launching a campaign to impose a 50mph speed limit between Junction 12 and the M27 to - they say - make the motorway safer and to reduce noise. They want to know what we think of this idea.

This section, of course, is where the motorway divides so traffic can go both east and west on the M27 and I use this part of the motorway a lot.  There is particularly good signage and it is very rare to see traffic crossing lanes dangerously. 

At Junction 13 the  motorway reduces to two lanes as it goes east and west to join the M27, so it bends  right and left depending on which way the traffic is going. There are two problems at this junctions:

1. Much traffic entering the motorway to go both north and south does so far to slowly, often at only 40mph.
2. Traffic going west from Junction 13 frequently uses the outside lane while travelling at a low speed of about 50mph, leaving the inside lane empty, as it negotiates the right-hand bend, and vehicles then get stuck behind as it cannot "undertake."  Therefore, far from traffic being driven fast, it is going slowly and bunching, which is dangerous. 

So, evidence shows that rather than speed being a problem, it is the lack of it that is causing potential accidents.  The answer, therefore, would be to use the cameras in place on these stretches to monitor driving habits and advise motorists via the overhead gantries to move over to the nearside lane when necessary.  The gantries should also be used to impose variable speed limits, which can be mandatory rather than advisory when the need arises.  This would be a lot more effective than a permanent 50mph speed limit, which would simply cause bunching and frustration when there is no need for it.

Getting Things Done: Chandler's Ford Bottle Banks Emptied

Last Thursday I noticed that the two bottle banks at Fryern, Chandler's  Ford were full to overflowing so I reported it to the Council, and I am pleased to report that they were both emptied this morning.  Above  and immediately below is the one at Waitrose.

This is how it looked before:

And this is the one behind the Co-op:

I believe in getting things done.

The Eastleigh Folly Opens Today

Today our LibDem run Borough Council has opened the Eastleigh Folly, otherwise known as the new town centre civic offices.
And it has cost an estimated £11 million pounds for a building that isn't even large enough to hold the council chamber or committee rooms, with the result that councillors now have to meet in other locations, presumably at extra cost.

Our LibDem masters have form in property mismanagement. They buy property to rent and then it falls empty, like the Comet store in Woodside Avenue:

and they borrow money build a hotel, again to rent out, and the contractors go into liquidation: Ageas Bowl.

They are not to be trusted.  The borrowing of Eastleigh Borough Council is way, way above average.  While their income is £12m their borrowing is a staggering £100m, compared to that of Hampshire County Council, which has an income of £900m with borrowing of only £500m.

What the move to the town centre will mean to us

The move to the town centre was supposed to coincide with the expansion of Sainsbury's, which would have encroached on Eastleigh Recreation Ground. While, fortunately for us this was withdrawn by Sainsbury's, it did mean that the extra parking spaces this development would have provided would have been sufficient for council employees and visitors to the civic offices.  But now they will encroach on s;paces normally used by shoppers, which will reduce footfall in town centre shops, with another consequence for the Council: more empty shop premises with a corresponding fall in income from business rates.

But despite this very obvious shortfall of parking spaces - the Council went ahead anyway with the reconstruction of Eastleigh House, where the civic offices are now situated.

The council is also taking over Eastleigh Market which, not surprisingly, relies on parking spaces.  At the Eastleigh Local Area Committee Meeting on 14th January, it was noted that when the Council moves to Eastleigh House, with what the describe as a "recent increase in contract parking in the town centre," stallholders will no longer be able to park in the Twyford Road car park at a reduced rate of £4 per day instead of the normal £8.  There has almost always been spare capacity in this car park - but the Council has recognised that with the move to Eastleigh House this is unlikely to be the case.  The Council staff have to have parking, but  none has been provided, and there will be extra pressure on Thursday market day.  

So with insufficient parking for stallholders another Council venture falls flat!! 

So what this Council move to Eastleigh House means is:

• Increased borrowing for a civic centre that is too small
• No parking for staff or visitors, who will have to use existing parking
• Less parking for shoppers
• Closure of shops due to reduced footfall
• And a reduction in income from business rates

We MUST get rid of the disastrous LibDems in the May elections!!!!!

Bottle Banks - Getting Things Done in Chandler's Ford

On my way to Waitrose,Chandler's Ford  this morning to get my paper this is what I was confronted with as I went to deposit some glass at the bottle bank.

 So I went to the bottle bank behind the Co-op:

It too was full, although not obvious until you try to put something in it.  As I tried to put my glass in, a bottle fell out and started to roll down the slope but, fortunately, it was well fielded by a lady.  Otherwise it could have been driven over by a car, with the resultant broken glass causing punctures etc.

As soon as I got home I telephoned Eastleigh Council, where the extremely helpful receptionist said it would receive immediate attention.

A New Phone at Last after the Accident Scam in Southsea!

You may recall this blog where I described what happened to me as a result of which youths stole my brand new mobile phone:
http://michaelrcread.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/a-new-type-of-accident-scam.html

Well, after over two months I now have a replacement - and here it is:

But its replacement wasn't exactly straightforward as it was covered by our household insurance policy due to the phone company wanting to charge £10 per month for their insurance cover.  The initial claim was straightforward enough, but there was a £50 excess that wasn't exactly convenient to pay at Christmas, coupled to which I had a windscreen claim, for which there was a £60 excess.  However, we did agree that the household insurers would replace the handset through Amazon as soon as I had paid the excess.

So I just carried on using the old phone and thought little more about it until I had a phone call from the insurers last week to ask whether I still wanted to make the claim.  Of course, I said yes, and they told me to expect a call from someone who would take my card details and make arrangements to send me the new phone.

Sure enough, the next day I had a phone call, but it wasn't from the insurers but from a company called Be Valued, who turned out to be "Insurance Replacement Specialists."  In fact, what they specialise in is starting the claim all over again.  The woman asked me for all the information I had given the insurers: the circumstances of the claim; evidence of loss and ownership; proof of value; whether I wanted cash or replacement. I refused point blank to play their game and immediately rang the insurers, who called Be Valued back and gave them all that information.  I also asked the insurers to make sure that the replacement phone would be white, the same as the one that was stolen.

Later on that day I had another phone call from Be Valued, this time just asking for may card details, which I gave them, and I sought assurance from them that the replacement phone would be white. The following day - last Thursday - the phone arrived by Parcelforce.  I opened the parcel and found that the phone they had sent was - you've guessed it - black!!!

Here it is with the unbroken seal as I had a feeling they would send the wrong one.  I phoned Be Valued and they swore blind that I hadn't asked for a white one - and they even said that they had recorded the conversation!  However, not only had I asked specifically - twice - but it was on the contract I had faxed the insurers back in December.  Anyway, on Friday they collected it via DPD, a courier service and on Monday I phoned Be Valued to advise them that we would be out all day on Tuesday, so would they please not arrange delivery for that day.

Yesterday, we had a wonderful day visiting my mother on the Isle of Wight and when we arrived home in the evening we found this:

Yes, they had tried to deliver when I said we would be out all day.  However, the good news was that they had left it at the local post office, so I picked it up this morning.  I went home and entered all the accounts and apps before going into Eastleigh to get the new SIM for it, but I forgot to get my contacts transferred, so it's back to the phone shop tomorrow.

What we can learn from this:

From the accident scam: 

• If in doubt don't get out of your car.
• There's now a real shortage of police

From the insurance claim:

• It's certainly cheaper to use your contents insurance
• Making an insurance claim is now very much more complicated than it was when I was in insurance years ago.
• The use of  "Insurance Replacement Specialists" causes delay, mistakes and inevitably increases premiums.
• I felt when dealing with these replacement specialists that the customer is always wrong.