I often hop on a bus to and from the hospital where I work. It is in a rural location and the service is not always convenient for early starting times. At other times, the service has proved quite unreliable.

This isn’t often the fault of the bus operators.

Road works and traffic jams often cause buses to arrive at a particular stop very much later than scheduled.

Some years ago, in my Town Councillor role, I recall insisting that any bus shelters we replace include seating. I’m proud that almost every shelter in the town now has seats because it can be a long, uncomfortable wait – especially if you are of advancing years!

Buses these days are generally of pretty good quality. One of the biggest differences from days gone by are that they are smoke free.

I haven’t experienced many unpleasant fellow travellers and I rarely see any evidence of vandalism on a bus.

Maggie Thatcher once said something along the lines of “Any adult travelling on a bus has failed in life”.

I don’t know if this was intended as a light-hearted quip but I suspect that it reveals something about the outlook of politicians who never travel by public transport.

We are still a very long way from an integrated transport strategy, promised by Labour politicians in the 1990’s. Perhaps it is just too difficult for us to organise things in such a way that most of us have a realistic choice to travel, without taking a car.

It makes no sense to me that Hampshire County Council often talks about the need to tackle the causes of climate change and to address social inequalities, whilst withdrawing bus subsidies. Services are being reduced or discontinued right across the County.

The logic of what is happening will mean thousands of us will be holders of bus passes but have no bus service to use.

For years now, government has talked about improving the quality of life for all of us through improving public transport.

The reality has been very different, more and more cars on the roads, traffic jams, parking problems, patchy bus and train services. Local authorities blame central government for not supplying the necessary funds to make things happen.

Perhaps the lesson in all this is that you need integrated government before you can hope to have anything like an integrated transport system.

The New Forest village of Marchwood should soon be a safer place to walk around. Councillors representing the Parish Council, New Forest District Council and Hampshire County Council met with Highway bosses this week in order to plan safer routes around the village.

County Councillor, David Harrison says “It was agreed that the village benefits from many footpaths which could be much better used. We have persuaded the County Council Officers to work with the Parish Council to help make much better use of these paths. In some cases, drainage will need to be improved. In other cases, we will need to see overgrown vegetation cut back and better sign-posting.

Marchwood Parish Council is to be asked to form a small working group to inspect all footpaths in the village and draw up a list of work needed.

Councillor Harrison adds “This is a very welcome development. It fits in with our other safety measures, to reduce lorry traffic through the village, to reduce speeding traffic and particularly to provide safer routes for children and parents to access the two schools”.

It is expected that the work will be followed by an awareness campaign, aimed at making sure local people know about the footpaths, many of which offer safer passage than those near busy roads.

The way in which your local council makes decisions has fundamentally changed in recent years. A lot of the old committee structures have gone. A small number of Councillors, usually formed exclusively from the ruling group, form a Cabinet. The Cabinet decides just about everything the Council does.

As a means of ensuring that the rest of the democratically elected Councillors at least have some input, Government introduced the obligation on a Council to have a system of scrutiny. This should mean that any decision can be properly challenged. Ideally, a proposed change in policy or service delivery will be notified to all concerned. There will then be a chance for non-Cabinet members to fully examine the issue, usually by a Scrutiny Panel acting as a “critical friend”.

On a Council where scrutiny is effective, the quality of decision-making should be very much better. Decisions will be more evidence based, less driven by political dogma and will at least have fully examined all the “cons” as well as the “pros”!

Unfortunately, the reality of the scrutiny process falls very short of what was ever intended. In fact, it’s working so badly that many elected Councillors have virtually no influence over what happens on the Council. They are questioning the value of sitting on scrutiny panels that have become nothing more than rubber-stamping panels for the ruling Cabinet.

On the New Forest District Council, the ruling Conservative group have all the Cabinet posts. Additionally, they have firm majority control over all the Scrutiny Panels, including Chairmanship and Vice-Chairmanship. This isn’t exactly what the government intended, but it is not illegal so the Conservatives can get away with it, so long as they have at least one more elected member than the opposition.

The result on the New Forest District Council is that there is virtually no chance for opposition members to challenge the ruling Cabinet. Scrutiny Panels have no motivation for asking difficult or challenging questions of their political friends. This is precisely why issues like the health risks associated with sun-beds are not being addressed, why some of more affluent areas of the New Forest qualify for grant aid whilst urban areas are excluded, why the West of the Forest seems to get better treatment that the East and presumably, why voter apathy is alive and well in the District.

If the Liberal Democrats gain control of the New Forest District Council we should place a priority on making sure that all members have an important and effective role in contributing to decisions. It will make it a bit tougher for the ruling group, but it will be worth it. It has long been recognised that good government relies on good opposition.

A recent opinion poll survey, carried out in and around the New Forest village of Lyndhurst, revealed that the vast majority of people are very concerned about high volumes of traffic, in particular large numbers of HGV traffic using local roads.

In the area I represent, Totton South and Marchwood, there are very real issues surrounding ever increasing volumes of HGV traffic. In some cases, they represent a very serious and immediate safety hazard. In Marchwood village there have been instances where a lorry driver has mounted and driven along the pavement, in an area frequented by school children.

In Totton, fumes from HGV traffic are a major contributor to pollution, resulting in the area around Junction Road and Rumbridge Street being designated as an Air Quality Management area. Remember that Totton is not in the city of Southampton but in the District of the New Forest!

There is no doubt that HGV’s are larger than ever they were. I’m told that the heavier weights involved are wearing out our roads much more quickly. The fact that HGV’s share the same stretch of tarmac with other road users must surely be acting as a strong disincentive to thousands of potential cyclists.

All the same, we rely on HGV’s to deliver our goods. Not only our shops, the economy would quickly come crashing down around us without these vehicles. The rail network only carries a very small percentage of our goods around the country.

I believe that what we need to do is to consider much more carefully how we allow commercial transport to operate. There is virtually no democratic accountability over the granting and management of operators’ licences. We need more restrictions over where and when HGV traffic can travel. In many areas, a free market approach is having a serious impact on quality of life.

In fairness, some operators are already acting very responsibly. For example, one local operator has agreed to only allow drivers to take designated routes avoiding Marchwood village. This is monitored through the use of tracker devices in each vehicle. Wherever a breach occurs, the driver is subject to disciplinary action.

There will be a need for HGV’s on our roads for many years to come. To some extent, we must endure the negative aspects of this, including the noise, the vibration, the safety risks, the pollution as part of the price we pay for living in a society where we can have easy access to all sorts of goods and services they bring to us. However, we can and should do more to minimise the negative aspects and I regard this part of my job as key, so long as I remain a County Councillor,

New Forest Councillor, David Harrison, has issued a stark warning about the dangers of sun bed use, calling for them to be removed from all District Health & Leisure Centres.

At a meeting of the New Forest District Council this week, Councillor Harrison, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, challenged the Conservative administration to scrap the use of all Council operated sun beds.

The Tory Portfolio holder for Leisure responded to opposition pressure by announcing new restrictions on sun bed use. Users will have to be 18 years or over from January.

However, the concession does not go nearly far enough to satisfy Liberal Democrats, concerned about the health risks.

Councillor Harrison quoted from a report from the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health which points out that sun beds can cause skin cancer, premature skin ageing and have no place in centres devoted to promoting good health.

Councillor Harrison says “The Conservatives clearly think that the income received from sun beds is more important than the risk to public health.

It’s frankly foolish to ignore the scientific evidence confirming the danger to public health and risks of future legal action against the Council”.

Dear Resident,
If you live in Totton South division, I am fortunate to represent you on Totton & Eling Town Council, New Forest District Council and Hampshire County Council, (as well as Hampshire Fire Authority).

I thought you might appreciate a short report, detailing some of my activities in the past year. If you would like to discuss anything, or have a particular problem I can help with, do get in touch. My contact details are listed at the end.

Grant Aid
I have an annual budget of £10,000 which I can use to support worthy local causes. This year, I have been pleased to assist The Tower Youth Project, Testwood Baptist Church, Friends of Eling Infants School and the 4th NFN Eling Sea Scouts.

Flood Risk
I have asked Totton & Eling Town Council to start work on a full assessment of the flood risk in Totton and to prepare a report, detailing measures that will reduce the risk and manage things in the event that the worst happens.

Green Audit
Linked to the above, I have ensured that the local Council carries out a “Green Audit”, looking at every area of its’ work and seeking ways of operating in a more environmentally friendly way. On the District Council, my motion to deal with the problem of abandoned shopping trolleys has been approved.

Rumbridge Street
I have been very unhappy with many aspects of the work undertaken at Rumbridge Street. More work will be necessary in the later part of 2008 to sort out drainage and complete repairs to pavements. The proposed one-way system has been dropped. I’m doing my best to inform residents and local business owners as things develop.

The Eling Experience
I am strongly supportive of plans to revive the Eling Quay area, including the Tide Mill, Heritage Centre, board-walk and Goatee beach – all aimed at improving access in a manageable way, protecting the area and making the most of it.

Public Conveniences
I am opposing the proposed closure of public conveniences in Totton, especially the ones in Winsor Road and Eling Recreation ground.

HGV Traffic
I am exploring further options for reducing HGV traffic travelling through Totton. This is a particular problem in the High Street and Junction Road where vehicle emissions are contributing to an air quality problem.

Sports
You will no doubt know that 2007 was a particularly good year for Totton on the sporting front, especially for football and cricket. As Chairman of the Council I was thrilled to witness the progress of AFC Totton and enjoyed a day out watching a Wembley cup final. I also participated in civic receptions for our football and cricket hero’s!

Protecting our green spaces
As predicted, designation of the New Forest as a National Park has led to increased development pressure on the few green spaces left in Totton. I have campaigned and voted against dense developments of housing in Totton.

NHS Dentistry
You may have noticed that it is almost impossible to find an NHS dentist who will take you on as a new patient in Totton. My recent check with the NHS Helpline revealed that the nearest NHS dentists with vacancies are in Titchfield and Andover! As you might expect, I’m applying maximum pressure on health bosses to improve the situation.

Community Safety
I have supported a decision by the Town Council to part fund the provision of Community Safety Officers to serve the needs of Totton. We now have a better standard of police on the beat than we have enjoyed for many years. They are doing some excellent work, including tackling the menace of dangerous pavement cyclists and tackling low-level crime and anti-social behaviour.

Speeding
There is still a problem with a small number of motorists who think it acceptable to drive through parts of Totton at high speed. I liaise with the police and highway engineers to try and tackle the problem. If you know any particular trouble spots, please let me know.

Keeping in touch
I try, as hard as I can, to communicate with the people I represent. This means listening as well as telling you about what is happening locally. In 2007 I have attended over 560 meetings, most of which include a public session for anyone who wants to come along and make a point or ask a question.

I have attended meetings of the Rushington Manor Residents Association, Hounsdown Community Association and Eling Residents Association. I regularly contribute articles and letters to local newspapers, mostly about local topics. I also produce and distribute editions of “Focus” with items of local interest and have also written hundreds of letters to residents on topics ranging from school travel plans to highway improvements.