New planning rules could cost councils hundreds of thousands of pounds
Posted by GLA Conservatives in 
Reforms to planning rules which make it easier for small-scale residential extensions could cost councils hundreds of thousands of pounds. London Assembly Member Steve O’Connell welcomes the new arrangements, which cuts red tape and helps families improve their homes, but warns tax payers should not foot the bill.
London Assembly member Steve O’Connell said: “Councils should be able to charge a fee to the applicant to cover their costs, especially if neighbours object and further work is needed by planning departments, otherwise these costs will fall on the general council tax payer. For example, even if the initial application is free but they should at least be able to charge if an impact assessment and decision is required. Ultimately, we must protect the tax payer from any further expense.”
Stricter planning criteria and saturation zones to protect London’s pubs as "community hubs"
Steve O’Connell, London Assembly Member, is today launching a report ‘Keeping Local: How to save London’s pubs as community resources’. In it, he calls for London’s borough councils to adopt stringent criteria when considering the redevelopment or demolition of pubs, and a limit to the number of high street shops selling alcohol.
London has seen over 400 former pubs demolished between 2003-2012 – the South East has fared consistently badly with a net annual loss of more than 30 pubs on three occasions during this period. Lewisham has lost 36% of its pubs in the last decade.
Keeping Local
Steve O'Connell working to save the London local pub from extinction
Steve O'Connell Discusses Stephen Greenhalgh
Steve O'Connell Assembly Member for Croydon and Sutton, and GLA Conservatives Spokesman for Policing and Crime discusses his thoughts on last weeks (21/06/2012) Policing and Crime Committee and the controversy surrounding Stephen Greenhalgh's (New Deputy Mayor Policing and Crime) comments during the meeting. AM O'Connell asks Londoners to focus more on the 2012 Policing priorities such as the coming Olympics, the anniversary of the 2011 Riots, and for Steve personally the safety of Croydon and Sutton.
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June 2012 MQT Summary
Today the GLA Conservative Assembly Members Questioned the Mayor on a range of questions from Suburban Rail to Heathrow Expansion. The Mayor agreed with our Members on a great deal of issues, but also this gave our Members a chance to expand London's and their own knowledge of these topics.
This is a MQT Summary in progress as it takes a couple of days for everything to be compiled so check back often or follow the Assembly_Tories on twitter for the latest updates.
Richard Tracey questions Mayor over Suburban Rail control
Richard Tracey AM, GLA Conservative Transport spokesman, today (13 June) pushed the Mayor to renew his efforts to lobby the Government regarding control of the overland rail network. Asking a question at the Mayor's Question Time, Richard asked Boris Johnson to instruct Transport for London to flesh out what a suburban rail network run by City Hall would look like.
Richard said:
"Many commuters who have no other option than to use the overland train routes face a less than satisfactory service. This was demonstrated over the Jubilee weekend when many train operators failed to put on extra services which caused chaos on the network. I fully support the desire of the Mayor to have a stake in the commuter rail lines, so he can make them work for Londoners. He now needs to ensure that Transport for London put forward a clear vision of what timetables will look like, and what improvements may be implemented if the Mayor had control. This would go some way to building support for a TfL run service"
Related Tweets from Assembly_Tories
Live: Richard Tracey asks Mayor to release timetables to show benefits of TfL run suburban rail. No table but ensures improvement in service
— GLA Conservatives(@Assembly_Tories) June 13, 2012
- Housing Committee: Andrew Boff asks Richard Blakeway (Deputy Mayor for Housing) for an update on help for homeless veterans
- "Rapists let off with a slap on the wrist". Tony Arbour mentionedin today's Daily Mail (p2) thanks to @CrimeReporter_
- "A Quarter of Criminals Punished With Cautions" w/ Tony Arbour http://t.co/rwfrhdKdKM via @lbc973