London Road and Snow Hill Partnership (LRSHP)
An Alternative Vision for London Road and Snow Hill
Lawrence Buabeng - 12/06/2008
Current situation:
Despite considerable improvements, at present the London Road and Snow Hill is still perceived, not without reasons, to be somewhat dodgy. Extensive consultation with the local population has led to the identification of major deficiencies. This in turn leads to the compilation of a 150 strong local petition in November 2007 to form an alternative strategy and vision for the London Road and Snow Hill area and forms the basis for the Snow Hill Skills Enterprise Initiative. The major areas of concern are as follows:
- The prevalence of crime and anti social behaviours in the area is commensurate to its social and economic deprivation. The absence of any type of community space exacerbates this problem. Indeed the lack of community ownership of the area is a key feature of the neighbourhood`s downtrodden image.
- Drug dependency and excessive use of alcohol as well as the consequential anti-social behaviours they engender.
- London Road and Snow Hill area suffers from a lack of accessible skills and enterprise development and is in a dire need of some sort of restructure in order to facilitate community cohesion.
- London Road and Snow Hill area is at present seen to be something of a housing sink – the sort of area where one places misfits, the impoverishes, ex offenders, drink and drug dependents… Be that at as it may, they are all part of the community and need to be helped and nurtured as such. The problem arises when a disproportional or a high concentration of such people is placed in the same small area. It is the case in this area and the potential for eruptions of one sort or another is obvious and has already been evidenced.
- The current positioning of yet more support housing for the “vulnerable”, which loosely covers homeless, ex drug users, victims of domestic violence…, can only increase an already critical level of social deprivation.
- Police records on crime for the area in no way reflect the reality. It is well known that the vast majority of crimes are not reported therefore not recorded. Local authority decision makers must not neglect their responsibility for advancing planning proposals and policy decision which place crime reduction and community safety at the forefront. Two murders in the area in two years add substance to the perception that the area is rife with crime.
- Provision of youth development in this area of Bath is woefully inadequate and this clearly contributes to the general malaise blighting Snow Hill youth.
- The London Road is the victim of an excessive level of road traffic as it is now carrying 32,000 vehicles per day of which more than 3,000 are HGV. This leads to very high levels of atmospheric pollution. Indeed, the London Road is an Air Quality Management Zone, and is recorded as the third most polluted thoroughfare in the UK. (See DEFRA data on this).
- The London Road is the gateway to the city centre and is regrettably conspicuous for its lack of street & public space enhancement.
- One has to conclude given its proximity to the city centre, that the London Road’s absence of “direction” has meant that it has also suffered form a lack of investment when compared to other areas. Therefore it has a great deal of catching up to do. Millions of pounds of tax payer`s money has been poured into developments such as Southgate or the Bath Spa which, as some say, are not even directly benefiting local residents but only tourists. By contrast; how much has been spent on the London Road?
The Snow Hill area is in desperate needs of investment in the environment and the provision of opportunities for self-employment. It does not need mere cosmetic make over. There needs to be serious commitment from all the relevant parties, principally B&NES Council, on developing a strategy that takes the development of community cohesion as a matter of prime concern.
The local community via the London Road & Snow Hill Partnership (LRSHP) is therefore calling on B&NES Council for its long term commitment to the area and immediate endorsement of the following measures and actions to be taken:
Community Safety: a Neighbourhood Warden Scheme
There can be no community development or enterprise without first taking on board matters of security and safety.
Community wardens would go a considerable way in addressing safety concerns in the area. Their role would be primarily that of protecting the vulnerable and ensuring their well being. The intention is not to replace the police but to support the police in their role and to have a positive effect on their efficiency.
Given that the local ward has, since 1991, had the second highest unemployment rate in Bath; it is imperative that local wardens are sourced from the immediate area. Preliminary consultations with the local community suggest that a high proportion would support such an initiative.
Social Enterprise & Skills Acquisition:
Youth work clubs
As the name suggests, it would be a place where young people will come to work, or improve their chances of getting work. Essentially it will be an invitation for young individuals to better themselves through skills acquisition and social enterprise. This would lead to the development of responsibility and self respect
Snow Hill`s young people do not feel part of the prosperity that is evident thoughout the city.
The intention is to set up training facilities to include basic skills, I.T., as well as multi-disciplinary workshops providing training in architectural black-smithing (crucial for Bath heritage), furniture making or restoration, art & design, ceramics….
Preliminary consultations indicate a strong commitment from local residents to volunteering and teaching the appropriate skills.
This will require better use of existing B&NES public properties currently left dormant but potentially able to be fed into community use. In actual fact 3 & 4 Longacre, St Swithin`s School, The FOTEC Centre at Caroline House… would be the ideal locations to start an attempt to reinvigorate and positively transform the area. As such, we propose an alternative use to Somer`s plans, using these buildings for local skills and social enterprise.
Several of the area`s young have indicated their desire to see more constructive community owned provisions for the local people. The youth are not able to fully engage with statutory agencies and would much prefer ownership of their own public services; in order to more participate fully in society and keep out of trouble.
Some have also shown a willingness to engage in the local political process, and attend meetings to put forward their view; their enthusiasm and willingness to participate in any aspect of the local democratic process should not be underestimated or ignored.
Others Community Spaces
Work based rehabilitation for ex offenders, the homeless and drug users, in keeping with recent government initiatives, needs to be introduced. Rehabilitation after punishment is essential for ex offenders and the need to acquire skills should be seen as a life long process and the best antidote to present crime level.
Statutory drug agencies seem to be failing in their attempts to stem the growing trend to excessive drug and alcohol use. Again local consultations suggest a commitment and volunteering for such initiative.
A Need to Address The Disappearance of Commercial Shop Fronts
There does appear to be an absence of a vision for the area, especially in the context of Bath as a world heritage city. The London Road is actually an important gateway to the city and as such requires much more consideration and planning than is currently in place. Central to this point is the number of residential units now occupying previously commercial shop fronted premises. It has to be said that crumpled curtains hanging in shop windows, on a main street, onlycontributes to the impression that the area suffers from poor economic and entrepreneurial dynamism. Commercial shop fronts are vital in any attempts to revitalise the area. In the Bath Local Plan a significant part of the area is designed as a local shopping area. LRSHP is therefore objecting to current proposals by Somer for Caroline House and 3 & 4 Longacre; especially when several offers for commercial use for the buildings have been made, and yet turned down by the local authority.
Traffic and Street & Public Space: Street lighting, planting mature trees, better street signs and priority to pedestrians…
The traffic on the main road needs also to be seriously addressed. The London Road is the main gateway to Bath and needs a more positive image. At the moment, listed buildings are being damaged by excessive traffic and pollution.
Appropriate street lighting, planting mature tree, better street signs and priority to cyclists or pedestrians, throughout the London Road (and especially at Cleveland Place and at Morrisons traffic lights) would provide viable, easy and fast ways to improve the quality of life on the London Road.
The immediate reopening of the garden at the rear of Caroline House is also necessary to address a lack of accessible public space in the area. This garden was designated as a public open space in the early 1980s, and there was even a public celebration, held by the council, when the garden was first opened to the public. Older local residents can remember this event. In about 1998, the garden was closed to the public, without notice or consultation. It has remained inaccessible ever since.
Local community supports this approach. This is an extract from a letter published in the Bath Chronicle on 29th May 2008, in respect of Somer Housing’s proposals for Caroline House and 3 & 4 Longacre:
“…to fill the green space at the back with an ugly block seems madness. Not only would the new residents have nowhere outside to go, other than the London Road, it would also be there forever, however much of a disaster it turns out to be…The London Road is the gateway to Bath and needs a more positive image. Putting all the homeless in one place may be cheap in the short term, but the social problems it will create will cost more long term. There's enough unused buildings in Bath not to have to build more in unsuitable locations… If the councils wants to do something radical for London Road, I suggest paving it from Morrisons to the A36 junction as it would be if in Holland. Cars would still be allowed, but it would feel like it was for people. A community feeling would naturally follow and shops and cafs would return. And how about a toll on Cleveland Bridge for anything over 10 tons while we're at it?”
MARTIN CRADICK, Bath
A Need to Address the Present Population Imbalance in the Local Community:
The area has a population profile indicating a preponderance towards those with social problems and in need of temporary housing. The area has a high proportion of single person households, mostly occupying small flats, either in Snow Hill itself, or in the larger, older properties that have been divided into studio style flats. Most of these single people whether employed or not, regard themselves as temporary inhabitants. As such, they are more likely to be prone to personal problems, whilst they are less likely to have any firm commitment to the local community.
In this context, the London Road and Snow Hill Partnership is unable to support Somer Housing`s proposed new housing scheme to transform Caroline House and 3 & 4 Longacre, by increasing the number of residential places for vulnerable people from seventeen to sixty-five. This would result in bringing more temporary residents to the area. Concentrating so many people together into a single sink of despair is counter-productive.
At previous public meetings, it has already been pointed out that full integration into the community is by far the better option. Indeed, all of those who have been involved in the housing of the extremely vulnerable are of the opinion that the facility Somer (and currently, B&NES Council) proposes will probably compound the long-term problems of the residents.
There are enough unused buildings in Bath not to have to build in an unsuitable location and B&NES should support the LRSHP in its efforts to convince Somer Housing that there could be better use of their portfolio. Thereby abandoning their plan to extend Caroline House and 3 & 4 Longacre.
Nutrition: cafés, a farmer market
Nutrition and healthy living are fundamental to any strategy of community renewal. Cafés serve as an informal meeting place where people can get to know each other. At present there is no such facility at present except for the pubs including the Longacre Tavern. These do not constitute a safe and relaxed environment for community interaction and the exchange of information.
A farmers` market with a local café using locally sourced organic produces should be seen as a social enterprise central to our attempts to improve the well being of local people. Besides providing possible employment and healthy food it could be used as a domestic skills improvement facility for those who need or want it.
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Planning decisions and policies of this nature are of course the responsibility of the local authority, but in order to be more effective in its policy making, it needs to be more positively engaged with local organisations, in order to achieve the required results. The LRSHP is ideally placed, in this respect, to help facilitate the necessary transformation.
